https://www.sciencemag.

org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

Instructions for preparing an initial

manuscript
Format and style of main manuscript

Format and style of supplementary material

Preparation of figures

Science Citation Style

Information on manuscript types, including length constraints, can be found on

our general information for authors page. The instructions below apply to an
initial submission. For a manuscript submitted after peer-review and revision,
the same style guidelines apply, but we require slightly different file preparation
– see instructions specific to a revised manuscript.

Format and style of main manuscript

For the main manuscript, Science prefers to receive a single complete file that
includes all figures and tables in Word’s .docx format (Word 2007, 2010, or
2008 or 2011 for a Mac) - download a copy of our Word template here. The
Supplementary Material should be submitted as a single separate file in .docx
or PDF format To aid in the organization of Supplementary Materials, we
recommend using or following the Microsoft Word template supplied here.

LaTeX users should use our LaTeX template and either convert files to
Microsoft Word .docx or submit a PDF file [see our LaTeX instructions here].

Use double spacing throughout the text, tables, figure legends, and References
and Notes. Electronic files should be formatted for U.S. letter paper. Technical
terms should be defined. Symbols, abbreviations, and acronyms should be
defined the first time they are used. All tables and figures should be cited in
numerical order. For best results use Times and Symbol fonts only.

Manuscripts should be assembled in the following order:

(For easy accurate assembly, download a copy of our Word template here.)

So that we can easily identify the parts of your paper, even if you do not use our
template, please begin each section with the specific key words listed below,
some of which are followed by a colon. Several of these headings are optional,
for example, not all papers will include tables, or supplementary material.
Please do not use paragraph breaks in the title, author list, or abstract.

Title:
One Sentence Summary:
Authors:
Affiliations:
Abstract:
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

Main Text:
References and Notes
Acknowledgements:

List of Supplementary materials:

Fig. #: (Begin each figure caption with a label, “Fig. 1.” for example, as a new
paragraph) (or Scheme #)
Table #: (Begin each table caption with a label “Table 1.”, etc. as a new
paragraph)
Supplementary Materials:

Titles should be no more than 96 characters (including spaces).

Short titles should be no more than 40 characters (including spaces).

One-sentence summaries capturing the most important point should be

submitted for Research Articles, Reports and Reviews. These should be a
maximum of 125 characters and should complement rather than repeat the title

Authors and their affiliated institutions, linked by superscript numbers, should

be listed beneath the title on the opening page of the manuscript.

Abstracts of Research Articles and Reports should explain to the general

reader why the research was done, what was found and why the results are
important. They should start with some brief BACKGROUND information: a
sentence giving a broad introduction to the field comprehensible to the general
reader, and then a sentence of more detailed background specific to your study.
This should be followed by an explanation of the OBJECTIVES/METHODS and
then the RESULTS. The final sentence should outline the main CONCLUSIONS
of the study, in terms that will be comprehensible to all our readers. The
Abstract is distinct from the main body of the text, and thus should not be the
only source of background information critical to understanding the manuscript.
Please do not include citations or abbreviations in the Abstract. The abstract
should be 125 words or less. For Perspectives and Policy Forums please
include a one-sentence abstract.

Main Text is not divided into sub-headings for Reports. Subheadings are used
only in Research Articles, and Reviews. Use descriptive clauses, not full
sentences. Two levels of subheadings may be used if warranted; please
distinguish them clearly. The manuscript should start with a brief introduction
describing the paper’s significance. The introduction should provide sufficient
background information to make the article intelligible to readers in other
disciplines, and sufficient context that the significance of the experimental
findings is clear. Technical terms should be defined. Symbols, abbreviations,
and acronyms should be defined the first time they are used. All tables and
figures should be cited in numerical order. All data must be shown either in the
main text or in the Supplementary Materials or must be available in an
established database with accession details provided in the acknowledgements
section. References to unpublished materials are not allowed to substantiate
significant conclusions of the paper.
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

References and Notes are numbered in the order in which they are cited, first
through the text, then through the figure and table legends and finally through
Supplementary Materials. Place citation numbers for references and notes
within parentheses, italicized: (18, 19) (18-20) (18, 20-22). There should be only
one reference list covering citations in the paper and Supplementary Materials.
We will include the full reference list online, but references found only in the
Supplementary Materials will be suppressed in print. Each reference should
have a unique number; do not combine references or embed references in
notes. Any references to in-press manuscripts at the time of submission should
be given a number in the text and placed, in correct sequence, in the references
and notes. We do not allow citation to personal communications, and
unpublished or “in press” references are not allowed at the time of
publication. We do allow citations to papers posted at arXiv or bioRxiv. Do not
use op. cit., ibid., or et al. (in place of the complete list of authors' names).
Notes should be used for information aimed at the specialist (e.g., procedures)
or to provide definitions or further information to the general reader that are not
essential to the data or arguments. Notes can cite other references (by
number). Journal article references should be complete, including the full list of
authors, the full titles, and the inclusive pagination. Titles are displayed in the
online HTML version, but not in the print or the PDF versions of papers.
See Science Citation Style below for details of citation style.

