Instructions for Formatting Manuscripts

Page Layout and Margins

Reviewers are expected to:

• Page size: A4
• Margins: 1.25 inches left and right
• Header margin: 0.5 inch from top
• Footer margin: 1 inch from bottom
• Title start: 1.5 inches from the top of the page
• Columns: Single-column layout

Fonts and Text Sizes

Use Times New Roman (or Times) fonts. Do not embed custom fonts.

Structure of the Paper

Title and Authors

• Title should appear at the top, followed by authors' names and affiliations.
• Emails must be placed using small caps.
• Use \author{} and \addr{} blocks in the LaTeX template for structure.

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Abstract

• Indented by 0.25 inch on both sides.
• Limited to 200 words.
• Appears below the title, labelled "Abstract" (centre-aligned, bold).

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Sections and Headings

• Use heading levels consistently. Do not skip heading levels.
• Avoid starting a section with a subsection directly — include introductory text first.
• Capitalise references to sections (e.g., “In Section 4...”)

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Figures and Tables

• Place figures and tables within the main text (not grouped at the end).
• Number sequentially (e.g., Figure 1, Table 2).
• Captions should appear below figures and above tables.
• All labels and captions must be at least 9pt and legible in print and online.
• Maintain a 0.25 inch margin around graphics.

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References

• Use natbib citation style.
• In-text citations should follow author-year style:
  • \citet{author} → Author (Year)
  • \citep{author} → (Author, Year)
• The bibliography should be titled “References” and appear after appendices (if any).
• Examples:
  • Journal: Angluin and Laird (1988). Learning from noisy examples. Machine Learning, 2(4):343–370.
  • Book: Bellman, R. (1957). Dynamic Programming. Princeton University Press.

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Appendices and Supplementary Material

• Use Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. for in-paper appendices.
• Supplementary data/code may be hosted externally (e.g., GitHub, Zenodo) and linked in a section titled “Supplementary Materials.”
• Label external files as “Online Appendix 1,” “Online Appendix 2,” etc.

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Acknowledgements and Funding Disclosures

• Place Acknowledgements before the references.
• Include any funding and conflict of interest statements here.
• Clearly name grants, donors, or commercial affiliations as required.

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Language and Writing Style

• Use British English spelling (e.g., organisation, behaviour).
• Avoid informal or conversational tone.
• Avoid Latin abbreviations like i.e., e.g. — use that is, for example.
• Only number equations that are referenced in the text.

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Common Formatting Errors to Avoid

• Incomplete or inconsistent references
• Footnotes immediately after equations
• Excessive use of footnotes
• Inconsistent citation styles
• Hyphenation errors in compound modifiers (e.g., “bias-mitigation algorithm”)

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Templates and Resources

• LaTeX Template: Coming Soon
• Sample Paper: Coming Soon
• Natbib Guide: Coming Soon
• Formatting Checklist (PDF): Coming Soon