PLOS

Prepare your manuscript for PLOS Medicine.

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

Checked 2026-07-15

Check readiness free Prepare this manuscript

Article types

Research Article

Review

Systematic Review

Clinical Trial

Letter

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 500 words.
PLOS Medicine prefers abstract submissions not exceed 300 words, with a maximum of 500 words allowed.

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Abstracts should follow PRISMA for Abstracts, using the PLOS abstract format.
Review / Systematic Review: Authors whose systematic review was prospectively registered (e.g., in a registry such as PROSPERO ) should provide the registry number in their abstract.
Three to five short, bulleted summary points are required, in place of an abstract.

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.
Match the label of your figure with the name of the file uploaded at submission (e.g. a figure citation of “Fig 1” must refer to a figure file named “Fig1.tif”).

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Articles should not exceed 2000 words and may cite up to 30 references.
Articles should not exceed 3000 words and may cite up to 30 references.
Example: a figure file named “Fig1.tif” should match the citation “Fig 1” and the figure label “Fig 1.” in the caption.
References for the design of the study and statistical methods should be to standard works when possible (with pages stated).
In-text citations We recommend that you cite supporting information in the manuscript text, but this is not a requirement.
If you cite supporting information in the text, citations do not need to be in numerical order.
Accession numbers or a citation to the DOI should also be provided when the data set is mentioned within the manuscript.
The checklist should include page references and brief text excerpts from the manuscript to demonstrate how each item has been addressed.
Do not include citations in abstracts.
Do not provide a shortened DOI or the URL.
In some cases authors may not be able to obtain accession numbers of DOIs until the manuscript is accepted; in these cases, the authors must provide these numbers at acceptance.
Authors must complete the appropriate reporting checklist not only with page references, but also with sufficient text excerpted from the manuscript to explain how they accomplished all applicable items.
If Mendelian randomization studies replicate previously published work, authors must provide a sound scientific rationale for the submitted work and clearly reference and discuss the existing literature.
Authors must complete the appropriate reporting checklist not only with page references, but also with sufficient text excerpted from the manuscript to explain how they addressed all applicable items.
Do not cite the following sources in the reference list: Submitted research should not rely upon retracted research.
Perspective articles are up to 1000 words in length, with no more than 12 references and, if needed, a single display item (table, figure, or box).
Do not cite the following sources in the reference list: Unavailable and unpublished work, including manuscripts that have been submitted but not yet accepted (e.g., “unpublished work,” “data not shown”).
Letter: Do not cite the following sources in the reference list: Personal communications (these should be supported by a letter from the relevant authors but not included in the reference list).
Place all panels from a multi-part figure into a single page and single file: Renumber all figures and in-text citations accordingly.
Repositories may be subject-specific (e.g., GenBank for sequences and PDB for structures), general, or institutional, as long as DOIs or accession numbers are provided and the data are at least as open as CC BY.

Figure and table rules

Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript. Keep figures embedded; Articlo also extracts numbered source files for the package.
Tables require a label (e.g., “Table 1”) and brief descriptive title to be placed above the table.

