Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

IJOSTHE General Format Contained in this page are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in the IJOSTHE style. The best way to format your paper may vary slightly depending on which field you’re working in and the specifics of where your paper is being submitted, so remember to double-check against any submission guidelines provided by the organization, instructor, or supervisor to whom you are submitting your paper.


  • The paper title should be centered at the top of the first page, in 24-point type.
  • The byline should be centered below the title, after a line break, in 10-point type. It should contain the following, on separate lines:
    • Author’s name (or authors’ names)
    • Author affiliation(s)
    • City & country location(s)
    • E-mail address (es).
  • The body of the paper should be in 10-point type, and formatted to appear in two columns. The columns on the last page should be the same length; this may require adding a column break after you have finished the body of your paper.
  • All papers must begin with an abstract and index terms.
  • Papers may, depending on context and field, include some or all of the following:
    • Note to Practitioners
    • Nomenclature
    • Appendices
    • Acknowledgements
  • Papers may be divided into sections and subsections; IJOSTHE has guidelines for primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary section headings.
  • IJOSTHE papers begin with a drop cap two lines deep, followed by the next 8-12 characters (or 1-2 words, whichever is appropriate) in all caps.
  • Figures, tables, and equations should each be numbered consecutively, but separately. They should also be centered in the column in which they appear.


IJOSTHE abstract should be written as a single paragraph roughly 200 words long, give or take 50 words. (Abstracts shorter than 150 words or longer than 250 risk incurring the irritation of the editors.) It should be self-contained, and should concisely & accurately summarise the contents of your paper. It is encouraged to try and include three or four keywords or key phrases to help interested readers to find your article.

Abstracts should be simply formatted, without anything that requires specialized typesetting or consultation of material outside the abstract. Abbreviations, footnotes, references, tables, graphs, charts, figures, and displayed mathematical equations are specifically forbidden. The goal of an abstract is to be a simple, accessible, and self-contained microcosm of your paper.

Here is an example of how you might format an abstract:

                  Abstract – Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Adipiscing enim eu turpis egestas pretium aenean. Urna duis convallis convallis tellus id interdum velit. Praesent semper feugiat nibh sed pulvinar proin gravida hendrerit lectus. Eu non diam phasellus vestibulum. Integer feugiat scelerisque varius morbi. Pretium fusce id velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse.

The abstract should be followed by index terms. These should be in a paragraph separate from the abstract. Index terms are similar to keywords and are provided by the paper’s author to help journals, editors, and readers categorize, archive, or locate your paper. IJOSTHE maintains a standardized list of index terms to make this process easier and its categories more consistent.

Section Headings

Dividing one’s paper into clearly labelled sections increases readability, and is encouraged. Typical sections include Introduction and Conclusion sections as well as sections within the body of the paper that relate to aspects of its content.

Primary headings are enumerated with Roman numerals followed by a period, set in small caps, and centered above the text.

Secondary headings are enumerated with capital letters followed by a period, set in italics and title case, left-aligned, unindented, and separated from the text by a line break.

Tertiary headings are enumerated by Arabic numerals followed by a close-parenthesis, set in italics and title case, left-aligned, indented one em, and separated from the text by a colon. There is no line break between the heading and the text. 

Quaternary headings are enumerated by lowercase letters followed by a close-parenthesis, set in italics and sentence case, left-aligned, indented two ems, and separated from the text by a colon. There is also no line break here.

Here is an example of what the various headings should look like in your document:

  1. Primary Heading

                  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Fermentum leo vel orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse.

  1. Secondary Heading

                  Odio ut enim blandit volutpat maecenas volutpat blandit aliquam. Amet consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et.

        1) Tertiary Heading: Libero justo laoreet sit amet cursus sit. Enim nec dui nunc mattis enim ut tellus elementum sagittis.

  1. a) Quaternary heading: Nibh ipsum consequat nisl vel pretium lectus. Malesuada proin libero nunc consequat interdum varius.

Special Headings

In addition to the standard headings above, there are a few special cases. References and Acknowledgments are formatted like primary headings, but are not enumerated.

Appendix headings should be arranged under a separate system, though formatted like primary headings; if there is only one appendix, it requires neither a number nor a name, but is simply labelled Appendix. If there are multiple appendices, they should be numbered and titled, though one should note that the numbering system for appendix headings is wholly separate from that of section headings; they start at one, regardless of how many sections were present within the paper. Appendices may be enumerated either with Roman numerals or with capital letters, according to the preference of the author, as long as it is done with consistency. Unlike section headings, the number will come after the word “Appendix”: Appendix A rather than A. Appendix. They should have titles, set on the line below them but still formatted like a section heading.

Please download the manuscript template. Kindly prepare your manuscript as per the  IJOSTHE guidelines and follow the format.