How to Write a Journal Cover Caption

Identify the requested text

A cover explanation describes the image and its relation to the paper. A submission letter communicates with the editor. A main-text figure caption identifies panels and supports interpretation of the figure. Do not transfer the requirements of one document to another without checking the journal.

Write the literal description first

Name the principal objects and their arrangement. Then explain how the composition relates to the research. Separate physical structures from metaphors. Avoid claiming that a scene proves a mechanism or performance result that the artwork cannot establish.

Use a teaching template, then replace every placeholder

The artwork depicts [visible objects and arrangement]. It illustrates [research topic] by using [visual relationship or metaphor]. The associated study examines [author-approved question or finding]. Artwork: [confirmed credit].

This is an original teaching template, not a publisher-issued caption. Apply the actual word limit, required fields and credit format for the target journal.

Read the Atherton–Todd archive

The Nature Chemistry artwork places a ball-and-stick molecule against lower-contrast layered forms. A teaching explanation can describe that visible focus and its connection to the associated asymmetric Atherton–Todd paper. Do not present a newly drafted explanation as the publisher's official caption, and do not invent an artist credit from the image alone.

Review length, science and attribution

Check the journal's current instructions; do not apply one journal's word count to every publisher. Verify names, formulas, the relationship between metaphor and research, and permission to use the image. Keep the archive image, official issue and credit record distinct. See the cover guide and cover service scope.