lse essay cover page

• Latest Posts
• Undergraduate Bloggers
• Graduate Bloggers
• Study Abroad Bloggers
• Guest Bloggers
• Browse Posts
• Browse Categories

Ramesh Kugendran

November 8th, 2023, essay writing 101: a comprehensive introduction for first time writers.

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

For those of you, like me, who have never completed an EPQ, writing an academic essay for the first time can be a very intimidating experience. The ability to write essays is not taught explicitly at the university; rather, it is a skill you learn as you go along or, if you go to LSE, by attending the very helpful workshops and consulting the resources offered by LSE LIFE .

Nevertheless, I figured giving some advice to those who will be entering university soon and have never written an academic piece before would be helpful. This is my three-step guide, based on my personal experience, on how to ace your first academic essay!

The first step, as with anything related to academia, is to plan the essay. At first, planning an essay may seem like a waste of time, but once you have a sound strategy in place, all that is left to do is fill in the blanks. Break down your essay question. Then, take the time to comprehend the question in its entirety and the examiner’s requirements. Next, highlight the keywords from the question to brainstorm the key concepts and themes you want to cover in your essay. You must select the topics for your essay after listing all possible connections between the themes in your course. This typically depends on your word count; the lower your word count, the more succint you need to be about the topics you cover. Thirdly, you should begin researching your subject, any essential theories, and the scholars you must mention. Note down these citations so they can be used for further research. Eventually, you need to start planning the essay’s structure and decide which theories and sources will be covered in which paragraphs. With this, you can be as detailed or as brief as you like; you’ll soon figure out which is best for you. Personally, I think brief bullet points work best. Before you begin writing, if you’d like, you can ask your teacher to read over your plan.

After you’ve finished planning, you must start writing the essay. Since the introduction is probably the most crucial part of a good essay, I would advise starting there. You might want to define the keyword or introduce the central concept in your introduction, but you should also clarify what the essay is about and what you plan to argue. Keep it succinct and direct. Contrary to popular belief, I prefer to write the conclusion before the essay’s main body. This is because the introduction and conclusion can appear more cohesive when written after one another. In addition, this lets you clarify what you are trying to demonstrate in your essay. Once you are clear on your argument, the main body is a straightforward section. Start with your reading list references, and make an earnest attempt to use the suggested readings to support your claims. To make your essay stand out and be unique, don’t forget to incorporate theories that might not have been addressed in the course. However, remember to make sure you respond appropriately to the question in hand!

The essay may seem to be finished, but think again. Here comes,  Grammarly . Enter your work in Grammarly to ensure any spelling or grammar errors are noted. When you look at a piece of work for too long, it can be challenging to see its flaws, so give it some time to sink in and then go over it the following day. At this point, you might also want a friend from the course, a parent, or a sibling to review it for you. Last but not least, read your essay aloud just before submitting it. Sometimes you may have missed words or realised you accidentally inserted a random word.

Concluding thoughts

I hope these pointers have been helpful to you, whether you’re a student in year 13 reading this blog to get ready for your university years or even a student already enrolled at LSE who’s writing an essay for the first time. Do your best, and no matter what grade you receive, you can improve next time. If you are unhappy with your results, contact your teacher and schedule an office hour so they can assist you further. Happy writing and, good luck!

About the author

Welcome to my blog! I'm Ramesh Kugendran, a student of International Social and Public Policy at LSE. As someone who is passionate about Social and Public Policy, I am excited to share my thoughts, insights, and experiences on this blog. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Related Posts

3 Tips to best use LSE LIFE

August 10th, 2023.

Comparing and contrasting: academic coursework vs. A-level/IB essays

March 1st, 2023.

From feedback to success: tips for making the most of formative coursework at LSE

March 15th, 2023.

How I Prepare For a New Term at LSE

January 19th, 2022.

Bad Behavior has blocked 1032 access attempts in the last 7 days.

Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Parts of a Paper / How to Write an Essay Cover Page

How to Write an Essay Cover Page

What you include in your cover page depends slightly on which citation style you are using, but the rules are generally the same.

Guide Overview

• APA cover pages
• MLA cover pages

For APA cover pages:

Include the title of the paper, running head, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and an author’s note.

Here is an example of a cover page in APA:

For MLA cover pages:

Cover pages are not as frequently used in MLA format, as the inclusion of headers is preferred.

A header looks like this:

Cover pages can include the name of your school, your paper title, your name, your course name, your teacher or professor’s name, and the due date of the paper. If you are unsure of what to include, check with your instructor.

Here is an example of a cover page in MLA format:

For more help making cover or title pages, visit our title page generator   here.

EasyBib Writing Resources

Writing a paper.

• Academic Essay
• Argumentative Essay
• College Admissions Essay
• Expository Essay
• Persuasive Essay
• Research Paper
• Thesis Statement
• Writing a Conclusion
• Writing an Introduction
• Writing an Outline
• Writing a Summary

EasyBib Plus Features

• Citation Generator
• Essay Checker
• Expert Check Proofreader
• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tools

Plagiarism Checker

• Spell Checker

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Grammar and Plagiarism Checkers

Grammar Basics

Plagiarism Basics

Writing Basics

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Browser does not support script.