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Submit figures at the desired dimensions with a resolution no greater than 300-600 dpi.
Cite figures with the format: Fig 1A, Fig 1B, Fig 2, Fig 3, etc.
Please note that figures must be captured between 300 and 600 dpi in order for NAAS to successfully process your figures.
86 inches by 9.19 inches (a 1.5 column figure at maximum height) at 300 dpi corresponds to 1458 pixels by 2757 pixels.
Tables and figures central to the study should be included in the main paper.
Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.
The file number and name are required in a caption, and we highly recommend including a one-line title as well.
You may also include a legend in your caption, but it is not required.
At a minimum, include the following in your figure captions: A figure label with Arabic numerals, and “Figure” abbreviated to “Fig” (e.g. Fig 1, Fig 2, Fig 3, etc).
Before we can formally accept your submission, your figures must meet the requirements on this page.
Use NAAS before submitting to check your figures and convert to our accepted formats.
In preparing figures, image files should not be manipulated or adjusted in any way that could lead to misinterpretation of the information present in the original image.
In such cases, the alteration must be indicated in the figure by a thin white or black line between the juxtaposed pieces and must be described in the figure legend.
At the height maximum, the figure occupies the whole page and excludes the caption.
Do not include author names, article title, or figure number/title/caption within figure files.
Do not include captions as part of the figure files or submit them in a separate document.
There are two required elements: figure label and figure title.
Cite figures in ascending numeric order upon first appearance in the manuscript file.
In cases where NAAS cannot process your figure file, the tool will provide you with a report of what it could not fix.
NOTE: Supporting Information figures should not be processed through NAAS.
Software If you prefer to assemble figures with vector graphics, we recommend that you use Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape (free).
These figures must be exported to EPS format per our requirements.
Submit TIFF or EPS figures created in standard software.
Policies All figures must comply with PLOS policies covering depictions of humans, and licenses and copyright.
Upon revision, figure files should be uploaded separately from the manuscript, and each figure caption should be inserted in read order after the first paragraph where the figure is cited.
Do not submit captions in a separate file.
Do not submit your tables in separate files.
Use an Insert tool to place figures.
Use Photoshop or GIMP to edit your figure.
Do not submit any figures, photos, tables, or other works that have been previously copyrighted or that contain proprietary data unless you have and can supply written permission from the copyright holder to use that content.
At a minimum, include the following in your figure captions: A concise, descriptive title.
Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess supporting data.
Place each table in your manuscript file directly after the paragraph in which it is first cited (read order).
Place legends, footnotes, and other text below the table.
The more closely your figures adhere to these specifications at full submission, the fewer times you will need to revise your manuscript to meet the requirements.
They have fewer requirements than figures that are included in the main article, and they need to be uploaded separately.
The quality of a low-resolution figure cannot be improved by simply increasing the resolution in graphics software.
Place all panels from a multi-part figure into a single page and single file: Combine multiple panels into one page, or break them apart into separate figures.
We cannot publish TIFF figures that span multiple pages.
Upload each figure as an individual file that is separate from the manuscript.
Place the legend directly after the title of the figure to which it belongs.
Place any figure credits in the last sentence of the legend.
Creating Source Images with Specialized Software While we cannot offer assistance using the software in this section, the instructions below indicate the proper settings for creating specialized scientific images that meet our figure requirements.
Place each caption in the manuscript text in read order, immediately following the paragraph where the figure is first cited.

Funding statement

Add or confirm the author-written Funding statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
Do not include funding sources in the Acknowledgments or anywhere else in the manuscript file.

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Financial Disclosure Statement This information should describe sources of funding that have supported the work.
The statement should include: URLs to sponsors’ websites.
justify their choices of definitions and categories, including for example whether any rules of human categorization were required by their funding agency.
If a prospective analysis plan—such as from a funding proposal, IRB or ethics submission, study protocol, or another planning document written before data analysis—was used in designing the study, the relevant document must be submitted with the manuscript.
Funding information should only be entered in the financial disclosure section of the submission system.

Competing interests

Add or confirm the author-written Competing interests statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
Competing interests This section should list specific competing interests associated with any of the authors.

Data availability statement

Add or confirm the author-written Data availability statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
Accession numbers (and version numbers, if appropriate) should be provided in the Data Availability Statement.

Ethics statement

Add or confirm the author-written Ethics statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
The Methods section of the paper must state whether informed consent was written or oral.

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Review: Authors may be required to submit, on request, a statement from the research ethics committee or institutional review board indicating approval of the research.
We also encourage authors to submit a sample of a patient consent form, and may require submission in particular instances.
For example, “white” should be used rather than “Caucasian” and “patients with cancer” should be used rather than “cancer patients” or “cancer victims”.
Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, and informed consent for publication should be obtained if there is any doubt.
When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the published article.
Submit Your Manuscript PLOS Medicine publishes research and commentary of general interest with clear implications for patient care, public policy or clinical research agendas.
Review: Human and animal research All research involving humans and animals must have been approved by the authors' institutional review board or equivalent committee(s), and that board must be named by the authors in the manuscript.
For research involving human participants, informed consent must have been obtained or the reason for lack of consent explained, and all clinical investigations must have been conducted according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki.
If informed consent was oral, it must be stated in the paper: (a) why written consent could not be obtained, (b) that the IRB approved the use of oral consent, and (c) how oral consent was documented.
Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication.
For papers that include identifying information, or potentially identifying information, authors must download the Consent Form for Publication in a PLOS Journal (below), which the patient, parent, or guardian must sign once they have read the paper and been informed about the terms of the PLOS content license.
Once authors have obtained the signed consent form, it should be filed securely in the patient's case notes and the manuscript submitted to PLOS should include this statement indicating that specific consent for publication was obtained: “The patients in this manuscript have given written informed consent (as outlined in the PLOS consent form) to publication of their case details.”.
Depictions of humans Authors submitting manuscripts that include identifying or potentially identifying information must comply with our requirements for informed consent.
The manuscript file must include the following information: Description of informed consent obtained from participants.
Letter: The cover letter should address the following questions: Why will your study inspire researchers or clinicians, and how will it improve patient care or public health, or drive the understanding of disease forward?
Review / Clinical Trial: For all clinical trial submissions, authors must include the following: Details of prior approval for human subjects research by an institutional review board (IRB) or equivalent ethics committee(s).
Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published.

