1. Files and File Formats
1.1. Primary Document
1.1.1. Use Microsoft Word .docx for written articles.
1.1.2. For multimodal articles and projects, consult with the Web Editor on viable formats suited to your specific project.
1.2. Figures
1.2.1. Definition: A figure is any non-textual artifact included in the manuscript: charts, graphs, images, diagrams, etc. It is not a table or a text box.
1.2.2. Provide figures as separate files. Use .png format whenever possible, at as high a resolution as possible.
1.2.3. Name files in a way which makes their function or placement clear, e.g. fig1.png.
1.2.4. In a separate .docx document, list all figures and images by file name, along with:
- The caption for the figure;
- Alternate text describing the figure/image as concisely and accurately as possible.
1.3. Metadata
1.3.1. In a separate .docx file, provide:
- Authors’ names in order;
- A ~200-word abstract;
- 5–7 keywords, in title case and separated by semicolons;
- A 40-word synopsis or excerpt, which is used in our RSS feed.
1.3.2. Book reviews need only provide: authors’ names and a 40-word synopsis.
1.4. Optimizing Your Computer for Editing
1.4.1. Turn on invisible characters. In Microsoft Word, ensure that the paragraph marker (¶) on the Home tab of the toolbar is depressed; this will allow you to see invisible characters like carriage returns, manual line breaks, and spaces. You can also go to Preferences>View (Mac) or File>Options>Display (Windows) and tick “Show All Non-Printing Characters.” Being able to see invisible characters is essential to formatting for the web; what looks right to your eye may not be right at the level of code.
2. Document Elements
2.1. Section Headings
2.1.1. Use Microsoft Word style “Heading 2” for all primary document sections, e.g. “Introduction,” “Literature Review,” “Methodology,” etc.
2.1.2. Use Microsoft Word style “Heading 3” for any subheadings under a primary document section.
2.1.3. And use subsequent heading designations, i.e. “Heading 4,” “Heading 5,” etc., for any additionally nested subsections.
2.1.4. The visual appearance of these headings (font, size, etc.) in your document does not matter; our website will format it in accordance with our style, but to do so it must recognize the heading tags.
2.2. Figures
2.2.1. Because figures are submitted as separate files, note where they should be placed in the document with square brackets and capital letters, e.g. [INSERT FIGURE 1].
2.3. Tables
2.3.1. Definition: A table is a textual artifact with verbal or numerical data presented in a matrix or grid.
2.3.2. Unlike figures, tables may be included in the main text of the document at the location where they should be placed.
2.3.3. Please keep table formatting to a minimum, unless required for information presentation.
2.3.4. Each datum in a table should be in its own cell; do not use carriage returns to make “soft” breaks within formatted table cells. In conversion to HTML, these have to be undone and the table reconstructed, which is laborious and time-consuming.
2.3.5. Tables should include a caption and alt text immediately below.
2.3.6. Tables should be labelled as “Table,” not “Figure,” e.g. Table 1.
2.4. Typography
2.4.1. Quotation Marks and Apostrophes
2.4.1.1. “Smarten” all single and double quotation marks (like the ones in this line).
2.4.1.2. The easiest way to do this in Word is to go to Preferences>Autocorrect>Autoformat As You Type (Mac) or File>Options>Proofing>AutoCorrect Options>AutoFormat As You Type (Windows) and tick “Straight quotes with smart quotes.” Then perform a Find and Replace on the entire document where you search for a double quotation mark and replace it with a double quotation mark — yes, the same character. Then do the same thing with a single quotation mark. In replacing all of these marks with themselves, Word will “smarten” them if they weren’t already.
2.4.2. Hyphens and Dashes
2.4.2.1. Use M-dashes (—) without spaces on either side for interruptions, etc. You can make one in Word by typing Shift+Option+hyphen in Mac, or Ctrl+Alt+minus (Alt+0151) in Windows.
2.4.2.2. Use N-dashes (–) to indicate number ranges, as in page ranges in a bibliography or inline reference. You can make one in Word by typing Option+hyphen in Mac, or Ctrl+minus (Alt+0150) in Windows.
2.4.2.3. Hyphens (-) should only be used for words.
2.4.3. Ellipses
Use the ellipsis character (…) by typing Option+semicolon in Mac, or Alt+0133 in Windows, rather than putting three periods in sequence, with or without spaces between them. Microsoft Word should automatically reformat three periods to an ellipsis provided there are no spaces between them.
2.4.4. Works Cited
2.4.4.1. Do not format your Works Cited list with a hanging indent—especially if this is done with a carriage return and a tab instead of a change in margins. That may look right on a piece of paper, but the extra returns and tabs need to be stripped out of the code for web publication.
2.4.4.2. Each entry in the Works Cited list should be left justified, no indention, and concluded with one return, i.e. a paragraph marker (¶).
2.4.4.3. There is also no need for a blank line between entries in the list, but it doesn’t matter one way or the other.
3. MLA Format
3.1. Journal Style
3.1.1. Composition Forum follows MLA Style, 9th edition, as closely as possible, with a few common variations (see below). Please ensure that your manuscript follows those rules as closely as possible.
3.2. Works Cited List
3.2.1. Please double- and triple-check all entries in your Works Cited list for adherence to MLA format, particularly recent changes like “pp.” and “edited by.”
3.2.2. Please also check all entries and for internal consistency, i.e. using the same conventions for similar entries (e.g., not referencing College Composition and Communication in one entry and CCC in another).
3.3. Variations from MLA Format
3.3.1. Hyperlinks
3.3.1.1. All hyperlinks should include the leading https:// and the link should be active.
3.3.1.2. If the hyperlink is an additional location for an otherwise printed resource (e.g., a JSTOR permalink or a Digital Object Identifier), then the hyperlink should be listed at the end of the entry after the final period. It should then be followed by another period.
- Flynn, Elizabeth. “Feminism and Scientism.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 46, no. 3, 1995, pp. 353–69. https://www.jstor.org/stable/358710.
3.3.1.3. If the hyperlink is the only location of the source (e.g., an article in Composition Forum), then it should occupy the “location” space in the MLA template, i.e., be the last item in the entry before the final period.
- Hardy, Sarah, et al. “How Do Assignments Dispose Students Toward Research? Answer-Getting and Problem-Exploring in First-Year Writing.” Composition Forum, vol. 48, Mar. 2022, https://compositionforum.com/issue/48/answer-getting.php.
3.3.1.4. Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) should be formatted as URLs.
- https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-07-2020-0148
3.3.1.5. Please ensure that all URLs refer to universally accessible sites, stripped of any institutional authorization headers which might be included. A URL like:
- https://www-jstor-org.providence.idm.oclc.org/stable/27255393
Should be converted to:
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/27255393
3.3.1.6. Omit references to database “containers” when they are made plain by the URL; there is no need for JSTOR, DOI.org, EBSCOHost, or ProQuest in your bibliographical entries, when the URL will convey that information on its own.
3.3.2. Abbreviations
3.3.2.1. While MLA prefers “ed.” and “rev.” for “edition” and “revision,” respectively, those words should be written out in bibliographical references.
3.3.2.2. While MLA prefers “UP” for “University Press,” that should be written out in bibliographical references.
- University of Chicago Press
- Utah State University Press