• Undergraduate
• Executive education
• Study Abroad
• Summer schools
• Online certificate courses
• International students
• Meet, visit and discover LSE

Statement of academic purpose

While all programmes require you to submit a statement of academic purpose, a few programmes require you to follow a specific format when writing your statement. these specific requirements are detailed below., statement of academic purpose – all programmes, excluding those listed below.

You must upload a statement that explains your academic interest in, understanding of and academic preparedness for the programme(s) you are applying for. You should also explain the academic rationale for applying to the programme(s) you have chosen. If applying for two programmes, you are strongly encouraged to write a separate statement for each programme. The statement of academic purpose is an important part of your application, and selectors are looking for evidence of your academic suitability and motivation, and of what you can contribute academically to the programme. We expect statement(s) to be between 1,000 - 1,500 words. 

Please address the following questions/prompts in your statement(s) 

Academic Motivations  

• What prompted your interest in this particular field of study? Perhaps you have unanswered questions from your undergraduate studies or professional work, or you would like to further explore issues and ideas raised in your curricular or extra-curricular reading? 
• Why would you like to study your chosen programme? Perhaps it offers a particular approach, or there are specific modules that will help you develop necessary skills or knowledge. Perhaps the research interests of the academics teaching on your programme, and/or the wider research culture of the department align with your own interests and academic/professional aspirations? 

Suitability 

• What makes you suitable for this LSE programme? Perhaps you have taken relevant undergraduate modules, or have relevant professional, voluntary, or other experience that has prepared for postgraduate study in this area? 

Purpose and Objectives  

• What do you hope to get out of this particular LSE programme? How would this particular programme help you to achieve your personal, academic, and professional goals? Take the time to explain your academic or professional  aspirations and goals, and how your chosen programme will impart the necessary skills and knowledge. Please avoid general statements about LSE’s performance in global rankings, and  generic statements about London being a global/cosmopolitan centre of excellence. 

If there are circumstances that have disrupted your education/significantly interfered with your learning (for example, health problems, displacement, long-term caring responsibilities), please feel free to let us know about them in a separate document added to your application (you can upload this document via the ‘Additional Item’ upload option). If appropriate, please also consult the advice we give to applicants from a forced migration background here , and from a care-experienced background here . 

Please ensure that your statement(s): 

Are all your own work. If we discover this is not the case, your application may be cancelled

Are well-written, well-structured and specific to the programme(s) applied for

Are proofread before being uploaded, and the final correct versions are uploaded

Only include that which is relevant to your programme choice(s). Additional information regarding unrelated extra-curricular activities, personal achievements or work experience should be included in your CV

Have your name and the title of your chosen programme in the header or footer of every page 

MSc Health Data Science

In addition to following the general guidance, please be sure to clearly outline your background in mathematics, statistics or other quantitative subjects. If your background is outside of mathematics or statistics then you should provide further explanation of how your experience is relevant to the programme applied for, as well as further details of your current studies. 

MSc Media and Communications (Data and Society)

If you are applying for this programme, please note the following specific requirements for your statement of academic purpose.

Write a short statement (up to 600 words) about why you want to do the programme. This might cover, for example, what suits you to the programme: your experiences and skills in relation to the analysis of data and society; what attracts you to this particular programme and where you see yourself in ten years after the programme.

In addition, please write a response (up to 400 words*) to  one  of the following questions. You might do so by relying on relevant authors and concepts from previous courses or independent study, as well as on professional experiences.

• What is the most pressing social, political or ethical issue related to data and society? Why should we study it?
• How useful is the concept of "big data"? What are its limitations?
• What consequences do data-based systems have for individuals? How should we address these?
• If you could invent a data-based product or service that would change the world, what would it look like? What would be its best feature and what would be its biggest risk?

*The total length of your statement of academic purpose, including the answers to the above questions, should therefore be between 800-1,000 words.

MSc Media, Communication and Development

Write a short statement (up to 800 words) about why you want to do the programme. This might cover, for example, what suits you to the programme: your experiences and skills in relation to social justice, development or communication; what attracts you to this particular programme and where you see yourself in ten years after the programme.

Also answer the following questions (your answers should be approximately 250 words each)*:  

• What should a developed society be like according to you?
• How will studying theory help you to understand development and communication practice?
• Why do you think we need to be critical of aspects of contemporary communication and development?

  *The total length of your statement of academic purpose, including the answers to the above questions, should therefore be between 1,000-1,500 words.

MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Write a short statement (up to 600 words) about why you want to do the programme. This might cover, for example, what you will bring to the cohort, and what your particular strengths are.

Also, you should answer the following questions (your answers should be approximately 500 words each):

• Tell us about an experience you had with social innovation /entrepreneurship/ a project with high social impact. What role did you play and what did you learn about yourself?  
• How will your past experience, combined with this LSE masters, help you to achieve your goals?

The  total length   of your statement  – including the answers to the above questions - should therefore be  between 1,100 & 1,600 words .

