PNAS Nexus Template
Format your manuscript to the PNAS Nexus requirements — abstract, numbered references, and required declarations — and submit through ScholarOne Manuscripts without a formatting rejection.
4.7
How to Use the PNAS Nexus Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 19 August, 2026
A strong study can still bounce at PNAS Nexus before review if the manuscript ignores the journal’s formatting requirements. This template is built around PNAS Nexus’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, numbered references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the PNAS Nexus author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
What is the PNAS Nexus Template?
It’s a manuscript shell set up to PNAS Nexus’s specifications for multidisciplinary research across the sciences. PNAS Nexus is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the National Academy of Sciences. The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) order, and a reference list in numbered style.
What’s actually in a standard PNAS Nexus submission:
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is an abstract within the journal's stated limit (structured or unstructured per the guidelines). The body follows Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD), and the reference list uses 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: references not in the journal's specified format, an abstract outside the stated word limit, and missing conflict-of-interest and funding statements. Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep numbered formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through ScholarOne Manuscripts — email submissions aren’t processed.
What does this PNAS Nexus Template include?
The shell mirrors what PNAS Nexus’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, numbered reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the PNAS Nexus journal home page. PNAS Nexus is open access; check the current article-processing charge before you submit. Manuscripts go in through ScholarOne Manuscripts, 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, 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.
PNAS Nexus Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | PNAS Nexus requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | an abstract within the journal's stated limit (structured or unstructured per the guidelines) |
| 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 | ScholarOne Manuscripts |
Quick Tips for Using the PNAS Nexus Template
Read the PNAS Nexus author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set 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 PNAS Nexus 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 PNAS Nexus author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, numbered references, required declarations, and figure quality. Re-check the items that most often cause a bounce here — references not in the journal's specified format, an abstract outside the stated word limit, and missing conflict-of-interest and funding statements. Then submit through ScholarOne Manuscripts.
