This document provides details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to manuscript submission to Discussions.

Formatting Requirements

The article should follow APA (American Psychological Association) formatting for the paper format, in-text citations, and end-text citations.

• Times New Roman 12pt. font should be used.
• Page size should be 8.5 x 11 inches.
• All margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be 1 inch (2.54 centimeters), including for tables and figures.
• Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
• Pages should be numbered.
• Text should be double-spaced.
• Headers and footers should not be included.

Abstracts should be included. Abstracts should be less than 300 words in length.

All images, figures, and tables must be titled, captioned, well-labeled (including legends and error bars as appropriate), and referenced in the text.

If your article is accepted:

• Provide the figures in high-quality (300 DPI) image files.
• Provide the tables as Excel files.
• You may be asked to provide high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps), ai, or svg files.

Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file (Microsoft Word or PDF files are accepted).

The article should be written in standard American English.

If your article is accepted, you will be asked to provide additional sections of acknowledgements and biography.

• Acknowledgements should be written in the first person and should credit anyone who advised or assisted you in your research (e.g., “I would like to thank...”).
• Your biography should be brief and written in the third person. (e.g., “Sarah Smith is a second-year student studying physics at CWRU. She is involved with… , wants to do… , etc.”).

Additional Recommendations

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification

Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading. An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces.

Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below.

All text should be left-justified (i.e., flush with the left margin—except where indented). Where possible, it should also be right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin).

Language & Grammar

All submissions must be in English. Except for common foreign words and phrases, the use of foreign words and phrases should be avoided.

Authors should use proper, standard English grammar. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the "standard" guide.

Article Length

The journal publishes electronically and in print. Authors should exercise some discretion with respect to length.

Colored text

Set the font color to black for the entirety of the text. We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color in the production of figures, maps, etc., however, editors may make appropriate color changes in figures and tables for legibility and comprehension.

Emphasized text

Whenever possible use italics to indicate text you wish to emphasize rather than underlining it. Do not use color to emphasize text.

Font faces

Except, possibly, where special symbols are needed, use Times New Roman or the closest comparable font available. If you desire a second font, for instance for headings, use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Computer Modern Sans Serif).

Font size

The main body of text should be set in 12pt. Avoid the use of fonts smaller than 6pt.

Foreign terms

Whenever possible, foreign terms should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Headings

Headings (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the main body text by their fonts or by using small caps. Use the same font face for all headings and indicate the hierarchy by reducing the font size. There should be space above and below headings.

Main text

The font for the main body of text must be black and, if at all possible, in Times or closest comparable font available.

Titles

Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc., should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Footnotes

Footnotes should not be used. If footnotes appear to be necessary, please include that information in an appendix.

Tables and Figures

To the extent possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1 inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right).

Mathematics

Roman letters used in mathematical expressions as variables should be italicized. Roman letters used as part of multi-letter function names should not be italicized. Whenever possible, subscripts and superscripts should be a smaller font size than the main text.

Short mathematical expressions should be typed inline. Longer expressions should appear as display math. Also expressions using many different levels (e.g., such as the fractions) should be set as display math. Important definitions or concepts can also be set off as display math.

Equations should be numbered sequentially. Whether equation numbers are on the right or left is the choice of the author(s). However, you are expected to be consistent in this.

Symbols and notation in unusual fonts should be avoided. This will not only enhance the clarity of the manuscript, but it will also help insure that it displays correctly on the reader's screen and prints correctly on her printer. When proofing your document under PDF pay particular attention to the rendering of the mathematics, especially symbols and notation drawn from other than standard fonts.

References

It is the author's obligation to provide complete references with the necessary information. References should appear right after the end of the article.

Please follow APA (American Psychological Association) format for references. An excellent online resource for APA formatting is Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab).