Draft for Journal of Forensic Sciences 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 Journal of Forensic Sciences goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Forensic 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.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Forensic 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 Journal of Forensic Sciences 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 Journal of Forensic Sciences 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 Journal of Forensic Sciences 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 | FS requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract, maximum 250 words. Must include background, brief description of methods and results (with specific data and statistical significance if possible), and conclusions. Mandatory for Commentaries, Critical Reviews, Papers, Technical Notes, and Case Reports. The word 'Abstract' should be in upper/lowercase letters and bolded. |
| 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 | Minimum of six keywords or key phrases required. Should include the most important words relevant to the article as well as the forensic specialty (e.g., forensic anthropology, facial recognition, DNA analysis/testing, forensic toxicology, etc.). If an abbreviation is commonly used, include both the word(s) and the abbreviation (e.g., polymerase chain reaction and PCR). The word 'KEYWORDS' should be in all capitals and bolded. |
| References | Vancouver style, in accordance with ICMJE Recommendations. References are numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Citations in text, tables and figures use Arabic numerals in square brackets. The reference list should be numbered 1., 2., 3., etc. |
| Peer review | Double-blind peer review. Commentaries, Critical Reviews, Papers, Technical Notes and Case Reports are subject to double-blind peer review, meaning that both the reviewers' and authors' identities are blinded from each other throughout the review process. The title page is uploaded separately to ensure blind review. |
| Submission | authorservices.wiley.com |
Read the Journal of Forensic 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 Journal of Forensic Sciences in under a page.
Skim two or three recent FS 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 Journal of Forensic Sciences journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Forensic Sciences guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through ScholarOne / Research Exchange.