PLOS Climate Template
Format your manuscript to the PLOS Climate requirements — abstract, Vancouver (numbered) references, and required declarations — and submit through Editorial Manager without a formatting rejection.
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How to Use the PLOS Climate Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 19 August, 2026
Most manuscripts sent to PLOS Climate don’t stumble on the science — they stumble on formatting caught at the first editorial check. This template is built around PLOS Climate’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, Vancouver (numbered) references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the PLOS Climate author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
What is the PLOS Climate Template?
It’s a manuscript shell set up to PLOS Climate’s specifications for climate science, impacts, and solutions. PLOS Climate is published by PLOS. The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) order, and a reference list in Vancouver (numbered) style.
What’s actually in a standard PLOS Climate submission:
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is an unstructured abstract of ≤300 words. The body follows Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD), and the reference list uses Vancouver (numbered). 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 over 300 words, no data availability statement meeting the PLOS policy, and references not in Vancouver format. Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep Vancouver (numbered) formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through Editorial Manager — email submissions aren’t processed.
What does this PLOS Climate Template include?
The shell mirrors what PLOS Climate’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, Vancouver (numbered) reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the PLOS Climate journal home page. This is an open-access title, so budget for the publication fee (check the current fee and any fee-assistance option before submitting). Manuscripts go in through Editorial Manager, 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, Vancouver (numbered) 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.
PLOS Climate Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | PLOS Climate requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | an unstructured abstract of ≤300 words |
| 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 | Editorial Manager |
Quick Tips for Using the PLOS Climate Template
Read the PLOS Climate author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set Vancouver (numbered) as your reference style before adding a single citation — retrofitting it later is where errors creep in.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent PLOS Climate 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 PLOS Climate author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, Vancouver (numbered) references, required declarations, and figure quality. Re-check the items that most often cause a bounce here — an abstract over 300 words, no data availability statement meeting the PLOS policy, and references not in Vancouver format. Then submit through Editorial Manager.
