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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery.

Review the checklist, choose your article type, and turn your draft into a cleaner submission package.

Checked 2026-08-01
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Clinical Trial
Review Article
Editorial
Lectio
Systematic Review
Perspective
Letter to the Editor
Commentary
Protocol
Case Report
Original Article
Research Article

Readiness requirements

Review the key details below, or download the complete checklist with every stored source-backed requirement.

Abstract length

  • Provide an author-written abstract of no more than 200 words.
  • Use a structured abstract.
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  • Commentary: Use a structured abstract.
  • References must not be included in the abstract.
  • Trial registration numbers should be included in the abstract, with full details in the methods section.
  • The PLS should be included in the manuscript under its own heading (“Plain Language Summary”) and placed after the Abstract and before the Introduction.
  • In addition, the PLS should: • Be distinct from the abstract and written in easy-to-understand language rather than complex words (see Universal Patient Language).
  • A structured abstract of no more than 200 words.
  • A structured abstract should cover (in the following order): Introduction: Authors are required to describe the significance of the topic under discussion.
  • A structured abstract should cover (in the following order): Areas covered: Authors are required to describe the research discussed and the literature search undertaken.
  • Commentary: A structured abstract should cover (in the following order): Expert Opinion/Commentary: Authors are required to summarise briefly their Expert Opinion/Commentary section.
  • Please note that Graphical PLS cannot be indexed on PubMed. → Graphical PLS & Graphical Abstracts While a Graphical PLS serves a different purpose than a Graphical Abstract, the publication process is the same for both.

Keywords

  • Most important, the term “plain language summary” should be included in the PLSP title, as well as the keywords list.
  • Use keywords that optimize online discoverability of the PLSP; include “plain language summary” in the article’s keyword list. ☐ Pre-submission query.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references to the journal's stored style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • Proper citation and referencing of all sources used in a PLR is required.
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  • Readers should be able to interpret the table without reference to the text.
  • If you reply yes, you will be required to provide the DOI, pre-registered DOI, hyperlink, or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s).
  • Original Article: Only one reference—the citation for the original article being summarized—should be included as part of the PLSP.
  • Original Article: Citation of the Original Article Citation of the original article is required.
  • Papers or patents of particular interest should be identified using one or two asterisk symbols (* = of interest, ** = of considerable interest), and annotated with a brief sentence explaining why the reference is considered to be of interest.
  • The DAS should include the hyperlink, DOI or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s), or information on how the data can be requested from the authors.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the whole content, including accuracy of references.
  • 8/2023 (15-Jun-2023) Plain Language & PLS Resources Plain Language Summary Guidance Envision Pharma Plain Language Summaries (PLS) Toolkit.
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03007995.2021.1997221 Open Pharma Recommendations for Plain Language Summaries of Peer-Reviewed Medical Journal Publications.
  • https://pemsuite.org/How-to-Guides/WG5.pdf Plain Language – General Center for Plain Language.
  • https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/plain-english-summaries/27363 plainlanguage.gov.
  • https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11500/ Universal Patient Language.
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03007995.2021.1971185 Patient Focused Medicine Development (PFMD) How-to Guide for the development and dissemination of plain language summaries of peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.
  • https://centerforplainlanguage.org/ Plain Language Commission.
  • https://clearest.co.uk/ Plain Language Association International.
  • https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/ Readable.com.
  • https://hemingwayapp.com/ Plain Language – Medical EUPATI Glossary.
  • https://toolbox.eupati.eu/glossary/ Health Literacy – Plain Language Materials & Resources.
  • https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/developmaterials/plainlanguage.html NIHR Glossary.
  • https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/glossary.htm NIHR Plain English Summaries.
  • https://www.plainlanguage.gov/ Plain Language at NIH.
  • https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications- public-liaison/clear-communication/plain-language Plain Language Medical Dictionary.
  • https://apps.lib.umich.edu/medical-dictionary/ Plain Language Thesaurus for Health Communications.
  • https://www.upl.org/about The resources shared here are for general information purposes only.
  • The other graphic will need to be cited as a figure in the manuscript and will then appear in the HTML/typeset articles near the location of the first citation. → Supplementary Material Graphical PLS may also be published as supplementary material, which is published alongside the full- text HTML article under the “Supplemental Material” tab and hosted on Figshare as open access content.
  • https://www.envisionthepatient.com/plstoolkit ISMPP/Envision Pharma Plain language summaries of publications of company-sponsored medical research: what key questions do we need to address?
  • https://readable.com/ Hemingway App.

