Get your Journal of Critical Care 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 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Critical Care goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Critical Care 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 Journal of Critical Care. 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 Journal of Critical Care 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 Journal of Critical Care 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 Journal of Critical Care 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 Editorial Manager.
| Element | J Crit Care requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract required, maximum 250 words. Must be concise and factual, briefly stating the purpose of research, principal results and major conclusions. Must stand alone. Avoid references unless essential (if included, cite author(s) and year(s)). Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations (if essential, define at first mention) |
| Main text | Research Letters: maximum 600 words, 5 references, 1 figure and/or table, no supplementary material. For Original Research, Reviews, and other article types: no specific word limit stated in guide. Meta-analysis and Narrative Reviews must follow additional requirements article (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883944120305980) |
| 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 advised to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using 'and' or 'of'). Only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field |
| References | Numbered reference style following Vancouver/ICMJE format. References indicated by number(s) in square brackets in line in text, numbered in order of appearance. Formatted according to Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE). Journal names abbreviated according to List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA). First 6 authors listed followed by 'et al.' for more than 6 authors |
| Peer review | Single anonymized review process (single-blind). Submission initially assessed by editors. If suitable, typically sent to minimum of two reviewers for independent expert assessment. Final accept/reject decision made by editors |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jcrc/default.aspx |
Read the Journal of Critical Care 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 Journal of Critical Care in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Crit Care 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 Journal of Critical Care journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Critical Care guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.