The formatting requirements usually include sections, word count, referencing, font requirements, figure requirements, and reference requirements, as well as the journal’s author instructions.
The most common referencing requirements for journals include APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and Vancouver referencing, depending on the journal’s author instructions.
The APA referencing style uses the author-date referencing system, Vancouver uses the numbered referencing system, and the Harvard referencing style uses the author-date referencing system.
Most journals require authors to submit the manuscript in Word format, i.e., .doc or .docx, in addition to separate files for the figures, tables, and supplementary materials as per the journal’s guidelines.
Tables and figures need to be clearly labeled, numbered consecutively, have titles, meet the journal’s requirements, be of high resolution, and be cited correctly in the manuscript.
Journals may reject manuscripts due to poor formatting, failure to comply with guidelines, incorrect citations, missing information, poor quality figures, or failure to follow instructions for submission.







Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)
Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)











