IEEE Manuscript Formatting Guidelines: The Definitive Word Specification

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) maintains one of the most rigorous and exacting typographic standards in scientific publishing. Whether submitting to an IEEE Transaction, Journal, Magazine, or Conference Proceedings, manuscript manuscripts must satisfy strict OpenXML layout constraints.

Because IEEE publications are distributed in dense, two-column formats designed for engineering and physical sciences, subtle formatting errors—such as drifting column gutters, misaligned equation numbers, or broken citation ranges—can lead to immediate editorial holds or return for reformatting. This guide provides the complete, authoritative 2026 technical specifications for preparing IEEE manuscripts in Microsoft Word.

2. Page Geometry & Two-Column Specifications

IEEE manuscripts are engineered around a balanced dual-column grid. Depending on the conference or journal home country, publications use either standard US Letter (8.5 × 11.0 in / 215.9 × 279.4 mm) or ISO A4 (8.27 × 11.69 in / 210 × 297 mm).

In Microsoft Word, do not attempt to construct columns using tables or manual text boxes. Use native Word section column controls:

1. Select your main body text starting immediately after the abstract and index terms.
2. Navigate to the Layout ribbon tab and click Columns > More Columns...
3. Under Presets, select Two.
4. Ensure the Equal column width checkbox is enabled.
5. Set Width to 3.5 in (8.89 cm) and Spacing to 0.25 in (0.635 cm / 1.5 picas).
6. In the Apply to: dropdown, choose Selected text or This point forward.

Layout Dialog

Zoom

1Two equal columns preset selected

2Column width: exactly 8.89 cm (3.5 in)

3Inter-column spacing: 0.635 cm (0.25 in / 1.5 picas)

4Preview confirms balanced two-column flow

Figure 1: Microsoft Word Columns dialog configured for IEEE two-column specificationsClose

Figure 1: Configuring Word's Columns dialog to IEEE specifications: 2 equal columns, 8.89 cm (3.5 in) width, and 0.635 cm (0.25 in) spacing.

1Two equal columns preset selected

2Column width: exactly 8.89 cm (3.5 in)

3Inter-column spacing: 0.635 cm (0.25 in / 1.5 picas)

4Preview confirms balanced two-column flow

3. Typographic Scale & Styles Hierarchy

IEEE enforces strict point sizes across document sections. All IEEE manuscripts use Times New Roman (or an equivalent serif face such as Nimbus Roman) for body prose, with Arial occasionally permitted for table headers or figure callouts.

4. Section Heading Architecture

Unlike APA or Harvard styles which rely primarily on font weight and positioning, IEEE uses an explicit alphanumeric numbering system combined with case formatting:

Level 1 Primary Headings

Level 1 headings designate major sections: I. INTRODUCTION, II. RELATED WORK, III. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY, IV. EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION, and V. CONCLUSION.

• Numbered with Roman numerals followed by a period and two spaces.
• Rendered in Small Caps (or uppercase if Small Caps font variant is unavailable).
• Horizontally centered within the column.
• Exceptions: ACKNOWLEDGMENT and REFERENCES are unnumbered Level 1 headings.

Level 2 Secondary Headings

Secondary headings partition major sections into thematic components: A. Sensor Configuration, B. Feature Extraction Pipeline.

• Numbered with capital letters followed by a period.
• Rendered in Italics with Title Case capitalization.
• Flush left with the column margin.

Level 3 Tertiary Headings

Tertiary headings provide granular sub-breakdowns: 1) Loss Function Optimization:.

• Numbered with Arabic numerals enclosed on the right with a closing parenthesis.
• Rendered in Italics and indented by standard paragraph tab (0.14 in / 3.5 mm).
• Followed by a colon; body prose immediately follows on the exact same line as a run-in heading.

5. Spanning Wide Figures, Tables, & Equations Across Both Columns

A common layout hurdle in IEEE manuscripts is handling complex multi-channel figures, large comparison tables, or lengthy mathematical derivations that exceed the 3.5-inch single-column width.

Word documents frequently break when authors drag images across columns or insert basic page breaks. The standard OpenXML solution is to isolate the wide element using Continuous Section Breaks:

1. Place your cursor at the end of the paragraph preceding the wide figure or table.
2. Go to Layout > Breaks > Section Breaks > Continuous.
3. On the new line, change the layout to Layout > Columns > One.
4. Insert your full-width graphic, table, or equation. Center the element and set its width up to 7.16 inches (182 mm) (the full printable width between margins).
5. Insert the caption immediately below (for figures) or above (for tables).
6. Immediately after the caption, insert another Layout > Breaks > Section Breaks > Continuous.
7. Set the section following the break back to Layout > Columns > Two (width 3.5 in, spacing 0.25 in).

Layout Technique

Zoom

1Continuous section break isolates 1-column zone

2Full printable width (7.16 in / 182 mm) utilized

3Second continuous break restores 2-column text flow

Figure 2: Word continuous section break spanning a wide figure across two columnsClose

Figure 2: Spanning full-width figures across an IEEE layout using Continuous Section Breaks before and after the element.

