You have written one paper, but each publisher wants it dressed differently. Reference style, file structure, figure placement, declarations — the same manuscript can need four different presentations depending on where you send it. Getting manuscript formatting for journal submission right is rarely difficult, but getting it wrong is a common reason papers are returned before review.
This guide compares how the four largest academic publishers — Elsevier, Springer Nature, MDPI, and Taylor & Francis — handle formatting, and how to prepare a manuscript that satisfies each. As always, the specific journal's Guide for Authors overrides any general rule below.
major publishers, four different sets of conventions. A reference list formatted for one is almost never correct for another — which is why formatting is checked before a paper reaches a reviewer.
Before formatting for any specific publisher, make sure the underlying manuscript is sound. Formatting is presentation; it cannot fix a paper that does not yet follow a clear research paper structure for journal submission. Once the structure holds, the formatting work becomes mechanical.
What Every Publisher Checks First
Regardless of publisher, a handful of formatting elements are screened at submission. Get these universally right and most of the work is done.
| Element | Elsevier | Springer Nature | MDPI | Taylor & Francis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-submission formatting | "Your Paper Your Way" — flexible single file | Free-format accepted on many journals | Strict template required from the start | Format-free option on many journals |
| Reference style | Varies by journal (numbered or name–date) | Varies (Basic, Vancouver, APA) | MDPI numbered style | Varies (often APA, Vancouver, Chicago) |
| Figures at submission | Embedded or separate; high-res for revision | Often separate files | Embedded in the template | Often separate, then production files |
| Template | Optional at first; required later | Word/LaTeX templates available | Mandatory Word or LaTeX template | Optional at first submission |
| Submission system | Editorial Manager | Editorial Manager / Snapp | MDPI Submission System (SuSy) | ScholarOne or Editorial Manager |
The single most useful pattern here: three of the four publishers now let you submit a flexibly formatted manuscript for the first review, then ask for full formatting only if the paper is accepted in principle. MDPI is the clear exception — its template is required from the very first upload. Knowing which camp your target journal falls into tells you immediately how much formatting work to do before you submit, and how much can wait.
Pro Tip
Where a publisher offers free-format or "your paper your way" submission, take it. You save hours of reformatting on a paper that may yet be rejected — and you do the detailed formatting only once acceptance is likely.
Reference Style: Where Most Formatting Fails
If one element trips up more submissions than any other, it is the reference list. Each publisher — and often each journal within a publisher — specifies a citation style, and a mismatch is immediately visible to an editor. Numbered styles (Vancouver, IEEE, MDPI's own) order references by their first appearance in the text; author–date styles (APA, Harvard, Chicago author–date) order them alphabetically. Switching between the two is not a find-and-replace job: it changes both the in-text citations and the list itself.
The practical answer is to never format references by hand. Manage them in a reference tool and apply the journal's style with a single setting, then read the output against the Guide for Authors' examples, because automated styles drift on unusual sources such as datasets, reports, and conference papers. This one habit removes the most common cause of a formatting-related return.
Publisher by Publisher
Elsevier
Elsevier's "Your Paper Your Way" policy lets you submit a single, loosely formatted file for first review on most journals, with references in any consistent style. Full formatting — including the journal's specific reference style and high-resolution figures — is requested only on revision. Submissions go through Editorial Manager.
Springer Nature
Many Springer Nature journals accept free-format submission, meaning structure and reference style are flexible at first. Word and LaTeX templates are provided, and reference styles vary from a simple "Basic" style to Vancouver or APA depending on the journal. Check whether your title uses Editorial Manager or the newer Snapp system.
MDPI
MDPI is the strictest of the four. You download the journal's Word or LaTeX template and write directly into it, with figures embedded and references in MDPI's numbered style from the outset. This front-loads the formatting work but removes ambiguity. For a wider view of MDPI's standing, see our balanced assessment in the journal-selection guides.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis offers format-free submission on many journals, so you can submit without matching the house style until acceptance. Reference styles differ widely by journal and discipline — APA, Vancouver, and Chicago all appear. Depending on the journal, you will submit via ScholarOne or Editorial Manager.
Common Mistake
Spending a day formatting references in a publisher's exact style before first submission — when that journal accepts free-format manuscripts. Read the submission policy first; format fully only when the journal requires it.
A Reliable Formatting Workflow
Keep a clean, well-structured master version of your manuscript with references managed in a tool such as Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote. When you target a specific journal, you then only need to switch the reference style, adjust figure handling, and drop in the required declarations. Treating formatting as a final, switchable layer — rather than something baked into your only copy — saves enormous time when a paper moves between journals after a rejection.
It also helps to keep a short formatting checklist of your own for each submission: target reference style, figure resolution and file type, line numbering and spacing if required, title-page contents, and the declarations the journal asks for. Running manuscript formatting for journal submission through the same short list every time turns a fiddly, error-prone task into a quick, repeatable one — and means a journal switch after rejection costs you minutes rather than an afternoon.
This is exactly the kind of detail our Submission Support service handles with you: matching your manuscript to each publisher's requirements so nothing is returned on a technicality. The writing stays yours; we make sure it is presented the way each journal expects.
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