Formatting

A manuscript can be rejected at the desk before anyone reads the science, simply because it does not follow the journal's author guidelines. Theses are returned for the same reason. Formatting is detailed, rule-bound work, and it is exactly the kind of work that slips when you are focused on content.

Our Formatting service applies one style guide consistently to your whole document. We work with APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago (17th and 18th editions, notes-bibliography and author-date), Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, AMA and CSE. We also format to journal-specific and university-specific guidelines: attach the author instructions or the thesis handbook to your order.

What we check and correct:

• In-text citations: author-date or numbered format, "et al." rules, ordering of multiple citations.
• Reference list: element order, punctuation, italics, capitalisation, DOIs and URLs, and alphabetical or numerical ordering. Every in-text citation is matched to a list entry and vice versa.
• Headings: levels and numbering following the style.
• Tables and figures: numbering, captions, notes and placement.
• Page layout: margins, fonts, line spacing, running heads, page numbers and front matter.

A common request is converting a manuscript from one style to another after a rejection, for example from APA to Vancouver for a new journal. We convert citations, footnotes and the reference list together so nothing is left in the old style.

We never invent bibliographic data. If a reference is missing a year, page range or DOI, we list it in the formatting report so you can complete it. Word documents are returned with changes applied and tracked. For LaTeX projects we adjust the bibliography style, section commands and layout settings.

Formatting does not include language editing. Combine it with Basic Proofreading or Academic Editing at a discounted rate to have language and formatting handled in a single order.