Journal Article Templates: Format Papers for Any Publication

Why Templates Matter

Submitting a paper in the wrong format is:

A signal that you didn't read the guidelines
Extra work for editors (they'll ask you to reformat)
A potential reason for desk rejection
Wasted time when you inevitably reformat

Use the right template from the start.

Major Publisher Templates

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

IEEE publishes hundreds of journals and thousands of conference proceedings.

Template: IEEE Transactions

\documentclass[journal]{IEEEtran}
 
\begin{document}
\title{Your Paper Title Here}
 
\author{
  \IEEEauthorblockN{First Author\IEEEauthorrefmark{1},
                    Second Author\IEEEauthorrefmark{2}}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{\IEEEauthorrefmark{1}First University\\
                    Email: first@university.edu}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{\IEEEauthorrefmark{2}Second University\\
                    Email: second@university.edu}
}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here. IEEE abstracts are typically 150-250 words.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{IEEEkeywords}
keyword1, keyword2, keyword3
\end{IEEEkeywords}
 
\section{Introduction}
Your introduction here.
 
\section{Related Work}
Previous research discussed here.
 
\section{Methodology}
Your approach explained here.
 
\section{Results}
Findings presented here.
 
\section{Conclusion}
Summary and future work.
 
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download: IEEE Author Tools

Tips:

Use \IEEEtran for journals, conference option for conferences
IEEE uses numbered references in brackets [1], [2]
Keep figures and tables within column width

ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)

ACM's new template (acmart) is required for all ACM publications.

Template: ACM Article

\documentclass[sigconf,anonymous]{acmart}
 
\begin{document}
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author{First Author}
\email{first@university.edu}
\affiliation{
  \institution{First University}
  \city{City}
  \country{Country}
}
 
\author{Second Author}
\email{second@institution.org}
\affiliation{
  \institution{Second Institution}
  \city{City}
  \country{Country}
}
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{CCSXML}
<!-- ACM classification codes here -->
\end{CCSXML}
 
\keywords{keyword1, keyword2, keyword3}
 
\maketitle
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download: ACM Primary Article Template

Tips:

Use sigconf for conferences, acmsmall for journals
Add anonymous option for double-blind review
ACM has specific CCS classification requirements

Elsevier

One of the largest academic publishers with 2,500+ journals.

Template: Elsevier Article

\documentclass[preprint,12pt]{elsarticle}
 
\usepackage{lineno}
\modulolinenumbers[5]
 
\journal{Journal Name}
 
\begin{document}
 
\begin{frontmatter}
 
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author[1]{First Author\corref{cor1}}
\ead{first@university.edu}
\author[2]{Second Author}
\ead{second@institution.org}
 
\cortext[cor1]{Corresponding author}
 
\affiliation[1]{organization={First University},
                city={City},
                country={Country}}
\affiliation[2]{organization={Second Institution},
                city={City},
                country={Country}}
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{keyword}
keyword1 \sep keyword2 \sep keyword3
\end{keyword}
 
\end{frontmatter}
 
\linenumbers
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\section{Methods}
Methodology here.
 
\section{Results}
Findings here.
 
\section{Discussion}
Analysis here.
 
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download: Elsevier LaTeX Instructions

Tips:

Use preprint for submission, remove for camera-ready
Line numbers (\linenumbers) are required for review
Multiple bibliography styles available

Springer Nature

Major publisher including Nature, Scientific Reports, and Springer journals.

Template: Springer LNCS (Lecture Notes)

\documentclass[runningheads]{llncs}
 
\begin{document}
 
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author{First Author\inst{1} \and Second Author\inst{2}}
\institute{First University, City, Country\\
\email{first@university.edu}
\and
Second Institution, City, Country\\
\email{second@institution.org}}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here. LNCS abstracts should be 70-150 words.
\keywords{keyword1 \and keyword2 \and keyword3}
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\bibliographystyle{splncs04}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Template: Nature Portfolio

\documentclass{nature}
 
\title{Your Title}
 
\author{First Author$^{1}$ \& Second Author$^{2}$}
 
\begin{document}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{affiliations}
\item First University, City, Country
\item Second Institution, City, Country
\end{affiliations}
 
\begin{abstract}
Abstract text (150 words for Nature).
\end{abstract}
 
% Nature uses specific sections
\section*{Main}
Main text begins here.
 
\section*{Methods}
Methods section.
 
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download:

MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

Open access publisher with 400+ journals.