Department of Statistics - MSc Programmes

MSc in Data Science - G3U1

MSc in Statistics (Social Statistics) - G3U2

MSc in Statistics (Social Statistics) (Research) - G3U3

MSc in Statistics (Research) - G4U1

MSc in Quantitative Methods for Risk Management - G4U2

MSc in Statistics - G4U5

MSc in Statistics (Financial Statistics) - G4U6

MSc in Statistics (Financial Statistics) (Research) - G4U7

Your statement should explain why you are pursuing your selected programme and why you have chosen LSE's Department of Statistics. Brief details of your academic background and aspirations are also useful. If your background is outside of mathematics or statistics then you should provide further explanation of how your experience is relevant to the programme applied for, as well as further details of your current studies. 

Your statement should be concise and should not exceed 500 words .

Executive MSc in Health Economics, Outcomes and Management in Clinical Sciences

Your statement should be typed and no longer than three sides of A4 paper and should address the following questions:

• What are your career goals over the near (2-3 years) and medium term (5-7 years)?
• In concrete terms, how will your career benefit from completing this programme?

In addition, you may wish to discuss the following:

• Motivation for undertaking the programme
• Academic interests, strengths and background relevant to the programme
• Areas of specific interest within the programme
• Academic ambitions and/or research interests related to the programme
• Any professional aspirations, and how academic work within the programme might help you realise such aspirations
• Other relevant information, such as additional reading or research, work or other relevant experience that has informed your decision to apply for the particular programme

Please ensure that your statement:

• Is all your own work. If we discover this is not the case, your application may be cancelled
• Is well-written, well-structured and specific to the programme applied for
• Is proofread before being uploaded, and the final correct version is uploaded
• Has your name and the title of your chosen programme in the header or footer of every page

Executive Global MSc in Management

Your personal statement should be a maximum of 2 pages long, and highlight why you want to do the programme.  Make sure you address the following points:

• details on your suitability for the programme
• your motivations for choosing this programme in particular and what you hope to get out of it
• any career highlights to date, in particular any leadership or international experience
• future career objectives and how you think the programme will help you achieve them
• what you think you can bring to the classroom learning environment that makes you stand out from other applicants

Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship

The Academic Statement of Purpose consists of two parts.  The total combined word count for both parts should not exceed 1,200 words.

• A personal statement: Your personal statement should persuasively explain why you want to do this programme. This may include your personal suitability such as career achievements and ambitions, what you hope to get out of the programme, your particular strengths, and what you will bring to the cohort.  600-700 words.
• For the second part, please submit your thoughts on the following statement.  400-500 words. “The business of business is social improvement. Describe briefly the role of markets in social progress.”

Atlantic Fellows Residential programme with MSc Inequalities and Social Science

Your statement(s) should be typed and no longer than two sides of A4 paper. There is no fixed word limit, but we expect statement(s) to be no longer than 1,000 - 1,500 words. 

In your statement(s), you should address the following:  

• Why are you interested in joining the AFSEE programme and what do you hope to gain by being part of it? In your answer, please:  

 o   Describe what area of socioeconomic inequality you engage in and the type of work you have done.  

o   Please give examples of how you have meaningfully contributed to collective endeavours to address inequalities.  

o   Explain why you would like to learn more about social and economic equity and how this will contribute to your social change work.  

o   Explain, in one to two paragraphs, the MSc dissertation you plan to undertake as part of the requirements of the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science. 

• Within 5 years of completing the AFSEE programme, what do you hope to achieve in your work/field? How do you see participation in the AFSEE programme contributing to you achieving those goals? 
• What academic knowledge would you like to gain via the MSc in Inequalities & Social Science and how do you plan to apply this knowledge to your future work on social change?
• Please indicate any research interests.

Atlantic Fellows Non-Residential Programme

In your statement(s), you should address the following: 

Why are you interested in joining the AFSEE programme and what do you hope to gain by being a part of it?  In your answer, please: 

Describe the area of socioeconomic inequality you engage in and the type of work you have done. 

Please give examples of how you have meaningfully contributed to collective endeavours to address inequalities.   

Explain why you would like to learn more about social and economic equity and how this will contribute to your social change work. 

What is the project you are planning to undertake as a part of the AFSEE programme?  Explain it in two paragraphs. 

Within 5 years of completing the AFSEE programme, what do you hope to achieve in your work / field?  How do you see the AFSEE programme contributing to you achieving these goals?

FAQs The Knowledge Base will provide you with answers, and allow you to email us

How to apply Information on the application process, and our video guide

Available programmes Check if your chosen programme is currently recruiting

Current processing times See which date we are currently processing and find out when you are likely to hear from us

News and events Current processing dates, holiday closures, events on campus and around the world

Contact Graduate Admissions Our Knowledge base and getting in touch with our team by Zoom, email, and Live chat

Change Password

Your password must have 8 characters or more and contain 3 of the following:.

• a lower case character, 
• an upper case character, 
• a special character 

Password Changed Successfully

Your password has been changed

• Sign in / Register

Request Username

Can't sign in? Forgot your username?

