Best Practices for Writing a Publishable Manuscript

Finding the Right Journal

Last Updated: August 1, 2024

Here is a convenient template that you can use while searching for journals. Step 1: Tips for Finding Potential Journals Start with a Google search to get a starter list of journals (for example, “oncology journals”). Use PubMed: Search a term or topic and see what journals recently published on it. This is probably the best way to find the most relevant journals. Check out letpub.com Journal finders on this list can help you to decide which journals are relevant for your research. Sites like www.scimagojr.com rank journals in different fields. https://www.scimagojr.com is a great way to find journals in any given field.

Manuscript Writing

Last Updated: October 31, 2024

The main components of a manuscript are Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Limitations. Each section of the paper must address specific points. It is important to focus on these specific points and not have excess verbosity which makes the manuscript harder to read. We will break down what information needs to be added to make a streamlined and complete manuscript. The title page includes the author's information with names and institutional information. Journal formatting criteria will mention other title page requirements, so make sure to follow your selected journal's requirements. The abstract is the first section of the page after the title page has been written - it includes a shortened version of the entire manuscript.

Formatting Manuscript for Submission

Last Updated: October 31, 2024

The following sections provide some tips for how to format the title page, the tables, the figures, and the references.

Tips for Submitting Your Manuscript

Last Updated: October 31, 2024

Once you choose your journal and write the manuscript, you will want to look carefully at submission guidelines. Failure to follow the guidelines could cause your manuscript to be sent back to you. Pay particular attention to limits on the number of words in the abstract and text as well as limits on the numbers of tables, figures, and references.

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