Science Journal (AAAS) Submission Requirements
Validate your manuscript against Science's submission requirements including the mandatory summary paragraph, strict word limits, and AAAS author guidelines.
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Science journal submission requirements
Science is the flagship journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the most selective multidisciplinary journals in the world. Science publishes original research, reviews, and commentary across all fields of science and technology. Science's submission requirements include a distinctive 'structured summary' replacing a conventional abstract for Research Articles, extremely strict word limits (main text ≤2,500 words for most article types), mandatory supplementary materials for methodological details, and complete data and materials availability statements.
Science (AAAS) is one of the world's two most prestigious multidisciplinary scientific journals alongside Nature. With an acceptance rate around 7% and editorial screening before peer review, Science rejects the vast majority of submissions without sending them to reviewers. The combination of extremely strict word limits, a distinctive structured summary format, and a requirement that methods appear in supplementary materials (not the main text) creates a submission style unlike any other journal in academic publishing.
The Structured Summary: Science's Distinctive Abstract Format
Science Research Articles do not have a conventional abstract. Instead, they require a structured summary of approximately 125 words with three distinct elements:
- Background: One or two sentences establishing the scientific context and motivation for the study
- Advances: Two to four sentences describing what this study specifically found or achieved
- Outlook: One or two sentences on the broader implications, remaining questions, or future directions
This structured summary is displayed prominently on the article page and in Science's table of contents. It must be written for a broad scientific audience, not specialists. Jargon-heavy summaries are returned for revision. The structured summary is separate from any editor's summary that Science may add for particularly significant papers.
Extreme Word Limits: Making Science Fit
Science Research Articles are limited to approximately 2,500 words — excluding the summary, references, acknowledgements, and supplementary materials. This forces authors to write with exceptional concision. Figures and tables replace prose rather than supplementing it: each figure must carry significant information density. The maximum is 4 main figures (or figure panels), and each must be referenced in the text.
Reports (Science's shorter format for more focused findings) have even stricter limits: approximately 1,500 words and 3 figures. Authors submitting to Science must decide between Research Article and Report format before submission.
Methods in Supplementary Materials
Science's most distinctive structural requirement is the placement of methods: detailed experimental and analytical methods belong in supplementary materials ("Materials and Methods"), not in the main article text. The main text may include brief method descriptions in the context of results, but procedural details, reagent lists, and statistical methods are in the supplement.
This inverts the structure of most journals. Authors reformatting manuscripts from other journals frequently include a Methods section in the main text — which must be removed and placed in supplementary materials before Science submission. CheckMyManuscript flags the presence of extended methods sections in the main text for Science submissions.
Broad Scientific Significance: The Primary Selection Criterion
Unlike PLOS ONE (which evaluates only scientific rigor) or discipline-specific journals (which evaluate relevance to a field), Science requires that accepted research be significant to the broadest possible scientific audience. The editorial screening question is: "Will this finding be of interest to scientists across all disciplines?" Research that is methodologically excellent but of interest only to specialists in a narrow area is typically declined at the editorial stage. Authors should explicitly address broad significance in their cover letter and structured summary.
Also see: Nature submission checker | Cell journal checker | PNAS submission checker
Science-specific checks
Structured summary (not abstract)
Science Research Articles require a structured summary with specific subsections instead of a conventional abstract.
Main text ≤2,500 words
Science Research Articles have among the strictest word limits in academic publishing.
Data availability
Science requires data and materials availability statements for all Research Articles.
Supplementary materials
Methods details, additional data, and figures go in supplementary materials, not the main text.
Author contributions
All authors must declare individual contributions.
Competing interests
All authors must declare competing interests individually.
Checks relevant to this topic
Part of our 80+ automated checks
Structured summary present
Science requires a structured summary, not a standard abstract.
Main text ≤2,500 words
Word count within Science's strict limit for Research Articles.
Data availability statement
Data and materials availability declared with repository information.
Supplementary materials structured
Methods and extended data in supplementary materials, not main text.
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Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
I use it to review my students' papers. It instantly highlights typos, missing references, and unclear sections, helping me focus my feedback on the quality of the research instead of surface errors.
Ilyass
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, ÉTS Montréal
I relied on it throughout my thesis to strengthen my writing. It suggested clearer phrasing, improved flow between sections, and ensured my references were complete before the final deadline.
Manon
Master's Student in Speech Therapy
I write research in both Portuguese and English, and it adapts perfectly to either language. It provided precise feedback in Portuguese, helping me maintain academic tone and consistency across my drafts.
Afonso
PhD Candidate, UFPE
It gave excellent advice on how to rephrase and present ideas more clearly and concisely. The suggestions helped me refine my arguments and make my research more impactful.
Félix
Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
Frequently asked questions
Science Research Articles require a structured summary (not called an 'abstract') with the following sections: One sentence each for: (1) Background (context), (2) Advances (what this study adds), (3) Outlook (implications). This 125-word structured summary replaces the conventional abstract and is displayed prominently on the article page.
Science Research Articles are limited to approximately 2,500 words (excluding the summary, references, and acknowledgements), with a maximum of 4 figures and 40 references. Reports (shorter format) have lower limits: ~1,500 words, 3 figures, 30 references. These are among the strictest word limits of any major journal.
Science does not include detailed Methods in the main text of Research Articles. Methods details appear in supplementary materials ('Materials and Methods'). The main text may reference methods briefly, but procedural details must be in the supplement. This is the opposite of most journals where methods are a required main text section.
Yes: Science requires a Data and Materials Availability statement for all Research Articles. Data must be deposited in publicly accessible repositories with accession numbers or DOIs. Code central to the analyses must be available from a persistent public repository. Specific materials (strains, compounds) must be made available upon reasonable request.
Science accepts approximately 7% of submitted Research Articles. The journal receives more than 17,000 submissions per year. Most manuscripts are rejected by editors before peer review — typically for insufficient novelty, scope too narrow for Science's multidisciplinary audience, or formatting issues. Manuscripts must have broad scientific significance.