Frontiers Manuscript Formatting Guidelines in Word

Frontiers Media SA publishes over 200 high-impact, open-access journals across scientific, medical, and engineering disciplines—including flagship titles such as Frontiers in Immunology, Frontiers in Microbiology, Frontiers in Neuroscience, Frontiers in Plant Science, and Frontiers in Psychology. Submissions are managed through Frontiers' custom submission portal, Loop, and undergo evaluation within the interactive Frontiers Collaborative Review Forum.

While published Frontiers articles showcase an elegant two-column layout with bespoke XML typography, submitting a DIY two-column Microsoft Word document is one of the most common mistakes authors make. Frontiers editorial screening staff immediately return manuscripts that mimic published proofs. Instead, the journal editorial office requires a clean, single-column, double-spaced Word draft equipped with continuous line numbers. This guide breaks down every empirical layout rule, table architecture, back-matter declaration, and citation convention required to pass Frontiers technical screening on your first attempt.

1. Frontiers Quick Specification Matrix

Before diving into section-by-section preparation, ensure your manuscript aligns with our overarching academic journal manuscript submission checklist, which covers pre-submission journal scope matching, co-author consensus, and ethics clearance.

2. Page Geometry, Margins & Double Line Spacing

Frontiers accepts manuscripts prepared on either standard US Letter (8.5 × 11.0 inches; 215.9 × 279.4 mm) or ISO A4 (8.27 × 11.69 inches; 210 × 297 mm). Regardless of paper size, your margins must be set to exactly 1.0 inch (25.4 mm) on all four sides: top, bottom, left, and right. In OpenXML terms, this is represented as <w:pgMar w:top="1440" w:right="1440" w:bottom="1440" w:left="1440"/>, where 1 inch equals 1,440 twentieths of a point (dxa).

Why Single-Column Layout Is Required

Early-career researchers often download recent papers from Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology or Frontiers in Plant Science and attempt to format their manuscript using Word's multi-column tool to mirror the published PDF. This causes severe technical complications:

• Reviewer Annotation Breakdown: In the Frontiers Collaborative Review Forum, reviewers read the draft and paste comments referencing specific lines and paragraphs. Multi-column text columns confuse Word's line numbering engine, causing numbering to jump erratically between columns.
• Figure Placement Glitches: Multi-column layouts in Word force figures into narrow column widths or require continuous section breaks that corrupt page headers and footers.
• Automated Ingestion Failure: Frontiers' automated manuscript intake pipeline parses the document AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) to extract headings, references, and metadata. Column section breaks break the document stream and trigger automated conversion alerts.

Configuring 12 pt Font and Double Line Spacing

Frontiers recommends standard 12 pt Times New Roman for all body text, abstracts, and section headings. While Arial and Calibri are acceptable in certain technical disciplines, Times New Roman remains the universal standard across biological, chemical, and medical editorial boards.

Line spacing must be configured to Double (2.0x) throughout the entire manuscript body. In Word's Paragraph dialog:

1. Select all text using Ctrl + A (Windows) or Cmd + A (macOS).
2. Open the Paragraph settings dialog (Home ribbon → click the dialog launcher arrow in the Paragraph group).
3. Under Spacing, set Before to 0 pt and After to 0 pt. Ensure “Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style” is left unchecked or set explicitly.
4. Under Line spacing, select Double (which corresponds to <w:spacing w:line="480" w:lineRule="auto"/> in Word OpenXML).
5. Click OK.

3. Mandatory Continuous Line Numbers in Word

Continuous line numbers are non-negotiable for Frontiers submissions. If your manuscript lacks line numbers, or if the numbers reset on every page, Frontiers editorial assistants will unsubmit your manuscript and mandate resubmission before editorial assignment.

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1Continuous line numbers active across all document sections without resetting per page

2Double line spacing (2.0x / 24 pt) applied to standard 12 pt Times New Roman body text

31.0 inch (25.4 mm) normal margins on all four borders ensuring adequate reviewer annotation space

Figure 1: Word Layout Ribbon: Continuous Line Numbers & Double SpacingClose

Figure 1: Word Layout and Paragraph configuration for Frontiers manuscripts: continuous line numbers enabled down the left margin and double line spacing (2.0x / 480 dxa) applied throughout the text.

