Guide for Authors
Scientific content of manuscript
Sexism in illustrations, examples, and problems
Is It ‘Bibliography’ or ‘References’?
List of bibliography or references
How to contribute to CODESRIA publications
What does CODESRIA need to know?
Which word-processing software packages can be used by CODESRIA?
What type of disks should be used?
How should text and files be organised?
Why make back-up copies of files?
How disks are packaged and transported
Copy-editing queries and proofs
Objective of this booklet
In order for your manuscript to be published as quickly and painlessly as possible, it is essential that you follow the instructions laid out in this booklet. Editors of journals, series and books with several contributors should ensure that all authors are given copies of this booklet and specific instructions for the volume they are contributing to. The main objectives of the booklet include the following:
- To facilitate communication and understanding between authors, editors and the Department of Publications and Communication at By producing a well-organised, coherent and complete manuscript, you will be making a significant contribution to the efficient and timely production of your work.
- To ensure efficient and speedy production of publications of quality both in form and content. A messy, badly prepared manuscript is time-consuming and expensive to produce, both for the editorial and production The clearer, better articulated the manuscript the more likely it is that the copy editor and typesetter will be able to do a good job. It is in your interest to take every care over the manuscript at all stages of preparation. It is also in the interest of editors and guest editors to insist on the adequate preparation of manuscripts before these are transmitted for publication to CODESRIA. Manuscripts that are not sufficiently attended to might be returned to you for basic revisions, which delays the evaluation and production process.
- To assist CODESRIA in achieving its objectives as a leading publisher of excellent predicament-oriented scholarship on Africa and
A note
Much in this ‘Guide for Authors’ is intended for students and budding scholars who are yet to master the art of academic writing and publishing. To the experienced authors largely already familiar with publishers’ expectations and scholarly manière de faire, we crave your indulgence and hope that the table of contents and index will direct your attention to the specific area you need for the work at hand. To all scholars, we hope that this guide will inspire quality and excellence in your submissions to CODESRIA.
Presentation and Organisation
Scientific content of manuscript
To achieve its mission of promoting visibility and competitiveness for African scholarship informed by perspectives sympathetic with the predicaments facing the continent, CODESRIA has set up a rigorous peer-review system. All manuscripts sent out to peer-reviewers are accompanied by a letter inviting them to evaluate the scientific value of manuscripts, using the following criteria:
- Importance of the subject matter
- Originality of the approach
- Soundness of the scholarship
- Degree of interest to our readership
- Clarity of the organisation
- Strength of the argument
- Writing style
Contributors are notified that: “narrative or descriptive articles lacking in analytical content are not likely to be accepted”. Please provide one of the following recommendations:
- Publish as it stands
- Publish with minor revisions
- Resubmit/Requires major revisions (please select only if paper has real promise).
- Reject (please supply some comments which can be sent to the author rather than a bare rejection)
- Refer to a specialist
- Refer to another journal (please make suggestions)
The Manuscript
We prefer manuscripts (i.e., books, monographs, working papers, journal article or contributions to the CODESRIA Bulletin) on disk prepared on a word processor as well as in printed hard-copy form. A disk copy will make the production process easier, both for you and for CODESRIA. Use of difficult or expensive word-processing packages is unnecessary, so also is the use of complicated codes. The simpler the presentation of your text, the better for the typesetters and the printers. And since it will be typeset from your own keystrokes, there will be fewer errors in your proofs. If at all possible, manuscripts should be emailed to editors or to CODESRIA
Manuscripts must be typed or printed out double-spaced with wide mar- gins (approx. 30 mm) on both left and right, and at the top and bottom, on one side of the paper only. Use of A4 paper with about 40 lines to a page is recommended, in order to allow the copy editor space to mark corrections. Type or print in high or letter-quality mode and not in draft mode. CODESRIA recommends the use of 12 point (10 point as a minimum) and clear font types that are easily readable. Avoid word divisions at the ends of lines: ragged right-hand margins are much better than hyphens. Use the left alignment mode.
Do not use waxy paper or photocopies that cannot be written on. Do not use continuous (or listing) paper. We recommend the use of white paper that is easy to photocopy or send by fax.
Authors must supply two copies of the manuscript, the top copy being for our editorial team, and the second for publicity and promotion purposes. Always keep a copy for your own reference. A disk copy must still be accompanied by two hard copies of the manuscript.
All copies of the manuscript must be identical, and all hard copies must be an exact print-out of the disks sent to CODESRIA. This is essential – if in doubt you should print out again, to ensure that the hard-copy matches exactly what is on the disk. The two hard copies and disks you send to CODESRIA must be the final version of your manuscript. If you wish to make minor corrections or amendments after you have printed out the work, write them legibly in red ink on or above the relevant line of text, not in the margin, but do not make the changes on the disk. If you wish to make more extensive alterations you should make them on the disk and print out the revised manuscript. Mark all hard and disk copies of the manuscript with the date they were printed out or revised, so that there is no risk of your sending CODESRIA an earlier version of the manuscript by accident. Never send the only disks you have – always send copies.
The pages of your manuscript must be numbered just before you submit it, when the organisation of the manuscript is finalised and any tables and figures are included. Begin page 1 with the first page of the main text, or with an abstract (for manuscripts proposed for journal articles) and Introduction (in the case of a book length manuscript), if this is long enough for its content to be included in the index. Number right through, not chapter by chapter or by sections; be sure that all copies are numbered identically.
For all manuscripts, a separate cover page is required for the title and information about personal details of the author. Do not include the author’s name on the first page of the main text, or as running heads and footers. This ensures that time is not wasted to protect the anonymity of the author before manuscripts are sent out for peer-review.
Word count
Various CODESRIA publications may have word length stipulations appropriate to the journal, monograph, working paper, and books in the series. Look at the journal or other titles in the series or consult with the editor on the appropriate word length before submitting the manuscript. For example, journal articles average about 5,000–10,000 words in length. Many word-processing packages include facilities for automatic word counting (see your manual). It is helpful if you can note the word count by either providing a separate list or noting counts on your print-out.
Front and end matters
Book length manuscripts should include the front and end matters. The front matter includes the half-title page, title page, copyright, dedication (if any), contents, preface, acknowledgements, list of abbreviations, lists of plates, figures, tables and so on. The end matter can include appendices, notes, bibliography and index (in order).
Journal articles need not include as much detail as for books but should include the title page, abstract, acknowledgements, lists of plates, figures, tables, appendices (if any), notes, references.
The Text
Please keep text layout simple. The most important point of style is to be consistent throughout your text: i.e., use the same spacing between words, headings, paragraphs, etc., throughout. If you wish to retain space between paragraphs to indicate a section break, indicate this clearly on the manuscript.