Template: MDPI Article

\documentclass[journal,article,submit,moreauthors,pdftex]{Definitions/mdpi}
 
\Title{Your Paper Title}
 
\Author{First Author $^{1,*}$, Second Author $^{2}$}
 
\address{
$^{1}$ First University; first@university.edu\\
$^{2}$ Second Institution; second@institution.org
}
 
\corres{Correspondence: first@university.edu}
 
\abstract{Your abstract here (200 words max for most MDPI journals).}
 
\keyword{keyword1; keyword2; keyword3}
 
\begin{document}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\section{Materials and Methods}
Methods here.
 
\section{Results}
Results here.
 
\section{Discussion}
Discussion here.
 
\section{Conclusions}
Conclusions here.
 
\end{document}

Download: MDPI LaTeX Template

Quick Reference Table

| Publisher | Template Class | Citation Style | Page Limit | |-----------|---------------|----------------|------------| | IEEE Trans | IEEEtran | Numbered | Varies | | IEEE Conf | IEEEtran[conference] | Numbered | 6-8 pages | | ACM | acmart | Author-year | Varies | | Elsevier | elsarticle | Multiple | Varies | | Springer LNCS | llncs | Numbered | 12-16 pages | | Nature | nature | Numbered super | 8 pages | | MDPI | mdpi | Numbered | No limit |

Conference-Specific Templates

NeurIPS (Neural Information Processing Systems)

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{neurips_2025}
 
\title{Your NeurIPS Paper Title}
 
\begin{document}
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\end{document}

ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning)

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{icml2025}
 
\icmltitlerunning{Short Title for Header}
 
\begin{document}
 
\twocolumn[
\icmltitle{Your Full Paper Title}
\icmlauthor{Author Name}{affil}
\icmlaffiliation{affil}{University Name}
]
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\end{document}

CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition)

\documentclass[10pt,twocolumn,letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage{cvpr}
 
\title{Your CVPR Paper}
\author{Author Names}
 
\begin{document}
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\end{document}

Setting Up Your Paper

Step 1: Get the Template

# Option 1: Download from publisher
wget https://publisher.com/template.zip
unzip template.zip
 
# Option 2: Use Thetapad's gallery
# (one-click import)
 
# Option 3: From CTAN
tlmgr install IEEEtran

Step 2: Configure for Your Target

Read the journal/conference guidelines for:

Page limits
Figure requirements
Reference format
Submission format (PDF, source files)

Step 3: Write Your Paper

Typical structure:

paper/
├── main.tex           # Main document
├── sections/
│   ├── introduction.tex
│   ├── related.tex
│   ├── method.tex
│   ├── experiments.tex
│   └── conclusion.tex
├── figures/
│   └── *.pdf
└── references.bib

Step 4: Check Compliance

Before submission:

[ ] Correct template version
[ ] Page count within limit
[ ] All figures embedded (no external files)
[ ] References complete
[ ] Author information correct (or anonymized)
[ ] PDF/A format if required

Common Issues and Fixes

"Package not found"

# Install missing packages
tlmgr install packagename

Figure too wide

% Ensure figure fits column
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{figure.pdf}
% Or for two-column spanning
\begin{figure*}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{figure.pdf}
\end{figure*}

Bibliography style mismatch

% Check publisher's required style
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}  % IEEE
\bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}  % ACM
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num}  % Elsevier

Page limit exceeded

Reduce figure sizes
Tighten text (remove unnecessary words)
Use \small or \footnotesize for tables
Move content to supplementary material

Best Practices

1. Start with the template

Don't write first and format later. Template quirks are easier to handle from the start.

2. Use the latest version

Publishers update templates. Check for the current year's version.

3. Keep a clean structure

Separate concerns:

\input{sections/introduction}
\input{sections/related}

4. Test compilation early and often

Don't wait until the deadline to discover issues.

5. Read the guidelines

Every journal has specific requirements. Template is just the start.

Conclusion

Using the right template from the start:

Avoids reformatting headaches
Reduces rejection risk
Shows attention to detail
Saves time for research

Get the template, read the guidelines, and focus on your science—not on formatting.

All major publisher templates are available in Thetapad's template gallery for instant use.

Why Templates Matter

Submitting a paper in the wrong format is:

A signal that you didn't read the guidelines
Extra work for editors (they'll ask you to reformat)
A potential reason for desk rejection
Wasted time when you inevitably reformat

Use the right template from the start.

Major Publisher Templates

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

IEEE publishes hundreds of journals and thousands of conference proceedings.

