Get your Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 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 Geophysical Research: Planets goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 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 Geophysical Research: Planets. 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 Geophysical Research: Planets 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 Geophysical Research: Planets 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 Geophysical Research: Planets 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 Geophysical Res Planets requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured, single paragraph format. Maximum 250 words. Must not include table or figure mentions. Should avoid reference citations unless dependent on or directly related to another paper (e.g., companion, comment, reply, or commentary). All abbreviations must be defined. Should be suitable for indexing and summarize important conclusions |
| Main text | Research Articles: Maximum 25 publication units (PU), where 1 PU = 500 words or 1 display element (figure or table). Word count excludes title, authors, affiliations, key points, keywords, text in tables, and references. Commentaries: Limited to 6 PU (approximately 2000 words and 1-2 figures). Plain Language Summary required (max 200 words). Key Points required: 1-3 statements, each max 140 characters |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Up to 5 index terms required at submission (selected from AGU Index Set; do not use terms ending in "00"). Up to 6 additional free-form keywords allowed (not included in word count). Both types are used to facilitate online searches and indexing |
| References | Name-date format (author-year style). Citations must be enclosed in parentheses, e.g., (Zhu et al., 2016) or Zhu et al. (2009). Not numbered references. All sources cited must appear in reference list and be publicly available. "Unpublished" or "in press" references not allowed unless accepted for publication |
| Peer review | Single-blind (single anonymized): author names are visible to editors and reviewers, but reviewer names are kept confidential unless a reviewer chooses to disclose them |
| Submission | jgr-planets-submit.agu.org/submit |
Read the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 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 Geophysical Research: Planets in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Geophysical Res Planets 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 Geophysical Research: Planets journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.