Do not centre headings. Use line spaces above and below headings, and the minimum of stylistic features to indicate different levels of headings (i.e. underlining, italic, capital and lowercase letters):
Subheading
Text beneath first level of heading.
Sub-subheading
Text beneath second level of heading. Sub-sub-subheading
Text beneath third level of heading.
For more on presentation, see section on subheadings below.
Justification of text. lf producing text on disk avoid justifying text for both left and right margins – there is a risk that hyphenation at the end of justified lines of text on disk will eventually appear in proofs. Justify text on the left margin, but leave the right margin ragged (i.e. so that hyphens appear only where you have inserted them). Do not insert hard returns at the end of every line, but do insert two hard returns at the end of para- graphs if they are not indented.
Chapters and Parts should begin on a new page.
Paragraphs
Always use ‘tab’ or a consistent number of spaces for indenting the first line of a paragraph.
Indented extracts. Quoted material of more than three lines in length (approx. fifty words) should be set out from the text by being indented a consistent number of spaces from the left margin, with a line space above and below, e.g.:
Hence, despite constitutional provisions of equality before the law, women citizens are often constructed as dependents on husbands in tax law; as unable to pass on citizenship to their children in national- ity laws; as not competent to travel autonomously in provisions for acquisitions for visas and passports; as financial risks in requiring approval for loans and scholarships from husbands, and so on (Imam 1997:4).
If you are preparing text on disk, use the ‘left indent’ or ‘block indent’ feature (see your manual) to display extracts. Do not use word spaces or tabs to indent text.
The exact spelling and punctuation of the original must be faithfully copied. Indented quotations should not have quotation marks, unless they report conversation. They should be typed or printed out double-spaced like the rest of the manuscript. Your own interpolations into quoted matter should be clearly enclosed in square brackets, not round ones. Display source on the same line immediately after the quotation, within round brackets.
Please ensure that quotations from secondary sources are clearly indicated in quotation marks and the source fully acknowledged. It is not always appreciated by all writers that to begin a paragraph/section with 'As x says...' followed by a lengthy word-for-word or superficially paraphrased extract from another author's already published work or unpublished thesis, conference or seminar paper, etc. without full acknowledgement can constitute plagiarism. Similarly, to structure a chapter or argument on the same lines as another author, without due acknowledgement, can also constitute plagiarism.
Punctuation
Use a single (not a double) space after a full stop, and after commas, colons, semicolons, etc. Do not put a space in front of a question mark, colon, semicolon, or in front of any other closing quotation mark.
En rules. An en rule or dash (–) is half the size of an em rule (—) and should be used to replace ‘to’ in number spans, e.g. ‘24–8’, ‘January–March’. How- ever, the en rule should not replace ‘to’ if the word ‘from’ is used: ‘from 1960 to 1970’, not ‘from 1960–70’.
It should also be used to link two items of equal weight, as in ‘CODESRIA– UCAD alliance'. Since not all standard keyboards have en rule key, type a double hyphen to indicate that an en rule is required, e.g. ‘24--8’, ‘Holy- field--Tyson fight’. The typesetter can then change all double hyphens to en rules by making one global command. Or use the ASCII code alt+0150 (for PC) for an en rule.
Em rules are not common on standard keyboards. Most word-processing softwares accept the use of ASCII standard codes for em rules (alt+0151). Unspaced em rules are used for parenthetical dashes (but spaced en rules are now more common), in indexes and bibliographies to represent a repeated entry heading or author’s name; to indicate an omission of a word or part of a word (‘Ethnic Citizens and Ethnic Strangers, as used by Professor M—’) or to introduce lines of dialogue.
Quotation marks. CODESRIA uses the British style, i.e., single quotation marks for dialogue and quoted material in the text. Reserve the use of double quotation marks for quotes within quotes, e.g., ‘Samir Amin’s idea of "delinking" may be appealing in principle but difficult in practice’. For the American style use double quotation marks for quoted material in the text, with single quotation marks for quotes within quotes, e.g.: "Samir Amin’s idea of 'delinking' may be appealing in principle but difficult in practice." You are encouraged to use the British style in your submissions to CODESRIA. In British style the full stop only falls inside the quotation mark if the material quoted is a complete sentence.
Subheadings. should be used sparingly. If you use sub-subheadings, please indicate clearly their degree of importance. For example, indicate level headings by adding tags, e.g.<A>, <B>, <C>; <H1>, <H2>, <H3> etc. or use capitals for A subheadings, underlining for B sub-subheadings, and ordi- nary type for C sub-sub-subheadings:
<A>THE ADVENT OF MISSIONARIES
<B>The advent of missionaries
<C>The advent of missionaries
Avoid using more than three degrees of sub-headings, as this leads to difficulties in setting and is confusing for the reader. Avoid numbering subheadings unless extensive cross-referencing is essential to the work.
Spelling
Be consistent. We prefer spellings to conform to the most recent edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, but will accept alternatives pro- vided they are consistent and do not skip to and fro between US spelling and UK spelling. If you are using a word processor and have a spell check facility on your software, use it.
Ensure that the names of people/places, etc. are spelt consistently through- out the manuscript. Pay particular attention in the case of names/words transliterated from other languages (e.g. Arabic, Hindi); watch out for consistent usage of diacritic marks.
Keep capitalisation to a minimum.
- Titles and E.g. ‘King Jaja of Opobo’, but ‘the king’, ‘all kings’.
- Institutions, movements, denominations, political Use lower case for government, church (but when part of a title capitalised, e.g., ‘Roman Catholic Church’), state, party, volume, and so on. Watch out for distinctions between ‘Liberal and liberal’, ‘Democrat and democrat’ etc.
- Periods, Iron Age, Dark Ages, but we prefer ‘colonial period’.
- Genera and Solanum tuberosum.
- Geographical North, South, etc are capitalised if they are part of the title of an area or a political entity, e.g. the developed North, but not if they are part of the descriptions in general terms,
e.g. northern Ghana, ‘eastern Africa’.
- Trade ‘Mercedes’, ‘Xerox’, ‘Maggi’, Kleenex.
- Book, journal and article
Indicate italic type by underlining in the manuscript. Use the underline function rather than italic if preparing on disk – the reason for this is that if it turns out that CODESRIA cannot use your disk, or the italic codes get lost in conversion, it is much easier for the typesetter to pick out underlining than italic face in the manuscript. Use underlining for titles of books, plays, films, long poems, newspapers, journals (but not articles in journals),. The extensive use of italic for emphasis should be avoided. Do not use bold except in headings.
Use full stops after abbreviations (p., Ch.,) but not after contractions or in acronyms: Dr, St, Mr, BBC, CODESRIA, USA. Note especially ed., -eds; vol., -vols; no., -nos; ch., chs; etc.