Enter your email address below and we will send you your username

If the address matches an existing account you will receive an email with instructions to retrieve your username

Information for Authors

• Determining the Suitability of a Manuscript for LSE
• Peer-Review Process
• License and Publishing Agreement
• ASCB Policy on Research Misconduct by Authors
• Institutional Review Board Approval
• Guidelines for Preparing Articles, Essays, and Features
• Guidelines for Preparing Digital Artwork
• Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Resources
• Sharing Materials and Data
• How to Submit Manuscripts
• Article Publication Charge

Special Policies

• General Questions

CBE—Life Sciences Education ( LSE ) is an online, quarterly journal owned and published by the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) in editorial partnership with the Genetics Society of America. The journal publishes original, previously unpublished, peer-reviewed articles on research and evaluation related to life sciences education, as well as articles about evidence-based biology instruction at all levels. The ASCB believes that biology learning encompasses diverse fields, including math, chemistry, physics, engineering, and computer science, as well as the interdisciplinary intersections of biology with these fields. One goal of the journal is to encourage teachers and instructors to view teaching and learning the way scientists view their research, as an intellectual undertaking that is informed by systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data related to student learning. Target audiences include those involved in education in K–12 schools, two-year colleges, four-year colleges, science centers and museums, universities, and professional schools, including graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. All published articles are available freely online without subscription. In addition, published articles are indexed in PubMed and available through PubMed Central. 

LSE is published online four times a year: March (Spring issue), June (Summer issue), September (Fall issue), and December (Winter issue). Submissions are accepted at any time. Articles are assigned to particular issues by the editors. Articles that have been edited and typeset before an issue is scheduled for release may be published in advance. Through this “continuous publication” mechanism, issues fill gradually until they are complete. To be included in an issue, manuscripts must be accepted in final form at least two months prior to the publication date. 

Determining the Suitability of a Manuscript for LSE  

Articles. LSE is a venue for biologists to disseminate their educational innovations to others who teach biology, as well as for dissemination of biology education research that is designed to generate more generalizable, basic knowledge about biology education. Thus, LSE publishes two types of articles: descriptions of research that breaks new ground in understanding biology teaching and learning and descriptions of the implementation and evaluation of educational innovations in the life sciences. Regardless of the nature of the work, articles should offer a logical, evidence-based chain of reasoning about the design and methods used to generate the findings and support the conclusions. 

The design and interpretation of studies submitted for publication in LSE should fit the goals of the work. Articles about biology education research should describe how the study was designed and conducted to yield generalizable claims and should be applicable beyond a single course or program. Authors of this type of article are encouraged to draw from the diverse social science theories, methods, and findings to inform their work, and to clearly define terms and approaches that may be unfamiliar to a biologist audience. 

Articles about educational innovations should describe the systematic collection and analysis of educational data and include rigorous reflection about the results with the aim of improving instruction. Such work can be limited to a single course or program, but the educational innovation should be sufficiently novel and the results sufficiently compelling to prompt other instructors to adapt or adopt it for use with their own students. Authors of this type of article must review relevant literature to demonstrate how a particular innovation is unique compared with previously published work.  

Instructors interested in publishing their educational innovations in LSE should give careful thought to how they will assess student learning or other desired outcomes. Answering three questions can help guide the process of assessment: 1) What are your instructional or programmatic goals? 2) What should learners know or be able to do if you met your goals? 3) How can you measure or otherwise document whether learners know or are able to do what you intend? Documentation of intended outcomes can be accomplished through systematic analysis of data collected through diverse approaches, such as pretest/posttest, interviews, focus groups, surveys, or performance on coursework, including exams, papers, or lab reports.  

A measure or measurement accounts for three elements: the instrument used to collect data (e.g., surveys, tests, interview protocols, etc.), the population/sample with whom the instrument is used, and the context in which the instrument is used. With this in mind, robust evidence is needed to support inferences about what observations (e.g., scores) derived from an instrument mean. There are many forms of evidence widely recognized to support the quality of inferences (e.g., AERA 2014 ,  Knekta et al. 2019 , Campbell and Nehm 2013 ). For example, if a study aspires to measure some aspect of students’ thinking, there should be evidence supporting the inference that the instrument used for data collection indeed assesses that aspect of student thinking. Authors can provide validity evidence through some combination of 1) using previously developed instruments with published validity evidence in similar contexts to the target population, 2) connecting instruments to established theoretical frameworks, and 3) conducting analyses to assess the validity of an instrument in the local context (e.g., “think-aloud” interviews, factor analyses, etc.). Indirect or self-report measures of learning are discouraged in favor of more direct measures of outcomes. Student satisfaction measures and feedback surveys generally do not provide sufficient evidence of impact. 

Authors should present their innovations in the same way that life scientists present their research: claims regarding efficacy must be supported by evidence. Articles that lack adequate assessment, assessment instruments, descriptions of assessment methods, or references to published assessment instruments or methods will be returned to authors without review. 