1Continuous line numbers active across all document sections without resetting per page

2Double line spacing (2.0x / 24 pt) applied to standard 12 pt Times New Roman body text

31.0 inch (25.4 mm) normal margins on all four borders ensuring adequate reviewer annotation space

Enabling Continuous Line Numbering in Word

To insert continuous line numbers across the full document:

1. Click the Layout tab in Word's top ribbon menu.
2. Locate the Page Setup group and click the Line Numbers dropdown.
3. Select Continuous. Word will immediately draw sequential line numbers in the left margin from line 1 through the end of the document.

For detailed troubleshooting on section break restarts and keeping front matter unnumbered when required, review our dedicated guide on how to insert continuous line numbers in Word.

The Section Break Restart Bug

A frequent defect in Word documents occurs when authors insert Next Page Section Breaks (e.g. before tables, figures, or the reference list). By default, Word may reset line numbering back to 1 at the beginning of each new section.

To resolve this in Word:

• Place your cursor inside the section where numbering restarted.
• Navigate to Layout → Line Numbers → Line Numbering Options....
• In the Page Setup dialog, verify that the Layout tab is active.
• Click the Line Numbers... button at the bottom of the dialog.
• Under Numbering, change the selection from Restart each page or Restart each section to Continuous.
• Set “Apply to” to Whole document and click OK.

4. Frontiers Mandatory Section Sequence & Structure

Frontiers enforces a standardized structural sequence for all Original Research articles. Deviating from this order—such as placing Materials & Methods at the end of the manuscript (as is standard in Nature Portfolio journals)—will cause administrative delays.

Title Page Architecture

Frontiers title pages must be structured with meticulous precision:

• Article Title: In title case or sentence case, bold 16–18 pt Times New Roman. Avoid abbreviations and formula notations.
• Author Byline: First name, middle initial, and surname for every author (e.g. Elena R. Rostova^1,2, Marcus Chen^2*).
• Affiliations: Department, Institution, City, State/Province (if applicable), and Country for each contributing organization, mapped via superscript numerals.
• Corresponding Author Details: Designated with an asterisk (*). Must include full name, institutional email address, and complete institutional postal mailing address.
• Keywords: Exactly 5 to 8 keywords, separated by commas, listed below the abstract to facilitate indexing in PubMed and Google Scholar.

5. 3-Line Academic Tables Architecture

Frontiers mandates classic 3-line academic tables (also known as booktabs style). Tables submitted with full gridlines, vertical column dividers, or shaded cell backgrounds will be flagged by production checkers.

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11.0 pt top horizontal border bounding the table structure

20.5 pt sub-header horizontal border separating variable headers from numerical data

3Zero vertical rules or column dividers to comply with Frontiers typographic booktable specifications

Figure 2: Table Design: Frontiers 3-Line Academic Table BordersClose

Figure 2: Frontiers 3-line academic table formatting in Word: top 1.0 pt rule, header bottom 0.5 pt divider, and bottom 1.0 pt bounding rule with all interior vertical gridlines removed.

11.0 pt top horizontal border bounding the table structure

20.5 pt sub-header horizontal border separating variable headers from numerical data

3Zero vertical rules or column dividers to comply with Frontiers typographic booktable specifications

Anatomy of a Compliant Frontiers Table

A compliant academic table consists of exactly three horizontal lines:

1. Top Rule: A 1.0 pt solid horizontal border spanning the entire width of the table above the column header row.
2. Header Separator Rule: A 0.5 pt solid horizontal border separating the column headers from the first data row.
3. Bottom Rule: A 1.0 pt solid horizontal border closing the table beneath the final data row.
4. Zero Vertical Rules: No interior vertical gridlines and no left or right bounding borders.

For comprehensive step-by-step instructions on configuring Word table styles and preventing split rows across page breaks, see our guide on how to format 3-line academic tables in Word.