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript.
  • Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size).
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  • Original Article: Please upload: • PLSP article (Word document required; other file types showing text and image arrangement are also welcome) • Written permission from the original article’s publisher (if required) and corresponding and/or lead author • Original article being summarized (PDF) • High-resolution (min, 300 dpi) files of images (i.e., JPEG, TIFF, PNG) ☐ Audio/video files.
  • Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text.
  • A maximum of five figures.
  • Figures should be supplied in one of our preferred file formats: PS, JPEG, TIFF, or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) files are acceptable for figures that have been drawn in Word.
  • A maximum of five tables.

Funding statement

  • You should declare only the acquired funds and grants that are directly relevant to the work reported in your article; for example, This work was supported by the [Funding Agency #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

Competing interests

  • Include or confirm the competing interests required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Data availability statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Data availability statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Authors are required to provide a data availability statement, detailing where data associated with a paper can be found and how it can be accessed.
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  • If data cannot be made open, authors should state why in the data availability statement.
  • Authors are required to cite any data sets referenced in the article and provide a Data Availability Statement.

Ethics statement

  • Add or confirm the author-written Ethics statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • In settings where ethics approval for non-interventional studies (e.g. surveys) is not required, authors must include a statement to explain this.
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  • Authors should familiarise themselves with our policy on participant/patient privacy and informed consent.
  • As noted above, patient authors must meet Taylor & Francis/ ICMJE authorship criteria.
  • Use of a standard metatag, such as Patient Author, allows the affiliation search function on indexing platforms (e.g., PubMed) to find publications authored by patients.
  • Original Article: Include at least one author from the original article as a PLSP author. ☐ Patient authors.
  • Include the affiliation “Patient Author” (e.g., Patient Author, City, Country) to facilitate identification of patient-authored publications on indexing platforms.
  • Review: All original research papers involving humans, animals, plants, biological material, protected or non-public datasets, collections or sites, must include a written statement in the Methods section, confirming ethical approval has been obtained from the appropriate local ethics committee or Institutional Review Board and that where relevant, informed consent has been obtained.
  • Editorial: Consent All authors are required to follow the ICMJE requirements and Taylor & Francis Editorial Policies on privacy and informed consent from patients and study participants.
  • Authors must include a statement to confirm that any patient, service user, or participant (or that person’s parent or legal guardian) in any type of qualitative or quantitative research, has given informed consent to participate in the research.
  • Case Report: a clinical case report detailing their medical history, identifiable images or media content, etc), authors must include a statement to confirm that they have obtained written informed consent to publish the details from the affected individual (or their parents/guardians if the participant in not an adult or unable to give informed consent; or next of kin if the participant is deceased).
  • The audience of PLSPs can include, but is not limited to, patients and patient caregivers, patient advocacy groups, non-specialist healthcare professionals, policymakers, journalists, and the engaged public.
  • Review: Content Review ✓ Assess the ability of the audience to understand the PLSP by having a writer/editor with plain language experience and/or a patient/patient advocate review the PLSP prior to submission. ✓ Readability tools can assist in evaluating ease of understanding; however, readability scores should be interpreted alongside other feedback and review comments provided.
  • Case Report: For submissions where patients or participants can be potentially identified (e.g.
  • Consider including at least one patient author (however, this is not mandatory).