All articles must include collection, analysis, and interpretation of educational data, which can be quantitative and/or qualitative in nature. In addition, LSE articles should: 1) address a clear educational problem or education research question, 2) demonstrate clear alignment among the problem or question being addressed, the design of the study or educational innovation, the claims being made, and the evidence used to support those claims, 3) describe how results are applicable or transferable to other settings, 4) be relevant to a defined audience of educators, and 5) make reference to related educational literature. Articles should include a formal Methods section, and any assessment tools (surveys, tests, assignments, interview or focus group questions, etc.) should be included as they were administered to participants as supplemental materials. The source of the assessment tool(s) should be described, including the rationale behind the selection or design of the tool(s). The online nature of the journal facilitates the inclusion of instructional materials such as syllabi, assignments, rubrics, laboratory protocols, or professional development guidelines. Science procedures, protocols, and results that are important for understanding how instruction was accomplished should be included as supplemental materials rather than in the body of the manuscript. 

The following references may be useful for thinking about the design and conduct of biology education studies: 

-Schneider B, Carnoy M, Kilpatrick J, Schmidt WH, & Shavelson R. (2007). Estimating causal effects: Using experimental and observational designs. American Educational Research Association: Washington DC. 

– Shavelson RJ, & Towne L, Eds. (2002) Scientific research in education. National Academies Press: Washington DC.  

– Singer SR, Nielsen NR, & Schweingruber HA, Eds. (2012). Discipline-based education research: Understanding and improving learning in undergraduate science and engineering. National Academies Press: Washington DC.    

-Slater SJ, Slater TF, Heyer I, & Bailey JM. (2015). Discipline-based education research – A guide for scientists, 2 nd Edition. Pono Publishing: Hilo, Hawai’i.  

-Weimer, M. (2006). Enhancing scholarly work on teaching and learning. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco. 

Essays . LSE publishes essays on timely and important topics related to biology teaching and learning, including assessment methods, student engagement, curriculum innovations, K–20 continuum, and other topics. Essays should describe a problem or approach of general interest and be synthetic across the work of many individuals. Appropriate foci for essays include the introduction of theoretical frameworks, policies, or methodologies known from outside of biology education research but not yet well explored among biology education researchers, or the synthesis of existing evidence that points to areas in need of further exploration by the biology education research community.  The problem or approach should be presented within a scholarly context, citing references and resources that address the topic. If recommendations are to be made, there should be evidence from the existing research literature to support those recommendations. Although it is not a requirement, essays can include ideas for assessment or future research as appropriate. Manuscripts that include claims about the efficacy of a novel instructional approach or a novel curriculum should be submitted as articles. Manuscripts including original data collected by the authors will not be considered as essays and should be submitted as articles. 

LSE also publishes Research Methods essays that offer scholarly and practical advice on biology education research design and methods. Research Methods essays should be written as instructional pieces, identifying common and significant methodological issues. These essays should focus on a single topic, treating it with sufficient depth for readers to understand and be able to take action on the issue, while appealing to a broad audience of biology education scholars and education-interested biologists. Authors are encouraged to be creative in format. For example, Research Methods essays could be scholarly reviews punctuated by practical advice, or in-depth discussions of articles that illustrate exemplary methodological practice. The essays should be concise and accurate yet approachable, clearly defining technical terms and using biology-friendly analogies and examples to illustrate key points. Co-authorship by social scientists and biologists is encouraged. 

Authors considering an essay submission of any type should contact the Editors-In-Chief before preparing their manuscript to ensure appropriateness for the essay track. 

Letters to the Editor. A goal of LSE is to stimulate dialogue. In support of this goal, LSE invites readers to submit Letters to the Editor. LSE requires that letters are directly responsive to an article published in the journal. Letters received through the normal online submission process will be reviewed by the Editors-in-Chief, sometimes in consultation with other members of the editorial board, and published at their discretion. Authors considering a Letter to the Editor submission should contact the Editors-In-Chief before preparing their letter to ensure appropriateness for this track. 

Features. Articles listed under the heading of “Features” are by invitation only. Authors interested in contributing to a feature should contact the editors-in-chief. 

Announcements. LSE accepts noncommercial announcements of meetings, workshops, and conferences and of funding opportunities and fellowships open to all. 

Peer-Review Process  

All submitted manuscripts and educational materials are subject to peer review. After a manuscript has been submitted to LSE , the Editors-in-Chief selects an editorial board member to guide the paper through the review process. Editorial board members select reviewers to submit written evaluations. The board member will assess the peer reviews and determine whether the submission will be accepted as is, whether revisions will be required to determine suitability for publication (with or without the need for additional peer review), or whether the manuscript will be rejected with reasons explaining this decision. The corresponding author can usually expect an initial response within six weeks. 

License and Publishing Agreement  

Authors are required to sign a License and Publishing Agreement when a manuscript is accepted for publication. Under the terms of that agreement, authors retain copyright but grant the ASCB a perpetual license to publish the manuscript. Authors also grant to the general public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the manuscript subject to the terms of the Creative Commons–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0). 

ASCB Policy on Research Misconduct by Authors  

By submitting a paper to LSE , an author acknowledges that they are subject to the ASCB Policy on Research Misconduct by Authors . The policy is posted at www.ascb.org/files/research_misconduct.pdf. 