Numerals. Spell out numbers up to 99. Use numerals for exact measure- ments, e.g. ‘12 km’, and ages, e.g. ‘10 years old’; cross-references and series of quantities, e.g. ‘ten wards held 16 beds each, but fifteen others contained as many as 40’. In cases where numbers in the same paragraph or sentence fall below and above the chosen limit, use figures for both: ‘between the ages of 80 and 100’, not ‘eighty and 100’.
Spelt-out numbers such as ‘forty-one’ are hyphenated. Use figures to avoid a hyphen in an already hyphenated compound: ‘42-year-old man’ not ‘forty-two-year-old man’.
Do not use the percentage sign (%) except in tables and figures, but use a numeral for the number, e.g. 24 per cent.
Insert a comma for thousands and tens of thousands, e.g. ‘1,000’ and ‘10,000’. Use minimum numbers, e.g. ‘21–9, 48–51, 190–1’, but ‘12–16’. Roman numbers, figures interspersed with letters, e.g. folio numbers which are followed by verso or recto (fos. 22v–24r) or numbers preceded by circa (c.1215 to c.1260) should not be elided.
Be careful, especially if you are preparing on disk to use the numeral keys on your keyboard for ‘1’ (one) and ‘0’ (zero), and not a lowercase ‘l’ or an upper case ‘O’. Note the differences in ‘l’ and ‘I’, roman and Arabic one.
Avoid starting a sentence in figures. Rephrase if necessary.
Decimal points must be preceded by a digit, add a zero if necessary (except in quantities that never reach 1 (e.g. levels of probability) and ballistics.
Dates. Set dates out as follows: 8 July 1980 or July 8, 1980 (not ‘8 July, 1980’); 1980s (not spelt out, no apostrophe before s); nineteenth century (not 19th century); 1985–6, 1914–18 (use unspaced en rules in place of hyphens).
Non-sexist language
One of the major social development today calls for special sensitivity in editing. Although current trends in style are toward simplifying, the movement for equal rights is bringing about stylistic complexities, which presents to English language users problems that the language cannot solve easily. But there is agreement on certain issues.
Avoid the use of 'he' (when he or she is meant), either through the use of ‘they’ or by repeating the noun if possible, or abbreviating ‘s/he’. Today a sentence like ‘A social scientist should dot his i’s and cross his t’s before submission of his manuscript’ can make enemies. Some argue that at least it should be ‘his or her i’s and t’s’. Others suggest ‘her or his i's and t's’. Still others opt for ‘Her i's and t's’. His (or her) might infuriate some feminists; his/her might infuriate stylists. An easy way out is to move ‘social scientist’ to the plural: ‘Social Scientists should dot their i's and cross their t’s before submission of their manuscript’.
It is increasingly popular to use ‘they’, ‘them’, and ‘themselves’ to represent a singular ‘he or she’. Although this practice dates back to the fifteenth century (see Butcher 1992), the unavoidable clash of numbers it produces is not widely accepted. For example:
‘Each author presented an evening of readings from their own work’.
Using neutral nouns. Sexism could be avoided by using neutral nouns. For examples:
For Consider
chairman, chairwoman chair, chairperson congressman, congresswoman legislator
fireman fire-fighter
foreman supervisor
mailman letters or mail carrier
manpower staff, workforce, human resources,
man, man (v) people, we, human beings, to staff (v) etc.,
man-hours work-hours
mankind the human race
man-made fibre artificial and synthetic fibre
policeman police officer
salesman salesperson
spokesman spokesperson
Sexism in illustrations, examples, and problems
A much more insidious form of sexist language can also creep into illustra- tions, examples, and problems, often without the author being aware of it. To preclude this type of sexism, the following guidelines are useful:
- Make sure that women and men, and boys and girls are portrayed with equal frequency in illustrations, examples, and
- Avoid stereotypical
- Show both sexes in a variety of roles and situations, again avoiding
Notes and references
CODESRIA recommends the use of endnotes. Avoid using footnotes. If your word processor cannot create endnotes, use square brackets and numbers. Place all notes at the end of the work, before the bibliography or list of references, unless your work is a book by several authors, in which case place notes at the ends of chapters. Begin numbering from 1 for every chapter. Indicate notes in the text by superscript figures outside the punctuation, thus".4" or preferably with parentheses or square brackets
e.g. (4), [4], the typesetter will convert to superscript. Use Arabic numerals rather than roman.
Restrict notes to explanatory statements that develop an idea or expand a quotation, where to do so in the text would disturb the balance. When giving references, use the Harvard (author–date) system.
The Harvard Reference System
CODESRIA strongly recommends this referencing system which is easy to use for every reader. The system requires you to cite the author's surname, the year of publication, and the page reference immediately after the quoted material, e.g.: ‘Alongside this normative perspective that emphasizes the centrality of the West in the formation of modernity, there are alternative approaches to modernity’ (Kane 2003:5).
No comma is needed after author’s name (not ‘Kane, 2003’). Be consist- ent with punctuations. For example, where a colon is used after year of publication, either put a space before the page numbers (‘Amin 2002: 65’) or not (‘Amin 2002:65’). Separate publications by different authors by semicolons (‘Amin 2002; Diaw 1994’) and the same author’s by a comma (‘Mkandawire 1999, 2002’).
With this system it is essential that the bibliography or references list every work cited by you in the text. Where there are two or more works by one author in the same year, distinguish them as by use of letters of the alpha- bet (e.g. Olukoshi 1998a, 1998b, etc.). Type the bibliography or reference list in the order: author, initials, date, title, place of publication, publisher (see pp. 20–21 for a sample bibliography).
Note Reference System
If you cannot use the Harvard system, and use note references instead, you must give full details of author (with initials), book or article title, place of publication, publisher, date and page reference. Use commas between elements of the reference, rather than full stops.
A book should be referred to as, for example:
- Zeleza, A Modern Economic History of Africa. Volume I: The Nineteenth Century, Dakar, CODESRIA, 1993, pp. 56–7.
A Journal article should be referred to as, for example:
O.D., Selolwane, ‘Monopoly Politikos: How Botswana’s Opposition Parties Have Helped Sustain One-Party Dominance’, African Sociological Review, 2002, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 68–90.
If you refer again in the notes to one of these works in the same chapter, you may do so either by repeating the author's surname and then using op. cit. (the work cited) or using ibid. (in the same place) on its own, if it was the last work to be cited, or by repeating the author's surname and the title of the book or article (or a shortened form of it). Do not mix these two systems – use one or the other. Never carry the use of op. cit. or ibid. or shortened titles over from one chapter to another; always give full biblio- graphical details in the notes the first time a work is cited in each chapter. If you are the editor of a multi-authored book, you must ensure that all contributors use the same system of notes and references. Do not forget to type or print out the notes and bibliography double-spaced.
