JACS Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

JACS publishes two primary article types: Communications and Articles. The formatting and length expectations are significantly different.

Communications are the dominant article type at JACS. They account for the majority of published papers and are meant to present a single, significant advance concisely. The 4-page limit is measured in final typeset pages, which translates to roughly 2,000 words of body text plus figures, schemes, and references. This is tight. You need to convey your finding and its significance within these constraints, pushing experimental details and characterization data to the Supporting Information.

Articles are for work that requires more extensive presentation: multi-step syntheses, comprehensive mechanistic studies, or large datasets. There's no formal word limit, but reviewers will penalize excessive length. Most JACS Articles run 6,000-10,000 words of body text.

Perspectives are invited or unsolicited reviews of a field, usually written by established researchers. They provide context and opinion, not just summary.

JACS uses unstructured abstracts limited to 200 words for both Communications and Articles. The abstract should be a single paragraph that:

• States the problem or question addressed
• Describes the approach briefly
• Summarizes the key finding with specific data
• Notes the significance

For Communications, the abstract is particularly important because many readers won't go beyond it. Include your most compelling result with a number attached: a yield, a selectivity, a rate constant, a binding affinity. Generic abstracts that say "we report a new method for..." without specifics get overlooked.

For Articles, the abstract should cover the scope of the work and the primary conclusions. You have more space in the body text, so the abstract can focus on the big picture.

The Table of Contents (TOC) graphic is one of JACS's most distinctive requirements. Every paper, whether Communication or Article, must include a TOC graphic.

TOC graphic specifications:

• Dimensions: 3.25 inches wide x 1.75 inches tall
• Minimum resolution: 600 DPI
• Format: TIFF, EPS, or high-resolution PDF
• Must be in color (grayscale is accepted but color is strongly preferred)
• Should visually represent the key finding or concept of the paper
• No text smaller than 7-point font
• Uploaded as a separate file during submission

The TOC graphic appears in the journal's online and print table of contents and is often the first thing a reader sees when browsing new issues. A good TOC graphic is immediately understandable: it shows a reaction scheme, a molecular structure, a before-and-after comparison, or a schematic of a mechanism.

Common mistakes with TOC graphics: using a figure from the paper that's too detailed to read at small size, including too much text, or creating something so abstract it conveys no information. The best TOC graphics communicate one idea clearly at a glance.

JACS uses three types of display items: Figures, Schemes, and Tables. Schemes are used for reaction sequences and synthetic routes, which is specific to chemistry journals.

Figure requirements:

• Minimum resolution: 300 DPI for photographs, 600 DPI for line art and chemical structures
• Accepted formats: TIFF, EPS, PDF, or CDX (ChemDraw)
• Single column width: 3.25 inches (8.25 cm)
• Double column width: 7 inches (17.78 cm)
• Font in figures: Arial or Helvetica, minimum 7-point after sizing
• Color figures are free online; print color has no additional charge
• Each figure uploaded as a separate file

Scheme requirements:

• Chemical structures drawn using ChemDraw (CDX format preferred) or equivalent
• Bond lengths: 14.4 pt (0.508 cm) in ChemDraw
• Bond width: 0.6 pt
• Font: Arial, 8-point for atom labels
• Use standard ACS drawing conventions for stereochemistry, charges, and bonds
• Schemes are numbered separately from Figures (Scheme 1, Scheme 2, etc.)

Table requirements:

• Created in Word or LaTeX table environments
• Every column must have a header
• Horizontal rules at top, bottom, and below headers
• No vertical rules
• Footnotes use superscript lowercase letters
• Units in column headers, not repeated in cells
• Entries centered or decimal-aligned as appropriate

For Communications, keep display items minimal. Two to three figures or schemes is typical. Anything beyond that should go to the SI.

JACS uses the ACS reference style as defined in The ACS Style Guide. This differs significantly from Vancouver or APA styles used in biomedical journals.

