Style comparison

Step by step — submit an IEEE conference paper

1. Download the official IEEE template from the conference website (LaTeX or Word version). Do not reformat a generic Word document.
2. Write within the template structure — keep the heading styles, column layout, and reference format the template defines. Modify content, not styles.
3. Set PDF metadata. Title field = paper title; Author = all author names; Subject = first sentence of abstract.
4. Export to PDF/X-1a (or whatever the conference specifies). This embeds fonts, flattens transparency, and produces a print-press-safe file. From LaTeX: `pdflatex` followed by `ps2pdf -dPDFX=true`; from Word: Save As → PDF → Options → PDF/X-1a.
5. Validate against the IEEE PDF eXpress tool (free, IEEE-provided). The validator checks fonts, margins, page count, and conference-specific rules. Fix any flagged issues in the source and re-export.

Related reading

• Make a PDF look professional: general design rules for any document.
• PDF metadata editor: set title, author, subject explicitly.
• PDF to PDF/A: archival format used by some open-access journals.
• PDF for graphic designers: PDF/X export deep dive.
• Searchable PDF: OCR scanned reference papers for literature review.
• PDF tools for students: companion piece on academic PDF workflows.
• All ScoutMyTool PDF tools: free post-export toolkit.

FAQ

My IEEE conference submission was rejected for "incorrect formatting". What did I miss?

Five common issues. First, font family — IEEE specifies Times New Roman for body text; many authors default to whatever Word picks (Calibri in newer Word versions), which fails the automated style check. Second, two-column layout — IEEE papers are two-column from page 1; one-column papers fail the visual check. Third, margins — IEEE requires 0.75" top margin (not the Word default 1"), and specific column widths. Fourth, abstract format — italic, indented from both sides, no heading "Abstract" in larger type, single paragraph. Fifth, references — IEEE format requires specific punctuation and ordering. Use the official IEEE LaTeX template (or the Word equivalent) rather than reformatting a generic Word document; the template encodes all the rules and exporting from it gives a conforming PDF.

How do I export an APA 7 paper as PDF without losing the running head?

Use Word's header and footer system, not text boxes positioned manually. APA 7 specifies a running head in the page header: title in ALL CAPS, abbreviated to 50 characters max, left-aligned; page number right-aligned. Set this in Word: Insert → Header → Edit Header, type the running head + tab + page number field, format consistently. On export to PDF, the running head is preserved on every page because it lives in the header layer (which PDF treats as page-level metadata). If you set running heads as floating text boxes per-page, they will not survive export reliably — text boxes can shift or duplicate. Test on a 3-page sample first, verify the running head appears on each page in the PDF.

My Chicago Notes-Bibliography footnotes are not converting to PDF correctly. Why?

Chicago footnotes rely on Word's footnote feature (References → Insert Footnote), which produces a number link in the body text and a corresponding numbered note at the page bottom, with consistent typography. Most export-to-PDF pipelines preserve this correctly — but if you used manual superscript numbers and a separate "Notes" section instead of the footnote feature, the link between body and note is lost. The fix: convert manual notes back to real footnotes using Word's References menu, then re-export. After PDF export, click a footnote number in the body — it should jump to the corresponding note at the page bottom (or end, for endnotes). If clicking does nothing, the footnotes were not exported as PDF link annotations.

How do I handle figures and tables for academic submission?

Three rules. First, embed figures at 300+ DPI for print, 150 DPI for screen-only journals. Lower resolutions print pixelated and editors will reject. Second, every figure gets a numbered caption ("Figure 1. ...") below it; every table gets a numbered caption ("Table 1. ...") above it. Caption numbering is consecutive throughout the paper, not per-section. Third, reference every figure and table by number in the body text ("as shown in Figure 1" or "see Table 2"); editors check that every figure and table is referenced and may reject papers with unreferenced figures. After PDF export, verify each figure renders sharply and each caption is intact (not split across page boundaries).

What is the IEEE/APA/Chicago rule for PDF metadata?

All three accept (and most submission systems require) that the PDF Title field match the paper title, the Author field list all authors comma-separated, and the Subject field be either the abstract's first 160 characters or empty. Set in Word: File → Info → Properties before exporting. After export, verify with Acrobat or Preview: File → Properties. Conference submission systems often auto-extract these fields for their database, so incorrect or default metadata ("Document1") causes manual rework or rejection. Take 30 seconds before each export to set them correctly; it pays back at submission time.

My paper uses Greek letters / mathematical notation. Will it render in PDF?

Yes if the symbols are inserted as Unicode characters or proper math objects (Word Equation Editor, LaTeX-rendered math, or MathType). Symbols inserted as raster images render as images — non-searchable, sometimes blurry. Word inserts Greek and math symbols from the Symbol gallery as Unicode by default, which is correct; LaTeX math compiles to true math objects in PDF. The PDF MathML support is partial — for true accessibility of math, embed the original LaTeX source as a PDF attachment using ScoutMyTool PDF metadata editor, so screen readers and downstream tools can re-render the math. Verify after export by selecting equations with click-drag; Unicode math characters highlight, image equations do not.

How do I produce a PDF that passes the journal's automated style check?

Three steps. First, use the journal's official template (LaTeX or Word) rather than reformatting a generic document. Templates encode every formatting rule the automated check looks for. Second, do not modify the template's style definitions — change content within styles, not the styles themselves. Third, generate the PDF using the template's recommended export settings (usually PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 for print journals, PDF/A-1b for open-access journals). After submission, the automated check returns a pass/fail report; fix any issues by going back to the template, not by hand-editing the PDF.

Citations

1. IEEE — "IEEE Editorial Style Manual" — official IEEE formatting requirements.
2. American Psychological Association — "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition".
3. University of Chicago Press — "The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition".
4. Modern Language Association — "MLA Handbook, 9th edition".
5. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) — "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals" (Vancouver style).