Is It ‘Bibliography’ or ‘References’?
‘References’ refer only to the sources quoted or cited in your text. ‘Bibli- ography’ on the other hand, includes works related to the theme under investigation, which you may have used but may not have cited directly. This distinction notwithstanding, it is commonplace to use the two labels ‘references’ and ‘bibliography’ interchangeably, In principle however, bibliographies retain their traditional definition as lists of works on a given subject, the kind of comprehensive but focused guide to readers prepared by librarians and specialists on given disciplines and fields of study. Until not so long ago, it was considered a mark of good scholar- ship and contribution to knowledge for scholars to demonstrate expertise in a given area by providing a comprehensive list or ‘bibliography’ of all previously published material as well. Today, emphasis seems more on expediency than thoroughness, apart, of course, from the sheer explosion in the volume of knowledge on almost every field of human curiosity. More and more, authors and publishers, for want of space or for other reasons, are substituting comprehensive bibliographies with lists of citations titled ‘References’ or ‘References Cited’.
List of bibliography or references
Each reference work or bibliographic entry should contain the following information where applicable:
A. CODESRIA style for book entries
- Author: full name of authors; full name of editor or editors, if no single author is listed editor’s name may be given after title); or name of institution responsible for the writing of the Year of
- Title: full title of book, including subtitle if there is one
- Editor, compiler, or translator, if any and if in addition to listed author (may be located in author’s position if no author is listed).
- Edition, if not for the
- Volumes, total number of multi-volume work is referred to as a whole.
- Volume number of multi-volume work if single volume is Title of individual volume if applicable
- Series title, if applicable, and volume number within series
- Facts of publication: city, publisher
- Page number(s); or volume and page number(s), if For example:
Tshibaka, T., 1998, Structural Adjustment and Agriculture in West Africa, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Thioune, Ramata, ed., 2003, Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa. Volume I: Opportunities and Challenges for Development, Ottawa and Dakar: IDRC and CODESRIA.
B. Note reference style
- Author: full name of authors; full name of editor or editors if no single author is listed editor’s name may be given after title); or name of institution responsible for the writing of the book
- Title: full title of book, including subtitle if there is one
- Editor, compiler, or translator, if any and if in addition to listed author (may be located author’s position if no author is listed)
- Edition, if not for the first
- Volumes, total number of multi-volume work is referred to as a whole.
- Volume number of multi-volume work if single volume is cited
- Title of individual volume if applicable
- Series title, if applicable, and volume number within series
- Facts of publication: city, publisher, and
- Page number(s); or volume and page number(s), if
C. Journal articles
Provide full references for quotations taken from jounals, periodical and serial publications cited in the text. References should contain all the fol- lowing information.
- author’s name
- year of publication
- title of article
- title of periodical
- issue information (volume, issue number)
- page reference For example:
Adam, L. and Wood, F., 1999, ‘An Investigation of the Impact of Information and Communication Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of Information Science, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 307–318.
Rashid, Ishmail, 1997, ‘Subaltern Reactions: Lumpens, Students and the Left’, Africa Development, Vol. XXII, Nos. 3&4, pp.19–43.
D. Citing online works
In addition to information necessary for printed works, include full URL location and the date work was last accessed, if applicable.
Adeya, N., 2001, Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: A Review and Selective Annotated Bibliography. (http://www.inasp.org.uk/ pubs/ict/index.html). 30 May 2003.
If a publication is available in both print and online cite full publishing information and include: ‘Available online at [url]’. For example,
Moudileno, L., 2003, Littératures africaines francophones des années 1980 et 1990, Dakar: CODESRIA. Available online at http://www.codesria.org/Links/Publications/monographs/ Moudileno.pdf
Organisation
If you are using the preferred Harvard system of referencing, type bibliography or reference entries in the following order:
Ake, C., 2001, The Feasibility of Democracy in Africa, Dakar: CODESRIA.
If you are using the note reference system and your book also has a bibliography, entries should follow the style of the note references,
i.e. if notes are presented with the date after the place of publication and publisher, retain this order in the bibliography. So, following the note reference style given on p. 16, the corresponding reference entry would read:
Diop, M.C., Senegal: Essays in Statecraft, Dakar, CODESRIA, 1994.
Type or print out the bibliography double-spaced in strict alphabetical order. Check dates carefully for consistency with text references, to avoid time-consuming queries at copy-editing stage.
Arrange books and articles by a single author in date order. You may replace the author’s name by using a double en rule (see the example below). You can indicate this by typing a consistent number of hyphens
– more than two to distinguish it from an en rule – and the typesetter can then convert to an em rule by making one global command. CODESRIA prefers that the author's name is repeated.
Next list works by this author written with one other person, arranged alphabetically by second author. Finally list titles by this author with two or more others in order of date, as these will all be cited as e.g.: Mama (1997) in the text. Check whether you need to distinguish any of them by using 1997a, 1997b, etc. Please note that two authors with the same surname usually need their initials in the text for clarity.
Mama, A., 1995, Beyond the Masks: Race, Gender and Subjectivity,
London: Routledge.
Mama, A., 1997a, ‘Feminism or Femocracy? State Feminism and Democratisation’, in Jibrin Ibrahim, ed., Expanding Democratic Space in Nigeria, Dakar: CODESRIA. pp. 77–98.
Mama, A., 1997b, ‘Shedding the Masks and Tearing the Veils: Cultural Studies for a Post colonial Africa’, in A. Imam, A. Mama, and F. Sow, eds., Engendering African Social Sciences, Dakar: CODESRIA. pp. 61–80.
The bibliography example below shows how to deal with sources such as unpublished theses and papers given to conferences. Type book and journal titles with an underline, with main words having capitals. If you are using a word processor use the underline function, not italic function, and do not use bold. If you are using British punctuation, type article and chapter titles with essential capitals only, in single quotation marks. If you are using American punctuation, type article and chapter titles with initial capitals for main words and in double quotation marks.
If you are using law reports, parliamentary papers, etc., please be especially careful with consistency. For government reports use first name of the government department if there is no obvious author. Do not use ambigu- ous acronyms. If you think it will be helpful to the reader, list manuscript sources separately from published works. Avoid the use of ‘anonymous’, if author is unknown, begin the entry with the title of the work, omit a definite and indefinite article at the beginning.
Example of Bibliography Using Harvard System
Amadiume, I., 1987, Male Daughters, Female Husbands, London: Zed Books.
Chicago Manual of Style, 13th edition, 1982, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Diagne, S.B., 2002, ‘Keeping Africanity Open’, Public Culture, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 621–623.
Tables
Dieng, A.A., 2005, ‘Les intellectuels africaines’ , WalFadjri, septembre 10, p. 4.
