Research Resources
Journal Submission Checklist: What to Review Before You Submit
Use this list when a manuscript is substantially complete and you are preparing the files for a journal you have already identified. It is a general review. It is not that journal’s official checklist, a publication guarantee, an acceptance prediction, an ethics approval, or a peer-review result. The current author instructions come first.
A separate file is not available yet. This page is the checklist. You can print it from your browser, and the boxes reset when you refresh.
- A manuscript you already have
- Files, statements and metadata
- The journal’s current instructions
- Declarations stay truthful
How to use this checklist
Use it when major content revisions are mostly settled and you are assembling the submission. If the manuscript is still changing in substance, repeat the affected checks. Journal instructions change. Read the current version for this article type. Do not rely only on an older manuscript or a previous submission. This page does not scan your files, verify every reference, or decide whether the journal will accept the paper.
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Read the current instructions
Confirm the aims, the article type, the limits, and the files that type requires.
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Check the people and the claims
Names, order, affiliations, and declarations have to match what is true.
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Check the package
Manuscript, references, tables, figures, and any supplementary files should be the same final version.
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Check the upload
Metadata, file names, and the preview should agree with that version.
What the checklist covers
Thirteen groups for a general pre-submission pass. Not every journal asks for every item. Acceptance remains the journal’s decision.
- Journal and scope A scope check is not a guarantee of fit, and this page does not rank or certify journals.
- Author instructions Use the current instructions. They are not the same for every journal.
- Authorship and contributions Follow the journal’s or institution’s authorship rules. This page does not define one universal criterion.
- Title, abstract and keywords The front matter has to match the study. Keywords do not guarantee that the paper will be found.
- Manuscript components Include what this journal asks for. Do not assume every journal wants every file.
- References This pass does not verify every source. The citation checklist is the narrower reference review.
- Tables and figures Follow this journal’s display rules. There is no universal resolution or table style on this page.
- Ethics, consent and approvals Statements must match approvals that exist. This page does not grant approval or give legal advice.
- Declarations and disclosures Write the statement that is true. Do not copy a sentence because it looks standard.
- Supplementary material Do not create a supplement in order to tick a box.
- Cover letter and suggested reviewers Do not overclaim the paper, and do not invent reviewers.
- Files and the submission system Fields differ by system. Upload the version the journal asked for.
- Final cross-check Look yourself. This page does not search the file. Placeholders include [REF], TODO, XX, Insert Figure, Author details here, and Citation needed.
The checklist
Journal and scope
Author instructions
Authorship and contributions
Title, abstract and keywords
Manuscript components
References
Tables and figures
Ethics, consent and approvals
Declarations and disclosures
Supplementary material
Cover letter and suggested reviewers
Files and the submission system
Final cross-check
What to review first
A polished sentence does not fix a missing file or an untrue declaration. Settle the journal’s current rules, then the people and the claims, then the package.
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The current instructions
Are you using this journal’s present rules for this article type?
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The authors and the declarations
Do names, contributions, ethics statements, funding, and conflicts match what is true?
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One final version
Do the abstract, the text, the tables, the figures, and the upload describe the same study?
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The references
Are citations matched and free of references that were never checked?
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The upload
Are the required files attached, and does the preview agree with them?
This list is not an acceptance
This checklist
A manual review of a manuscript and the files around it. It does not choose the journal, certify legitimacy, validate the statistics, or predict peer review.
Research resourcesJournal manuscript editing
A review of a manuscript you have already written, within an editing scope. It does not accept the paper, select the journal, or guarantee publication.
Explore journal manuscript editingWhen to use this checklist
Use it near submission, not as a substitute for the research. It does not search the manuscript for you.
- The manuscript is substantially complete
- A target journal has been identified
- Major content revisions are mostly settled
- You are preparing the submission files
- You can still check claims against the study’s records
Also relevant: Citation checking checklist .
Academic integrity
Authorship, affiliations, findings, and declarations have to be real. An ethics statement has to match an approval that exists. Reviewer details must not be invented. Funding and conflicts must be stated truthfully. This checklist does not provide ethics approval, clear a duplicate publication, or verify every reference.
Read the academic integrity resourcesQuestions
Is this the journal’s checklist?
No. It is a general pre-submission review. The current author instructions for the target journal and article type come first, and they are not the same for every journal.
Does completing it mean the paper will be accepted?
No. It does not guarantee publication, peer review, indexing, or a fit decision. Acceptance remains the journal’s.
Does it check the statistics or the ethics approval?
No. It asks whether numbers agree and whether an ethics statement matches an approval that exists. It does not validate a method or grant approval.
Can I download it?
No separate file is available. This page is the checklist. You can print it from the browser. The boxes are not saved.