Cover letter

Include your statement in the Financial Disclosure section of the initial submission form.
Do not add it to the author list in the submission system.

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Letter: The cover letter should address the following questions: Why is this manuscript suitable for publication in PLOS Medicine?
Clinical Trial: For all clinical trial submissions, authors must include the following: Registration details (reported in the Methods section and in the submission form).
Maps created using OpenStreetMap data must be accompanied by the following attribution statement: "Contains information from OpenStreetMap and OpenStreetMap Foundation, which is made available under the Open Database License.”.

Author contributions

Provide at minimum one contribution for each author, and use the CRediT taxonomy to describe each contribution.

Supplementary files

Letter: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
Research Article: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.

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Embed or attach the author-supplied supplementary material so Articlo can extract and label it for the package.
A full description of the methods should be included in the manuscript itself rather than in a supplemental file.
Documentation for specific studies should be uploaded as supporting information during manuscript submission.
This checklist should be provided as supporting information alongside the submitted manuscript.
A completed checklist must be included as supporting information.
A completed TARGET checklist must be submitted as supporting information at the time of manuscript submission.
Animal studies Studies including animals must follow the ARRIVE guidelines and include a completed ARRIVE Checklist as supporting information.
Authors must check the EQUATOR Network site for any reporting guidelines that apply to the particular study design and ensure they include any required supporting information recommended by the relevant guidelines.
Review / Systematic Review: Authors must also state within the Methods section of their paper whether a protocol exists for their systematic review, and if so, provide a copy of the protocol as supporting information.
Diagnostic studies Reports of studies of diagnostic accuracy must adhere to the STARD requirements or alternative guidelines appropriate to the study design (see the EQUATOR web site ) and include a completed checklist as supporting information.
Clinical Trial: For all clinical trial submissions, authors must include the following: CONSORT checklist or relevant reporting guideline (uploaded as supporting information).
Clinical Trial: For all clinical trial submissions, authors must include the following: Trial protocol (uploaded as supporting information).

Title page and author information

Provide the author, affiliation, and correspondence details for the separate title page; Articlo creates the editable companion file.
Each author on the list must have an affiliation.

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Include an email address for each corresponding author listed on the title page of the manuscript.
Title page The title, authors, and affiliations should all be included on a title page as the first page of the manuscript file.
If the corresponding author’s institution is a member, they will be notified at acceptance that no fees are required.
The corresponding author must provide an ORCID iD at the time of submission by entering it in the user profile in the submission system.

Article structure and word limits

All file types can be submitted, but files must be smaller than 20 MB in size.
If you ever need to email files to the journal office, our system has a 10 MB attachment limit, meaning that we will not receive any emails larger than this size.