1Continuous section break isolates 1-column zone

2Full printable width (7.16 in / 182 mm) utilized

3Second continuous break restores 2-column text flow

6. Mathematical Typesetting & Equation Numbers

IEEE papers frequently contain intricate mathematical formulas. Equations must be typeset cleanly within the narrow 3.5-inch column boundary:

• Equation Placement: Equations should be centered within the column width.
• Equation Numbering: Number equations consecutively with Arabic numbers in parentheses flush with the right margin: (1), (2).
• In-Text Reference: Refer to equations simply as (1) in running text (e.g., "as demonstrated in (1)"), unless starting a sentence, where you write "Equation (1) indicates that...". Never write "Eq. (1)" or "equation (1)".

7. IEEE Citation & Reference Architecture

IEEE uses a numeric, sequential reference system. In-text citations appear as bracketed integers matching the alphabetical or chronological order of appearance in the bibliography.

In-Text Citation Syntax Rules

• Sequential Brackets: Citations are indicated by bracketed numbers: [1], [2].
• Multiple Sources: Separate non-consecutive sources with commas: [1], [3], [5]. For consecutive sources, use an en-dash: [1]–[4].
• Punctuation Placement: Citation brackets are placed inside sentence punctuation: ...as confirmed by recent deep learning models [4], [7]. (not after the period).
• Grammatical Integration: In IEEE style, the bracketed number functions as a noun phrase: As demonstrated in [3]... or Smith and Jones [4] investigated.... Avoid redundant phrasing like "in reference [3]".

Reference Management

Zoom

1IEEE citation style selected in Document Preferences

2Citations stored as Word Reference Fields

Figure 3: Zotero Document Preferences dialog selecting IEEE citation styleClose

Figure 3: Configuring reference managers (Zotero/EndNote) to IEEE style with WordprocessingML reference field codes enabled.

1IEEE citation style selected in Document Preferences

2Citations stored as Word Reference Fields

Bibliography Formatting Rules

The bibliography appears at the end of the paper under the unnumbered Level 1 heading REFERENCES:

• Author Names: List first initial, middle initial (if known), followed by last name: J. K. Author. Do not spell out full given names.
• Author Count Threshold: List up to six authors. If the work has more than six authors, list only the first author followed by et al.
• Article Titles: Enclosed in double quotation marks with Title Case capitalization: "Kinematic Tracking in Sparse Fluoroscopy,".
• Journal Titles: Italicized and abbreviated according to the IEEE Standards Style Manual (e.g., IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging, IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun.).
• Volume, Issue, Pages: Format as vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 1102–1114, Apr. 2026.
• DOIs: Mandatory for all modern publications. Format as a complete canonical URL: https://doi.org/10.1109/TMI.2026.1234567.

8. Mandatory Back-Matter Declarations

Modern IEEE Transactions require explicit research transparency disclosures in the back matter immediately preceding the bibliography:

• Acknowledgment: Placed under an unnumbered Level 1 heading: ACKNOWLEDGMENT (note singular spelling; IEEE specifies "Acknowledgment" without the British "e"). Sponsor and financial support acknowledgments belong in the unnumbered first-page footnote, not here.
• Data Availability Statement: Increasingly mandated across IEEE Computer Society and EMB transactions. Must specify repository accessions or explain legal/privacy access restrictions.
• Author Biographies: IEEE Transactions publish author biographies at the conclusion of the paper. Technical biographies are 100–150 words in 8pt font, accompanied by a 1.25 × 1.0 inch passport-style photograph flush with the left margin.

9. Pre-Submission Verification Checklist

Before uploading your final Word `.docx` manuscript to ScholarOne Manuscripts or the IEEE Author Portal, complete this 8-point technical compliance check:

1. Column Symmetry: Confirm columns are set to 3.5 in width with 0.25 in gutter spacing. Ensure text on the final page is balanced across both columns rather than trailing down one side.
2. Heading Capitalization: Check that Level 1 headings are centered Small Caps Roman numerals (I. INTRODUCTION) and Level 2 headings are italicized capital letters (A. System Architecture).
3. Equation Numbering: Verify all equation numbers are right-aligned in parentheses (1) and referenced as (1) in prose without the prefix "Eq."
4. Citation Sequence: Ensure citation numbers start at [1] and increase sequentially. Confirm no citation gaps or unbracketed superscripts remain.
5. 3-Line Tables: Ensure tables contain only top, bottom, and header divider borders. Eliminate all vertical interior rules.
6. Figure Quality: Verify all line art is 600–1200 DPI vector or raster, and photographic images are at least 300 DPI.
7. First-Page Footnotes: Ensure corresponding author email, affiliation notes, and funding grants are placed in the unnumbered title-page footnote.
8. Clean Metadata: Accept all tracked changes and strip reviewer commentary before final PDF or DOCX generation.

Need to format other aspects of your academic submission? Read our comprehensive guides on building 3-line academic tables in Word, fixing IEEE citation bracket spacing, and stripping tracked changes before editorial screening.