Get your Journal of Critical Realism 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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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Critical Realism goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Critical Realism 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 Realism. 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 Realism 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 Realism 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 Realism 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 | J Crit Realism requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract required, maximum 150 words. This applies to Research Articles and Review Essays. Book Reviews: no abstract. Discussion and Interview pieces: abstract mentioned in required structure but word limit not specified in the guide |
| Main text | Research Articles: maximum 10,000 words including notes and references (exceptionally 6,000-12,000 words may be considered). Review Essays: 6,000-10,000 words including notes and references. Book Reviews: 1,000-3,000 words. Discussion pieces and Interviews: no specific word limit 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 | 3 to 6 keywords required for Research Articles. Keywords are mentioned in the required structure for Review Essays, Discussion pieces, and Interviews, but specific count not stated for these article types. Book Reviews: no keywords |
| References | Any consistent scholarly citation style accepted at initial submission (author name(s), journal/book title, article/chapter title, year, volume/issue, page numbers required; DOI recommended). The journal reference style (Chicago AD) will be applied to the paper post-acceptance by Taylor & Francis |
| Peer review | Double anonymous (double-blind) peer review by two independent academic referees. Research Articles and Review Essays undergo full double-anonymous peer review. Book Reviews do not normally go through peer review, subject to editorial checks. Discussion pieces subject to editorial checks and may be sent to peer review at editor's discretion |
| Submission | rp.tandfonline.com/submission/create?journalCode=YJCR |
Read the Journal of Critical Realism 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 Realism in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Crit Realism 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 Realism 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 Realism guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.