Open Mind Template
Format your manuscript to the Open Mind requirements — abstract, APA 7th references, and required declarations — and submit through the journal's submission system without a formatting rejection.
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How to Use the Open Mind Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 19 August, 2026
A strong study can still bounce at Open Mind before review if the manuscript ignores the journal’s formatting requirements. This template is built around Open Mind’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, APA 7th references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the Open Mind author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
What is the Open Mind Template?
It’s a manuscript shell set up to Open Mind’s specifications for cognitive science and the mind. Open Mind is published by MIT Press. The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) order, and a reference list in APA 7th style.
What’s actually in a standard Open Mind submission:
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is an abstract within the journal's stated word limit. The body follows Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD), and the reference list uses APA 7th. Close with the declarations block: ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
The details that trip up most first submissions: an abstract outside the stated word limit, references not in the journal's required format, and missing declarations (ethics, competing interests, funding). Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep APA 7th formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through the journal's submission system — email submissions aren’t processed.
What does this Open Mind Template include?
The shell mirrors what Open Mind’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, APA 7th reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the Open Mind journal home page. Open Mind is open access; check the current article-processing charge before you submit. Manuscripts go in through the journal's submission system, which also tracks your paper through peer review.
Steps to Use This Template with Scispace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page — you land on the Scispace Agent prompt screen with the template already loaded.
- Use the loaded template as-is, or upload your own version if you have one.
- Edit the prompt with your actual details: topic, article type, and any word or figure limits specific to that type.
- Run it. The agent drafts directly into the correct structure — abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) body, figure placeholders, APA 7th references, and the full declarations block — with no manual reformatting afterward.
- Review the draft in View Outputs and regenerate any section that needs tightening.
- Export to Word or LaTeX once it’s ready for submission.
Open Mind Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | Open Mind requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | an abstract within the journal's stated word limit |
| Main text | Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) |
| Declarations | Ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability |
| Figures / tables | Captioned, cited in order; check format and resolution rules in the guide |
| Supplemental | Large datasets, extra tables, code — uploaded separately and cited in text |
| Submission | the journal's submission system |
Quick Tips for Using the Open Mind Template
Read the Open Mind author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set APA 7th as your reference style before adding a single citation — retrofitting it later is where errors creep in.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent Open Mind papers to calibrate depth, structure, and figure style. State your contribution in the first two paragraphs, not on page ten. Write a data-availability statement that names a real repository rather than a placeholder, and disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in your cover letter. Confirm current open-access pricing and any institutional agreement before committing to a fee.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the Open Mind author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, APA 7th references, required declarations, and figure quality. Re-check the items that most often cause a bounce here — an abstract outside the stated word limit, references not in the journal's required format, and missing declarations (ethics, competing interests, funding). Then submit through the journal's submission system.
