This document provides details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to final manuscript submission to Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression.

• Formatting Requirements
• Style Standards
• References

Formatting Requirements

The entire manuscript, including the body, references, appendices, other sections, and supplemental content, should follow the guidelines of the style guide appropriate to the discipline of the manuscript. The Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression follows similar guidelines set by the CWU School of Graduate Studies and Research for thesis manuscripts.

• Do not include a title page or abstract. (Begin the document with the introduction; a title page, including the abstract, will be added to your paper by the editors.)
• Abstracts will be entered separately with your submission form. Abstracts must be no more than 250 words in length.
• Do not include page numbers, headers, or footers. These will be automatically added in publication.
• Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file (Word, RTF, or PDF files are accepted).
• Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
• All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1.0 inch, including your tables and figures.
• Double space all text unless the style guide used advises differently. If references are single-spaced, then double space between each citation.
• Font: Fonts should be easily readable and consistent throughout. Fonts should be at least 12 point in size with a minimum of 10 points for footnotes, tables, graphs, appendices, and other illustrative materials as necessary
• Figures and Tables: If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).
• When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.

Article Length

One of the goals of this journal is to publish student papers as professionally as we can while maintaining a learning environment and celebrating scholastic achievements. SOURCE simulates a juried environment to prepare students for professional conferences later in their careers. This journal follows a similar mission and aims to prepare our students for print publications. Even though this journal publishes electronically, we have an established page limit to simulate outside print publication guidelines.

Page Limit: 20 pages

The page limit applies the entire manuscript including any pre-body sections such as a table of contents or acknowledgements, the full body content, and any post-body sections such as the references/works cited/bibliography and appendices. The Mentor Approval form will be uploaded separately and does not count towards this page limit. Due to this limit, Table of Contents and Lists of Tables and Figures are not required.

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Style Standards

Style Manuals

Manuscripts should consistently follow the most current edition of the appropriate style manual. Authors should check with the mentor/department to confirm the appropriate style guide their manuscript should comply with according to the content’s discipline. Style manuals currently approved for use by the School of Graduate Studies and Research are as follows:

• Art, History, Theatre Studies, Music: The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, 2017.
• Biology: Council of Science Educators, Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Style Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 8th edition, 2014.
• Chemistry: The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication, 2020.
• Computer Science: Cordova Style Guide (only sections – contact department).
• English: MLA Handbook, 9th edition, 2021.
• Geology (please contact department for specific style guide) : American Geophysical Union Publication Specifications; Geological Society of America Publication Specifications
• Cultural & Environmental Resource Management: Varies with discipline focus. Contact degree Program Director
• Nutrition: AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, 2020.
• Education, English (TESOL), FCS, IET, ITAM, LAJ, Music Education, MSET, Psychology, Primate Behavior, Public Health, Health & Physical Education, Sport & Athletic Administration, Child Development and Family Science: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, 2020.

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification

Always follow the guidelines described according to the appropriate style manual for your manuscript’s discipline.

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. Consult the appropriate style guide for specific instructions.

Don't "widow" or "orphan" text (i.e., ending a page with the first line of a paragraph or beginning a page with the last line of a paragraph).

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

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. Consult the appropriate style manual for specific grammar and formatting guidelines to your discipline.

Text

Font size should be set in 12pt, but no smaller than 10pt in sections requiring smaller font.

Colored text

Set the font color to black for all text. We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color in the production of figures, maps, etc., however, you need to appreciate that this will cause some of your readers problems when they print the document on a black & white printer. For this reason, you are advised to avoid the use of colors in situations where their translation to black and white would render the material illegible or incomprehensible. The use of color to emphasize text is discouraged.

Please ensure that there are no colored mark-ups or comments in the final version, unless they are meant to be part of the final text.

Only use italics and bold text as appropriate according to the style guide used.

Headings

Headings (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the main body text based on the style guide used. All sections should have consistent heading and subheading format and spacing.

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 breaking up paragraphs to do this, however, make sure they are within 1 page of their first mention.

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 1.0" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

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.

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References

It is the author's obligation to provide complete references with the necessary information. After the last sentence of your submission, please insert a page break and begin your references. References should appear right after the end of the document. Margins should still be 1.0 inch on all sides. Consult your style guide for appropriate spacing and indentation guidelines.

Citation generators are limited tools and if used, all citations and reference list entries should be manually checked and edited as needed. Manually ensure that all references have all the necessary information and follow all guidelines set by the style manual used