On this page
At a glance
- Starts from the Journal of Education and Teaching Learning template, so the layout is right from the first page.
- Co-authors write in the same manuscript, with comments, tracked changes and version history.
- References, citations and the reference list stay in one style.
- Revisions: the editors' and reviewers' notes sit next to your text, point by point.
- Free for authors of the journal; you only need your author account.
Writing Labs opens from your author profile on the Journal of Education and Teaching Learning website. It works like a word processor in the browser, but it knows the journal: its template, its submission form and the stages of your manuscript. You can still upload a Word file the usual way; Writing Labs is an option, never a requirement, and it does not change how your manuscript is assessed.
Open Writing Labs Author profile Submit a manuscript
Why the journal offers Writing Labs
Before Writing Labs, preparing and revising a manuscript usually meant:
- Reformatting a Word file by hand to match the template, then finding at the check that styles, margins or headings had drifted.
- E-mailing files between co-authors, with names like final_v3_revised2.docx and no certainty which one is the latest.
- Citations and the reference list typed by hand, in mixed styles, with DOIs missing or wrong.
- Reviewer comments spread over e-mails, PDFs and the review form, and a response letter assembled by copy and paste.
- Uploading the wrong file for a revision, or a file the journal cannot open (.doc, .odt, .rtf).
- Author names, affiliations and contributions that differ between the manuscript and the submission form.
Writing Labs keeps the manuscript, its versions, the people working on it and the journal's requests in one place, so these problems do not arise.
Starting a manuscript
- Sign in and open Writing Labs from your author profile, or use the "Write in Writing Labs" button next to a template download on the issue or call for papers.
- Choose the issue or the template family. The manuscript opens with the journal's sections, styles and page layout already in place.
- Write, or import an existing Word file into the template. Writing Labs keeps the journal styles while you work.
Writing and formatting
- A familiar ribbon: fonts and paragraph styles, lists, tables, pictures, symbols, footnotes, page breaks, headers, footers and page numbers.
- Template tools: apply the journal template, convert an imported file to it, align headings and styles, and open the template guidance for each section.
- Find and replace, a print layout view, and a check of the manuscript against the template before you send it.
- Tables and charts from your research data (Olah data), kept with the manuscript so a figure can be updated when the data change.
- Your work is saved as you write. If the connection drops, you can keep writing; the changes are sent when you are back online.
References and citations
- A reference library for the manuscript: add references by DOI, import them from a RIS or BibTeX file or from Zotero, or type them in.
- Insert citations while you write; the reference list is built and numbered in the journal's citation style.
- "Tidy citations" brings citations typed by hand into the same style, and the reference check lists entries that are not cited, citations without an entry and DOIs that do not resolve.
- Writing Labs never invents a reference: every entry comes from you or from the DOI you entered. See plagiarism and similarity.
Working with co-authors
- Invite co-authors to the manuscript and decide who may edit, who may only comment and who may only read.
- See who is working in the manuscript; a section someone else is changing is marked so nobody overwrites anyone.
- Comments in the margin, replies and resolved threads; tracked changes that the lead author accepts or rejects.
- Version history: label a version (for example "sent to the journal") and go back to it at any time.
- Contributors and CRediT roles in one panel; the contribution statement is written from it, and the same names travel to the submission form.
Sending to the journal
- Run the readiness check: template, required sections, contributors, references and file details.
- Choose "Send to journal". The submission form opens with the manuscript attached; you complete the metadata and the declarations as usual.
- After submission the manuscript in Writing Labs becomes read-only, so the journal assesses exactly the version you sent.
Revising in Writing Labs
When the editor asks for a revision you have 14 days. Open the revision from the decision e-mail or the manuscript tracking page:
- Your manuscript opens as a revision copy with the editor's notes and the reviewers' comments in the margin, each linked to the text it refers to.
- The revision checklist lists every point; mark each one done and write your answer next to it.
- Changes are tracked automatically, so the editor and the reviewers see what you changed.
- The response letter is built from your answers, point by point.
- "Finish and send revision" sends the revised manuscript and the response letter to the journal in one step.
Details on deadlines and decisions are in Peer review and revision.
After acceptance
The editors may ask you to check the copyedited text or the page proofs. The request opens in Writing Labs with the changes marked; you confirm or comment, and the journal sees your answer at once. Downloads in Word (.docx) and PDF are available at every stage.
Privacy and integrity
Your manuscript is visible only to you and the people you invite until you send it. After that the journal's editorial team works with it under the privacy policy. Reviewers receive an anonymous copy; nothing in Writing Labs shows them who you are. Writing Labs does not write the manuscript for you, and all authors remain responsible for its content (see authorship).
Questions
Write to [email protected] or use the chat with the editors on the manuscript tracking page.
