What Should You Check Before Submitting a Manuscript?
A final manuscript submission checklist can help researchers identify avoidable problems before uploading their paper to a journal. Submission requirements vary by journal, so the final review should always be compared with the target journal’s current author guidelines.
1. Confirm the Journal
Make sure the journal name, scope, article type, and submission route are correct. If indexing or journal metrics are important to your research objective, verify current information using the appropriate official source.
2. Review the Manuscript
Check the title, abstract, keywords, headings, main text, references, tables, figures, and supplementary material.
Confirm that the manuscript follows the required word count and structure.
3. Check Author Information
Review author names, affiliations, ORCID details where required, corresponding-author information, and author-order requirements.
Do not assume that the information saved in a submission portal is automatically correct.
4. Review Formatting
Check fonts, spacing, headings, page numbering, margins, tables, figures, captions, and file formats according to the journal’s instructions.
If the journal provides a manuscript template, compare your final document with it.
5. Review References
Check that in-text citations and the reference list match. Confirm the required citation style and review DOI or identifier details where applicable.
6. Complete Declarations
Depending on the journal and research, you may need funding, conflict-of-interest, ethics, consent, data availability, author contribution, or other statements.
Only include statements that accurately describe your research.
7. Prepare Supporting Documents
Some submissions require a cover letter, graphical abstract, highlights, supplementary files, reporting checklist, permissions, or other documents.
Create a folder containing the exact files needed for submission.
8. Conduct a Final Quality Review
Open every file and check that it displays correctly. Confirm figure quality, tables, references, hyperlinks, and file names.
Taylors and Francis provides manuscript preparation, editing, formatting, journal selection, and submission support for researchers.
Final Takeaway
A pre-submission review cannot guarantee acceptance, but it can reduce avoidable errors and improve alignment with the journal’s requirements. Always use the journal’s current official instructions as the final authority before submission.
Check Submission Ethics and Permissions
Make sure any required permissions for copyrighted figures, questionnaires, datasets, or other third-party material have been obtained. Confirm that the manuscript follows the relevant research and publication ethics requirements.
Check the Submission Portal
Some journals request information in the online form that is not repeated in the manuscript. Prepare author details, affiliations, funding information, conflict statements, suggested classifications, and other requested information before starting the submission.
Keep Records
Save the submitted manuscript, supporting files, confirmation email, manuscript ID, and important correspondence. These records are useful when following up or preparing a revision.
Taylors and Francis can support researchers with manuscript preparation, journal selection, formatting, editing, and submission assistance. Our services help with the publication process, but the journal retains control over editorial decisions.
A final independent review can also identify small administrative errors that are easy to overlook when the authors have worked on the manuscript for a long period.