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 Elsevier journal's Guide for Authors (linked from its ScienceDirect/journal home page) overrides general advice. It sets article types, word limits, the reference style (numbered, author-year, or journal-specific), highlights/graphical abstract rules, and whether the CAS template is expected. LaTeX instructions: https://www.elsevier.com/researcher/author/policies-and-guidelines/latex-instructions.
Many journals follow "Your Paper Your Way": the first submission can be a single PDF in any reasonable format, and strict formatting is only needed at revision. Check before reformatting.
LaTeX templates
% Classic, accepted by nearly all Elsevier journals:
\documentclass[preprint,12pt]{elsarticle} % review: preprint; final look: 1p, 3p, 5p (+twocolumn)
\journal{Journal Name}
\usepackage{lineno} \linenumbers % reviewers appreciate line numbers
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num} % or elsarticle-harv / elsarticle-num-names per guide
% CAS templates (journals that request them):
% \documentclass[a4paper,fleqn]{cas-sc} % single column
% \documentclass[a4paper,fleqn]{cas-dc} % double column
The venue-templates skill bundles elsarticle scaffolds and .bst files. Front matter uses the
frontmatter environment with \title, \author[a], \affiliation[a]{...}, \ead{email},
\cortext, abstract and keyword environments (keywords separated by \sep).
Minimal complete CAS double-column manuscript
Start from this skeleton when the journal requests the CAS template. Get cas-dc.cls, cas-common.sty and the
bibliography style from Elsevier's LaTeX instructions page, then check the macros against the template's own
documentation, because CAS versions differ.
\documentclass[a4paper,fleqn]{cas-dc}
\usepackage[authoryear]{natbib} % or [numbers]: follow the Guide for Authors
\shorttitle{Short running title}
\shortauthors{A. Author et al.}
\begin{document}
\let\WriteBookmarks\relax
\title [mode = title]{Full title of the article}
\author[1]{First Author}[orcid=0000-0000-0000-0000]
\cormark[1]
\ead{first.author@university.edu}
\credit{Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original draft}
\affiliation[1]{organization={Department, University}, city={City}, country={Country}}
\author[2]{Second Author}
\credit{Formal analysis, Writing - review \& editing}
\affiliation[2]{organization={Institute}, city={City}, country={Country}}
\cortext[1]{Corresponding author}
\begin{abstract}
One paragraph within the journal's word limit.
\end{abstract}
\begin{highlights}
\item First result-focused highlight within the character limit
\item Second highlight
\item Third highlight
\end{highlights}
\begin{keywords}
keyword one \sep keyword two \sep keyword three
\end{keywords}
\maketitle
\section{Introduction}
...
\section*{CRediT authorship contribution statement}
\printcredits
\section*{Declaration of competing interest}
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
\section*{Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process}
% Follow the journal's current required wording, or remove the section if no AI tools were used.
\section*{Data availability}
Data are available at [repository, DOI].
\bibliographystyle{cas-model2-names} % match the journal's reference style
\bibliography{refs}
\end{document}
Required and common elements
- Highlights: a separate file of bullet points (commonly 3-5, each up to about 85 characters including spaces). Results, not methods.
- Graphical abstract: required or encouraged by some journals. Single image with a minimum size given in the guide.
- Keywords: typically a small set (check the maximum), often without words already in the title.
- CRediT author statement: contributions using the 14 CRediT roles (see
reproducibility-statement). - Declaration of competing interest: many journals require Elsevier's declaration tool output as a file.
- Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process: Elsevier asks authors to disclose such use in a dedicated statement. Check the current policy wording.
- Data availability: statement and/or data linking (Mendeley Data, domain repositories).
- Funding with grant numbers. Ethics approvals and consent for human/animal studies.
Reference styles
The guide specifies one of: numbered [1], numbered with names, author-year (Harvard), or a
named style (APA, Vancouver). Use the matching .bst/CSL style. Enter DOIs. For initial
"Your Paper Your Way" submissions any consistent style is usually accepted.
Submission
Editorial Manager (journal-specific site). Upload the manuscript (PDF for initial, source files
for revision: .tex, .bib/.bbl, figures), highlights, graphical abstract, declarations, and
cover letter. Suggested reviewers are often requested (see cover-letter-to-editor).
The Elsevier Researcher Academy and journal "Article Transfer Service" may offer transfers after rejection.
Related skills
venue-templates, abstract-and-title (highlights), reproducibility-statement,
cover-letter-to-editor, bibtex-hygiene, rebuttal-and-response-to-reviewers.