How Does Formatting Matter in the Age of AI?
When you talk to researchers who have successfully published their work in high-impact journals, more and more of them have used AI.
AI can be a very useful tool for various stages in the publication journey such as:
- helping with literature searches,
- summarizing articles,
- writing an article outline or draft, and
- even in preparing figures!
Day by day, more and more researchers are showing strong support of using AI tools, while having human involvement to ensure quality and adherence to the guidelines. This is very important in the case of formatting. Manuscript formatting, if not done correctly, can result in desk rejection – which means that the paper may not even reach the peer review stage! This makes it a critical step, as we all know that a first impression makes a lasting impression!
When a chatbot can produce a readable draft in seconds, it’s tempting to treat formatting as an afterthought. But for researchers who want their work read, reviewed, and published, formatting remains a vital part of scholarship, not a cosmetic extra. Clear structure and correct formatting speed editorial workflows, reduce reviewer friction, and help your science speak more convincingly.
From first impression to final decision
Did you know that editors and reviewers receive hundreds of submissions every month? The number is rapidly increasing with the growing number of submissions to journals over the past few years. How does one make a good impression, then? Here are some pointers:
- Follow the target journal’s structure
- Adhere to the submission checklist
- Have a clear title page
- A concise abstract
- Follow a standard IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion)
- Correctly format the figures/tables
- References formatted according to the journal
These are a few of the things that will surely help to move the manuscript through the triage and review process faster!
Some journals even perform basic formatting checks before they send a paper for peer review. So, a non-compliant submission can be returned for reformatting or desk-rejected. Wouldn’t this cost an author weeks in time wasted that could have been saved?
Formatting improves readability and impact
Beyond administrative convenience, formatting shapes how readers and reviewers process your argument. Research shows that readability and presentation affect how an abstract or paper is perceived and can correlate with citation outcomes. Clear headings, logical paragraphing, and well-labelled figures help readers focus on your methods and results rather than deciphering your layout. In short: format influences comprehension, trust, and ultimately the reach of your work.
AI helps, but it will not replace human oversight
AI writing tools are superb at drafting sentences, improving grammar, and suggesting rewrites. They can speed the mechanical parts of writing and help non-native English speakers produce clearer prose. However, AI still struggles with the discipline-specific conventions, figure formatting, citation style nuances, and the particular house styles of many journals. Generative models may output plausible text but not correctly structured manuscripts ready for submission. Human oversight, especially around structure, labelling, and compliance remains essential.
Formatting as part of reproducibility and ethics
Correctly formatted methods, labelled datasets, and clearly cited protocols are central to reproducibility. Good formatting is not vanity: it is part of responsible reporting. When methods are fragmented across paragraphs, or figure legends omit key parameters, reproducing results becomes harder. Structured reporting guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, PRISMA) are themselves formatting tools designed to increase transparency.
Human + AI: a productive partnership
Think of AI as an assistant for language polishing!
Think of the researcher as the architect who ensures adherence to structure, correct submission format, proofreading and scientific integrity!
This hybrid approach leverages speed while preserving the human judgment necessary for ethical, reproducible reporting.
In the near future, human-AI collaboration will be commonplace: AI for speed, humans for scientific judgment and format compliance. Spend the time to format well; your reviewers, editors, and readers will thank you, and your science will have a clearer path to publication.
