Submissions checklist Biochemical Society Transactions
1. Cover letter 7. Editorial style
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Biochemical Society Transactions is the reviews journal of the Biochemical Society, publishing mini-reviews from across the molecular biosciences. Mini-reviews are short, digestible papers that review the latest developments in the field. If you would be interested in writing a longer, more comprehensive review please contact the Editorial Office.
Biochemical Society Transactions mainly publishes commissioned mini-reviews, although non-commissioned reviews will be considered. Prospective authors should complete our pre-submission enquiry form or contact the Editorial Office providing a draft of their article if available.
1. Cover letter
Cover letters are optional in Biochemical Society Transactions but are encouraged. If included with your submission, the cover letter should concisely explain how your mini-review addresses the latest developments in the field. The cover letter should not include reviewer suggestions or exclusions, these can be added during the submission process. If you would like to request the attention of a particular Associate Editor from the Editorial Board to handle your paper, please express this in the cover letter.
2. Title
The title should reflect the content of the paper and must not exceed 20 words in length. Please do consider the wording of your title to ensure maximum impact.
3. Abstract
Abstracts must not exceed 250 words. Please ensure that there are no references included in the abstract. Biochemical Society Transactions does not currently consider graphical abstracts.
4. Keywords
During the submission process you will be asked to provide a subject area and keywords that best represent your submission. Please select these carefully, as they will help to improve the discoverability of your paper should your paper be accepted for publication.
5. Author list
The Journal follows ICMJE’s recommendations on authorship, as detailed in our Editorial Policy. Please ensure that the authorship is correct, and that author names are listed exactly as you would like them to appear on the published paper.
The Journal mandates that the Corresponding Author must have an institutional email address as a requirement. If the author is unable to provide an institutional email address, the corresponding author’s institution must provide a letter (on letterheaded paper) that includes the following:
• The full title of the paper
• The full author list
• The date of submission
• Confirmation that the institution is aware of the work being submitted to the Journal
• Confirmation of where the work was performed
• Confirmation of when the work was completed
• Confirmation of the corresponding author’s employment at their affiliated institution
• Contact details of the corresponding author
• Contact details, signature and job title of the person who wrote the letter (This letter must be completed and signed by a research officer or department head, not an author of the paper)
6. Corresponding authors
The corresponding author is responsible for all communication with the Journal. The corresponding author must also ensure that all authors are aware of, and agree to, the submission and (if accepted) publication of the paper. The corresponding author is required to provide an ORCiD during submission of a revised paper. The email address of the corresponding author will be published in the paper and the corresponding author must also act as the point of contact for queries regarding the paper after publication. The submission system only allows for one corresponding author to be added, if the paper has more than one corresponding author, please clearly indicate this in the manuscript file and cover letter.
6. Length of article
Mini-reviews in BST are approx. 2500-3500 words in length. This excludes the abstract, figures, tables, legends, and references. Please note that one of the key benefits to our readers is the short format mini-review style.
If you would be interested in writing a longer, more comprehensive review please contact the Editorial Office.
7. Editorial style
Articles can be written using either American or British spelling conventions; however, these should be used consistently throughout the article. Authors should be aware that, if accepted, inconsistent usage will be corrected during the copyediting stage.
8. Perspectives section
Biochemical Society Transactions papers must include and clearly indicate a ‘Perspectives’ summary section within the main text of the manuscript and within the submission system. This section should consist of three bullet points, not replicating the abstract but covering the following points:
1. Highlight the importance of the field
2. Summary of the current thinking
3. Comment on future directions
Each bullet point should be no more than 1-2 sentences.
9. Figures
The inclusion of one figure in your article is mandatory, and you are encouraged to include at least two. Figures must be provided in separate files to the article file. Please ensure all Figures have a title and a legend. All Figures must be referred to in the main text.
The use of colour in Figures is encouraged, and there is no charge to authors to publish in colour.
Please note that if you are using a figure from a work that is already published, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions to reuse the article, and an appropriate credit line should be included in the figure legend.
For more information on preparing your Figures, please see our Figure Preparation guide and full Data Policy.
10. Tables
All tables should include a title and ideally a legend. References included in tables must follow our referencing style detailed below.
11. Supplementary Files
All Supplementary Figures and Tables must include a title and (as appropriate) a legend. Supplementary Figures and Tables should be presented in a separate file from the main manuscript.
12. Author contributions
You will be required to assign a CRediT contributor role to each author of the mini-review. This will be published as part of the paper should your paper be accepted for publication. Please ensure the contribution of each author is fully and accurately reflected.
13. Funding
Any funding information that you would like to acknowledge should be included within the submission process and at the end of the article.
14. Acknowledgements (optional)
The acknowledgements should note assistance from contributors that do not meet the criteria for authorship.
15. References
Authors should aim to primarily cite literature from the last 3-5 years, to cover the latest developments and insights.
Please use the Vancouver style for all references. Please format your reference list to include the relevant DOI (digital object identifier) wherever possible. All references must be numbered consecutively within the text and listed in numerical order in the reference list. Where a reference includes more than six authors, please list the first six names followed by ‘et al’.
Example:
- Walker, N., Manwaring, Z., Rowe, O., Rodriguez, J., Glaister, K., Raanan, D, et al. (2023) Emergent reference pathways and citation explorations. Port Pubs. 67, 1-3 10.1042/PPL_12345678
Preprints should be cited using their DOI. The format should be: Author(s). (Year) Title. bioRxiv (or other preprint server name). DOI, posted date. For more information, please see our full policy on preprints. There is no limit on the number of references included.
16. Revised Papers
Please ensure all files are uploaded with your revised paper, including any Figures, Tables or Supplementary files. These will not be brought forward with the revised submission automatically.
a. Response to reviewers (revised papers)
For revised papers, you will be required to provide a response to the comments made by the Associate Editor, Reviewers and Editorial Office. Please ensure these are included within a single file and that every comment is responded to and/or addressed in the article file as appropriate.
b. Tracked changes version (revised papers)
Please provide a tracked changes version of your revised paper (a version with the changes highlighted) as a separate file from the main article.
Changes to authorship
If there are changes to the authorship of the paper during the revision, an Authorship Change form must be completed. Please include your fully completed form with your revised submission. All changes are subject to moderation by the Editorial Office. More information on changes to authorship can be found on our Editorial Policy page.
