Environmental Development Template
Get your Environmental Development paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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How to Use the Environmental Development Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to Environmental Development goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Environmental Development 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.
What is the Environmental Development Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Environmental Development. 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 Environmental Development journal page before you draft.
What's actually in an Environ Development submission:
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 Environmental Development guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
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 Environmental Development guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Environmental Development Template include?
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.
Steps to Use This Template with SciSpace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The SciSpace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for Environ Development.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Environmental Development guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through the journal's submission system.
Environmental Development Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | Environ Development requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Concise and factual abstract not exceeding 250 words. Should briefly state the purpose of research, principal results and major conclusions. Must be able to stand alone. Avoid references and non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. No specific structure (structured vs unstructured) or mandatory headings mentioned by article type |
| Main text | Original research papers and reviews of literature: up to 7000 words maximum (excluding reference list, tables, figures, captions, author details, titles, abstract and acknowledgement). Perspective articles: should not exceed 3,000 words. Letters to the editor: up to 1000 words (excluding reference list, tables, figures, captions, author details, titles, abstract and acknowledgement) with maximum 10 references |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 1 to 7 keywords for indexing purposes. Should be written in English. Avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of'). Use abbreviations only if firmly established in the field |
| References | Author-date citation style. In text: Single author (name + year), two authors (both names + year), three or more authors (first author et al. + year). Reference list arranged alphabetically then chronologically if necessary. At submission, references can be in any style or format as long as consistent |
| Peer review | Single anonymized review process (single-blind peer review) |
| Submission | submit.elsevier.com/ENVDEV |
Quick Tips for Using the Environmental Development Template
Read the Environmental Development 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 Environmental Development in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent Environ Development 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 Environmental Development journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Environmental Development guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.
