Family Practice Template
Get your Family Practice 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 Family Practice Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 11 August, 2026
Submitting to Family Practice goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Family Practice 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 Family Practice Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Family Practice. 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 Family Practice journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a Fam Pract 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 Family Practice 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 Family Practice guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Family Practice 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 ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
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 Fam Pract.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Family Practice 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 ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
Family Practice Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | Fam Pract requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract required with the following headed sections: Background, Objective(s), Methods, Results, and Conclusion. The guide does not specify a word limit for the abstract. All manuscript types require an abstract EXCEPT for Letters, Editorials and CASFM briefs. Review papers use a 'summary' instead of structured abstract |
| Main text | By article type: Original research: 3,000 words maximum; Brief Reports: 1,500 words maximum; Systematic reviews: 4,000 words maximum; Qualitative research: 4,000 words maximum; Letters to the Editor: 1,500 words maximum; Clinical Research: 3,000 words maximum. Word counts exclude title page, abstract, tables, acknowledgements, contributions and 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 | Six MeSH compliant keywords required |
| References | AMA style (American Medical Association style) in the order cited in the text. Maximum of 40 references allowed (except for systematic reviews which may have more) |
| Peer review | - The guide states 'All papers published in Family Practice are subject to peer review' and mentions 'at least two independent referees for evaluation' but does not specify whether the review is single-blind, double-blind, or open peer review |
| Submission | mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fampra |
Quick Tips for Using the Family Practice Template
Read the Family Practice 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 Family Practice in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent Fam Pract 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 Family Practice 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 Family Practice guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through ScholarOne (Manuscript Central).
