Instructions for Using the Organic Letters Manuscript
Template
Word 2010 for Windows
The Organic Letters manuscript template is a guide to be used to prepare manuscripts for
submission to Organic Letters. There are a number of paragraph styles available for use with
this template to identify the different parts of your manuscript, i.e., Title, Author Names,
Abstract, etc. In Microsoft Word, the name of the current paragraph style is displayed in the
Styles section of the home tab. Use the styles provided in the template for each corresponding
section of your paper. The template is designed to closely approximate a composed
manuscript. A manuscript may not exceed 2200 words, including abstract, main text, and
titles/footnotes of approximately five to eight graphics. Additional graphics will require a
reduced word count. To calculate the word count, select all text from the abstract through the
end of the main text (excluding title, authors, affiliations, and content after main text) and view
the word processor word count data NOTE: references are NOT included in the word count..
For best approximation, do not manipulate elements of the template such as font size,
margins, spacing,etc. to suit your word processed draft. Formatting in the Organic Letters
journal style will occur as part of the editorial production process.
Authors should refer to the documentation for their individual word processor or graphics
package for answers to questions directly related to those programs.
Downloading the template
1. From the Organic Letters Information for Authors page, click on the manuscript
template that corresponds to the version of word-processing software you will be using
to prepare your manuscript.
2. Save the template in the Templates folder. With the template open in Word, click File
then Save As. Scroll to the top of the folder list, Click Microsoft Word, then click
Templates. In the Save as type drop down list, select Word Template, then click Save.
This places the template in the proper folder so it will be listed as an available template
for manuscript preparation.
Working with the template
There are several ways to use this template to generate your final manuscript to be submitted for
publication. Two of the most straightforward are to (a) type your manuscript directly in the
template or (b) attach the template to a working document. Instructions are given below for each
of these methods as well as general instructions for all methods. Be sure to frequently check the
Organic Letters Information for Authors page to ensure that you are using the most recent
version of the template.
For best results, template method A is recommended.
A. Typing directly into the template
1. Open the saved OL template and create your manuscript directly in the template by
choosing File, New. Click My Templates to locate the OL template. NOTE: If it does not
appear, open the template file from the location where you saved it and resave it as a
Document Template using the same file name. This should make it so that it does appear
on the My Templates tab in the New dialog box.
2. Select the OL template and make sure the option Create New: Document (not Template)
is selected. Click OK. You will see a file containing sample text sections with tips for
using the template and guidelines for what each section contains. This text is formatted
with the paragraph style appropriate for the section. In addition, a Styles toolbar can be
displayed listing the Word Styles available in the template. The Styles toolbar can be
opened from the Styles menu on the ribbon or by the shortcut Alt+Ctrl+Shift+S. When
you use the template to create a document, the new document will be a document copy
(.docx) of the template containing your manuscript text, and the original template file will
remain unchanged.
3. Select (highlight) the text of the template that you want to replace and begin typing your
manuscript (i.e., select the Title section for typing in your title), ensuring that you have
selected text from the appropriate section (i.e., the Author Names section for typing in
your author names).
B. Attaching the template to a document
If you have prepared your document in a file not using the template, you can attach the template
to your working document and apply the Word style tags. If attaching the template to your
document, it is helpful to print a copy of the template first so that you can identify which Word
style should be applied to the different sections of your manuscript (File, New, My Templates
and select the OL template).
1. Open your manuscript file.
2. Select File on the toolbar and then Options. NOTE: There are several ways to import
templates/styles into working documents within Word. See the "templates" section of
Microsoft Word Help for further instructions.
3. Choose Add-Ins in the Word Options dialog box.
4. Select Templates from the Manage drop-down list, then click Go.
5. Click the Attach button and choose the appropriate template, then select Open.
6. Click Automatically update document styles, then clikc OK. This will return you to the
working document. The OL template styles will be available for this manuscript.
7. A popup Styles toolbar has been generated that will display the different Word styles for
easier use. If you do not see this toolbar, do (Alt+Ctrl+Shift+S), and it should appear. You
can close this at any time and reopen it when needed.
