Draft for Acta Paediatrica with confidence. The template sets the correct structure, abstract, and references up front, so your manuscript clears editorial screening.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 25 July, 2026
Submitting to Acta Paediatrica goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Acta Paediatrica 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 Acta Paediatrica. 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 Acta Paediatrica 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 Acta Paediatrica 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 Acta Paediatrica 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 ScholarOne / Research Exchange.
| Element | AP requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract with headings Aim, Methods, Results, and Conclusion required for Original Articles (maximum 200 words). Review Articles and Mini Reviews also require structured abstracts (maximum 200 words). Clinical Overviews require 100-word abstracts. Brief Reports, Mini Commentaries, Editorials, Commentaries, Perspectives, Essays, and Reader's Forum do not require abstracts. Abstracts must not contain abbreviations. Original Articles, Review Articles, and Mini Reviews must include a three-sentence summary (maximum 70 words total) after the abstract comprising: 1) why the study was needed, 2) what it found, and 3) the implications for clinical practice or further research. |
| 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 | Maximum of 5 keywords required, listed alphabetically. Keywords must be concise and specific, and must not include abbreviations. Required for Original Articles, Clinical Overviews, Review Articles, and Mini Reviews. Not required for Brief Reports, Mini Commentaries, Editorials, Commentaries, Perspectives, Essays, or Reader's Forum. |
| References | No specific formatting required at initial submission provided the style is consistent and includes: author(s) name(s), journal title/book title, article title (where applicable), year of publication, volume & issue/book chapter, pagination, and optional DOI. Formatting will be updated to journal style upon acceptance. Reference citations in text must be numerical in sequence, using hyphens to join first and last numbers of a closed series (e.g., 1-3) and commas without spaces to separate other parts (e.g., 1,2,4). Reference limits by article type: Original Article (30), Brief Report (5), Editorial (10), Clinical Overview (30), Commentary (9), Mini Commentary (5), Perspective (5), Essay (5), Reader's Forum (3), Review Article (60), Mini Review (30), A Different View (10). |
| Submission | authorservices.wiley.com |
Read the Acta Paediatrica 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 Acta Paediatrica in under a page.
Skim two or three recent AP 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 Acta Paediatrica journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Acta Paediatrica guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through ScholarOne / Research Exchange.