As of April 2026, all new submissions to Global Youth Science Journal must be submitted on our manuscript template. This template is designed to help our student authors address commonly seen mistakes in manuscripts before they have even submitted.
The Global Youth Science Journal (GYS Journal) provides a set of formatting and submission guidelines to help ensure clarity, consistency, and a smooth review process. While we strongly encourage authors to follow these guidelines, submissions that do not fully adhere to them will still be considered, and our editorial team will assist in aligning manuscripts with journal standards where needed.
A manuscript template is available on pages 5–14. Authors are encouraged to use this template and refer to the guidance, examples, and notes included throughout. That said, submissions prepared outside the template are also welcome, and formatting adjustments can be made during the editorial process.
Authors may also find it helpful to review the online submission guide before beginning and prior to submission, as it contains additional details beyond this document.
Each submission should include a one- to two-sentence biographical statement written in the third person. Authors may include their age, areas of interest, and any relevant institutional affiliations.
Manuscripts are ideally written in British English. Submissions in other languages may be considered if accompanied by a translation. Clear and concise writing is encouraged; revisions may be suggested where necessary.
We recommend organizing manuscripts using the following structure:
While this structure is preferred, minor variations can be accommodated and refined during editing.
Authors are encouraged to write within the template where possible, though externally prepared manuscripts will also be accepted and adjusted as needed.
General formatting (Arial, 11pt, 1.5 spacing, standard margins, etc.) is recommended for consistency, but not strictly required at submission. Line numbers are helpful for peer review and may be added later if missing. Instructional text in the template can be removed prior to submission, though the editorial team can also assist with cleanup if needed.
The manuscript body (Introduction through Materials & Methods) should ideally not exceed 10 pages. Slightly longer submissions may still be accepted and adjusted during revision.
We recommend a maximum of 8 figures and tables combined. If this limit is exceeded, the editorial team may suggest consolidation during revision.
Authors are expected to uphold academic integrity standards.
Authors should ensure all contributors have consented to publication and that figures/tables are original or appropriately licensed. If anything is missing, the editorial team will follow up during the review process.
Questions may be sent to globalyouthsciencejournal@gmail.com. For queries about an existing submission, please include the manuscript title and number. When replying to journal staff, using “Reply All” helps ensure the full team stays informed.
OVERVIEW: Provide a 2- to 3-sentence overview of the manuscript. This text will be used as the article description on the journal website.
AUTHORS: Name (Affiliation, Role)
KEYWORDS: Provide 3–5 standalone keywords that characterise the study.
The abstract is a concise summary of the manuscript that provides readers with a clear overview of the study. It should briefly state the research problem or objective, outline the methodology used, highlight the key results, and present the main conclusions or implications. The abstract should be self-contained, meaning it can be understood independently of the full text, and should avoid citations, abbreviations, or detailed explanations. Typically, it is written in a single paragraph and kept within the specified word limit set by the journal.
The introduction provides the background and context for the study, helping readers understand the significance of the research. It should outline the broader field of study, summarize relevant existing work, and identify gaps or limitations that the current research aims to address. The introduction also clearly states the research problem, objectives, or hypotheses of the study. It should guide the reader logically toward the purpose of the manuscript without including detailed results or conclusions.
This section should provide sufficient methodological detail for an independent researcher to replicate the work, without adopting a step-by-step procedural format. Subsections with italicised headers may be used where multiple experiments are described. Materials should be integrated into the narrative rather than listed separately. Unique reagents, equipment, and animal strains should be identified by manufacturer and catalogue number; generic items require no such specification.
Self-generated code may be referenced via a GitHub link (cited as a reference) or included in an appendix. Equations central to the methodology should follow the journal's equation formatting guidelines.
Authorship represents the highest form of recognition in scientific writing; individuals listed as authors should therefore not appear in this section. Any contributor who supported the work but does not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged here. Funding sources should also be noted in this section.
References must follow Chicago style. Citation tools such as Zotero support this format. Primary sources should be prioritised; Wikipedia and informal web content should be avoided where possible.
Citations should appear as footnotes on the page where the source is first cited. A complete reference list should also be included in this section. References with three or more authors should use the format “First Author et al.” No hanging indentation should be applied. All references with an online source should include the full URL or DOI beginning with “https://”.
Format examples:
Place figures in this section with a bold title and regular-weight caption positioned below the figure. A complete caption includes: a bold title; a description of what is shown; a brief methodological note; statistical tests and values where applicable; and the number of replicates. Within caption text, only the first word, proper nouns, and acronyms should be capitalised.
Tables should appear above their title and caption. Captions must define any abbreviations used within the table. In-table references should follow the format: Last name (Year), and the full citation must appear in the References section.
Tables must be created as editable Word tables using Insert → Table and should fit within a single page where possible. Tables that cannot be made legible on one page will be moved to the Appendix.
A maximum of 8 combined figures and tables is permitted. Supplementary figures or tables should be included in the Appendix only where essential to comprehension, accompanied by a statement justifying their inclusion.
Appendices are considered on a case-by-case basis. Where an appendix is included, a brief statement explaining why the material could not be incorporated into the main manuscript should accompany it. Code, scripts, and GitHub links do not require a justification statement.