8. Attaching the OL template sytles does not automatically change the page layout to match
the template dimensions; you must make the following adjustments for the best fit. Under
Page Layout, select the Margins drop down list. Select Custom Margins tab, type in the
following dimensions: Top 0.5”, Bottom 0.5”, Left 0.76”, Right 0.76”, Gutter 0”. On the
Paper Size drop-down select More Paper Sizes, in Paper tab set size Letter, Width 8.5”,
Height 11”, then on the Layout tab set the Header 0.5”, and Footer 0.5”. NOTE: Page layout
settings other than those prescribed here will not give accurate layout estimates.
9. Place the cursor in the title section of your document. Using the Word Style menu on the
formatting toolbar, select Word Style “BA_Title”. This will apply the Word Style to the title.
Do this for the author names and addresses using the appropriate style.
10. Insert TOC/Abstract graphic (sized at desired publication size).
11. Place the cursor in the abstract section of your document and apply the Word Style
“BD_Abstract”.
12. After the last word of the abstract, enter a continuous page break (Page Layout, Breaks,
select Continuous from Breaks drop- down) then change the page format for the rest of the
manuscript to two-column text. Click on the Columns drop-down from the Page Setup
section in Page Layout and select More Columns. Make the following changes in this
window: Number of Columns 2, Width 3.33”, Spacing 0.32”. Click OK. Assign the
appropriate Word Styles to the remaining paragraphs/text of the manuscript.
13. Insert figures, schemes, and tables by creating a blank line (style Normal) where you want
each to appear, making sure the image is sized appropriately for desired reproduction in
publication.
Additional Guidelines (see Organic Letters Author Guidelines for complete
details)
1. Include a graphical entry for the Table of Contents (TOC) that, in conjunction with the
manuscript title, should give the reader a representative idea of one of the following: a
key structure, reaction, equation, concept, or theorem, etc., or an ingenious
representation, thereof, that is discussed in the manuscript. Insert this graphic, at
publication size, above the abstract text on the first page of the template.
2. Submit a concise, self-contained, one-paragraph abstract (75 words or less).
Space for this is provided on the first page of the template.
3. Use paragraph returns to end headings and paragraphs only. Do not use paragraph
returns to break lines. Use a spell checker to detect any typos and eliminate any spaces
before punctuation.
4. Pay particular attention to the format of the references to ensure that they comply with
journal style. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references.
5. Present tabular material by using the table-formatting feature in your word-processing
package. Enter each data element in its own cell. Apply template table styles to table
titles, footnotes, and table body text.
6. Ensure all characters are correctly represented throughout the manuscript: for example, 1
(one) and l (ell), 0 (zero) and O (oh). Use symbol font for all Greek letters and math
symbols. Use only characters in your file that came with the character sets in your word
processor.
Working with graphics in the template
To insert a graphic within the text or as a figure, scheme, or table, create a new line (Word
style “Normal”) and insert the graphic where desired.
Size and place the graphics at the size they should be in the journal. For best results, most
artwork should be sized to fit in a single journal column. NOTE: If your artwork is larger than
the width of a column, Word may reduce the size so that it fits within the column. This will alter
the resolution of your graphic and may make it unacceptable for publication.
For double column artwork, enter a continuous page break, change number of columns from 2 to
1, place the artwork, then insert another continuous page break and configure two columns with
previous settings.
If your artwork does not appear where you placed it and is floating over text, select the piece of
artwork by clicking on it. Under Picture Tools, select Picture or Object and then select the
Position tab. Make sure the Float over text box is NOT selected. If it is, deselect it and select
OK. This should make your artwork appear where you originally placed it.
ChemDraw directions
Follow the drawing settings in the ACS-1996 Style Sheet for preparing your artwork. It is best to
copy the actual artwork and paste it into Word rather than saving it as a file and inserting the file.
In addition, for versions later than 2.1.3, in the ChemDraw Preferences (File, Preferences),
ensure that the Optimize for High-Resolution non-Postscript Printing, Include ChemDraw
LaserPrep, and Include PostScript Preferences are ON. Use of ChemDraw versions 2.1.3 or
below and any version of ChemDraw Plus is not encouraged, as they are not compatible with the
process that generates the PDF file for your manuscript. If it is absolutely necessary to use one of
these older versions of ChemDraw, deselect Include PostScript Atom Labels (File,
Preferences). This will prevent incompatible PostScript information from being embedded in the
structure. NOTE: this may result in structures of inferior quality; thus, the use of an updated
version of ChemDraw is strongly encouraged.