El-Kenz, A., 1996, ‘Youth and Violence’, in S. Ellis, ed., Africa Now: People, Policies and Institutions, London: James Currey.
Hountondji, P.J., 1996, African Philosophy: Myth and Reality, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hountondji, P. J., ed., 1997, Endogenous Knowledge: Research Trails,
Dakar: CODESRIA.
Ibrahim, J., ed., 1997, Expanding Democratic Space in Nigeria, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Mamdani, M., 1996, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism, London: James Currey.
Kane, O., 2003, Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria: A Study of the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Reinstatement of Tradition, Leiden: Brill.
Senghor, J.C., 1979, ‘Politics and the Functional Strategy to International Integration: Gambia in the Senegambian Integration’, unpublished PhD. Thesis, Yale University.
Sow, F., 1998, ‘Introduction: Quand l’une n’est pas l’autre: à propos des rôles sociaux des sexes’, Afrique et Développement, Vol. XXIII, Nos 3&4, pp. 5–12.
Tables
Tables are a convenient way to convey information, but they are most effective when they are not overused. Furthermore, tables add to a book’s length, and they cost considerably more than text to typeset and correct; hence, they should be used to present essential data, not the type of sup- porting data commonly found in research papers.
Prepare tables with the minimum of horizontal rules; usually three are sufficient; one below the table number and title, one below the column heads, and one below the body of the table. If preparing on disk please set out your tables using the tab key, and avoid using the space bar to align columns. It is preferable NOT to use rules for manuscript being prepared for digital typesetting.
Never refer to a table as ‘the following table’; it may not be possible to place it in the same position as it is in the manuscript. Refer instead to the table number: ‘in Table 3’.
If there are many tables it is better to number them by chapter: 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, and so on.
Position table numbers and headings above the table, but place sources and notes immediately below it.
If a table is taken from another publication, especially government reports, always apply for permission to reproduce it from the copyright-holder.
There is a limit to the number of columns that can be accommodated across a page. Make sure that your table will fit, perhaps by reversing the axes so that the headings at the side become the ones at the top. Be as clear and concise as you can in selecting column heads and table entries. Try to keep column heads short. Wide tables can be set sideways (landscape on the page), but avoid this if possible.
Break up long tables into several short ones. Repeat table titles and column headings on the next page.
Check that totals add up correctly, and that figures align. All decimal points should be preceded by a digit (a zero if necessary).
If the table has notes, do not number them, as this can be confusing. For a single note you can use an asterisk, for more than one note use letters: a, b, c, etc. Supply a list of tables to go in the prelims.
It is preferable to place tables at the end of chapters or books or as a separate file from the main manuscript and printed out. Place references within texts indicating location, e.g., ‘[Insert table 1 here]’. This method ensures that tables are not garbled when the manuscript is converted into a typesetting software. Type or print out each table, double-spaced, on a separate sheet of paper.
Illustrations
These can be plates (photographs), figures (line drawings) or maps. Supply all illustrations at the same time as you deliver your final manuscript. Obtain permission for all illustrations in copyright. This includes most photographs; figures and maps which require permission only if taken from other works (see the section on permissions).
Photographs
Black and white plates. For the best possible quality in printing you should supply all photographs larger than the intended reproduction size. The most suitable sizes for most photographs are 5 x 7 ins (125 x 175 mm) for small subjects and 8 x 10 ins (200 x 250 mm) for large subjects. Photographs should be unglazed prints and should contain good contrast, a full range of middle tones, and have unobtrusive. photographic grain.
Textured-surface photographs and those taken from half-tones in books or newspapers are unsuitable for reproduction. Request for an original photograph from the publisher or owner. Colour transparencies and prints generally make very poor black and white plates, so avoid them if possible.
Write on the back of the photograph its number, your name, and the manu- script title in soft pencil. Some indication of relative size is often helpful. Do not write on the back (or front) of photographs in ball-point or heavy felt-tip pen, as this can damage the photo. Do not use paper clips to attach them to anything; use a tracing paper overlay, or a photocopy, if you want to indicate parts to be omitted.
Supply a separate list of captions and a list of plates to go in the prelims. Indicate approximately where plates are to be inserted in text, if you wish them to be integrated.
Colour plates. Colour transparencies are the only suitable originals for colour reproduction, and printing quality is largely determined by size. Transparencies should be 125 x 100 mm or 55 mm square to guarantee optimum quality. By and large, it is not possible to include colour in pub- lications as it is very expensive.
Figures and maps
If you are able to supply finished artwork, please do so. For good repro- duction we need a clear black-and-white image (not a photocopy), either the same size or larger than the production size – the maximum size of the text area for a Demy format book is 100mm x 170mm; for a Royal format book it is 115mm x 185 mm (CODESRIA will be able to tell you which format will be used for the publication, for journals check the appropriate serial). If you supply artwork of larger size, ensure that it can be reduced proportionally to the dimensions of the text area, and that all labels will be legible when they are reduced – use a simple solid typeface that will reproduce clearly. If in doubt try reducing the figure on a photocopier to see the result. Do not supply artwork that needs to be reduced by more than one-third.
Maps may need to be produced to a larger size if they cover big detailed areas, but ensure that the labels are produced proportionally larger as well.
Avoid the use of complicated and intricate tints. They are likely to repro- duce as a solid area or may not be distinguishable when printed. Instead of a tint, use dots, lines or other symbols.
CODESRIA is able to use computer-generated artwork only if a copy has been printed out on a laser printer. A dot-matrix printer does not produce sufficiently high-quality output. If you intend to supply artwork on disk please clear this with the Department of Publications and Communication at CODESRIA first.
If you supply only roughs, they should not be too ‘rough’. The artist must be able to read names and position them correctly without a detailed knowledge of your text. This applies particularly to maps.
Indicate approximately where figures are to go in the text, and, as with tables, refer to them by number rather than ‘the figure below’. If there are more than half a dozen per chapter, number them by chapter: 1.1, 1.2, and so on.
Please supply a separate list of captions and list of figures to go in the prelims.
Please be especially careful if you are supplying roughs that the positioning of names and places is accurate and that the spelling of names of places is consistent with the text. This is especially important when transcribing from other alphabets, such as African indigenous languages or Arabic.
Remember that with all illustrations, the quality of the finished product is dependent on the material supplied by you.
Permissions
It is important to inquire in your country about the prevailing copyright law and act in consequence. You need to acquire permission to reproduce two kinds of material: quotations from works in copyright, and illustrations such as photographs, line drawings, maps, graphs, etc. All permissions must be cleared by the time the publication is ready for delivery.