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During a soft rollout period, authors will be encouraged—but not strictly required—to provide the completed checklist until full implementation in 2026.
Use only Arial, Times, or Symbol font in 8-12 point..
Height maximum: 2625 pixels (at 300 dpi).
Submit files at a size of 10 MB or less.
Width: 789 pixels at minimum.
Review: The Style and Format criteria below are required only if the manuscript is pursued for publication with a positive decision after peer review.
We do not require specific formatting of manuscripts for Full Submission.
Layout and spacing Manuscript text should be double-spaced.
Use continuous line numbers (do not restart the numbering on each page).
Do not use MathType, Equation Editor, or the Insert→Equation function for only a portion of an equation.
Equations should not contain a mix of different equation tools.
If you do not use these exclusively, provide the SI value in parentheses after each value.
Gene prefixes such as those used for oncogenes or cellular localization should be shown in roman typeface (e.g., v-fes, c-MYC).
Manuscript Organization Most manuscripts should be organized as follows.
Titles should be written in sentence case (only the first word of the text, proper nouns, and genus names are capitalized).
Systematic Review / Clinical Trial: For clinical trials, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses, the subtitle should include the study design.
Contributions will be published with the final article, and they should accurately reflect contributions to the work.
It should end with a statement of the specific study hypothesis and/or study objectives.
Review: Include a brief review of the key literature.
If there are relevant controversies or disagreements in the field, they should be mentioned so that a non-expert reader can delve into these issues further.
PLOS journals require authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception.
It should start with a brief summary of the main findings.
It should include paragraphs on the generalizability, clinical relevance, strengths, and limitations of your study.
To ensure equitable recognition and avoid any appearance of partiality, do not include editors or peer reviewers—named or unnamed—in the Acknowledgments.
You should avoid citing retracted articles unless you need to discuss retracted work to provide historical context for your submitted research.
Image files should not be manipulated or adjusted in any way that could lead to misinterpretation of the information present in the original image.
Accession numbers All appropriate data sets, images, and information should be deposited in an appropriate public repository.
In all other cases, these numbers must be provided at full submission.
Identifiers should be provided in parentheses after the entity on first use.
The statement should include: Specific grant numbers.
The statement should include: Initials of authors who received each award.
If related work has been or will be submitted elsewhere or is in press elsewhere, then a copy must be uploaded with the article submitted to PLOS.
In addition, outmoded terms and potentially stigmatizing labels should be changed to more current, acceptable terminology.
Such papers must include or refer to human data that is sufficiently compelling to establish clinical relevance of the animal model.
All animal work must have been conducted according to relevant national and international guidelines.
If data are changed to protect anonymity, authors should provide assurance that alterations of the data do not distort scientific meaning.
Clinical Trial: Registering Clinical Trials All clinical trials submitted to PLOS journals must be entered in a publicly accessible registry approved by the WHO or ICMJE.
Clinical Trial: Authors seeking evaluation by PLOS Medicine of a non–prospectively registered clinical trial must provide a compelling reason for lack of prospective registration.
They must also: Confirm that future trials will be registered prospectively.
Authors must clearly specify: The analyses actually performed; and.
If no prospectively written document exists, authors should explain how and when the analyses being reported were determined.
For studies that use a Target Trial Emulation (TTE) framework, authors are required to adhere to the TARGET guidelines (Target Trial Emulation Reporting Guidelines).
The checklist should indicate the page numbers where each item is addressed and include brief text excerpts to demonstrate compliance.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The eligibility criteria for participants,.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The treatment strategies being compared,.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The assignment procedures,.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The start and end of follow-up,.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The outcome definitions,.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The causal contrast of interest, and.
Authors should ensure that all key elements of the target trial are explicitly reported, including: The analytical approach.
All novel structures must have been deposited in a community endorsed database prior to submission (please see our list of recommended repositories ).
Magazine articles should be aimed at a general medical audience, and all of the key assertions should be supported by evidence.
Collection Overviews should be concise, with suitable referencing, and provide the appropriate context for the publications in the Collection.
Additional information: Images must contain the background “noise” they originally contained.
The background should not appear as one uniform color.
Source images created in EPS format need to be compressed (in your compression format of choice) and should be no larger than full page size.
Submit in EPS format, or use NAAS to convert to TIFF.
Do not use Google, Mapquest, or other copyrighted maps.
If you require further information, please contact the journal before submitting.
Authors using this image should replace it prior to submission.
Your file should not be locked or protected.
Use the recommended name by consulting the appropriate genetic nomenclature database (e.g., HGNC for human genes; we strongly recommend using this tool to check against previously approved names).
