Admittedly, every paper should be detailed, innovative and relevant. It should be based on in-depth analysis and provide specific conclusions. Each paper should complete a gap in the study and unveil other possible gaps. However, it is also necessary to remember that a researcher’s attention should not be confined to the paper’s content only. It is important to format the paper accordingly. There are a number of central points to focus on while formatting a manuscript for publication.
In the first place, it is important to know the requirements of the journal where the article is going to be published. Of course, all scholarly journals have quite similar standards, though some of them can differ. Therefore, it is crucial to make sure that the manuscript’s format is consistent with the necessary requirements. The following items need special attention: abstract, word number, formatting graphs and reference style. Noteworthy, abstract should highlight key findings, conclusions of the paper and some introduction of the topic. The researcher should be careful while choosing key words. The researchers should think of the words he/she would use to search for an article on the topic.
It is also important to make sure that all the pivotal data will be provided in the article. Clearly, it is better to include graphs and tables within the article so that the reader could refer to the necessary data while reading about them instead of leafing it through. At the same time, too detailed tables can make it difficult to follow or even include tem within the article. Hence, the researcher should make sure each graph or table appears in the right place.
Apart from specific requirements, the researcher should make sure that his/her article will be read. A catchy and comprehensive title can ensure popularity of the article. Hence, the title should grab the reader’s attention and it should shed light on the content of the article. Some researchers make the title too general, which is one of the most serious mistakes, as the reader can find the article unhelpful or even irrelevant.
Furthermore, the article should have subheadings so that the reader could easily follow. Apart from major parts (such as introduction, methodology, results and so on), it is possible to add other subheadings which would help the reader (as well as researcher) stay focused. It will also help the reader effectively work with the article and it will help the researcher make sure that nothing is missing.
On balance, it is possible to note that formatting an article should start with studying requirements of the journal. The article should not exceed the word limit and should include all the necessary elements. It can be helpful to create a checklist to make sure that everything is covered. It is important to remember that even a creative and innovative article can be put aside if some format requirements are not met. Moreover, the reader can fail to grasp the idea properly when the format of the article is confusing.