Journal Formatting Guide: IEEE, ACM, Springer, Elsevier Templates

Every Publisher Wants Something Different

Your paper is done. The science is solid. Now you need to format it for submission—and you just discovered that IEEE conferences use different templates than IEEE journals, ACM changed their format in 2017, and Springer has separate templates for every journal.

Welcome to academic publishing.

Here's the cheat sheet that saves you from reformatting everything from scratch every time. Get the right template, avoid the common traps, and understand what each publisher actually wants. (You can also browse our journal templates for ready-to-use starting points.)

General Approach

Always Start Fresh

Don't try to reformat an existing document. Instead:

1. Download the publisher's official template
2. Copy your content into the template
3. Apply the publisher's formatting as you go

This approach prevents mysterious formatting conflicts.

Read the Guidelines

Before submitting, thoroughly read:

• Author guidelines
• Formatting requirements
• Submission checklist
• Frequently asked questions

Many rejections happen because authors skip this step.

IEEE Publications

Getting the Template

IEEE provides IEEEtran:

\documentclass[journal]{IEEEtran}
% or
\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}

Download from: IEEE Author Center

Document Options

% Journal article (two-column, larger format)
\documentclass[journal]{IEEEtran}
 
% Conference paper (two-column, letter size)
\documentclass[conference]{IEEEtran}
 
% Draft mode (single column, double spaced)
\documentclass[journal, draftcls, onecolumn]{IEEEtran}

IEEE-Specific Commands

\author{
    \IEEEauthorblockN{First Author}
    \IEEEauthorblockA{University Name\\
    City, Country\\
    email@example.com}
    \and
    \IEEEauthorblockN{Second Author}
    \IEEEauthorblockA{Company Name\\
    City, Country\\
    email2@example.com}
}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{IEEEkeywords}
keyword1, keyword2, keyword3
\end{IEEEkeywords}

Bibliography

IEEE uses numeric citations:

\bibliographystyle{IEEEtran}
\bibliography{references}

Cite with: \cite{smith2020} produces [1].

Common IEEE Issues

Figures spanning two columns:

\begin{figure*}[t]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{wide-figure}
    \caption{A figure spanning both columns.}
\end{figure*}

Author affiliations: Use \IEEEauthorblockN and \IEEEauthorblockA exactly as shown in the template.

ACM Publications

The acmart Class

ACM unified their templates in acmart:

\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}

Download from: ACM Primary Article Template

Format Options

% Conference proceedings
\documentclass[sigconf]{acmart}
 
% Journal articles
\documentclass[acmsmall]{acmart}     % Small format
\documentclass[acmlarge]{acmart}     % Large format
\documentclass[acmtog]{acmart}       % TOG format
 
% Review mode (for submission)
\documentclass[sigconf, review, anonymous]{acmart}

ACM-Specific Elements

% Before \maketitle
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author{First Author}
\email{first@example.com}
\affiliation{
    \institution{University Name}
    \city{City}
    \country{Country}
}
 
\author{Second Author}
\email{second@example.com}
\affiliation{
    \institution{Other University}
    \city{City}
    \country{Country}
}
 
\begin{abstract}
Abstract text.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{CCSXML}
% ACM CCS classification XML here
\end{CCSXML}
 
\ccsdesc[500]{Computing methodologies~Machine learning}
 
\keywords{keyword1, keyword2, keyword3}
 
\maketitle

ACM Bibliography

% Using biblatex (recommended)
\bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}
\bibliography{references}
 
% With natbib
\setcitestyle{numbers, square}

Common ACM Issues

Anonymous submission:

\documentclass[sigconf, anonymous, review]{acmart}

Page limit: Check the call for papers—ACM often has strict page limits that include references.

Copyright statement: ACM adds this automatically in the final version. Don't worry about it during submission.

Springer Journals

Springer Templates

Springer provides multiple templates depending on the journal:

% LNCS (Lecture Notes in Computer Science)
\documentclass{llncs}
 
% Springer Nature journals
\documentclass{sn-jnl}

Download from: Springer Author Resources

LNCS Format

\documentclass{llncs}
 
\begin{document}
 
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author{First Author\inst{1} \and Second Author\inst{2}}
 
\institute{
    University One, City, Country\\
    \email{first@univ.edu}
    \and
    University Two, City, Country\\
    \email{second@univ.edu}
}
 
\maketitle
 
\begin{abstract}
Abstract here.
\keywords{keyword1 \and keyword2 \and keyword3}
\end{abstract}
 
\section{Introduction}
...
 
