The Complete Guide to JATS 1.3 XML for Academic Journals
In scholarly publishing, PDF alone is no longer sufficient for digital indexing and long-term preservation. Journal Article Tag Suite (JATS) XML is the internationally recognized standard that structures academic research for machines, indexers, and humans alike.
What is JATS XML and Why Does It Matter?
JATS (Journal Article Tag Suite), standardized under ANSI/NISO Z39.96, is an XML format developed specifically for describing the content and metadata of academic journal articles.
Unlike a PDF document—which is formatted purely for visual page rendering—JATS XML explicitly tags every structural element: abstract, author affiliations, funding statements, mathematical formulas, tabular data, and every individual citation in the bibliography.
For digital preservation repositories such as PubMed Central (PMC), JATS XML ensures that research articles remain accessible and indexable across decades, regardless of changes in software or hardware platforms.
Key Components of a Valid JATS 1.3 Article Package
A standard JATS 1.3 publishing package consists of structured XML accompanied by high-resolution media and metadata manifests:
1. <front> metadata: Contains journal identifiers (ISSN, publisher), article title, author ORCID iDs, institutional affiliations, dates (received, revised, accepted, published), abstracts, and keyword classifications.
2. <body> content: Contains hierarchical sections (<sec>), paragraphs (<p>), equations (<disp-formula>), tables (XHTML or OASIS model), and embedded graphic references (<fig>).
3. <back> matter: Contains acknowledgements, author contribution statements, conflict of interest declarations, and structured reference lists (<ref-list>) with individual citation tags (<element-citation>).
How Manna Automates JATS 1.3 XML Conversion
Traditionally, publishers outsource JATS conversion to external typesetting vendors at costs ranging from $15 to $50 per article, with turnaround times of 5 to 14 days.
Manna Manuscript generates validated JATS 1.3 XML natively upon manuscript acceptance. The system parses the author's Word or LaTeX document, validates all references against Crossref APIs, formats the XML schema, and prepares the publication package in seconds.
Editorial teams can inspect the XML validation log, preview the rendered web version, and download compliant archives with one click.
Frequently Asked Questions
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