Get your Environmental Research Letters paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.1
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to Environmental Research Letters goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Environmental Research Letters 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 Environmental Research Letters. 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 Research Letters 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 Environmental Research Letters 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 Environmental Research Letters 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 ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
| Element | Environ Res Lett requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured, maximum 300 words. Should be informative, accessible, stating methodology used, main results obtained and conclusions drawn. Should not contain undefined acronyms/abbreviations, table/figure numbers, references or equations. Exception: Perspectives articles must exclude an abstract entirely |
| Main text | Letters: maximum 4000 words (excluding title, abstract, figures, tables, captions, and references). Topical Reviews: no specific word limit stated. Perspectives: maximum 2000 words (excluding title, figures, tables, captions, and references; abstract must be excluded entirely). Viewpoints: typically 1000 words. Comments and Replies: maximum of three journal pages suggested |
| 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 are requested but no specific count/range is stated. Authors are asked to supply keywords relevant to their work during submission for indexing and discoverability purposes. No mention of MeSH terms or mandatory count |
| References | Either Vancouver numerical system (references numbered sequentially in square brackets) or Harvard alphabetical system (author name and year in text) is acceptable. Authors may use either system consistently. References will be formatted to house style during production regardless of initial submission format |
| Peer review | Transparent peer review model (also called open peer review). Authors can choose between single-anonymous or double-anonymous identity transparency at submission. Review reports, author/editor communication, and reviewer identities may be published (with author and reviewer opt-in) |
| Submission | mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/erl-iop |
Read the Environmental Research Letters 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 Research Letters in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Environ Res Lett 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 Research Letters journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Environmental Research Letters guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).