It is your responsibility to obtain permission by writing to the publisher of the work in which the quoted material appears, who is usually empowered to grant permission on behalf of the copyright-holder. Under a convention known as 'fair use', permission is usually given free of charge for short extracts of not more than 400 words in one extract or a total of 800 words in a series of extracts (none to exceed 250 words), but it is wise to apply for permission even in such cases, since there are authors and books to which this may not apply. You must also make sure that such extracts are properly acknowledged. Authors are encouraged to acknowledge all sources, copyrighted or not.
Permission is required for one or more lines of poetry.
Although paintings and works of art are often in themselves out of copy- right, museums and art galleries usually copyright all photographs/ slides taken of them. You must obtain permission for all illustrations, whether supplied by museums, agencies, or private individuals, or taken from exist- ing publications. You may be asked for two fees: one for permission, and one for supplying a print. You should pay the cost of the print immediately. Permission fees are usually not paid until publication – if your contract allows for this, or you have a separate written agreement with CODESRIA, the fees can be charged against your royalty account where applicable.
When you deliver the final manuscript you should include with it all per- missions correspondence (keeping a copy for yourself), with details of any items that it has not been possible to clear. Your manuscript should include an ‘acknowledgements’ page, in which you follow any specific wording requested by the publisher/ copyright-holder.
How to contribute to CODESRIA publications
Books
If you are editing a contributed book, we expect you to take on the respon- sibility of briefing and liaising with your contributors throughout the writ- ing and production of the book. If you are co-editing a volume, you and your co-editor(s) must establish at the outset who is the key contact, and inform CODESRIA and all contributors.
If contributors are able to supply their chapters on disk(s) ask them to do
It is easier if you all use the same word processing package, preferably the same as that which is used in-house by CODESRIA. Indicate on your style sheet which package you will be using. See pp. 28–32 for further information on preparing disks.
A word on style
It is important that contributors use the same style of spelling and punc- tuation and the same reference system. Ensure that they receive a copy of this CODESRIA style guide with their contract letter. Before they begin writing, notify all contributors of the following instructions:
Use British spelling and punctuations throughout. If you prefer either the -ise or -ize, be Watch out for words which must be only
-ise: advertise, advise, comprise, compromise, disenfranchise, enterprise, franchise, improvise, merchandise, revise, supervise, televise, etc.
Use the Harvard reference system, e. author-date system (See p. 15)
Single-author submissions are encouraged to follow the same guidelines as above.
Journals
Manuscripts submitted to the journals should be typed double-spaced and in two (2) hard copies. Electronic versions should be submitted by email as MS Word, RTF or Word Perfect attachments and/or on diskette (3½ inch). Avoid excessive formatting of the text. Camera-ready copies of maps, charts graphs are required as well as the data used in plotting the charts and graphs. Please use the Harvard Reference System (author–date) for bibliographic referencing, e.g.:
It is interesting to note that... the word for ‘tribe’ does not exist in indigenous languages of South Africa (Mafeje 1971:254).
N.B.: It is essential that the bibliography/references lists every work cited by you in the text.
An abstract of 150 to 200 words stating the main research problem, major findings and conclusions should be sent with the articles for translation into English or French. Articles that do not follow this format will have their processing delayed.
Authors should indicate their full name, address (including email con- tact), their academic status and their current institutional affiliation. This should appear on a separate covering page since manuscripts will be sent out anonymously to outside readers. Manuscripts will not be returned to the authors.
Articles submitted to any CODESRIA journal should be original contribu- tions and should not be under consideration by another publication at the same time. If an article is under consideration by another publication the author should inform the editor at the time of submission.
Authors are entitled, free of charge, to two copies of the issue in which their article appears and 50 electronic off-prints in form of pdf file for either printing or distribution.
CODESRIA Bulletin
The CODESRIA Bulletin is a quarterly designed to stimulate discussion, exchange information and encourage co-operation among researchers on Africa in the Social Sciences and Humanities. It features articles and debates, and has grown in popularity and relevance over the years, has been widely reproduced in numerous other publications within and out- side Africa.
The Bulletin welcomes articles and other scholarly inputs from interested contributors in the form of:
- Brief research reports;
- Short entries with fresh, exciting insights and theoretical perspectives on current themes, ongoing debates and topical issues;
- Commentaries on current affairs of relevance to the scholarly community served by CODESRIA;
- Policy-oriented debates and discussions;
- Conference Reports;
- Announcements; etc.
Contributors are advised to submit short, accessible manuscripts ranging between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Longer manuscripts can exceptionally be accommodated.
For useful addresses for submissions see http://www.codesria.org.
What does CODESRIA need to know?
When you send CODESRIA your manuscript on disk (3½-inch diskettes, CD-ROMs, ZIP), include the following information:
- The make and model of the computer you have used (e.g. COMPAQ LITE 20).
- Name of the operating system of the computer used to type the manuscript (PC, Mac, Unix).
- Name and version number of the word processing software used (e.g. WordPerfect 5.1, WordPerfect Office 2000, Microsoft Word 2000).
- Whether your computer and word-processing package is IBM PC or Macintosh compatible.
- A list of any special characters, phonetic and mathematic symbols which occur in the manuscript which are not found on an ordinary English/French language keyboard.
All this information is essential to enable CODESRIA to read and/or con- vert your disks, so keep a note of any new computers or software you use
– or obtain this information from the person who has typed the text for you – and check this information, for accuracy just before you send the manuscript and the diskettes off.
Which word-processing software packages can be used by CODESRIA?
We can make use of many word-processing systems, but some are more convenient to use than others as they require less conversion work. See table on recommended software.
Microsoft Word is favoured partly because it is most widely used and partly because it is used within CODESRIA. However, there are dozens of other packages which offer similar functionality, and personal preferences vary greatly. Use the package you are most comfortable with, as long as it is known to be convertible to Microsoft Word or Word Perfect.
Recommended software for disk submission
Hardware Used Software Recommended
Macintosh compatible WordPerfect for Mac or Word for Mac PC (IBM compatible) Corel WordPerfect 5.0+ / Word 3+ Windows on a PC Microsoft Word for Windows
WordPerfect for Windows
Adobe Pagemaker 6.5 for Windows Corel Ventura Publisher 8.0 for Windows Adobe Photoshop 5.5
Adobe Illustrator 8.0
What type of disks should be used?
CODESRIA regularly uses 3½-inch diskettes (1.4 or 2MB), CD-ROMs, ZIP disks (100MB PC formatted). You can use single-density, double-density or high-density disks (but avoid using data-compression software without consultation with CODESRIA). Other sizes of disks or magnetic tape are not acceptable as CODESRIA cannot check their content in-house, and will need to send them to outside agencies for conversion.
Please ensure that all disks are well labelled, and that the labelling makes clear that the text is the final version. Write your surname and a shortened version of the manuscript title on the label of each disk. Please also write the date that you send the disks to us on the label.
How should text and files be organised?
