Information for authors using the legacy (pre-September 2021) manuscript format
Authors who are submitting a new manuscript before 1 September 2021 or revising an article have the option to submit their manuscript in the new format described on the main Formatting and Manuscript Components page or use the legacy format detailed below. We encourage authors to consider the new format option, but the processing for eligible legacy format papers will be the same without any disadvantage. Additional resources for authors using the AMS LaTeX Template v5.0 in the legacy format are also included below.
Formatting
Authors using Word for their manuscript should use the AMS Word Template v1.0 for proper legacy formatting, while LaTeX authors should use the AMS LaTeX template 5.0 for proper legacy formatting. Information on the various manuscript components is presented below.
| Order of Manuscript Components |
Submissions may also contain Supplemental Material (if any) that should be prepared and uploaded separately from the main manuscript content. |
|---|---|
| Length |
Abstracts≤250 words. This conforms to ISO standards and the needs of abstracting services (MGA, etc.). Significance Statement (optional): Up to 120 words. Articles: Up to 7500 words (approximately 26 double-spaced pages), including the body text, acknowledgments, and appendixes. The word limit does not include the title page, abstract, references, captions, tables, and figures. If a submission exceeds the word limit, the author must provide a justification for the length of the manuscript and request the Chief Editor’s approval of the overage. This request may be uploaded in a document with the "Cover Letter" item type or entered in the comment field in the submission system. |
| Margins | Margins must be approximately one inch (2.5cm). |
| Line Spacing | All copy must be double spaced, including the references and list of figure captions. AMS defines double spacing as no more than three lines of text per inch (2.5 cm). |
| Paragraph Breaks | Paragraph breaks must be visually designated. Please either indent the first line of each new paragraph or insert an extra line space between the paragraphs (the extra line should leave at least 5/8 in. or 1.5 cm of white space). |
| Page, Line, and Section Numbering | All submissions must include line numbering. Pages must be numbered sequentially. Please see Body Text (below) for more details about section numbering. |
| Font | Black text. Sized 12 pt. font or larger. |
| Acronyms and Abbreviations | See List of Acronyms and Abbreviations |
| AMS Style for Common Meteorological Terms | See AMS Style for Common Meteorological Terms |
| AMS Style for Geography and Oceanography Terms | See AMS Style for Geography and Oceanography Terms |
| Mathematical Formulas, Units, Time, Date | See Mathematical Formulas, Units, and Time and Date |
| Tables | All tables should have a double-spaced caption. If desired, the preferred way to highlight table information is to use bold or italic font styles. Tables cannot contain shaded cells, underlining, or colored fonts. Footnotes can be used if additional information must be indicated. See Tables (below) for more guidance. |
Manuscript Components
Title Page
The manuscript title, name and affiliation of each author, any current or additional affiliations, and corresponding author email need to appear on the first page in the manuscript file. For more information regarding author lists, please see Your Author List.
Abstract
A concise (≤250 words) abstract is required at the beginning of each article and, at the discretion of the chief editors, at the beginning of appropriate shorter contributions. Authors should summarize their conclusions and methods in the abstract. Footnotes, reference citations, and urls or hyperlinks are not permitted.
Please note the abstract text in the manuscript must match exactly the abstract text entered in the abstract field of the upload system. If the abstract text entered in the abstract field of the upload system does not match the abstract in the manuscript then the submission will be returned to the author for correction.
Significance Statement (all journals except BAMS)
An optional plain language summary suitable for wider readership that provides additional context for why the work is relevant to science and society. It should be concise (≤120 words) and authors should follow the guidelines for significance statements.
Capsule (for BAMS only)
Include in the text of the manuscript (before or after the abstract) a short (20-30 words maximum) capsule summary of your article. No capsule is required for Nowcast, In Box, or Meeting Summary manuscripts. The capsule summary may be placed underneath the title in the print and digital edition layout. It may also be the text used on the table of contents. It is not included in the online layout of the full article. The more detailed abstract is placed at the beginning of the online layout of the full article.