Allergens The systematic allergen nomenclature of the World Health Organization/International Union of Immunological Societies (WHO/IUIS) Allergen Nomenclature Sub-committee should be used for manuscripts that include the description or use of allergenic proteins.
For manuscripts describing new allergens, the systematic name of the allergen should be approved by the WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Sub-committee prior to manuscript publication.
The current address should be listed in the byline and clearly labeled “current address.” At a minimum, the address must include the author’s current institution, city, and country.
Data reporting All data and related metadata underlying the findings reported in a submitted manuscript should be deposited in an appropriate public repository, unless already provided as part of the submitted article.
For studies involving humans categorized by race/ethnicity, age, disease/disabilities, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, or other socially constructed groupings, authors should, as much as possible,.
Clinical Trial: PLOS Medicine publishes few animal studies but will consider animal studies of two kinds: Models relevant to the treatment or prevention of major health problems, in which the interventions cannot be tested in humans for ethical reasons, but will provide compelling justification for specific changes in the design of subsequent clinical trials.
In accordance with the recommendations of the Weatherall report, The use of non-human primates in research, we specifically require authors to include details of animal welfare and steps taken to ameliorate suffering in all work involving non-human primates.
The institution that approved the study must be named, and it must be stated in the paper that the study was conducted adhering to the institution's guidelines for animal husbandry.
Clinical Trial: In addition, as for all PLOS journals, authors wishing to submit a clinical trial that was not publicly registered before participant enrollment began must register the trial retrospectively in a publicly accessible registry.
Microarray experiments Reports of microarray experiments must conform to the MIAME guidelines, and the data from the experiments must be deposited in a publicly accessible database.
Small and macromolecule crystal data Manuscripts reporting new and unpublished three-dimensional structures must include sufficient supporting data and detailed descriptions of the methodologies used to allow the reproduction and validation of the structures.
Small molecule single crystal data Authors reporting X-Ray crystallographic structures of small organic, metal-organic, and inorganic molecules must deposit their data with the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC), the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD), or similar community databases providing a recognized validation functionality.
Macromolecular structures Authors reporting novel macromolecular structures must have deposited their data prior to initial submission with the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB), the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB), the Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB), or other community databases providing a recognized validation functionality.
Additionally, if further analysis is needed, please be aware that we may also require you to supply us with your original photographic images in the original file format and at the resolution at which they were first created.
Unmarked grouping of images that should otherwise have been presented separately (for example, from different parts of the same gel, or from different gels, fields, or exposures).
Do not set the total number of pixels to be greater than that in the original image (e.g., from the digital camera attached to your microscope) while keeping the image size the same; otherwise, the computer must create data for you that were not present in the original, and the resulting image is a misrepresentation of the original data.
Should I choose TIFF or EPS?
Use the NAAS tool for help resizing.
LZW compression is required.
The title should be concise and descriptive.
Provide images in EPS format.
It should contain all the following elements (items in square brackets are needed only for some study types).
You may wish to discuss the following points also: How can future research build on these observations and what are the key experiments that must be done?
The manuscript file must include the following information: An explanation of any deviation from the trial protocol.
The following must be explicitly detailed in Guidelines and Guidance articles: How many potential participants declined/failed to participate.
The following must be explicitly detailed in Guidelines and Guidance articles: How the panel ensured dissenting views were aired and considered.
The following must be explicitly detailed in Guidelines and Guidance articles: Unresolved issues.
Follow these tips for creating high-quality images: Ensure that your images have a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch (ppi) and appear sharp, not pixelated.
The following must be explicitly detailed in Guidelines and Guidance articles: How the panel/experts were selected (as this is an obvious and potential major source of bias, for example).
The following must be explicitly detailed in Guidelines and Guidance articles: How the workshop was conducted and, crucially, how agreement was reached re the various recommendations.
PLOS Medicine staff editors do not consider unsolicited Collection Overviews.
The editors ask that authors do not principally aim to discuss their own work.
Please keep in mind how others might learn from your experiences.
Identifying information includes, but is not limited to: photographs.
Identifying information includes, but is not limited to: radiographs.
Identifying information includes, but is not limited to: pedigrees (family trees).
Identifying information includes, but is not limited to: geospatial maps that can identify a specific location such as a house.
We will consider manuscripts of any length; we encourage the submission of both substantial full-length bodies of work and shorter manuscripts that report novel findings that might be based on a more limited range of experiments.
Do not format text in multiple columns.
Please do not embed equations as images.
Do not “clean up” the background of images with rubberstamp or “wipe” tools to improve the aesthetic appearance, or over-adjust the brightness or contrast so that the background is removed.