Acknowledgments should be gathered into a paragraph after the final

numbered reference. This section should start by acknowledging non-author
contributions, and then should provide information under the following
headings Funding: include complete funding information; Authors
contributions: a complete list of contributions to the paper (we encourage you
to follow the CRediT model), Competing interests: competing interests of any
of the authors must be listed (all authors must also fill out the Conflict of
Interest form). Where authors have no competing interests, this should also be
declared. Data and materials availability: Any restrictions on materials such
as MTAs. Accession numbers to any data relating to the paper and deposited in
a public database. If all data is in the paper and supplementary materials
include the sentence “all data is available in the manuscript or the
supplementary materials.” (All data, code, and materials used in the analysis
must be available to any researcher for purposes of reproducing or extending
the analysis.)

List of Supplementary Materials After the Acknowledgments list your

supplementary items as shown below.

Supplementary Materials
Materials and Methods
Table S1 – S2
Fig S1 – S4
References (26 – 32)
Movie S1

Tables should be included after the references and should supplement, not

duplicate, the text. They should be called out within the text and numbered in
the order of their citation in the text. The first sentence of the table legend
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

should be a brief descriptive title. Every vertical column should have a heading,
consisting of a title with the unit of measure in parentheses. Units should not
change within a column. Footnotes should contain information relevant to
specific entries or parts of the table.

Figure legends should be double-spaced in numerical order. A short figure title

should be given as the first line of the legend. No single legend should be
longer than 200 words. Nomenclature, abbreviations, symbols, and units used
in a figure should match those used in the text. Any individually labeled figure
parts or panels (A, B, etc.) should be specifically described by part name within
the legend.

Figures should be called out within the text. Figures should be numbered in the
order of their citation in the text. For initial submission, Figures should be
embedded directly in the .docx or PDF manuscript file. See below for detailed
instructions on preparation of and preferred formats for your
figures. Schemes (e.g., structural chemical formulas) can have very brief
legends or no legend at all. Schemes should be sequentially numbered in the
same fashion as figures.

Back to Top

Format and Style of Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Materials (SM) are posted permanently at the Science web
sites, are linked to the manuscript, and are freely available. Supplementary
Materials must be essential to the scientific integrity and excellence of the
paper, and their use is restricted to Reports and Research Articles. The material
is subject to the same editorial standards and peer-review procedures as the
print publication. To aid in the organization of Supplementary Materials, we
recommend using or following the Microsoft Word template supplied here.

In general, the Supplementary Materials may comprise

 Materials and Methods: The materials and methods section should provide

sufficient information to allow replication of the study. It should be cited at
relevant points in the text using a citation number that refers to a note in the
reference list that reads “Materials and methods are available as
supplementary materials at the Science website.” Study design should be
described in detail and descriptions of reagents and equipment should
facilitate replication (for example source and purity of reagents should be
specified, there should be evidence that antibodies have been validated, and
cell lines should be authenticated). Clinical and preclinical studies should
include a section titled Experimental Design at the beginning of materials
and methods in which the objectives and design of the study, as well as
prespecified components, are described. Statistical methods must be
described with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access
to the original data to verify the results. The values for N, P, and the specific
statistical test performed for each experiment should be included in the
appropriate figure legend or main text.  Please see our editorial policies for
additional guidelines for specific types of studies as well as further details on
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

reporting of statistical analysis. For papers in the life sciences that involve a
method that would benefit from the publication of a step-by-step protocol, we
encourage authors to consider submitting a detailed protocol to our
collaborative partner Bio-protocol.

 Supplementary Text: Additional information regarding control or

supplemental experiments, field sites, observations, hypotheses, etc., that
bear directly on the arguments of the print paper. Further discussion or
development of arguments beyond those in the main text is not permitted in
supplementary text. This can be referred to in the main text as
“supplementary text” with no reference note required.