Complete list of BAMS submission types and article components
Body Text
The text should be divided into sections, each with a separate heading and numbered consecutively. The section/subsection headings should be typed on a separate line [e.g., 1. Introduction, a. Data, 1) RADIOSONDE, and (i) Experiment 1]. Sections in BAMS need not be numbered. See above for more information on Formatting.
Acknowledgments
The AMS requires that all topically relevant funding sources, including recipients and grant numbers, as well as conflicts of interest, are fully disclosed in the Acknowledgments of all submissions. Please omit the word “number” from grant or contract information.
Data Availability Statement
Authors are expected to include a Data Availability Statement in its own section to inform the reader where the data associated with a paper are available, and how and under what conditions (if any) the data can be accessed (please see the updated Data Policy and Guidelines). Include a list of the repositories along with associated persistent digital object identifiers (DOIs), if applicable.
Appendix
Auxiliary analyses or tables whose details are subordinate to the main theme of the paper should normally appear in an appendix. Please note that any tables or figures intended to appear in an appendix should not be embedded and must be located after the references with the other manuscript tables and figures. Each appendix must have a title. Example:
APPENDIX A
Use of Model Data
References and Citations
References should be arranged alphabetically without numbering. The in-text citation should consist of the author's name and year of publication, [e.g., “according to Rossby (1945),” or “as shown by an earlier study (Rossby 1945)”]. When there are two or more papers by the same author in the same year, the distinguishing suffix (a, b, etc.) should be added.
Read more on References and Citations
Sidebars (for BAMS only)
A short story within a larger story, sidebars present content that is relatively self-contained. It is usually somewhat incidental to the main article—not critical for the generalist reader to understand the thread of the article. Historical background, explanatory detail, or other information of interest, for example, are common sidebar features. Not to exceed 500 words, sidebars should be placed in the manuscript after the References but before the Tables.
Tables
The tables cannot be embedded in the body of the manuscript. They should appear after the references and before the figures. Each table must be cited specifically in the text and in numerical order, and each table must have a caption. See above for formatting tables.
Figure Caption List
The historical requirement for a separate list of figure captions has been eliminated. There is no need to include this element, but we still allow it to display if the author chooses to include it since it is part of the current AMS LaTeX template. It can only appear after the references and before the figures are displayed individually.
Figures
- All figures should display once at the end of the system-built PDF with the full caption text. Figures cannot be embedded in the body of the manuscript.
- Please note all figure source files for production are required at the revision stage. The print-quality original figure files must be uploaded in one of the accepted formats.
- Authors should submit one complete figure per figure file. Multiple-panel figures that will appear on a single page should be combined into a single file whenever possible.
- Figures should be prepared according to the guidelines specified on Figure Information for Authors. Please be sure to consider accessibility needs when selecting color palettes as described in the Color Mode section.
- Technical editors may resize the figures for layout purposes.
- It is the policy of the AMS Publications Commission that the use of color in figures during peer review must match the color or black and white format that will appear in print.
- Note that BAMS encourages the use of color by authors and does not levy additional charges for color figures.
For additional information regarding which item type to select when uploading your figure source files, please refer to the list of item types.
Supplemental Material
Supplemental Material is online only and should be separate from the main manuscript. The definition, review process, and full submission instructions for supplemental content are provided on Supplemental Material.
The “Supplemental Material” item type should be used for all supplementary files. Supplemental content is not processed in the same way as the main manuscript, and source files are not required in all journals except BAMS. Formatting requirements also do not apply. Authors should upload their supplemental content exactly as they intend it to appear for final publication online.
Keywords
Keywords will be selected by the author in Editorial Manager during the submission process and should not be included in the main manuscript file(s). For additional information and a preview of the taxonomy that will be available for selection see Keywords.
Information for authors using the legacy format and AMS LaTeX template version 5.0
Most of the information available on our LaTeX Submissions pages does apply to all authors using LaTeX and can be used to prepare and troubleshoot a submission. The resources and information in the list of v5.0 FAQs linked below are only applicable to eligible authors who first submitted an article on or before 31 August 2021 and are continuing to use the older legacy format of the AMS LaTeX template v5.0 for that article and any subsequent revisions.