Institutional Review Board Approval  

Manuscripts reporting on studies involving human subjects must include explicit assurance that the research reported was approved by a local Institutional Review Board (IRB), including an IRB review number, unless the research is exempt from such review according to U.S. Department of Education guidelines. If authors’ institutions do not have an IRB, this assurance should be provided by an individual who oversees responsible and ethical conduct of research and scholarship. Studies conducted outside the U.S. should abide by their institutional and national policy for ethical and responsible conduct of research on human subjects, including education research, and cite this policy in the Methods section of manuscripts. Prospective authors are advised that permission must be obtained in advance. 

Guidelines for Preparing Articles, Essays, and Features  

General Instructions. The following activities prior to submission of a manuscript to LSE do not constitute prior publication and do not preclude consideration of the manuscript by LSE : publication of a short abstract; presentation of data at a professional meeting or in a Webcast of such a meeting; or posting of a manuscript on an author’s personal website, in an online institutional repository, or on a freely accessible preprint server such as arXiv or bioRxiv. Publication of a paper in the proceedings of a scientific meeting generally does constitute prior publication. Authors should include copies of all closely related publications with their submission to LSE . A closely related publication is one that is in press or has been submitted elsewhere and includes some or all of the data presented in the manuscript submitted to LSE . 

The text should be written in clear, concise, and grammatical English. Manuscripts ordinarily begin with an overview of how the work presented is relevant to the classroom, laboratory, or curriculum and what student outcomes are expected. Whenever possible, incorporate materials by citing relevant publications, without repeating already published works. Manuscript files must be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format.  

Tables and illustrations should convey information effectively and must be uploaded separately. Graphs and figures should be provided digitally as separate TIF or EPS files. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of the online nature of LSE . Video, audio, databases, images, animations, molecular structures, and other electronic resources may be linked as supplemental material for further consideration by readers. 

International authors may wish to consider using an editorial service, such as ScienceDocs (www.sciencedocs.com), American Journal Experts (www.journalexperts.com), Editage (www.editage.com), Bioscience Writers (www.biosciencewriters.com), Squirrel Scribe (www.squirrelscribe.com), or Wordvice (www.wordvice.com/). LSE does not endorse any particular service, and cannot be held responsible for the services they provide. 

Length Guidelines. The following manuscript submission lengths are intended to aid authors in preparing their manuscripts; however, submissions outside these ranges will be considered. 

Articles: 30,000–60,000 characters (with spaces), or 5–10 journal “pages”; typically do not exceed 20 journal pages, or 120,000 characters. 

Essays: 30,000–50,000 characters (with spaces), or 5–8 journal “pages”; typically do not exceed 10 journal pages, or 60,000 characters. 

Features: 6,000–12,000 characters (with spaces), or 1–2 journal “pages.” 

Letters: 3,000–6,000 characters (with spaces), or up to half a journal “page.” 

Cover Letter. Authors should submit a cover letter from the corresponding author stating that the work is being submitted exclusively to LSE and indicating why it is appropriate for the journal. If there is a connection between an author and a commercial product being used or reported, full disclosure is required in the cover letter and appropriate statements should be included in the manuscript. (See “Title Page” below.) For article submissions, authors are encouraged to indicate whether their work is best described as research that aims to yield new insights about biology teaching and learning or as the implementation and evaluation of educational innovations in the life sciences. 

Title Page. Page 1 should include the title of the manuscript, the type of manuscript being submitted (e.g., article, essay, feature, letter to the editor, response), the number of characters in the manuscript, a shortened running title (not to exceed 42 characters and spaces), and the names and affiliations (including department, institution, city, state, and zip code) of all authors in the order in which they should appear. List the corresponding author separately with complete postal and email address and telephone and fax numbers. Keywords should also appear on page 1. Include at least five keywords selected from the text of the article. If possible, include a keyword that indicates the target learners (primary, secondary, undergraduate, graduate, general public, etc.). 

If one or more of the authors of a research paper that assesses the effectiveness of a product or curriculum was also involved in producing the product or curriculum, readers need to be fully aware of this potential conflict of interest. Therefore, any potential conflicts of interest should be clearly stated on the title page of the manuscript. The author and the product should be identified, and a statement included that no promotion of a particular product to the exclusion of other similar products should be construed. This will be noted under the byline if the manuscript is accepted for publication. 

Abstract. Page 2 should contain the abstract, which should be no more than 200 words long and should summarize the important points in the manuscript. 

Manuscript Text. The text of the paper should begin on page 3. LSE follows the style guidelines of the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual. For chemical nomenclature, follow the Subject Index of Chemical Abstracts. Capitalize trade names and give manufacturer names and addresses. Do not include figures or tables within the body of the manuscript. A format of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References is encouraged, but other formats may be more appropriate for some topics. Manuscripts should include line and page numbers. 

