Authors

Instructions to Authors

Editorial Policy

We welcome the submission of high-quality research papers in all areas of mainstream mathematics. To be considered for publication, a paper must be well written and its results correct, new, and significant. In addition, the paper should be of interest to a substantial number of mathematicians; papers that appeal only to a small group of specialists may be more appropriate for a specialized journal than a general mathematics journal such as IJM.

As a general mathematics journal, we aim to publish in a diverse range of areas in mathematics, and we strive to maintain an appropriate balance among these areas. In particular, we try to avoid publishing multiple papers on the same topic or by the same authors within a short time frame.

Accessibility [added April 1, 2024]

As of April 1, 2024, all papers submitted must contain “alt text”. Alt text is a short description (usually less than 200 characters) of images, graphics, and other visual elements in articles. It is embedded in an online article and is not visible on the page. Alt text does not replace or duplicate captions. The inclusion of alt text, as well as other technical enhancements, will enable individuals using screen readers or other assistive technologies to understand and engage with your scholarship more effectively.

We have prepared a set of guidelines and examples to assist authors in creating effective alt text. Please see https://dukeupress.edu/Assets/Downloads/Writing-Alt-Text-for-Interior-Images_A-Guide-for-Authors.pdf.

Submission of Manuscripts

All submissions should be made through EditFlow at the following link:

https://ef.msp.org/submit/IJM

Please do not send submissions to the regular IJM email address or directly to an editor. There is an option on the EditFlow submission page that allows you to suggest an editor for handling the paper. Likewise, please do not upload a revision of a previously submitted article. Instead, use the status link from the email you received from us about your original submission. If you can’t find the link, please send an email to ijm@math.uiuc.edu or editflow@msp.org for assistance.

The submission of a paper implies the author’s assurance that it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.

The submission must include a pdf version of your paper. If your paper is accepted for publication, you will receive instructions for providing a TeX/LaTeX file of the paper and any auxiliary files necessary to process the paper (such as ps/eps files for figures, bibtex files for bibliographies).

Submissions will be acknowledged within a few days of receipt. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within a week or so of sending a paper, please contact the IJM office at ijm@math.uiuc.edu.

General Requirements

  • Abstract. All papers must contain a brief abstract. Please try to avoid displayed formulas and bibliographic references in the abstract. So that it can be compiled independents of the rest of the paper, the abstract should not contain custom macros.
  • Subject classification. Papers should contain a subject classification in the usual format, with one primary classification number and, optionally, one or more secondary classification numbers. In the amsart LaTeX documentclass, the classification can be provided using the \subjclass{…} macro. (For examples using this construct, see the templates and sample files below.)
  • Running title. If the title is too long to be used as running title, please provide a short title. In LaTeX this can be accomplished using the \title macro as follows: \title[shorttitle]{fulltitle}.
  • Acknowledgments. Brief acknowledgments will be typeset as unnumbered footnotes on the title page. In the amsart LaTeX documentclass, this can be achieved with the \thanks{…} macro. (Note that the amsart class does not allow explicit footnotes to authors or titles.) Longer acknowledgments will be typeset as unnumbered subsections at the end of the paper, or the end of the introductory section.

Copyright Transfer Agreement

Upon acceptance of your paper, you will be provided with a copyright transfer agreement to complete and upload with your final files.

LaTex Templates and Sample Files

IJM is typeset in LaTeX, using a variant of the amsart documentclass, so papers prepared in that format are easiest to process. You may wish to use, or consult, one of the following LaTeX templates and sample LaTeX files.

  • Basic LaTeX templateA basic LaTeX template.
  • Enhanced LaTeX template. A slightly customized version of the basic template with a provision for theorem and equation numbering by section (e.g., Theorem 1.1, Corollary 1.2, (1.1), (1.2), etc.).
  • Sample file. A complete LaTeX file of an article published in IJM.

Additional Guidelines for Papers in LaTex

The following simple guidelines will help significantly reduce the time and cost involved in processing papers. Most of these guidelines are not IJM specific but simply reflect good LaTeX practices.

  • Documentclass/documentstyle. Use of the standard documentclasses for journal articles, either the AMS article class “amsart” or the standard LaTeX “article” class–i.e., \documentclass{amsart} or \documentclass{article}. (In LaTeX 2.09, the old version of LaTex, replace \documentclass by \documentstyle.)
  • Page dimensions. To achieve the correct page dimensions, add the following commands to the preamble:\setlength{\textheight}{43pc}
    \setlength {\textwidth}{28pc}. Do not use other commands that change page dimensions (such as oddsidemargin or hoffset, or baselinestretch), since such commands may interfere with the above settings and will likely have to be removed when processing the paper. Also, remove any options to the “\documentclass” command that change the font size or page dimensions, such as [11 pt] or [a4paper].
  • Bibliography. Set references using \bibitem and the thebibliography environment, using a format similar to that used by AMS journals. If you have a bibtex database, use amsalpha or amsplain as bibliography style to generate the bibitem entries.
  • Avoid manual formatting. Do not use commands such as
    • \centerline{1. Introduction}
    • {\bf Theorem 1.} {\it …}
    • \par\noindent{\it Proof.}

    To format sections, theorems, proofs, etc., use appropriate LaTex constructs:

    • \section{Introduction}
    • \begin{theorem} … \end{theorem} (along with a \newtheorem declaration)
    • \begin{proof} … \end{proof}

    Similarly, avoid explicit spacing commands like \bigskip, \newline or \\ (except in multiline displays), or \noindent. LaTeX commands such as \end{proof} or \section automatically create an appropriate amount of space. Manual coding of theorems, proofs, section headings, etc., will have to be removed by us and replaced by corresponding LaTeX constructs; this is a laborious and time-consuming task. Excessive manual formatting may increase the time it takes us to process a paper by an order of magnitude.

    • Packages. Standard packages, loaded with \usepackage{…}, are fine, if they are needed in the paper. Some useful packages are graphicx (for graphics inclusion), amssymb, or amscd (for commutative diagrams).
    • Pictures. Electronically generated graphics should be provided as eps (encapsulated postscript) files.
    • Special note for users of Scientific Workplace (TCI). Scientific Workplace can create LaTeX files, but for the files to be compatible with a standard LaTeX environment, they must be saved as portable LaTeX files; otherwise, the files created require proprietary macros and cannot be used outside the SW.

    Guidelines for Papers in AmsTeX and Plain TeX

    Papers in AmsTeX will be converted by us to LaTeX. As with LaTeX papers, manual formatting should be avoided, and appropriate amstex/amsppt constructs should be used, such as the following:

    • \title … \endtitle
    • \author .. \endauthor
    • \head … \endhead
    • \proclaim … \endproclaim
    • \demo … \enddemo
    • \ref … \endref

    We use an automated process that can convert properly formatted AmsTeX papers to LaTeX, with little or no additional markup required. To achieve the correct page dimensions, use no \magnification and specify the following in the preamble, after \documentstyle{amsppt}:
    \pageheight{43pc}
    \pagewidth{28pc}

    For papers in plain TeX, specify the page dimensions with the following commands:
    \vsize43pc \hsize28pc. Do not use a magnification.

    LaTeX Tips

    The following is a home-grown (and growing) list of tips for using LaTeX more efficiently, borne out of experience with processing papers for IJM. The tips are geared toward typesetting mathematical journal articles and are not IJM specific.