Scientific Reports first submission: a file checklist

If you are preparing a first submission to *Scientific Reports*, the most useful last pass is not a cosmetic redesign. It is a controlled file-and-section check against the journal's current instructions. The journal allows some flexibility at first submission, but it still expects specific manuscript elements, declarations, and supporting files.

This guide turns the official instructions into a practical pre-upload sequence for an Article. Requirements can change, so confirm the current Scientific Reports submission guidelines before you submit.

Start with the recommended article limits

*Scientific Reports* says it does not impose strict word-count or page limits in most cases, but it strongly recommends a concise Article. Its current guidance recommends:

• no more than 11 typeset pages;
• no more than 4,500 words in the main text, excluding the abstract, Methods, references, and figure legends;
• a title of no more than 20 words; and
• an abstract of no more than 200 words.

These are journal recommendations, not a license to remove material needed to understand or reproduce the work. Use them as a diagnostic: if the draft is substantially longer, check for repeated background, duplicated interpretation, or details that belong in Methods or Supplementary Information. The journal points authors to its submission checklist for the definitive set of mandatory limits.

Check the title page, abstract, and keywords

The manuscript text file should begin with a title page that includes author affiliations and contact information. Mark the corresponding author with an asterisk. Confirm that the corresponding-author details in the manuscript match what will be entered in the submission system.

The abstract should be unstructured, with no section headings, and should not contain references. It should introduce the topic for a broad scientific reader, summarize the main results in non-technical language, and state their implications without overstating what the study shows. A graphical abstract is not supported.

You may provide up to six keywords or key phrases. Use terms that describe the actual submission rather than repeating broad words from the journal's scope.

Put the manuscript sections in a reviewable order

The journal does not prescribe one main-text structure for every field. It says that the following sequence will suit many Articles:

1. Introduction
2. Results, with subheadings
3. Discussion, without subheadings
4. Methods

After the main body, the guidelines call for references, optional acknowledgements, an author-contributions statement, a mandatory data-availability statement, Additional Information that includes a competing-interests statement, figure legends, and tables. Footnotes should not be used.

Treat that sequence as a packaging check, not a prompt to rewrite the research. Authors remain responsible for the study, its claims, declarations, and submission decisions. A formatting pass can identify a missing section or place supplied text in the expected location; it cannot create the underlying disclosure or verify the research.

Audit declarations before upload

Two commonly missed end-matter items are explicit requirements:

• Every submitted manuscript must include a data-availability statement at the end of the main text, before the references.
• Every contributing author must be covered by an explicit, unambiguous competing-interests statement, including a clear declaration when no competing interests exist.

An author-contributions statement is also required. If the work involves human participants, human tissue, or animal subjects, review the journal's detailed ethics requirements and make sure the appropriate approvals and consent statements are present in the Methods section. Do not infer or manufacture these statements during formatting; confirm them with the responsible authors and study records.

Prepare figures, tables, and legends as submission assets

The journal limits display items to eight figures and/or tables. For an Article of 2,000 words or fewer, it suggests no more than four. Figure legends should appear in numerical order after the references and are limited to 350 words per figure. Tables should remain editable in Word or TeX/LaTeX rather than being flattened into images, and a table containing statistical analysis should explain error analysis and ranges in its legend.

For the initial submission, figures may be placed at appropriate positions in the manuscript or grouped at the end. The journal also asks authors to include individual figure files. A conservative workflow is to keep a clean manuscript version with figures positioned for review and retain separate, clearly named source files for upload. Check that every display item is cited in numerical order and that its manuscript callout, file name, and legend agree.

If you use supplementary material, combine it into a separate file, preferably PDF. Supplementary figures and tables need their own S-numbering, brief titles or legends, and explicit citations in the manuscript. The journal notes that Supplementary Information is not copy edited or typeset, so readability at submission matters.

Package the first-submission files

For a first submission, *Scientific Reports* permits the manuscript text and figures to be incorporated into one file up to 3 MB. Microsoft Word is preferred, while LaTeX or PDF is also accepted at this stage. Figures may appear in place or at the end.

Before opening the submission system, prepare this set:

• the manuscript file with title page, main text, required statements, references, legends, and editable tables;
• individual figure files, named consistently with their manuscript numbers;
• one separate Supplementary Information file, if applicable;
• a cover letter; and
• any LaTeX support files needed to compile the manuscript.

For LaTeX submissions, use numerical citations. The system does not accept a standalone .bib file. Include the references in the manuscript source or supply the generated .bbl file as a LaTeX supplementary file, and compile the complete package before upload.

Build the cover letter from the journal's list

The cover letter should include the corresponding author's affiliation and contact details, a brief explanation of why the work is appropriate for *Scientific Reports*, names and contact information for any suggested reviewers, and names of any reviewers the authors wish to exclude. It should also state whether the authors previously discussed the work with a *Scientific Reports* Editorial Board Member.

This is author-supplied editorial content. A readiness check can confirm that a cover letter file is present, but the authors should decide its scientific rationale and reviewer suggestions.

Run one final cross-file check

Immediately before submission, verify the package as a connected set:

• title, author order, affiliations, and corresponding-author details match across files;
• the abstract is unstructured, within the recommended length, and contains no references;
• up to six keywords are present;
• required contribution, data-availability, and competing-interests statements are easy to find;
• figure and table callouts, numbers, legends, and file names agree;
• supplementary items use separate S-numbering and are cited in the manuscript;
• the manuscript opens cleanly, and any LaTeX package compiles without errors; and
• no tracked changes, comments, hidden placeholder text, or private review notes remain.

The goal is a package an editor and reviewer can navigate without guessing which file or statement is authoritative.

Prepare the manuscript without changing the research

Articlo formats author-provided manuscripts and checks them against stored journal requirements. It does not write the research, verify references, make submission decisions, or guarantee acceptance. Authors remain responsible for scientific content, declarations, permissions, and the current journal instructions.

You can review the Scientific Reports preparation path or run a free readiness check to identify packaging and formatting issues before upload.