Accessing Materials. Describe how to access new educational materials if the study or use of such materials is the subject of the paper. If materials are online, provide a URL to the material. Any registration requirements or agreements inherent in the use of the materials should be described. If there are no online materials, simply state “No additional materials available online.” For other new educational materials presented in the manuscript, authors should describe how readers can access the materials, what format is available (e.g., DVD, CD-ROM, PDF files, and html pages), how to request copies, and if there are any costs. LSE encourages provision of materials on a nonprofit basis, but recognizes that this is not always feasible. Please contact LSE with any questions regarding this policy. 

Acknowledgments. Identify financial sources and other sources of support for the research being reported in the manuscript. 

References. Place the reference list immediately following the manuscript text (beginning on a new page). LSE makes use of reference and citation formats stipulated by the most recent version of the American Psychological Society (“APA format”). Only published articles or manuscripts accepted for publication can be listed in the Reference section. Most reference management software (e.g., EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, etc.) have a setting for APA format. APA format should be used for the references and citations only; APA format for the entire paper is not necessary or desirable. Unpublished results, including personal communications and submitted manuscripts, should be cited as such in the text. Personal communications must be accompanied by permission letters unless they are from the authors’ own work.  

Example citations:  

Journal article with two authors: Seidel, S. B., & Tanner, K. D. (2013). “What if students revolt?”—considering student resistance: origins, options, and opportunities for investigation. CBE-Life Sciences Education , 12 (4), 586-595. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe-13-09-0190 

Journal article with more than six authors (list first six authors and last author): Leung, W., Shaffer, C. D., Reed, L. K., Smith, S. T., Barshop, W., Dirkes, W., … & Yuan, H. (2015). Drosophila Muller F elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution. G3: Genes| Genomes| Genetics , 5 (5), 719-740. https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.114.015966 

Book: Singer, S. R., Nielsen, N. R., & Schweingruber, H. A. (2012). Discipline based education research. Washington, DC: The National Academies . 

Chapter in edited volume: Lederman, N. G., Bartos, S. A., & Lederman, J. S. (2014). The development, use, and interpretation of nature of science assessments. In Matthews, M. R. (Ed.), International handbook of research in history, philosophy and science teaching (pp. 971-997). Netherlands: Springer. 

Website: Genetic Science Learning Center. (2015, January 7) Learn.Genetics. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/  

Conference paper: Henderson, C., Beach, A., & Famiano, M. (2007, January). Diffusion of educational innovations via co-teaching. In 2006 Physics education research conference (Vol. 883, pp. 117-120). 

Footnotes. Call out footnotes at the appropriate place in the text with a superscript numeral. The footnote text should be placed on a separate page after the References. 

Figures. All figures should be uploaded as individual files. 

Figure Legends. Figure legends should appear in numerical order after the References. Figure legends should provide an overview of the figure and details that describe any component parts. 

Tables. All tables must be cited in order in the text of the manuscript. individual table files need to be uploaded separately. 

Supplemental Material. Upload all supplemental material (except in the case of videos) together in one combined PDF. Be sure to upload the final version of the supplemental material. It will be posted online as received and will not be edited. 

Suggesting Editors and Reviewers. Authors are encouraged to suggest members of the editorial board ( https://www.ascb.org/publications/ascb-journals/lse-editor-profiles/ ) with the appropriate expertise to monitor the manuscript through review. Authors are also encouraged to suggest potential peer reviewers who could provide insights regarding the merits and areas for improvement of the work and the manuscript. Please do not include such recommendations in the cover letter, but rather in the appropriate locations in the submission system. Authors should not recommend editors or reviewers with conflicts of interest, including individuals at the same institution as an author, individuals who have published alongside an author in the last 5 years, individuals who are former mentors or mentees, or individuals with a financial relationship with an author in the last 5 years. Authors can additionally request that certain editors or reviewers be excluded from the review process due to conflicts of interest. Note that, while the Editors-In-Chief consider authors’ requests for specific editors and reviewers, accommodation of requests are not always possible. 

Guidelines for Preparing Digital Artwork  

Digital artwork must accompany the manuscript submission. Figures should be uploaded as separate files with the manuscript through the online manuscript submission system. Because artwork must be of sufficient quality for print reproduction, LSE asks that all artwork be prepared using professional graphic art software. Word processing and presentation software packages (such as Word and PowerPoint) are inadequate for preparing high-quality digital artwork. 

Prepare all digital artwork as RGB TIF images, at 300 dpi resolution, or EPS images:  

Figure Size. Prepare figures at the size they are to be published. 

Up to 1 column wide: Figure width should be 4.23-8.47 cm. 

1 to 1.5 columns wide: Figure width should be 10.16-11.43 cm. 

2 columns wide: Figure width should be 14.39-17.57 cm. 

The figure depth must be less than or equal to 23.5 cm. 

Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Resources  

For works using someone else’s electronic resource (such as a database), a letter from the creator or curator of the resource indicating their willingness to support free pedagogical use of their work must be included. The same general rules for evaluation will apply to all electronic submissions. All submissions will be evaluated for (1) pedagogical content, (2) clear description of goals and expected student outcomes, (3) transferability to other settings, (4) appropriateness for the target audience, and (5) references to related educational literature. After publication of the electronic work(s), the authors will be encouraged to submit the work to other databases (National Digital Library, BEN, etc.); however, it is expected that the LSE publication citation will remain associated with the work. This will allow viewers to read a more in-depth discussion of the work. 