Template: IEEE Transactions

\documentclass[journal]{IEEEtran}
 
\begin{document}
\title{Your Paper Title Here}
 
\author{
  \IEEEauthorblockN{First Author\IEEEauthorrefmark{1},
                    Second Author\IEEEauthorrefmark{2}}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{\IEEEauthorrefmark{1}First University\\
                    Email: first@university.edu}
  \IEEEauthorblockA{\IEEEauthorrefmark{2}Second University\\
                    Email: second@university.edu}
}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here. IEEE abstracts are typically 150-250 words.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{IEEEkeywords}
keyword1, keyword2, keyword3
\end{IEEEkeywords}
 
\section{Introduction}
Your introduction here.
 
\section{Related Work}
Previous research discussed here.
 
\section{Methodology}
Your approach explained here.
 
\section{Results}
Findings presented here.
 
\section{Conclusion}
Summary and future work.
 
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download: IEEE Author Tools

Tips:

Use \IEEEtran for journals, conference option for conferences
IEEE uses numbered references in brackets [1], [2]
Keep figures and tables within column width

ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)

ACM's new template (acmart) is required for all ACM publications.

Template: ACM Article

\documentclass[sigconf,anonymous]{acmart}
 
\begin{document}
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author{First Author}
\email{first@university.edu}
\affiliation{
  \institution{First University}
  \city{City}
  \country{Country}
}
 
\author{Second Author}
\email{second@institution.org}
\affiliation{
  \institution{Second Institution}
  \city{City}
  \country{Country}
}
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{CCSXML}
<!-- ACM classification codes here -->
\end{CCSXML}
 
\keywords{keyword1, keyword2, keyword3}
 
\maketitle
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download: ACM Primary Article Template

Tips:

Use sigconf for conferences, acmsmall for journals
Add anonymous option for double-blind review
ACM has specific CCS classification requirements

Elsevier

One of the largest academic publishers with 2,500+ journals.

Template: Elsevier Article

\documentclass[preprint,12pt]{elsarticle}
 
\usepackage{lineno}
\modulolinenumbers[5]
 
\journal{Journal Name}
 
\begin{document}
 
\begin{frontmatter}
 
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author[1]{First Author\corref{cor1}}
\ead{first@university.edu}
\author[2]{Second Author}
\ead{second@institution.org}
 
\cortext[cor1]{Corresponding author}
 
\affiliation[1]{organization={First University},
                city={City},
                country={Country}}
\affiliation[2]{organization={Second Institution},
                city={City},
                country={Country}}
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{keyword}
keyword1 \sep keyword2 \sep keyword3
\end{keyword}
 
\end{frontmatter}
 
\linenumbers
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\section{Methods}
Methodology here.
 
\section{Results}
Findings here.
 
\section{Discussion}
Analysis here.
 
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download: Elsevier LaTeX Instructions

Tips:

Use preprint for submission, remove for camera-ready
Line numbers (\linenumbers) are required for review
Multiple bibliography styles available

Springer Nature

Major publisher including Nature, Scientific Reports, and Springer journals.

Template: Springer LNCS (Lecture Notes)

\documentclass[runningheads]{llncs}
 
\begin{document}
 
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author{First Author\inst{1} \and Second Author\inst{2}}
\institute{First University, City, Country\\
\email{first@university.edu}
\and
Second Institution, City, Country\\
\email{second@institution.org}}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here. LNCS abstracts should be 70-150 words.
\keywords{keyword1 \and keyword2 \and keyword3}
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\bibliographystyle{splncs04}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Template: Nature Portfolio

\documentclass{nature}
 
\title{Your Title}
 
\author{First Author$^{1}$ \& Second Author$^{2}$}
 
\begin{document}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{affiliations}
\item First University, City, Country
\item Second Institution, City, Country
\end{affiliations}
 
\begin{abstract}
Abstract text (150 words for Nature).
\end{abstract}
 
% Nature uses specific sections
\section*{Main}
Main text begins here.
 
\section*{Methods}
Methods section.
 
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Download:

MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

Open access publisher with 400+ journals.

Template: MDPI Article

\documentclass[journal,article,submit,moreauthors,pdftex]{Definitions/mdpi}
 
\Title{Your Paper Title}
 
\Author{First Author $^{1,*}$, Second Author $^{2}$}
 
\address{
$^{1}$ First University; first@university.edu\\
$^{2}$ Second Institution; second@institution.org
}
 
\corres{Correspondence: first@university.edu}
 
\abstract{Your abstract here (200 words max for most MDPI journals).}
 
\keyword{keyword1; keyword2; keyword3}
 
\begin{document}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\section{Materials and Methods}
Methods here.
 
\section{Results}
Results here.
 
\section{Discussion}
Discussion here.
 
\section{Conclusions}
Conclusions here.
 
