Get your Clinical Microbiology Reviews paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.8
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 7 August, 2026
Submitting to Clinical Microbiology Reviews goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Clinical Microbiology Reviews guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Clinical Microbiology Reviews. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Clinical Microbiology Reviews journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Clinical Microbiology Reviews guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Clinical Microbiology Reviews guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Clin Microbiol Rev requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured with heading 'SUMMARY', must be no longer than 250 words. Exception: Clinical Microbiology Best Practices articles will have a structured summary without word limitation |
| Main text | No page or word count limits for Clinical Microbiology Reviews |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | (keywords do not appear in the official author guidelines, though they are present in published articles, suggesting they may be editor-assigned or added during production) |
| References | Citation-sequence reference system (numbered in the order cited in the article). ASM style, with references numbered in the reference list according to the order they are cited in text, and cited parenthetically by number in sequential order |
| Peer review | Single-anonymized peer review (also known as single-blind peer review). Reviewers know the author's identity, but authors do not know the reviewer's identity |
| Submission | cmr.msubmit.net/submit |
Read the Clinical Microbiology Reviews guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Clinical Microbiology Reviews in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Clin Microbiol Rev papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Clinical Microbiology Reviews journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Clinical Microbiology Reviews guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.