All such electronic works must be freely available, and will be hosted on the LSE server or on the ASCB server, with the exception of large databases. This will ensure stable access to the works with a nonchanging URL. 

A manuscript should accompany any electronic submission. The manuscript should describe 1) the learning goals or purpose of the electronic work, 2) the target audience, 3) development of the electronic work (describe hardware and software used), 4) platform availability (see below), 5) a description of any necessary hardware or software, with links to the appropriate sites for downloading (e.g., plugins, helper applications, etc.), and 6) assessment of the work’s impact on student learning. 

Ideally, submitted works should work on any platform (PC, Mac, Unix) and on all browsers. If there are known restrictions, these should be included in the manuscript. LSE can help authors test their works for such limitations if they do not have access to certain platforms or browsers.  

The electronic work may have been hosted previously on any website, but the authors may not have previously published any description of the electronic work other than the associated Web pages. Published journal descriptions of the electronic work will preclude publication in LSE , with the exception of abstracts or presentations at professional meetings. 

The online publication will include hyperlinks to the work that will appear in a new browser window, if appropriate. This capacity could be helpful to the authors since they could provide directions for readers as needed to illustrate particular aspects of the work. The layout and submission process for the manuscript accompanying an electronic work should follow the same general format as other categories. The electronic work should be submitted to LSE at the same time as the manuscript. If this presents a problem, contact LSE staff for assistance. 

Sharing Materials and Data  

Publication of a manuscript in LSE implies that the authors agree to make available, to the extent legally permissible, all propagative materials such as mutant organisms, cell lines, recombinant plasmids, vectors, viruses, monoclonal antibodies, instructional materials, and assessment instruments that were used to obtain results presented in the article. Prior to obtaining these materials, interested scientists will provide the authors with a written statement that they will be used for noncommercial research purposes only. Authors are encouraged to share raw data with qualified researchers who wish to reproduce or further analyze the authors’ work for noncommercial purposes. Sharing of data on human subjects should be consistent with the conditions of the Human Subjects protocol approved by the authors’ Institutional Review Board (and any other agreements made with the subjects) for the work reported. 

How to Submit Manuscripts  

Electronic Submission. Authors must submit manuscripts online at www.cellbiologyeducation.org. Specific instructions on how to submit your manuscript are available at the submission site. Authors should submit the manuscript in .doc, .docx, or .rtf as two text files, the first containing the cover letter and the second containing the manuscript file. Figures, tables, and Supplemental Material must be submitted as individual files. Do not embed figures in the manuscript. If you are submitting a feature that does not contain an abstract or keywords, write “There is no abstract” in the required abstract field and “one,” “two,” and “three” in the keyword fields. 

Questions regarding submission guidelines can be directed to: [email protected] or 301-347-9338. 

Article Publication Charges and Waivers  

There is no submission charge. The article publication charge (APC) for the article/essay is $2,300 for members, and $2500 for non-members as of January 1, 2024. The member rate is only available for corresponding authors who are members at the time payment is due. A mechanism to make waiver or fee reduction requests will be incorporated into the submission process. It will also be possible to request waivers and fee reductions in advance of submission. Authors should provide a letter from their dean or department chair describing available funding. The ability of authors to pay article charges and any decisions regarding fee waivers will not be a factor in LSE’s editorial review process. Inquiries regarding publication charges and waivers should be directed to [email protected] and not to the editors. 

ASCB respects the rights of our authors to their own identities and supports authors who have changed their name for reasons including marriage, divorce, gender identity change, religious conversion, and other personal reasons. Authors should contact ASCB Journals, [email protected] , or [email protected] to request updates to their published records. Author requests will remain confidential and journal staff will work with authors to ensure changes are made quickly and accurately. Evidence of a legal name change is not necessary. However, authors must attest that they are requesting the change on their own behalf.

Authors may update any instance of their prior name, pronoun, or salutation in their publication(s). Changes can be made in the author’s byline, email address, or elsewhere within the body of their paper.

ASCB Journals will update the PDF and HTML versions of the paper and work with indexers to facilitate changes on sites such as PubMed. We cannot control, however, whether or when author name changes are made to non-ASCB sites. Also, due to the complexity and interconnectivity of the citation network across publishers, we cannot update citations for papers in which a name change has been made.

If an author wishes their work to be fully discoverable in all indexing and archiving sites under both prior and current names, then the name change would need to be issued via a formal correction. Because corrections are published under the full byline of the original paper, they require notification of all authors. The correction would state that a name change had been made but would not specify the change or the reason.

General Questions  

At any stage in the submission process, authors with questions should contact the LSE Editorial Office at 301-347-9338 (phone); 301-347-9350 (fax); [email protected] ; or The American Society for Cell Biology, 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. 

You are encouraged to contact editorial board members or the Editors-in-Chief by email to discuss submissions to LSE . 

The LSE website is an additional resource to authors. See earlier issues of LSE for examples of the different types of manuscripts published. 

Last updated on 1/6/2022.