Author Guidelines
All articles submitted for publication must be in English and must be manifestly relevant to the theme of the issue for which the article is submitted. Contributions should be between 3000 and 5000 words and should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document. Along with your article please also submit a short abstract and your academic CV in separate, clearly labeled files. All contributions should be formatted according to MLA style guidelines and the FORUM style sheet as outlined below, and should include a 250-word abstract of the article submitted as well as the article itself.
Each article submitted will be peer-reviewed prior to publication. Authors will retain copyright of their original contributions and are free to publish them elsewhere. All email enquiries should be sent to: Forum.Journal@ed.ac.uk.
N.B. As FORUM is a postgraduate journal we are usually only able to accept submissions from postgraduate students currently enrolled in Master's or PhD programmes, or from early career researchers within three years of having finished a postgraduate qualification (unless there have been reasons for a career break, such as parental leave, etc).
FORUM SUBMISSIONS STYLE SHEET
FORUM requires that the submitted version of your article adhere to a number of particular style guidelines. These are based on MLA style but include a few modifications.
Spelling: UK spellings for all but quotations
Font: Times New Roman
Title of Article Submitted: Centred, 14 pts, and bold
Author Name of Article Submitted: At the submission stage, please ensure your name is not present in the submitted article so that your text does not have to be revised by the editorial team prior to the anonymised peer review. However, you are expected to use your name in your emails, the abstract, and any other instance that requires your biographical information.
Alignment: Left
Size (text): 12 pts
Line spacing: 1.5
Section headings: 12 pts, bold
Paragraphs: Indented, leaving a line between paragraphs only if it signals a new section of your paper
All quotations: Use parentheses to indicate your source reference. Include name of author only if not already included in body of text. The same rule applies to the title of the text, if you have included more than one work by the same author in your ‘Works Cited’, though the title should then be shortened in your text reference (not your Works Cited). Always include page number(s) for prose, Act and Scene (i.e. 1.2) for drama, and line number(s) for poetry. If you use more than one page/line, indicate both fully (i.e. 12-13, rather than 12-3). E.g. (Royle 127).
Short quotations: These can be worked into the syntax of your sentence or set off with a colon. Short quotations should be enclosed in double quotation marks and referenced at the end of the sentence.
Long quotations: If more than four lines for prose or more than three lines for poetry, start on a new line and indent the entire quotation from the left. Text size, font, font style, and line spacing to remain the same as rest of paper (i.e. 12, TNR, normal, 1.5 lines)
Translations: Both the original and the translation should be provided, and formatted so that the translation comes before the original. The original should be placed in parentheses. Both sources must be provided. See the following example:
Chaucer's setting is April, the time of "sweet showers" ("shoures soote"; my translation, GP1).
Page numbers: none
Notes: Endnotes, keep as minimal as possible
Works Cited: Please use this term instead of ‘Bibliography’. Place this at the end of the document, not as a separate attachment. Start flush left, and if the entry runs on then indent the subsequent lines (using ‘hanging’ in indentation options in ‘Format paragraph’ makes this simple). Please ensure that the Works Cited page is formatted according to MLA 8 guidelines.
For any other queries on style and presentation please consult the MLA Handbook. There are numerous online guides to using MLA style produced by University libraries which you may find useful. If unsure of referencing after consulting these, please contact FORUM.
