Get your Journal of General Virology paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
4.5
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of General Virology goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of General Virology 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 General Virology. 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 General Virology 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 General Virology 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 General Virology 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 Gen Virol requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract. The abstract should introduce the subject in the first sentence and present the main conclusion in the last sentence. References should not be cited, and any abbreviations used must be defined. No word limit is specified in the official guidelines for Journal of General Virology. Note: Journal of Medical Microbiology (a different journal in the same publisher group) mandates structured abstracts, but this requirement does not apply to JGV |
| Main text | Research Article: 3000-7000 words; Short Communication: 1000-3000 words; Review: 5000-10,000 words (usually commissioned, structured as agreed with Reviews Editor or Editors-in-Chief); Perspective: 3000-5000 words (usually commissioned); Letter: 500-1500 words; Commentary: 500-1500 words; ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: 500-1500 words (commissioned, approx. 5-10 references). Note: Word and reference counts are indicative, but not restrictive |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Between three and six keywords |
| References | Vancouver style. If the article is accepted for publication, reference lists and citations will be reformatted to fit Vancouver style. Ideally, references should include a DOI |
| Peer review | Single-blind peer review (reviewers know the identity of the authors, but authors do not know the identity of the reviewers) |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jgv/Default.aspx |
Read the Journal of General Virology 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 General Virology in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Gen Virol 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 General Virology journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of General Virology guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.