 Figures: Figures that cannot be accommodated in the print version but that
are integral to the paper’s arguments. Figures should meet the same
standards as print figures. See below These are numbered starting at 1,
with the prefix S (eg Fig S1) All figures should be called out in the main text,
No reference note is required.

 Tables: Extensive data tables useful in assessing the arguments of the print
paper. Authors wishing to post presentations of data more complex than flat
text files or tables that can be converted to PDF format need to consult with
their editor.

 Multimedia files: Online video clips should be in QuickTime (preferred) or

AVI format; MPEG movies may also be acceptable. For Quicktime h264
compression is the preferred format. Authors should opt for the minimum
frame size and number of images that are consistent with a reasonably
effective on-screen presentation. Animated GIFs are not accepted. Authors
should submit online videos or movies with accompanying captions. For
audio files WAV, AIFF, or AU formats are accepted.

 References only cited in the supplementary materials should be included

at the end of the reference section of the main text, and the reference
numbering should continue as if the Supplementary Materials was a
continuation of the main text.

Both at initial submission, and at the revision stage, authors should submit the
supplementary sections, materials and methods, text, tables and figures, as a
single docx or PDF file that should not exceed 25 MB. For ease of reading, the
text and tables should be single spaced; figures should be individually
numbered, and each figure should have its legend on the page on which the
figure appears, immediately beneath the figure. Supplementary multimedia or
large data files that cannot be included in the Supplementary Materials file
should be uploaded as Auxiliary Supplementary Materials or Movies. There is a
25 MB combined size limit on auxiliary or movie files and a limit of 10 auxiliary
or movie files. Video clips should be in .mp4 format. Quicktime (.mov) files are
acceptable provided the h.264 compression setting is used. Where possible
please use HD frame size (1920x1080 pixels). Animated GIFs are not accepted.
For audio files, WAV AIFF, AU or .m4a are preferred. MP3 or AAC files are
acceptable but a bit rate of at least 160kb/s must be used. Authors should
submit video and audio with clearly identifiable accompanying captions and
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

credit information. If you have files essential to the evaluation of your

manuscript that exceed these limits, please contact submit_help@aaas.org .
See Submitting your manuscript for further details on how to submit.

Back to Top

Preparation of Figures
Creating your figures It is best to create your figures as vector-based files
such as those produced by Adobe Illustrator. Vector-based files will give us
maximum flexibility for sizing your figures properly without losing resolution, as
they can be altered in size while maintaining high print-quality
resolution. We cannot accept PowerPoint files or files that are not readable by
Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Freehand, or Adobe Illustrator. To keep file
sizes reasonable, please save art at a resolution of 150 to 300 dots per inch
(dpi) for initial submission. A higher resolution applies for figures submitted at
the revision stage - see instructions for preparing a revised manuscript.
Digital color art should be submitted as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
rather than RGB (Red, Green, Blue).

Paper The width of figures, when printed, will usually be 5.5 cm (2.25 inches or
1 column) or 12.0 cm (4.75 inches or 2 columns). Bar graphs, simple line
graphs, and gels may be reduced to a smaller width. Symbols and lettering
should be large enough to be legible after reduction [a reduced size of about 7
points (2 mm) high, and not smaller than 5 points]. Avoid wide variation in type
size within a single figure. In laying out information in a figure, the objective is to
maximize the space given to presentation of the data. Avoid wasted white
space and clutter.

 The figure’s title should be at the beginning of the figure legend, not in the
figure itself.

 Include the figure’s identifying number (e.g., “Fig. 1”) on the same
manuscript page that includes the figure.

 Keys to symbols, if needed, should be kept as simple as possible and be

positioned so they do not needlessly enlarge the figure. Details can be put
into the captions.

 Use solid symbols for plotting data if possible (unless data overlap or there
are multiple symbols). Size symbols so that they will be distinguishable when
the figure is reduced (6 pt minimum). Line widths should be legible upon
reduction (minimum of 0.5 pt at the final reduced size).

 Panels should be set close to each other, and common axis labels should
not be repeated.

 Scales or axes should not extend beyond the range of the data plotted.

 Use scale bars in place of, or in addition to, magnifications. Do not use minor
tick marks in scales or grid lines. Avoid using y-axis labels on the right that
repeat those on the left.
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

Color-mix and contrast considerations

 Avoid using red and green together. Color blind individuals will not be able
read the figure.