Reporting guidelines

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

Statistical reporting

Methods should also include a section with descriptions of any statistical methods used.
The description should conform to the criteria outlined by the Uniform Requirements, as follows: Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to judge its appropriateness for the study and to verify the reported results.

Preprints and prior publication

Include or confirm the preprints and prior publication required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Submission forms

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

Language and text style

Language Manuscripts must be submitted in English.
Do not use non-standard abbreviations unless they appear at least three times in the text.

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Journal name abbreviations should be those found in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases.
Titles should not include jargon, cliché, or idioms (e.g., “Mind the gap,” “Think outside the box,” “Apples and oranges,” or “Paradigm shift”).
The writing style should be concise and accessible, avoiding jargon so that the paper is understandable for readers outside a specialty or those whose first language is not English.
Keep abbreviations to a minimum.

Authorship and originality

All authors must meet the criteria for authorship as outlined in the authorship policy.
If included, these individuals must qualify for authorship according to our criteria.

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Acknowledgments Those who contributed to the work but do not meet our authorship criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments with a description of the contribution.
Review: To qualify for authorship, all contributors must meet at least one of the seven core contributions (conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation), as well as at least one of the writing contributions (original draft preparation, review and editing).
Those who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship can be mentioned in the Acknowledgments.
When submitting a manuscript, all authors are asked to indicate that they do not have a related or duplicate manuscript under consideration (or accepted) for publication elsewhere.

Manuscript structure

This section should clearly describe the rationale for the study.
Provide a general interpretation of the results with any important recommendations for future research.

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Introduction The introduction should put the focus of the manuscript into a broader context.
The Introduction should conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the experiments and a comment about whether that aim was achieved.
Methods The Methods should provide enough detail for reproduction of the findings.
Protocols for new methods should be included, but well-established methodological procedures may simply be referenced.
Submit detailed protocols for newer or less established methods.
Results The Results section should include all primary and secondary outcome measures analyzed.
The Results section should be written in past tense.
Discussion The Discussion should be concise and tightly argued.
Clinical Trial: They must also: Register all related clinical trials and confirm they have done so in the Methods section.
They must also: Explain in the Methods the specific reasons for failing to register before participant enrollment.
Authors must clearly specify: The specific hypotheses the study was designed to test, and the analytical methods planned for testing them.
Authors must clearly specify: When the analyses performed differ from those planned, transparent explanations must be provided for differences that could affect the reliability of the study’s results.
The following must be explicitly detailed in Guidelines and Guidance articles: A frank discussion of the strengths and limitations of the processes used.
Do not drag/drop or copy/paste images into the file, because this results in a 72 dpi image.
When referencing parts of the manuscript in these documents, please quote section or paragraph numbers rather than page numbers, as page numbers in your submission may not match those of the published manuscript.

Study reporting guidelines

Clinical Trial: For all clinical trial submissions, authors must include the following: CONSORT flow diagram (uploaded as Fig 1).
Reports of Mendelian randomization studies must include a STROBE-MR checklist completed with page number and relevant text.

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Authors should take care to maximize the accessibility and reusability of the data by selecting a file format from which data can be efficiently extracted (for example, spreadsheets or flat files should be provided rather than PDFs when providing tabulated data).
Clinical Trial: Required Documentation Clinical trial reports must adhere to the relevant reporting guidelines for their study design, such as CONSORT for randomized controlled trials, TREND for non-randomized trials, and other specialized guidelines as appropriate.
Mendelian randomization studies Manuscripts reporting a Mendelian randomization study must report results of value to the field and should be reported according to STROBE-MR (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology using Mendelian Randomization) guidelines.
Observational studies For observational studies —including case control, cohort, and cross-sectional designs — authors must adhere to the STROBE Statement or alternative reporting guidelines appropriate to the study design (see the EQUATOR web site ).
The manuscript file must include the following information: Any information on statistical methods or participants not indicated in the CONSORT documentation.
In addition, PLOS Medicine requires that animal research follows the ARRIVE guidelines.

Article type and manuscript length

Authors must include the structure reference numbers within the main text and submit as Supplementary Information the official validation reports from these databases.
Systematic Review: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses Reports of systematic reviews and meta-analyses must adhere to the PRISMA Statement or alternative guidelines appropriate to the study design, and include the completed checklist and flow diagram to accompany the main text.

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Authors are also required to include the relevant structure reference numbers within the main text (e.g. the CCDC ID number), as well as the crystallographic information files (.cif format) as Supplementary Information, along with the checkCIF validation reports that can be obtained via the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr).

Save journal and get updates Download complete checklist

What your package checks

Abstract: 500 words

Paper: 1,000 words

Title page: separate file

Declarations: Data availability, Funding, Competing interests, Ethics

Format: double spacing

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