Saving your manuscript in the template
When you are finished and are ready to save your document, if necessary, delete all sections
from the template that are not needed, including the first page of instructions. Assign the file a
name that will identify your manuscript, one that is different than that of the template. Save the
file with the graphics in place. In Microsoft Word, click Save As (File menu) and save it as a
“document” file (.docx).
NOTE: To use the template with Microsoft Word 2007 (PC version) and Microsoft Word 2008
(Macintosh version), Save your Word files in the compatibility format (Word 97-2003) using the
“Save As” option.
Checking your manuscript for completeness
Review a printout of the manuscript (from a 600 dpi or higher laser printer) to ensure that all
parts of the manuscript are present and clearly legible.
Submitting your manuscript
Follow the Author Guidelines link from the Organic Letters home page for the latest instructions
on how to proceed with the submission of your manuscript. If submitting electronically, your
manuscript will be converted to a PDF file. This file is used strictly for peer review. The length
of the file when converted to the PDF version may change. Additional formatting changes may
occur in prodouction. In addition, the appearance of footnote numbers does not need to be
changed to match the journal style.
Additional resources
Authors should refer to the User's Guides for their individual word processor and graphics
programs for more specific instructions on how to use these packages. In addition, most
software manufacturers maintain on-line help resources. Two good sources of additional
information are the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/) and the ChemDraw Web
site (http://www.cambridgesoft.com/software/ChemDraw/).
Appendix: References
Given below are the recommended formats to be used for the various reference types.
Journals: Author 1; Author 2. Journal Abbreviation year, volume, pages. For example: Smith,
J. A.; Jones, B. R. Article Title. Org. Lett. 1999, 1, 1.
Books with Editors: Author 1; Author 2. In Book Title; Editor 1, Editor 2, Eds.; Publisher: Place
of Publication, year; volume, pages. For example: The ACS Style Guide, 2nd ed.; Dodd, J. S.,
Ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1997.
Books without Editors: Author 1; Author 2. Book Title; Publisher: Place of Publication, year;
volume, chapter, pages. For example: Stothers, J. B. Carbon-13 NMR Spectroscopy; Academic:
New York, 1972; Chapter 2.
U.S. Government Publications: Author 1; Author 2. Document Title; Government Publication
Number; Publisher: Place of Publication, year; pages. For example: National Handbook of
Recommended Methods for Water Data Acquisition; Office of Water Data Coordination, U.S.
Geological Survey: Reston, VA, 1977; Chapter 5.
Technical Reports: Author 1; Author 2. Title; Technical Report Number; Publisher: Place of
Publication, year; volume, pages. For example: Schneider, A. B. Expert Systems in Analytical
Chemistry; Technical Report No. 1234-56; ABC Company: New York, 1985.
Patents: Author. Patent number, year. (Patent number with reference to country granting the
patent.) For example: Lyle, F. R. U.S. Patent 5 973 257, 1985; Chem. Abstr. 1985, 65, 2870.
Thesis: Author. Level of Thesis, Degree-Granting University, Location of University, date. For
example: Fleissner, W. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 1984.
Series: Author 1; Author 2. In Title; Editor 1, Editor 2, Eds.; Series Title and Number; Publisher:
Place of Publication, year; volume, pages. For example: Nonlinear Optical Properties of
Organic Polymeric Materials; Williams, D. J., Ed.; ACS Symposium Series 233; American
Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1983.
Citation to Meetings: Author 1; Author 2. Title of Presentation. Published Title of Collected
Work, Proceedings of the Name of the Meeting, Location of the Meeting, Date of the Meeting;
Editor 1, Editor 2, Eds.; Publisher: Place of Publication, year; abstract number, pages. For
example: Baisden, P. A. Abstracts of Papers, 188th National Meeting of the American Chemical
Society, Philadelphia, PA; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1984; NUCL 9