Key formatting rules:

• Superscript citation numbers in text, placed after punctuation
• References numbered consecutively in order of appearance
• Author names: last name, first initial(s), with semicolons between authors
• Journal titles abbreviated using CASSI (Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index), not NLM
• Include volume (bold), page range, and year
• DOIs are not typically included in the reference list (but are linked online)

Example reference:

(1) Smith, A. B.; Jones, C. D.; Williams, E. F. Catalytic Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Trisubstituted Olefins. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 1234-1240.

Note the differences from biomedical reference styles: semicolons between authors (not commas), CASSI abbreviations (J. Am. Chem. Soc., not JACS), bold volume number, italicized volume, and year in bold. The title is capitalized in title case (not sentence case).

CASSI abbreviations are different from NLM/Medline abbreviations. "Angewandte Chemie" becomes "Angew. Chem., Int. Ed." in CASSI but isn't in the NLM system at all. Use the CASSI search tool to verify abbreviations. Both Zotero and EndNote have ACS-specific output styles.

Supporting Information is expected for virtually all JACS papers. It's where experimental details, characterization data, and supplementary analyses live. SI is published online and freely accessible to all readers.

Typical SI contents for a JACS Communication:

• General experimental procedures
• Detailed synthetic procedures for all new compounds
• Characterization data: 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, HPLC traces
• Copies of NMR spectra
• X-ray crystallographic data (CIF files)
• Computational details (methods, coordinates, energies)
• Additional control experiments and mechanistic studies

SI formatting:

• Must begin with a table of contents
• Figures labeled as Figure S1, S2, etc.
• Tables labeled as Table S1, S2, etc.
• References can use the same numbering as the main text or a separate scheme
• NMR spectra should include peak assignments and integration
• CIF files for crystal structures submitted separately through the joint CCDC/FIZ deposition system

The SI for a JACS Communication is often 20-40 pages, much longer than the main paper. This is normal and expected. Reviewers evaluate the SI as carefully as the main text. Don't treat it as a data dump.

JACS accepts both Word and LaTeX submissions, and LaTeX is genuinely common among JACS authors, particularly in computational chemistry, physical chemistry, and theoretical work.

Word submissions:

• Use the ACS Word template available from the ACS Paragon Plus submission system
• 12-point Times New Roman
• Double-spaced for review (single-spaced templates are for final production)
• ChemDraw structures embedded or uploaded separately

LaTeX submissions:

• Use the achemso package, which is the official ACS LaTeX template
• Install via your TeX distribution or from CTAN
• The achemso class handles formatting, reference style, and layout automatically
• Submit compiled PDF plus all source files (.tex, .bib, .bst, image files)
• BibTeX is supported and recommended

The achemso LaTeX package is well-maintained and widely used. It automatically formats references in ACS style, handles the correct journal abbreviations, and produces a manuscript that closely matches JACS's final layout. For computational and theoretical papers with equations, LaTeX is the standard choice. For synthetic chemistry papers, Word with ChemDraw is more common.

JACS has several requirements and conventions that differ from other chemistry journals. Missing these can delay your submission.

1. TOC graphic is non-negotiable. The submission system won't let you proceed without uploading a TOC graphic. Have it ready before you start the submission process.

2. Communications have a hard page limit. The 4-page limit for Communications is measured in final typeset pages, not manuscript pages. A double-spaced manuscript might look long but fit within 4 pages when typeset. The ACS provides a template that approximates the final layout so you can check.

3. ChemDraw standards are enforced. Chemical structures must follow ACS drawing conventions. If your structures don't use the correct bond lengths, font sizes, and stereochemistry notation, you'll get a revision request just for the drawings. Set your ChemDraw preferences to ACS 1996 Document settings before drawing.

4. CIF files for crystal structures. If your paper includes X-ray crystallographic data, you must deposit the CIF file through the joint CCDC/FIZ Karlsruhe deposition system and include the deposition number in the manuscript. The CIF file must pass checkCIF validation without major alerts.

5. FAIR data principles. JACS increasingly expects data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. For computational papers, this means depositing input files, scripts, and optimized coordinates in a public repository. For synthetic papers, spectral data should be deposited when facilities support it.