Blinded manuscript

  • Include or confirm the blinded manuscript required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Cover letter

  • Provide the claims and editor-specific context for the cover letter; Articlo creates an editable companion without inventing content.
  • Original Article: As such, PLSP authors must receive written permission to summarize the original article as a PLSP from both the original article’s: 1.
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  • Original Article: However, if the original article is published by Taylor & Francis or one of its imprints (e.g., Dove Press, F1000), publisher permission is not required.
  • Original Article: To determine if the original article is published by Taylor & Francis or one of its imprints and, therefore, does not require written permission from the publisher, please: • Search for the journal name or article title at Taylor & Francis Online (TFO) • Check the list of Dove Press journals • Search for the article title on the F1000 homepage. 3 Ver.
  • Using third-party material in your paper You must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article.
  • Review: The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is usually permitted, on a limited basis, for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission.
  • If you wish to include any material in your paper for which you do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, you will need to obtain written permission from the copyright owner prior to submission.

Author contributions

  • Submitting authors should be prepared to submit CRediT roles for themselves and their co-authors (where applicable) as part of the submission process.

Supplementary files

  • Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.

Title page and author information

  • All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript.
  • One author will need to be identified as the corresponding author, with their email address normally displayed in the article PDF (depending on the journal) and the online article.

Article structure and word limits

  • Original Article: The PLSP should be submitted within 2 years of the original article’s online publication date.
  • If faster publication turnaround is required, our Accelerated Publication service offers a submission-to- online publication timeline of as little as 3 to 5 weeks for the Taylor & Francis journals listed on page 5.
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  • Review: These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access.
  • Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
  • Please use our APC finder to view the APC for podcast articles.
  • Formatting Papers should be submitted in Word format.
  • File formatting: Keep all formatting to a minimum.
  • For all NIH/Wellcome-funded papers, the grant number(s) must be included in the disclosure of interest statement.
  • Clinical Trial: Clinical trials should be registered prospectively – i.e. before participant recruitment.
  • Editorial: Authors of retrospectively registered trials must be prepared to provide further information to the journal editorial office if requested.
  • Clinical Trial: The clinical trial registry should be publicly accessible (at no charge), open to all prospective registrants, and managed by a not-for-profit organization.
  • All research studies on humans (individuals, samples, or data) must have been performed in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki.
  • Please include all relevant safety precautions; and cite any accepted standard or code of practice.
  • Review: If further re-review is required, this will reset the timeline to start from the submission date of the revisions, with re-review prioritised as per the chosen track.
  • Queries Should you have any queries, please visit our Author Services website or contact us here.
  • Original Article: The PLSP should accurately reflect the content of the original article, as well as summarize all pertinent study data and findings.
  • Original Article: Please note that at least one author from the original article must be included as an author of the PLSP.
  • Clinical Trial: Clinical trial or other unique registry identifiers should also be included where appropriate.
  • To reach their intended audiences, all PLSPs should be published as open access (OA) articles.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Originality and accuracy of content has been confirmed by the authors.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.
  • Authors must retain the original and revised versions which must be shared upon request.
  • The PLSP guidelines for authors must be followed at all times.
  • Provide answers to the questions: Why was the study done?
  • Please use SI units (non-italicized).
  • Clinical Trial: Clinical Trials Registry In order to be published in a Taylor & Francis journal, all clinical trials must have been registered in a public repository, ideally at the beginning of the research process (prior to participant recruitment).
  • The process of obtaining consent to publish should include sharing the article with the individual (or whoever is consenting on their behalf), so that they are fully aware of the content of the article before it is published.
  • Please note that data should only be shared if it is ethically correct to do so, where this does not violate the protection of human subjects, or other valid ethical, privacy, or security concerns.
  • Use the active voice rather than the passive voice (for example, “Dr Smith’s team report several improvements” rather than “Several improvements were reported by Dr Smith’s team”).
  • Confirm that the selected journal accepts PLSPs (page 5).
  • Editorial: Confirm the research described has been conducted according to international and local guidelines ensuring ethical conduct as described by our Editorial Policy.
  • Keep statements factual and avoid providing opinions or speculation on the study’s findings and significance.
  • Image descriptions are typically used by systems such as pronouncing screen readers to make images accessible to people that cannot read or see the object due to a visual disability.
  • Add-on Taylor & Francis Services In addition to Accelerated Publication, Taylor & Francis provides the following optional services.

