[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"content-en-blog\u002Fcall-for-papers-template":3},{"seo":4,"title":7,"description":8,"category":9,"publishedAt":10,"author":11,"sections":12,"cta":71,"related":74},{"title":5,"description":6},"Call for Papers Template for Academic Conferences","A ready-to-adapt call for papers template for academic conferences, with the sections authors look for and what to leave out of the announcement.","Call for papers template for academic conferences","The call for papers is a public announcement, not a submission form. This template covers what authors need to decide whether to submit, in the order they look for it.","planning","2026-01-27","Eventumbot",[13,16,20,23,31,35,42,49,52,65,68],{"heading":14,"body":15},"What the call for papers is for","A call for papers answers one question for a busy researcher: should I submit here? It states the scope, the dates and the rules in a page that can be forwarded to a colleague. Detailed field-by-field rules belong in the submission system and are covered in our abstract submission checklist.",{"heading":17,"body":18,"template":19},"Template","Copy this structure and replace the placeholders. Keep every section short.","CALL FOR PAPERS\n[Conference name], [City, Country], [dates]\n\n1. About the meeting\n[Two sentences: who organises it, who it is for.]\n\n2. Topics\n[Track 1] · [Track 2] · [Track 3]\n\n3. Contribution types\n[Oral presentation \u002F poster \u002F symposium proposal]\n\n4. How to submit\nSubmit an abstract of up to [number] words through [link] by [deadline]. Authors need an account.\n\n5. Key dates\nSubmission deadline: [date]\nNotification of decisions: [date]\nEarly-bird registration ends: [date]\nConference: [dates]\n\n6. Review\nAll abstracts are reviewed by [number] members of the scientific committee. [Blind or open review.]\n\n7. Registration and fees\nAt least one author of each accepted abstract must register by [date]. Fees: [link].\n\n8. Contact\n[Name and email of the programme chair or secretariat]",{"heading":21,"body":22},"Write the topics as a reader would search for them","Authors scan the topic list for their own field. Use the terms your community uses, not internal committee labels, and avoid a catch-all track that hides the meeting’s focus.",{"heading":24,"body":25,"items":26},"Leave these out","Do not put the full formatting guide, the fee table or the committee biographies in the announcement. Link to them. A call that grows past one screen is rarely read to the end.",[27,28,29,30],"Full author guidelines: link to a dedicated page.","Detailed fee table: link to registration.","Sponsor logos: keep them on the event website.","Promises you cannot keep, such as publication in a journal that has not agreed to it.",{"heading":32,"body":33,"template":34},"A completed example","The example below is fictional. It shows how the template reads once the placeholders are filled in, and how short each section can stay. Note that it links out for the author guidelines and the fee table instead of repeating them.","CALL FOR ABSTRACTS\n12th Symposium on Applied Hydrology, Lisbon, Portugal, 14–16 October\n\n1. About the meeting\nThe symposium is organised by the Hydrology Society and the University of Lisbon. It brings together researchers and practitioners working on water resources under climate change.\n\n2. Topics\nDrought and flood forecasting · Groundwater management · Urban water systems · Data and models\n\n3. Contribution types\nOral presentation (12 minutes plus 3 minutes for questions) · Poster · Proposal for a themed session\n\n4. How to submit\nSubmit an abstract of up to 300 words at symposium.example.org\u002Fsubmit by 15 March, 23:59 Lisbon time.\n\n5. Key dates\nSubmission deadline: 15 March\nNotification of decisions: 30 April\nEarly-bird registration ends: 31 May\nSymposium: 14–16 October\n\n6. Review\nEach abstract is reviewed by three members of the scientific committee. Review is single-blind.\n\n7. Registration and fees\nAt least one author of each accepted abstract must register by 31 May. Fees: symposium.example.org\u002Ffees.\n\n8. Contact\nProgramme chair: programme@symposium.example.org",{"heading":36,"body":37,"items":38},"Writing the scope paragraph","The scope paragraph decides whether a reader continues. It should tell a researcher in your field, in two or three sentences, what kind of work belongs here and what does not. Avoid marketing language and avoid listing every possible subfield. Compare these two openings.",[39,40,41],"Weak: “The conference offers a unique platform for cutting-edge research and networking across disciplines.”","Better: “The symposium welcomes original work on the forecasting and management of droughts and floods, from field studies to model development. Purely theoretical hydrology without an application is out of scope.”","A sentence on what is out of scope saves reviewers time and spares authors a rejection.",{"heading":43,"body":44,"items":45},"Deadlines and how to word them","Ambiguous deadlines generate the most email. State the date, the time and the time zone, and say whether an extension is possible. If you will consider extensions, say who decides and how authors ask. If you will not, say so plainly, because authors will test it. Repeat the same wording everywhere the deadline appears.",[46,47,48],"Precise: “Submissions close on 15 March at 23:59 Lisbon time (UTC+0).”","Extension policy, if any: “The deadline is final. Abstracts cannot be edited after this time.”","Notification: “Decisions will be sent by 30 April. Please check your spam folder.”",{"heading":50,"body":51},"Plain language and accessibility","Many of your readers are not native speakers of the language of the call. Short sentences, common words and no idioms help them and cost you nothing. Publish the call as a web page rather than only a PDF, so it can be read on a phone, translated by a browser and read by assistive technology. If you also publish it in another language, make sure the dates and the rules are identical, and have a native speaker check the translation.",{"heading":53,"body":54,"items":55},"A checklist before you send it","Read the call once as an author who has never heard of your meeting, then tick the following.",[56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64],"Name, dates and place appear in the first two lines.","Every deadline has a date, time and time zone.","The topic list uses the words your community uses.","Contribution types are named and the difference between them is explained.","The word limit and the language of submission are stated.","Review method and number of reviewers are stated.","Registration requirement for accepted authors is stated.","Links to guidelines, fees and the submission form work.","A named person or address answers questions.",{"heading":66,"body":67},"Updating the call after it is published","Sooner or later something in the call will change: a deadline, a topic, a fee. Change it in one place, the page on your event website, and note the date of the change at the top. Then send a short message to the people who have already subscribed or submitted, saying what changed and what it means for them. Do not send a second call with different wording, because readers will not know which one is current. Keep a record of every version so you can answer an author who says they were told something else.",{"heading":69,"body":70},"Where to publish it","Publish the call on the event website first so every other channel links to one canonical page. Then send it to society mailing lists and partner institutions. Update the same page when the deadline is extended rather than posting a second call.",{"label":72,"to":73},"Explore abstract management","\u002Ffeatures\u002Fabstract-management",[75,77,80,83],{"label":76,"to":73},"Abstract management",{"label":78,"to":79},"Call for papers","\u002Fglossary\u002Fcall-for-papers",{"label":81,"to":82},"Abstract submission checklist for conference organisers","\u002Fblog\u002Fabstract-submission-checklist",{"label":84,"to":85},"Academic conference planning timeline: from call to closing","\u002Fblog\u002Facademic-conference-planning-timeline"]