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Clemson University Graduate School

Revise Manuscript Formatting

Once you’ve uploaded your manuscript PDF to your Clemson OPEN ETD account and clicked the SUBMIT button, the Manuscript Review staff receives an automated message that your paper is ready for review. Usually, within 1–2 business days after you submit, we’ll send you an email requesting formatting revisions to your digital manuscript, or indicating that your ETD is approved and needs no revision. The review process may take a little longer as the graduation deadlines approach, and we have many manuscripts to review.

Many Graduate School ETD manuscripts will require a minor revision or two. The appearance of your published, archived paper should be as polished and professional as your research. For some graduate students, writing a thesis or dissertation is the first time they need to format a table of contents, multiple chapters, an appendix, and other complex elements. Don’t be discouraged if you’re asked for minor revisions to align with Clemson University’s Graduate School online publishing standards. If you’ve read through the Format page, made use of the samples and templates you’ll find linked at Templates, Links & Tools, and followed the final ETD checklist, you’ve probably avoided most of these common causes for revision requests.

Getting Feedback from the Reviewer

You will hear from the Manuscript Review office via email once your review is complete. This email will be generated through a Clemson OPEN email address. If your ETD needs any minor formatting revisions, the reviewer will email you through the Clemson OPEN ETD portal and include specific instructions for each revision. The most common items that call for revision requests are covered in the next section. If you receive a request for revision, the email will include a link to upload your revised PDF. Your status will be “Waiting for Revisions.”

  1. If your ETD formatting is approved, but Enrolled Services has not yet received your committee-signed Form GS7 or has not yet entered it into the database, your feedback email will inform you of this, and your status until your GS7 is filed will be “Waiting for Revisions,” simply because there is no “waiting for GS7” official status available in the Clemson OPEN ETD admin’s menu options .
  2. Once all your formatting meets Graduate School standards, you’ll get a “congratulations” email, and your ETD status will appear as “Accepted” or “Ready for Delivery .”

Common Items that Call for Revision

Capitalization of the title and title page elements

On your title page, please set your manuscript title in all-capital letters . It’s OK to break the title to multiple lines of roughly equal length . Use of capitalization and wording in title page text should match what’s in the sample title page . An exception is if your title contains italicized scientific nomenclature and your discipline prefers an initial cap for the genus name but all lower case for the species name .

It’s also essential that content, wording, line breaks, and capitalization follow what’s shown on the Graduate School’s sample title page

Date on the title page

The date on the title page should be the month and year of when you graduate, not when you defended or finished writing the document.  If you are graduating in May of 2026, put May 2026. If you graduate in December of 2026, put December 2026.

Do not include commas, periods, or any type of punctuation.

Help from the Manuscript Review Office

If you need help with your revisions, or have any formatting questions, please email the Manuscript Review Office.

The Official Acceptance

Once all your revisions are approved, you will receive an acceptance email from the Manuscript Review desk through the Clemson OPEN ETD email, and your work is done. Congratulations!

What Happens Next?

With an accepted ETD and a committee-signed GS7 form entered into the Registrar’s database, you are all set for graduation.

Your ETD will be held until shortly after the semester’s graduation ceremony. The manuscript reviewer will check all ETDs against the Registrar’s official graduation list, confirm that all embargoes are clearly marked, and then release the ETDs to the University’s Digital Repository Coordinator for publication and archiving in Clemson OPEN.