2  Instructions for authors

Authors can prepare manuscripts in markdown, docx, LaTeX, html formats. Below are some recommendations for authoring manuscripts in formats other than markdown. For markdown format, they can use the copyeditor recommendations of this guide.

2.1 Generic

Provide an informative abstract, 50 to 200 words.

Formulate it carefully: it is indexed in databases and search engines, and plays in crucial role in the long-term visibility of your article.

2.2 MS Word

Authors should use Word’s styles:

  • Heading 1, Heading 2 etc for headings
  • Title for the title
  • Block citations
  • (optional) Author for author (requires creating a style called “Author)

Formulas should be entered in Word’s equation mode. This helps our document converter to turn them into reusable LaTeX formulas.

References should be provided in a separate BibTeX (.bib) or CSL-Json file (e.g. using Zotero).

[Requires extension: sections-to-meta] Abstract and acknowledgements should be provided below “Abstract” and “Acknowledgements” headings at the beginning of the paper. If the paper itself doesn’t start with a heading, separate those from the main text by a horizontal line (three dashes and return).

If the document contains complex mathematical symbols or formulas, make sure that these are put in “equation mode”. This ensures that pandoc converts them to LaTeX code and spares you the need to re-encode them.

There are various ways in which authors can make the editing process easier and quicker:

  • Checking their bibliography for mistakes
  • Sending their bibliography as a .bib file, which can easily be created if they use software such as Zotero.
  • (If they use Word) Preparing their Word document: writing their formulas in “equation mode”, using the definite styles for article title, abstract, author name, section titles, block citations.
  • Remind them of the importance of a good title and abstract.

2.3 LaTeX

Authors should provide a LaTeX source file, with references in a a separate BibTeX file and any included file (images, preamble) or package not available in standard distributions.

TikZ figures and other advanced packages (ie those that aren’t handled by MathJax) should be compilable as standalone documents.