 Please do not use colors that are close in hue to identify different parts of a
figure.

 Avoid using grayscale.

 Use white type and scale bars over darker areas of images.

 Units should be metric and follow SI convention.

Typefaces and labels

 Please observe the following guidelines for labels on graphs and figures:

 Use a sans-serif font whenever possible (we prefer Helvetica).

 Simple solid or open symbols reduce well.

 Label graphs on the ordinate and abscissa with the parameter or variable
being measured, the units of measure in parentheses, and the scale. Scales
with large or small numbers should be presented as powers of 10.

 Avoid the use of light lines and screen shading. Instead, use black-and-
white, hatched, and cross-hatched designs for emphasis.

 Capitalize the first letter in a label only, not every word (and proper nouns, of
course).

 Units should be included in parentheses. Use SI notation. If there is room,

write out variables – e.g., Pressure (MPa), Temperature (K).

 Variables are always set in italics or as plain Greek letters (e.g., P, T, m).
The rest of the text in the figure should be plain or bold text.

 Type on top of color in a color figure should be in bold face. Avoid using
color type.

 When figures are assembled from multiple gels or micrographs, a line or

space should indicate the border between two original images.

 Use leading zeros on all decimals – e.g., 0.3, 0.55 – and only report
significant digits.

 Use capital letters for part labels in multipart figures – A, B, C, etc. These
should be 9 pt and bold in the final figure. When possible, place part labels
at the upper left-hand corner of each figure part; if a part is an image, set
labels inside the perimeter so as not to waste space.

 Avoid subpart labels within a figure part; instead, maintain the established
sequence of part labels [e.g., use A, B, C, D, E instead of A, B, C(a), C(b),
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

C©]. If use of subpart labels is unavoidable, use lowercase letters (a, b, c).
Use numbers (1, 2, 3) only to represent a time sequence of images.

 When reproducing images that include labels with illegible computer-

generated type (e.g., units for scale bars), omit such labels and present the
information in the legend instead.

 Sequences may be reduced considerably, so the typeface in the original

should be clear. There should be about 130 characters and spaces per line
for a sequence occupying the full width of the printed page and about 84
characters and spaces per line for a sequence occupying two columns.

Modification of figures Science does not allow certain electronic

enhancements or manipulations of micrographs, gels, or other digital images.
Figures assembled from multiple photographs or images, or non-concurrent
portions of the same image, must indicate the separate parts with lines between
them. Linear adjustment of contrast, brightness, or color must be applied to an
entire image or plate equally. Nonlinear adjustments must be specified in the
figure legend. Selective enhancement or alteration of one part of an image is
not acceptable. In addition, Science may ask authors of papers returned for
revision to provide additional documentation of their primary data.

Back to Top

Science Citation Style
For journal articles, list initials first for all authors, separated by a space (e.g.,
A. B. Opus, B. C. Hobbs). Do not use “and.” Titles of cited articles should be
included (lowercase except for the first word and proper nouns), followed by a
period (see examples below). Journal titles are in italics; volume numbers
follow, in boldface. (If there is no volume number, use the publication year in its
place.) Do not place a comma before the volume number or before any
parentheses. You may provide the full inclusive pages of the article. If the
publication is online only, use the article number (or citation number) instead of
the page. Journal years are in parentheses: (1996). End each listing with a
period. Do not use “ibid.” or ”op. cit.” (these cannot be linked online).

For whole books, the style for author or editor names is as above; for edited
books, insert “Ed.,” or “Eds.,” before the title. Italicize the book title and use “title
case” (see examples below). After the title, provide (in parentheses) the
publisher name, edition number (if any), and year. If the book is part of a series,
indicate this after the title (e.g., vol. 23 of Springer Series in Molecular Biology).

For chapters in edited books, the style is as above, except that “in” appears
before the title, and the names of the editors appear after the title. The chapter
title may be provided before the book title; enclose chapter titles in quotes and
use initial caps. After the information in parentheses, provide the complete page
number range (and/or chapter number) of the cited material.

For monographs, memos, or reports, the style for author or editor names is
as above. The title should be in quotes and should have initial caps. After the
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

title, provide (in parentheses) the report number (if applicable), publisher name,
and year. If these are unavailable, or if the work is unpublished, please provide
all information needed for a reader to locate the work; this may include a URL or
a Web or FTP address. Monographs in series (such as AGU Monogr.) may be
treated as journals.