Reporting guidelines

  • Include or confirm the reporting guidelines required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Preprints and prior publication

  • If you have shared an earlier version of your Author’s Original Manuscript on a preprint server or registered your study with a registry (e.g. ClinicalTrials.gov), please be aware that anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

  • Add or confirm the author-written Artificial intelligence statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Please include a statement disclosing whether and how generative AI has been used in the research and manuscript preparation process.
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  • Use of AI tools as part of ethical research studies is permitted.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: The name and version number of the AI tool used.
  • Systematic Review: Use of AI tools as part of ethically conducted literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and bibliometrics studies is permitted.
  • Use of AI tool assisted plain language summaries (PLS) of authors own work is permitted.
  • Please read our guidance on using AI tools in your research and manuscript preparation to understand scenarios where their use may be permissible, and the required information that must be disclosed.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors have checked terms of use for the specific AI tool used, and therefore confirm suitability for publication.

Authorship and originality

  • Preparing your paper All authors submitting to medicine, biomedicine, health sciences, allied and public health journals should conform to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, prepared by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
  • Editorial: All PLSP authors must meet the authorship criteria defined in the Taylor & Francis Editorial Policy, which aligns with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship criteria.
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  • Editorial / Original Article: Confirm that all authors meet the authorship criteria defined by our Editorial Policy. ☐ Original article authors.

Manuscript structure

  • Please use numbers (Arabic numerals) to indicate a hierarchy of headings/sub-headings (i.e., 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2 and so on).
  • Structured abstracts should not be included, but a brief summary (250 words or less) may be included at the beginning of the PLSP under the heading “Summary”.
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  • Spacing and headings: Headings, sub-headings and title paragraphs should be used to divide the text.
  • They should find it interesting and be able to understand the study, its conclusions, and the potential impact of the research.
  • Original Article: Please note that these questions do not need to be used as headings; they are provided to help authors determine what information to include in PLS/PLSPs. ✓ Keep statements factual and avoid providing opinions or speculation on the study’s findings and significance. ✓ Ensure statements accurately reflect the information and data within the original article, and there are no statements that could be considered misleading or misrepresentative.
  • Authors must retain full records of the methods undertaken, including full descriptions and records of the prompts used, which must be shared with the journal upon request.
  • Do not assign 'styles' to headings, extracts or paragraphs.
  • Clinical Trial: However, for clinical trials that have not been registered prospectively, Taylor & Francis journals requires retrospective registration to ensure the transparent and complete dissemination of all clinical trial results which ultimately impact human health.

Study reporting guidelines

  • For animal studies, approval must have been obtained from the local or institutional animal use and care committee.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable (e.g. CONSORT-AI, STARD-AI, GAMER, TRIPOD-AI, etc).

Language and text style

  • If you need to use a technical term or abbreviation, explain it the first time you use it. 2 Once your PLS is complete (or during the writing process), ask someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of the subject to read the PLS and provide feedback.
  • PLSPs should be written in non-technical (jargon-free) and clear language.
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  • Use the term “plain language summary” in the title; make it clear that the article is a PLS of a primary publication. ☐ Format.
  • Author Instructions To facilitate indexing on PubMed, the plain language summary should be written in English and submitted in plain text, continuous prose format.
  • Use short, clear sentences and phrase sentences in neutral language, remaining as objective as possible.
  • Use person-centered language rather than focusing on the condition/illness or disability.
  • Graphical Plain Language Summaries As mentioned previously, plain language summaries must be submitted in a plain text, continuous prose format; this is important to ensure that the PLS can be indexed on PubMed.
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What your package checks

Abstract: 200 words
Cover letter: requested
Declarations: Data availability, Ethics, Acknowledgements, Artificial intelligence

Source transparency

This preparation guide uses published journal-specific author requirements. Journal instructions can change, so authors should complete a final review before submission.

Open official guideline source