Unpacking the metagenre of graphical abstracts for scientific communication

Abstract

Graphical abstracts (GAs) use multimodal representation to enhance the visibility and accessibility of research across disciplines. While increasingly common in scholarly publishing, little is known about the institutional forces that shape their production. Editorial guidelines function as a metagenre–a parent category that shapes and constrains the conventions of various genres and offers insight into how such frameworks standardize genre features while also allowing for disciplinary variation. This study conducts a metagenre analysis of GA editorial guidelines from 21 life sciences journals to understand how this metagenre is deployed to reinforce as well as modify publication practices in rhetorically strategic ways. Findings indicate that while guidelines define GAs, address the reader-oriented and paratextual purposes of GAs, and establish technical requirements, they lack guidance on the multimodal design process necessary to create compelling GAs that balance simplicity with research integrity. By providing a comprehensive metagenre analysis, this study adds to theoretical discussions of how metagenres articulate values, standardize practices, and shape social action. It also provides pedagogical and practical insights into how GA guidelines can guide individual composing processes.