JACS has specific expectations for different types of chemistry research:

New compounds must be fully characterized. For organic molecules, this means at minimum: 1H NMR, 13C NMR, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and either elemental analysis or additional spectroscopic evidence of purity. Missing characterization data is one of the most common reviewer complaints.

JACS uses ACS Paragon Plus for submissions. Prepare these files:

1. Main manuscript (Word or LaTeX): abstract, body text, references, figure/scheme legends
2. TOC graphic: 3.25 x 1.75 inches, 600 DPI minimum, separate file
3. Figures and Schemes: each as a separate high-resolution file
4. Supporting Information: complete PDF with table of contents
5. CIF files (if applicable): deposited through CCDC/FIZ
6. Cover letter: brief, stating the article type and significance
7. Suggested reviewers: JACS asks for 4-6 suggested reviewers with email addresses

The most frequent issues with JACS submissions:

• TOC graphic wrong dimensions or too low resolution
• Chemical structures not drawn to ACS standards
• CASSI journal abbreviations incorrect in references
• Missing compound characterization data in SI
• Communication exceeding 4 typeset pages
• SI lacking a table of contents
• CIF files not deposited or failing checkCIF

In our pre-submission review work on JACS-targeted chemistry manuscripts, the same formatting failures appear often enough that they are worth treating as a pre-upload checklist rather than as copyediting cleanup.

Specific failure pattern: the main text is Communication-length, but the evidence package is Article-length. Authors often cut the narrative down to four published pages while leaving the actual burden of proof in a 50-page Supporting Information file. That can satisfy a rough page count but still fail the Communication format because the editor cannot see the discovery logic without reading the SI.

Specific failure pattern: chemical structures are readable in ChemDraw but not in the submitted figure size. ACS graphics guidance gives the minimum production constraints, but the practical test is whether stereochemistry, atom labels, reaction arrows, and yield annotations remain readable at single-column width. Reviewers read the chemistry through the schemes first.

Specific failure pattern: characterization is complete for the lead compound but thin for the scope. JACS reviewers expect new compounds, catalysts, materials, or intermediates to be supported consistently. A polished main figure cannot compensate for missing NMR, HRMS, crystallographic, computational, or control-data support in the SI.

In our pre-submission review work with manuscripts targeting Journal of the American Chemical Society, four patterns generate the most consistent desk-rejection outcomes.

TOC graphic wrong ACS dimensions or absent. JACS requires a TOC graphic at 3.25 inches wide by 1.75 inches tall (ACS landscape format), 300 dpi minimum, in TIFF, EPS, or high-resolution JPEG. This is the mandatory ACS format used across ACS journals, but JACS also adds a 50-word TOC synopsis. Papers submitting square TOC graphics (common in Wiley-formatted manuscripts) or missing the synopsis are returned administratively.

Novelty does not meet the "broad significance" standard. JACS editors explicitly look for work of "broad significance" to the chemical sciences, meaning the finding must be interesting beyond the author's immediate subfield. Papers that present a new compound, a new catalyst, or a new synthesis without articulating why the result matters across chemistry broadly are desk-rejected. The cover letter must make the case for why a non-specialist chemist should care about the result.

Communication length exceeds 4 published pages for Letters. JACS publishes both Letters (4 pages) and Articles (full research papers with no strict limit). Letters submitted at 5+ published pages, or Articles submitted as Letters with insufficient development, are returned for reclassification. The distinction must be determined before submission, and the paper written to match.

Experimental section insufficient for independent synthesis replication. JACS requires complete experimental details allowing independent replication: NMR with chemical shift assignments, HRMS data, melting points for crystalline solids, and complete synthetic procedures including workup conditions. Missing characterization data for key intermediates or referencing "standard procedures" without specifying them causes revision requests before peer review can proceed.

A JACS submission readiness check evaluates manuscript scope, TOC graphic compliance, and characterization completeness against these desk-rejection patterns.