It is essential that you supply a full list of file names used, indicating what each file contains. For example:
Contents of files |
Filenames |
Disk No. |
Chapter 1: |
Introduction |
CHAPT1.TXT 1 |
Chapter 2: |
The background |
CHAPT2.TXT 1 |
- Do not put all the text into one large file – this is difficult to process and a file-error may result, restricting access to the entire
- If your manuscript includes graphics, do not submit these embed- ded in the text. Graphic files should be submitted separately and named as they are in the text e.g. fig 4_1, fig 4_2, etc. Embedded graphics often make a file difficult to handle for typesetters. Also, remember that graphics formatted for an A4 page are not ideal for book CODESRIA would prefer all graphics sized to 100 mm width and designed to portrait shape when possible.
- It is not necessary to start a new disk for each Depending upon which disk type you use, an average book usually requires two to four 3½-inch diskettes. CD-ROMs would be ideal if you have heavy graphics and illustrations as well, they take up to 650MB of storage, ZIP disks up to 100 and 250 MB.
- Make sure your disks contain the text of your book only, and one copy of each chapter, , only. Erase all redundant files.
- It is easy to rename files (see your manual) if you change your mind about the order of the chapters. Remember to correct the chapter number in the file itself if you rename your
Why make back-up copies of files?
It is important to keep copies (back-ups) of all your files as you prepare your text. Your computer's hard disks (if it has one) and any floppy disks you may use are all mortal devices, and whilst they may function perfectly for decades, you may be unlucky and lose all the data on a disk at any time.
- Back-up your work as you go along (see your manual for instruc- tions).
- Always back-up on to a different
- Make a final copy of the whole work on to new disks and send only these disks to
- Never send the only disks you have; always send
- Remember that a print-out, though necessary, does not function as a back-up.
How disks are packaged and transported
Disks can become corrupt during transit, especially if they are inspected by customs using X-ray or magnetic devices. If possible, use specially designed disk packaging which will offer some protection against such problems. Otherwise, cardboard and a heavy Jiffy-style envelope should prove sufficient. Using good quality disks (HD, rather than DD) will also decrease the likelihood of corruption.
Before delivering the final manuscript to CODESRIA, check:
- That all contributions are the final versions – once the manuscript is accepted for publication by CODESRIA further updating and amendment would not be
- That all contributions are complete – e. no missing notes or references, and, if the manuscript is to contain illustrations, that all artwork is supplied.
- That any editorial cuts and amendments have been cleared with the
- That any permissions have been cleared by the contributors (see 24–25).
- If disks are supplied, that the manuscript is an exact print-out of what is on the disk – if in doubt check back with the
- That a list of ‘Notes on Contributors’ has been supplied (this will appear in the prelims of the book and should include current affiliations, previous and present research interests and expertise, and some published books – around forty words per contributor is the ideal length).
- If the manuscript is being submitted for a journal publication, an abstract of findings in either English, French, or both must be
Copy-editing queries and proofs
Once the copy editor has finished work on the manuscript, CODESRIA or (the copy editor) will send any queries to authors or editors of multi- author volumes, if applicable, for onward transmission to contributors. CODESRIA will expect editors to liaise with contributors. It is preferable that contributors to multi-author volumes channel material through the editor(s) of the book or journal, except if there is specific need to do so.
Author’s checklist
Manuscript
Is your manuscript complete
- Are there any missing pages or chapters?
- Do all quotations and tables have sources?
- Are all cited references in the bibliography?
- Are A, B, and C subheadings typed in consistent styles?
- Are any hand-written additions, symbols, and characters clearly marked?
- Is your entire manuscript double-spaced – including extracted quotations, notes and bibliography?
- Have you made two extra copies of your manuscript (one for you and an extra copy for CODESRIA)?
- Have you kept a back-up copy of the disks as well as a duplicate print-out?
- Are they amended and numbered identically?
- Has any material been omitted or blurred if photocopied?
- Have you kept one copy so that you can answer queries from the copy editor and have something to check the proofs against?
- Have you sent the top copy plus a duplicate copy to us?
- Have you numbered all the pages consecutively throughout? Does your manuscript include the following items (if relevant)?
Half-title page / Title page / dedication / contents page lists of plates / figures / maps / tables
foreword / preface / acknowledgements / introduction appendices/ glossary / notes/ references / bibliography
Disks
- Do the disks contain the most up-to-date versions of the files?
- Is the manuscript an exact print-out of what's on the disks?
- Is everything saved on the disks (common omissions are contents lists, caption lists, notes on contributors, etc.)?
- Are disks clearly labelled with your name and title of the book, and with the date they are sent to us?
Plates, figures, maps
- Are all plates / figures / maps included?
- Have you supplied prints (photographs) for all plates (not photocopies)?
- Have you supplied artwork for figures and maps?
- Have you cleared all permissions?
- Have you included captions and sources?
- Have you indicated in the text where illustrations are to appear?
Contributed books
If you are the editor of a contributed book:
- Are all contributions the final versions?
- Are all contributions complete (notes, references, illustrations)?
- Have all permissions been cleared by contributors?
- Are all punctuation and spellings consistent?
- Are all reference systems identical?
- Have all editorial cuts and amendments been cleared with contributors?
- Have you supplied a list of Notes on Contributors?
Permissions
- Have you obtained permission to quote from copyright material?
- Have you enclosed correspondence with copyright-holders?
- Is the required form of acknowledgement given in the text?
- Are any permissions still outstanding?
Correcting proofs
Unless your book or article is complicated in layout, with many integrated illustrations, CODESRIA will proceed directly to page proofs. Proofs will be sent to you to read against your own copy of the manuscript. Another set of proofs will be proofread against the copy-edited manuscript.
Heavily corrected proofs are expensive and may result in charges to your royalty account (if applicable) and/or a delay in the schedule for the book. Only absolutely necessary alterations will be tolerated. Do not attempt to revise the work of the copy editor. Once your book is set, it is not possible to admit any major corrections, except for typesetter's errors, or for essen- tial updating where, for example, new legislation has invalidated your conclusions. All corrections and improvements to style and construction must be made before the manuscript is submitted. CODESRIA reserves the right not to implement any proof corrections that should have been incorporated in the manuscript before typesetting. Alternatively, excess correction costs will be charged against royalty where applicable, or simply billed to the author.
Make corrections in the margin in legible handwriting, and indicate where they are to be inserted in the body of the text. Align the correction in the margin with the line of text to be corrected, especially if there are several corrections close together. Where there are two or more corrections in the same line, make the marginal marks in the order of the corrections to be made, or in the margin nearer to the correction. If there is a complicated correction, include the complete, corrected sentence somewhere on that page and encircle it. Mark corrections on the outside margins of the pages unless there are many on one line.
