Get your Habitat International paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.9
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 13 August, 2026
Submitting to Habitat International goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Habitat International 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 Habitat International. 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 Habitat International 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 Habitat International 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 Habitat International 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 | Habitat Int requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract with a maximum of 250 words. The abstract should be concise and factual, briefly stating the purpose of the research, principal results, and major conclusions. Abstracts must be able to stand alone. References should be avoided (if essential, cite author(s) and year(s)). Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided (if essential, define at first mention) |
| Main text | - The guide does not specify overall word or page limits for the main text. The journal accepts quality papers, short communications, comments on published papers, and reports on relevant conferences, but specific length limits by article type are not stated in the guide |
| 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 required for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Authors are recommended to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of'). Abbreviations should only be used in keywords if they are firmly established in the field |
| References | Numbered reference style (Vancouver-like). References indicated by numbers within square brackets in the text, numbered in the order they appear. Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA). At submission, references can be in any style or format as long as consistent; the journal reference style will be applied at proof stage after acceptance |
| Peer review | Double-blind / double-anonymous. The journal follows a double anonymized review process, meaning author identities are concealed from reviewers and vice versa. The title page (with author details) and anonymized manuscript (excluding author details) need to be submitted as separate files |
| Submission | submit.elsevier.com/HABITATINT |
Read the Habitat International 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 Habitat International in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Habitat Int 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 Habitat International journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Habitat International guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.