Life Sciences Template
Draft for Life Sciences with confidence. The template sets the correct structure, abstract, and references up front, so your manuscript clears editorial screening.
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How to Use the Life Sciences Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 25 July, 2026
Submitting to Life Sciences goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Life Sciences 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.
What is the Life Sciences Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Life Sciences. 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 Life Sciences journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a LS submission:
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 Life Sciences guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
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 Life Sciences guide for authors before you submit.
What does this Life Sciences Template include?
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.
Steps to Use This Template with Scispace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The Scispace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for LS.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the Life Sciences guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through Editorial Manager.
Life Sciences Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | LS requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract with a maximum word limit of 250 words. Must be concise and factual, briefly stating the purpose of the research, principal results, and major conclusions. Should stand alone without references (except essential ones with author and year), and avoid non-standard abbreviations unless defined at first mention. |
| Main text | Section order and length per article type |
| Declarations | Ethics, competing interests, funding, data as required |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 1 to 7 keywords required for indexing purposes. Should be written in English and preferably avoid multi-word phrases (using 'and' or 'of'). Abbreviations in keywords only if firmly established in the field. |
| References | Numbered reference style in order of appearance in square brackets [1], [2], etc. References can be in any format at initial submission as long as consistent; journal reference style will be applied after acceptance at proof stage. Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA). |
| Peer review | Single anonymized review process (single-blind review). Submission is assessed by editors for suitability, then typically sent to a minimum of two reviewers for independent expert assessment of scientific quality. |
| Submission | editorialmanager.com |
Quick Tips for Using the Life Sciences Template
Read the Life Sciences 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 Life Sciences in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent LS 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 Life Sciences journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Life Sciences guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.
