Workflow
- Identify the exact journal and article type, open its current author guidelines, and fill in the limits table below. Never rely on remembered limits.
- Check whether a format-free first submission is allowed. If it is, spend effort on content and mandatory statements rather than layout.
- Restructure the manuscript into the venue's front matter and sections (see below).
- Prepare the required statements, figures and supplementary files.
- Run the checklist, then assemble the submission package: manuscript, source files, figures, declarations and cover letter.
Verify first (mandatory)
Each journal has its own author guide (e.g. https://www.cell.com/cell/authors, and the STAR Methods guide at https://www.cell.com/star-methods). Confirm the current limits for your journal and article type:
| Item | Limit (fill in) |
|---|---|
| Summary length | |
| Highlights: number of bullets and characters per bullet | |
| eTOC blurb length | |
| Main text / character count, figures, references | |
| Supplemental information rules |
Front matter unique to Cell Press
- Summary: a single paragraph (commonly up to about 150 words) for a broad audience, without references. Context → gap → what you did → key findings → significance.
- Highlights: a short list of bullet points (commonly 3-4) with a strict per-bullet character limit (commonly about 85 characters including spaces). Each is a standalone finding, not a method.
- eTOC blurb / In Brief: a short third-person paragraph for non-specialists: "Smith et al. show that ...".
- Graphical abstract: a single square-ish panel summarizing the main message. Read in one direction, minimal text, no data plots copied from figures, no journal-style legends.
See abstract-and-title for writing techniques.
STAR Methods (Structured, Transparent, Accessible Reporting)
Required for research papers in most Cell Press journals. Standard headings (verify the current set):
- Resource availability: Lead contact, Materials availability, Data and code availability (accessions, DOIs, repository links, and a statement that any additional information is available from the lead contact).
- Key Resources Table (KRT): a structured table of antibodies, bacterial/viral strains, biological samples, chemicals, critical commercial assays, deposited data, experimental models (cell lines, organisms/strains), oligonucleotides, recombinant DNA, software and algorithms, and other items, with source and identifier (RRIDs, catalog numbers, accessions) for each row.
- Experimental model and study participant details: species, strain, sex, age, source, husbandry, ethics approvals, and for human participants demographics and consent.
- Method details: step-by-step, citing protocols where they exist (protocols.io DOIs).
- Quantification and statistical analysis: software, tests, what n represents, definitions of centre/dispersion, significance thresholds, and where the statistical details appear in figure legends.
Tips: use RRIDs (https://scicrunch.org/resources) for antibodies, cell lines, organisms and software. Keep main-text Methods out, since STAR Methods replaces them.
Figures and data
- Figures are multi-panel with consistent styling. Legends state n, statistical test and error bars.
- Show individual data points where feasible. Avoid bar-only plots for small n.
- Image integrity: retain unprocessed images. Apply adjustments uniformly across the image.
- Deposit sequencing, proteomics and structures in community repositories before submission.
Process
- Many Cell Press journals allow a free-format first submission. Full formatting (STAR Methods, KRT, highlights) is needed at revision. Check the journal's policy.
- Presubmission inquiries are welcomed by several journals (see
cover-letter-to-editor). - Preprints are allowed. Disclose them at submission.
- Cell Press offers transfers between its journals with reviews.
Related skills
venue-templates (Cell style reference), abstract-and-title, reproducibility-statement,
scientific-visualization, statistical-analysis, protocolsio-integration, cover-letter-to-editor.