\end{document}

Download: MDPI LaTeX Template

Quick Reference Table

Conference-Specific Templates

NeurIPS (Neural Information Processing Systems)

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{neurips_2025}
 
\title{Your NeurIPS Paper Title}
 
\begin{document}
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\end{document}

ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning)

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{icml2025}
 
\icmltitlerunning{Short Title for Header}
 
\begin{document}
 
\twocolumn[
\icmltitle{Your Full Paper Title}
\icmlauthor{Author Name}{affil}
\icmlaffiliation{affil}{University Name}
]
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\end{document}

CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition)

\documentclass[10pt,twocolumn,letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage{cvpr}
 
\title{Your CVPR Paper}
\author{Author Names}
 
\begin{document}
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
Introduction text.
 
\end{document}

Setting Up Your Paper

Step 1: Get the Template

# Option 1: Download from publisher
wget https://publisher.com/template.zip
unzip template.zip
 
# Option 2: Use Thetapad's gallery
# (one-click import)
 
# Option 3: From CTAN
tlmgr install IEEEtran

Step 2: Configure for Your Target

Read the journal/conference guidelines for:

Page limits
Figure requirements
Reference format
Submission format (PDF, source files)

Step 3: Write Your Paper

Typical structure:

paper/
├── main.tex           # Main document
├── sections/
│   ├── introduction.tex
│   ├── related.tex
│   ├── method.tex
│   ├── experiments.tex
│   └── conclusion.tex
├── figures/
│   └── *.pdf
└── references.bib

Step 4: Check Compliance

Before submission:

[ ] Correct template version
[ ] Page count within limit
[ ] All figures embedded (no external files)
[ ] References complete
[ ] Author information correct (or anonymized)
[ ] PDF/A format if required

Common Issues and Fixes

"Package not found"

# Install missing packages
tlmgr install packagename

Figure too wide

% Ensure figure fits column
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{figure.pdf}
% Or for two-column spanning
\begin{figure*}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{figure.pdf}
\end{figure*}

Bibliography style mismatch

% Check publisher's required style
\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}  % IEEE
\bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}  % ACM
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num}  % Elsevier

Page limit exceeded

Reduce figure sizes
Tighten text (remove unnecessary words)
Use \small or \footnotesize for tables
Move content to supplementary material

Best Practices

1. Start with the template

Don't write first and format later. Template quirks are easier to handle from the start.

2. Use the latest version

Publishers update templates. Check for the current year's version.

3. Keep a clean structure

Separate concerns:

\input{sections/introduction}
\input{sections/related}

4. Test compilation early and often

Don't wait until the deadline to discover issues.

5. Read the guidelines

Every journal has specific requirements. Template is just the start.

Conclusion

Using the right template from the start:

Avoids reformatting headaches
Reduces rejection risk
Shows attention to detail
Saves time for research

Get the template, read the guidelines, and focus on your science—not on formatting.

All major publisher templates are available in Thetapad's template gallery for instant use.

Why Templates Matter

Major Publisher Templates

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)

Elsevier

Springer Nature

MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

Quick Reference Table

Conference-Specific Templates

NeurIPS (Neural Information Processing Systems)

ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning)

CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition)

Setting Up Your Paper

Step 1: Get the Template

Step 2: Configure for Your Target

Step 3: Write Your Paper

Step 4: Check Compliance

Common Issues and Fixes

"Package not found"

Figure too wide

Bibliography style mismatch

Page limit exceeded

Best Practices

1. Start with the template

2. Use the latest version

3. Keep a clean structure

4. Test compilation early and often

5. Read the guidelines

Conclusion

Related Articles

IEEE, ACM, Springer, Elsevier: A Formatting Cheat Sheet for Major Publishers

Academic Writing Privacy: Protecting Your Research Online

AI in Academic Writing: Trends, Tools, and Best Practices for 2025

Why Templates Matter

Major Publisher Templates

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)

Elsevier

Springer Nature

MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

Quick Reference Table

Conference-Specific Templates

NeurIPS (Neural Information Processing Systems)

ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning)

CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition)

Setting Up Your Paper

Step 1: Get the Template

Step 2: Configure for Your Target

Step 3: Write Your Paper

Step 4: Check Compliance

Common Issues and Fixes

"Package not found"

Figure too wide

Bibliography style mismatch

Page limit exceeded

Best Practices

1. Start with the template

2. Use the latest version

3. Keep a clean structure

4. Test compilation early and often

5. Read the guidelines

Conclusion

Related Articles

IEEE, ACM, Springer, Elsevier: A Formatting Cheat Sheet for Major Publishers

Academic Writing Privacy: Protecting Your Research Online

AI in Academic Writing: Trends, Tools, and Best Practices for 2025