\bibliographystyle{splncs04}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Springer Nature Format

\documentclass[pdflatex,sn-mathphys]{sn-jnl}
 
% Or other variants:
% sn-basic, sn-mathphys, sn-aps, sn-vancouver, sn-apa
 
\begin{document}
 
\title{Paper Title}
 
\author[1]{First Author}
\author[2]{Second Author}
 
\affil[1]{University One, City, Country}
\affil[2]{University Two, City, Country}
 
\abstract{Abstract text here.}
 
\keywords{keyword1, keyword2}
 
\maketitle
 
\section{Introduction}
...
 
\end{document}

Common Springer Issues

LNCS page limits: Strictly enforced (usually 12-16 pages including references).

Bibliography style: Use splncs04 for LNCS, specific styles for other journals.

Elsevier Journals

The elsarticle Class

\documentclass[preprint,12pt]{elsarticle}
% Or for review:
\documentclass[review,12pt]{elsarticle}

Download from: Elsevier LaTeX Templates

Elsevier Structure

\documentclass[preprint,12pt]{elsarticle}
\usepackage{lineno}
 
\begin{document}
 
\begin{frontmatter}
 
\title{Your Paper Title}
 
\author[1]{First Author}
\ead{first@example.com}
\author[2]{Second Author}
\ead{second@example.com}
 
\affiliation[1]{organization={University One},
                city={City},
                country={Country}}
 
\affiliation[2]{organization={University Two},
                city={City},
                country={Country}}
 
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract.
\end{abstract}
 
\begin{keyword}
keyword1 \sep keyword2 \sep keyword3
\end{keyword}
 
\end{frontmatter}
 
\linenumbers  % Often required for review
 
\section{Introduction}
...
 
\bibliographystyle{elsarticle-num}
\bibliography{references}
 
\end{document}

Common Elsevier Issues

Line numbers: Required for review; add \linenumbers after \begin{document}.

Highlights and graphical abstract: Some journals require these—check the guide for authors.

Nature and Science

Nature

Nature uses a specific format but doesn't provide a public LaTeX template. Instead:

\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{setspace}
\doublespacing
 
% Follow their specific formatting in the guide

Key requirements:

• Title: Brief, active where possible
• Abstract: Single paragraph, no references, under 150 words
• Main text: Specific section requirements
• Methods: Usually in separate section
• References: Nature style (numbered)

Science

Similar to Nature—no public template, specific guidelines:

• Abstract: No more than 125 words
• References: Science style (numbered, in order of citation)
• Figures: Specific size requirements

Always check the current author guidelines before submission.

Converting Between Formats

The Reality

Switching between IEEE, ACM, and Springer formats requires effort:

1. Content transfers easily
2. Structure may need reorganization
3. Formatting commands are completely different

Strategy

Keep a "master version" in a simple format:

\documentclass{article}
% Plain document with your content

Then create publisher-specific versions by copying content into their templates.

Useful Tools

latexdiff: Shows changes between versions

Overleaf templates: Pre-configured for each publisher

pandoc: Converts between formats (with limitations)

Submission Checklists

General Checklist

Before any submission:

• [ ] Downloaded latest official template
• [ ] Used correct document class options
• [ ] Authors and affiliations formatted correctly
• [ ] Abstract within word limit
• [ ] Keywords included
• [ ] Figures at correct resolution (usually 300+ dpi)
• [ ] Bibliography in correct style
• [ ] Page limit respected (if any)
• [ ] Line numbers added (if required for review)
• [ ] Compiled without errors or warnings
• [ ] PDF opens correctly

IEEE Specific

• [ ] Using latest IEEEtran
• [ ] Correct option (journal/conference)
• [ ] Biography/photo (if journal article)
• [ ] PDF compliant for IEEE Xplore

ACM Specific

• [ ] Using latest acmart
• [ ] CCS classification included
• [ ] Correct format option (sigconf, acmsmall, etc.)
• [ ] Anonymous for review (if required)

Springer Specific

• [ ] Correct class (llncs, sn-jnl, etc.)
• [ ] Page limit respected
• [ ] Bibliography style correct

Elsevier Specific

• [ ] Correct elsarticle options
• [ ] Line numbers for review
• [ ] Highlights (if required)
• [ ] Graphical abstract (if required)

Quick Reference

| Publisher | Class | Bibliography | |-----------|-------|--------------| | IEEE | IEEEtran | IEEEtran | | ACM | acmart | ACM-Reference-Format | | Springer LNCS | llncs | splncs04 | | Springer Nature | sn-jnl | varies | | Elsevier | elsarticle | elsarticle-num |

Conclusion

Journal formatting is tedious but necessary. The key principles:

1. Always use official templates
2. Read author guidelines carefully
3. Start fresh rather than reformatting
4. Keep content and formatting separate
5. Test thoroughly before submission

The first submission to a new venue always takes extra time. After that, you'll know the quirks and can move faster.

Focus on making your research excellent—then let the template handle the presentation.