Index
Where applicable, you may be asked to provide a list of keywords to assist the indexer. If you should choose to do your own index, make sure that your name and the book title are written on the first page of the index, in case it gets separated from the proofs.
A useful work, for example, in this connection is M. D. Anderson's Book Indexing (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1971, revised 1985)
Type or print out double-spaced, with essential capitals only. Indent run- on lines. All entries must be in strict alphabetical order, word by word. Note that turnover lines should be indented further than the start of the last sub-entry to avoid confusion, for example,
Abbreviations, 85–99, 109–10
Ambiguity in, 86, 88, 90–4
apostrophes in, 85, 91–100
reference numbers, 92
sections, 93, 95, 97, 100 Abstracts of papers in multi- lingual editions, 223–4
Accents, 16, 18
Start sub-entries on a fresh line (as in example above). If you chose to run- on sub-entries, separate them from one another with semicolons. Avoid sub-sub-entries if possible. Use minimum numbers for page spans, i.e., 36–7, 207–8, but for hundreds repeat the digit, i.e., 113–119. Remember to use an en rule in page spans.
Leave an extra line space between entries for different letters of the alpha- bet.
Do not index notes or prelims, except where there is lengthy argument which is really an extension of the text.
Number the index pages.
If you are able to supply your index on disk, do so. Supply details of the computer and format used with the index disk.
Glossary
Abstract. A summary of the main argument of the text of an article or paper, covering the purpose, methods, findings and conclusions.
Acknowledgements may include thanks to professional bodies, colleagues, and personal friends and helpers. Where photographs are to be used in the book, include credits to the sources on the acknowledgements page. Where permissions have been granted for the use of copyright material from other works, include them here as well (see Illustrations, pp.22–24, and Permissions, p. 24). Also acknowledge ideas, discussions and input by professional colleagues and others.
Appendices usually comprise material which is too detailed to be included in the main text without unbalancing the book, but which is of use to some readers.
Bibliography/References. This is usually a list of all works relevant to or cited in the text, or merely suggested further reading. All publication details should be included: that is, author's or editor's name, including initials; book or article title; journal title; volume number; place of publi- cation; publisher; and page numbers for journal articles or chapters (see Bibliography/references, pp. 16–21).
Bleed: a page design in which the illustrations run off the edge of the trimmed page.
Blurb: descriptive promotional text at the back cover (or inside jacket flap) of a book, that serves like a sort of foretaste of its argument and appeal.
The copyright page contains the copyright notice, International Standard Book Number or the International Standard Serial Number, acknowledge- ments of our partners, the cover artwork, typesetting and printing.
The contents page must agree in wording and capitalisation with the chapter headings in the text.
Contributors. In multi-author works, a short note on the contributors, arrange in alphabetical order, is included and placed before the dedica- tion, if there is one.
Dedication. A short and brief citation.
Dot Matrix Printer: a printer in which the characters are made up by closely spaced dots. It prints line by line to produce a page.
Demy Octavo Format: a book format which is 216 x 138 mm. It is the traditional British paper size.
Elision: the running together of pairs of numbers, e.g. 38–9, 213–17.
Em Rule: Is a unit of measurement equivalent to one sixth of an inch; long rule equivalent to12 pts.
En Rule: This is a unit of measurement which is half the size of an -em. En dash is a short dash (hyphen).
Foreword. The foreword, if included, is written by someone other than the author or editor and serves to recommend the book to its readers. It should be brief and meaningful. The foreword is not a substitute for the preface.
Half title. The half title is a page on which the title alone appears, without any subtitle or the author's name. The back of the half title, page ii, is often left blank, but can also include a short bio on the author, or if the title is part of a series, info about the series.
Index. This is not prepared until proof stage, but authors need to discuss with editors on submission, if an index is necessary or not for the particu- lar title. If an index is required and the work is accepted for publication, authors will be required to submit a preliminary word list of entries on the subject matter discussed for the indexer.
Leading: the space between line of type, measured in points.
Landscape Format: A format where the width is greater than the height and the text or picture is printed across the page. Sometimes called hori- zontal format.
Laser Printer: A printer which uses a laser source to print high-quality dot matrix character pattern on paper. The resolution are much higher than the ordinary printer (usually 300–1200 dpi).
Notes are placed at the end of the book, before the bibliography; in col- lection of chapters by different authors the notes usually go at the ends of the chapters (see Notes and References, pp.15–18).
A preface is a piece written by the author explaining how the book came to be written, or as a brief apologia. A longer, detailed analysis of the subjects to be covered in the book should be treated as an introduction.
Page Proofs: Proofs of a manuscript which have been made up into pages usually with headlines and folios.
Perfect binding: an adhesive binding system, involving no stitching or sewing, used primarily for paper backs and journals; pages are held together with glue along the back edge/spine and then trimmed to size.
Pica: a unit of typographic measurement equal to 12 points; often used in conjunction with em (‘pica em’).
Point, point-size: the typesetter’s basic unit of type measurement, one twelfth of a pica, approximately 0.35 mm or 1/72 inch. Used to measure or define the size of type, leading etc.
Portrait Format: Vertical format with the height greater than the width (as oppose to landscape format).
Prelims: Also known as front matter. These are pages at the beginning of the book before the actual text. The front matter includes the half-title page, title page, copyright, dedication (if any), contents, preface, acknowledgements, list of abbreviations, lists of plates, figures, tables and so on. The end matter can include appendices, notes, bibliography and index (in order).
Ragged Text: Text with an uneven right-hand margin, flush left-hand margin – not justified.
Run on: (1) Continue on the same line rather than starting in a fresh line or new paragraph; or (2) a print ‘run on’ is the printing of extra copies of surplus to normal print run requirements, e.g., a ‘run on’ of 200 copies of a journal issue which are to be used for sample copy mailings.
Running head: the heading set at the top of each page in a book or journal issue, usually indicating the title of the chapter or article.
Recto: a right-hand page. See verso.
Signature: one sheet of he printed and folded sections of a book; folded signatures (with each signature usually in 8, 16 or 32 pages) are marked with a signature mark and then assembled ready for sewing or binding; complete signatures of a book are also referred to as ‘running sheets’.
Saddle-stitching: a binding process in which a book’s signature are stitched through the middle with, usually with wire (like staples), and secured in the centre spread. Can be used for small books up to 96 pages in length, see also perfect binding.
Stet: Instruction that the characters are to remain unaltered or to be restored if already deleted or altered. It is usually circled or marked with a row of dashes or dots below the characters.
Superscript: a small letter or figure set beside and/or above the top of a full-size character.
The title page should carry the exact final wording of the title (and subtitle, if any) and your name, as author or editor, in the form you wish it to be used. For multi-author titles, specify the lead author where applicable, otherwise we will arrange in alphabetical order.
Verso: a left-hand page, see also recto.