Frontiers Table Caption and Note Placement

Unlike figures (where captions appear beneath the visual), table titles and captions must always appear above the table. Explanatory footnotes, abbreviation expansions, and statistical significance indicators (e.g. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) must appear immediately below the table:

6. High-Resolution Figure Standards & Separate Uploads

Frontiers maintains rigorous technical criteria for visual assets. Low-resolution figures, compressed JPEGs with visible compression artifacts, or images containing illegible panel labels will immediately trigger revision notices during pre-screening.

The Three DPI Tiers

When preparing artwork for Frontiers, your source files must meet or exceed the following resolution standards:

• 300 DPI for Color and Halftone Photographs: Histology slides, confocal microscopy, clinical imaging, Western blots, and field photographs.
• 600 DPI for Combination Artwork: Graphs, flow cytometry plots, or charts that contain photographic components alongside fine text labels, error bars, or axis notations.
• 1200 DPI for Pure Monochrome Line Art: Vector diagrams, chemical structures, gene maps, and pure black-and-white schematic drawings.

Accepted File Formats & Color Space

Frontiers requires high-resolution figure files to be uploaded as individual, separate files during the Loop submission process:

• TIFF (.tif): The preferred format for photographic and raster images. Use LZW lossless compression to minimize file size without quality loss.
• EPS (.eps): Preferred for vector artwork, line drawings, and statistical graphs produced in R, GraphPad Prism, Python (matplotlib/seaborn), or Adobe Illustrator. Ensure all fonts are converted to outlines.
• JPEG (.jpg): Accepted for high-resolution photographs only if saved at maximum quality (minimum compression).
• Color Space: Figures intended for online digital publication must be generated in RGB color space, not CMYK.

Multi-Panel Figure Labeling

If your figure comprises multiple sub-panels (e.g. panels A through D):

• Label each sub-panel in the upper-left corner with an uppercase letter: A, B, C, D.
• Use a clean, sans-serif font such as Arial or Helvetica in bold, 8 pt to 10 pt size.
• Maintain uniform font sizing and line weights across all panels within the same figure.
• Avoid rasterizing text into the background pixel grid; retain vector text layers wherever possible.

7. Mandatory Back-Matter Declarations (COI, Funding & Data)

Frontiers requires four mandatory back-matter declaration sections placed between the Discussion and the References. Omitting any of these sections or combining them into informal prose will result in immediate technical return.

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1Conflict of Interest statement explicitly declaring absence of commercial relationships

2Data Availability Statement citing public repository DOIs or accession codes

3Author Contributions section specifying contributor initials and distinct CRediT activities

Figure 3: Document Structure: Conflict of Interest & Data AvailabilityClose

Figure 3: Mandatory back-matter declarations in Frontiers Word manuscripts: explicit Conflict of Interest, structured Data Availability Statement, and funding grant codes.

1Conflict of Interest statement explicitly declaring absence of commercial relationships

2Data Availability Statement citing public repository DOIs or accession codes

3Author Contributions section specifying contributor initials and distinct CRediT activities

1. Conflict of Interest Statement

Frontiers enforces strict transparency regarding financial, personal, or professional affiliations. If no conflicts exist, use the exact standard wording required by Frontiers:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

If financial relationships exist (e.g. consulting fees, patent royalties, advisory board appointments, stock ownership), detail each author's connection explicitly:

Conflict of Interest: Author AB has received research consulting fees from BioGen Corp. Author CD is an inventor on patent PCT/US2024/012345 licensed to PharmaTech Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

2. Author Contributions

Frontiers requires a clear breakdown of each author's role in the research. Authors must be identified by their capitalized initials:

Author Contributions: AB and CD conceived and designed the experiments. EF and GH performed the laboratory assays. IJ analyzed the statistical data and constructed the bioinformatic pipeline. AB, CD, and EF wrote the original draft of the manuscript. GH and IJ contributed to data interpretation and critically revised the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the submitted version.

For standardizing roles across large multi-author consortia, consult our complete guide to the 14 CRediT contributor roles with templates.

3. Funding Statement

All sources of financial backing must be declared, including institutional fellowships, national funding bodies, and non-profit grants. Specify the exact grant numbers and funding agency names:

Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers R01AI123456, R21AI654321 to AB]; and the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme [grant agreement No. 891011 to CD].