For unpublished proceedings or symposia, supply the title of meeting,

location, inclusive dates, and sponsoring organization. Also include the abstract
number (if applicable). There is no need to supply the total page count.

For a thesis, name the school but not the degree; we do not use “dissertation,”
“Ph.D.,” “Master’s,” or other specifics. Name the city if the university could be
mistaken for another. It is optional to include the thesis title.

For research first published in Science First Release, online journals, and

preprints available on the Internet, see the examples below. These are
considered published work.

Examples:

Journals
1. N. Tang, On the equilibrium partial pressures of nitric acid and ammonia in
the atmosphere. Atmos. Environ. 14, 819-834 (1980).

2. W. R. Harvey, S. Nedergaard, Sodium-independent active transport of

potassium in the isolated midgut of the Cecropia silkworm. Proc. Natl. Acad.
Sci. U.S.A.51, 731-735 (1964).

3. N. H. Sleep, Stagnant lid convection and carbonate metasomatism of the

deep continental lithosphere. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 10, Q11010 (2009).
[online-only paper; use article number instead of page]

4. J. M. Dinning, Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 42 (suppl. 1), 12 (1984). [journal with

supplement noted]

Books
1. M. Lister, “[Chapter title goes here]” in Fundamentals of Operating
Systems (Springer, New York, ed. 3, 1984), pp. 7-11.

2. J. B. Carroll, Ed., Language, Thought and Reality, Selected Writings of

Benjamin Lee Whorf (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1956).

3. R. Davis, J. King, “[Chapter title goes here]” in Machine Intelligence, E.

Acock, D. Michie, Eds. (Wiley, 1976), vol. 8, chap. 3. [use short form of
publisher name, not “John Wiley & Sons”]

4. J. Sprung, Corals: A Quick Reference Guide (Oceanographic Series,

Ricordea, Miami, FL, 1999). [for books in series, include the series title]
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

5. National Academy of Sciences, Principles and Procedures for Evaluating the

Toxicity of Household Substances (National Academy of Sciences, Washington,
DC, 1977). [organization as author and publisher]

Technical reports
1. G. B. Shaw, “Practical uses of litmus paper in Möbius strips” (Tech. Rep.
CUCS-29-82, Columbia Univ., 1982).

2. F. Press, “A report on the computational needs for physics” (National Science

Foundation, 1981). [unpublished or access by title]

3. “Assessment of the carcinogenicity and mutagenicity of chemicals,” WHO

Tech. Rep. Ser. No. 556 (1974). [no author]

4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), “White Paper on Bt plant-

pesticide resistance management” (Publication 739-S-98-001, EPA,
1998; www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/white_bt.pdf). [the easiest
access to this source is via the URL]

Conference proceedings (unpublished)

1. M. Konishi, paper presented at the 14th Annual Meeting of the Society for
Neuroscience, Anaheim, CA, 10 October 1984.

Theses
1. B. Smith, thesis, Georgetown University (1973).

2. R. White, “[Thesis title goes here],“ thesis, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

(1983). [Optional: The title of the thesis may be provided in quotes after the
author name.]

Electronic publication before print

1. W. Jones, B. Smith, [Article title goes

here]. Science 10.1126/science.1054678 (2005). [published in Science First
Release; not yet published in print]

2. J. Moyron-Quiroz et al., Role of inducible bronchus associated lymphoid

tissue (iBALT) in respiratory immunity. Nat. Med. 10.1038/nm1091 (2004).

3. After print publication of a Science First Release paper (or any other paper
that was initially published online), use the standard format for citing journal
articles: W. Jones, B. Smith, [Article title goes here]. Science 311, 496–499
(2006).

Other online publication

1. E. M. Pietras, G. Cheng, A new TRADDition in intracellular antiviral

signaling. Sci. Signal. 1, pe36 (2008). [Science Signaling]

2. R. K. Aziz, V. Nizet, Pathogen microevolution in high resolution. Sci. Transl.

Med. 2, 16ps4 (2010). [Science Translational Medicine]
https://www.sciencemag.org/authors/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript

3. A. Clauset, S. Arbesman, D. B. Larremore, Systematic inequality and

hierarchy in faculty hiring networks. Sci. Adv. 1, e1400005 (2015). [Science
Advances]

Preprints

1. A. Smette et al., http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/astro-ph/0012193 (2001).

2. K. Abe et al., http://arXiv.org/abs/hep-ex/0107061 (2001) [if now published,

omit the URL and provide only a standard reference]

Back to Top