If the study received no external grant funding, include the standard negative statement:

Funding: The author(s) received no specific financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

4. Data Availability Statement

Under Frontiers' open science policy, raw data supporting the conclusions must be made available. Depending on your data type, use one of the following verified statements:

• Public Repository with Accession Number (Omics, Sequencing, Structural Data):
  “The raw genomic datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) under accession number PRJNA123456 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/PRJNA123456). Protein crystal coordinates are available in the Protein Data Bank under PDB ID 7XYZ.”
• General Public Data Repository (Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare):
  “The quantitative datasets and R computational scripts supporting the findings of this article are openly available in Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1234567.”
• Human Clinical / Confidential Data:
  “The raw clinical data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to institutional review board ethical approval and participant privacy agreements.”

For comprehensive copy-pasteable statements covering 10 distinct research scenarios, see our dedicated Data Availability Statement examples and templates guide.

8. Frontiers Reference Styles (Vancouver vs. Harvard)

One of the most confusing aspects of formatting for Frontiers is that different journals within the Frontiers portfolio use different referencing styles. Applying the wrong citation model will necessitate re-linking citations throughout your document.

Vancouver (Frontiers Numbered) Examples

In Vancouver-style Frontiers journals, in-text citations must be enclosed in square brackets: “Previous investigations demonstrated cellular apoptosis [1], consistent with recent findings [2, 3].”

Reference entries follow this structure:

1. Zhang Y, Rostova E, Al-Mansoor H, Henderson K. Epigenetic regulation of macrophage polarization in pulmonary fibrosis. Front Immunol (2024) 15:1098765. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1098765

2. Thompson BL, Davies MW. Principles of Molecular Immunology. 4th ed. London: Academic Press (2023). p. 145–168.

Harvard (Frontiers Author-Date) Examples

In Harvard-style Frontiers journals, in-text citations cite the author surname and publication year: “Cognitive flexibility declines under acute sleep deprivation (Smith and Jones, 2023; Williams et al., 2024).”

Reference entries are listed alphabetically without numbers:

Smith, J. A., and Jones, M. K. (2023). Behavioral interventions for adolescent executive function: a randomized controlled trial. Front. Psychol. 14, 876543. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.876543

Williams, R., Vance, P., and Davies, C. (2024). Neural correlates of working memory under cognitive load. Front. Neurosci. 18, 543210. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.543210

Notice that in both styles, the publication year is enclosed in parentheses, and an explicit doi: 10.3389/... link is mandatory whenever available.

9. Avoiding Common Frontiers Desk Rejections

Manuscripts submitted to Frontiers pass through an automated pre-flight technical audit and a manual Journal Editorial Office (JEO) screening before reaching an Associate Editor. Understanding the top failure modes prevents frustrating administrative delays.

10. Pre-Submission Verification & Loop Portal Checklist

Before uploading your final Word file to the Frontiers Loop portal, perform this 10-point mechanical check:

1. Single-Column Layout Verified: Ensure the document contains zero multi-column section breaks. Page size is Letter or A4 with 1-inch margins.
2. Double Line Spacing Confirmed: Body text is formatted in 12 pt Times New Roman with 2.0x line spacing and 0 pt before/after spacing.
3. Continuous Line Numbers Active: Line numbers run continuously down the left margin from page 1 through references without resetting.
4. Title Page Completeness: Full author names, numbered affiliations, corresponding author postal address and email, running title, and 5–8 keywords are included.
5. Structured Section Order: Introduction → Materials & Methods → Results → Discussion → Declarations → References.
6. All Four Mandatory Declarations Present: Dedicated headings for Conflict of Interest, Author Contributions, Funding, and Data Availability Statement.
7. Ethical Committee References Stated: Institutional review board (IRB) or animal welfare committee name and approval protocol numbers documented in Methods.
8. 3-Line Academic Tables: All tables have top, sub-header, and bottom borders only. Zero vertical gridlines. Captions above, notes below.
9. High-Resolution Figure Files Ready: Standalone TIFF/EPS/JPEG files generated at 300+ DPI ready for separate upload to Loop.
10. Reference Citations Synchronized: Vancouver bracketed numbers or Harvard author-date citations matched to target journal policy, complete with Crossref DOIs.

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