Essentials
Publication Guidelines
Audience
Essentials is a monthly, online publication that is distributed electronically to all members of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors and subscribers. Essentials’ main goal is to provide individuals working with fraternities/sororities regular opportunities for professional development through reading articles that are related to the progression of our efforts in student affairs and fraternity and sorority advising and advocacy.
Submission Guidelines
The Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors welcomes articles for Essentials that serve as catalysts for further exploration and discussion on topics relevant to the fraternal movement. Monthly publications most often include at least three articles and a book review on a given topic. Articles published in Essentials are meant to be starting points for further discussion by the AFA membership. While the articles are not meant to be lengthy, they should be thought provoking and applicable to the daily practice of at least a large portion of the AFA membership.
Each issue of
Essentials has a topical theme which is decided upon by the
Essentials Editorial Board; suggestions for themes are welcomed. Editorial Board members edit submissions, write articles, and recruit others to submit articles. Unsolicited article submissions are always welcome and will be considered for future publications. It is the intent of
Essentials to be innovative in the content it offers and to reflect the voices of AFA’s membership. AFA members can share ideas for article topics or monthly themes and can submit a book review or article by contacting the
Essentials Editor.
Language and Style
Authors are to follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) for all in-text citations and reference lists. When appropriate, authors may write in the first person; however, it is highly suggested that articles be written in the third person, as no opinion pieces will be published. Also, please note that all articles must have the title and author(s) name(s) written clearly at the top of the article whereas reference information should be listed at the end of the article. Although style formatting will take place before publication, authors should consider submitting work in Times New Roman 12-point font for reviewing purposes.
Recommended Length
Articles for
Essentials may vary in length. However, the recommended length for submissions ranges from 500-1000 words, or 2-4 pages when single spaced, which includes references. The article’s quality, relevance, and potential to stimulate productive conversation among readers will be deciding factors in publishing an article. Any further questions regarding the length of an article should be directed to the
Essentials Editor.
Submission
Submit articles electronically to the
Essentials Editor. Please attach the article or manuscript as a Microsoft Word document. The document should also be double-spaced and all diagrams or graphic figures should be included in the document text as well as submitted as a jpeg file. Please provide your name, title, institution/organization, and email address in the body of the email. It is the author’s responsibility to keep the Editor informed of any changes in contact information after the article is submitted for review. Articles can be submitted at any time, however if an author would prefer consideration for a specific issue, an article would need to be submitted at least six weeks in advance of that specific issue. All submitted articles will be edited for grammar and style. If substantial revision to the content is necessary, the author(s) will be contacted for approval. However, it should be noted that changes may be made without the author(s) knowledge prior to an article’s publication.
Review Process
Once an article has been received, the Essentials Editorial Board will review for content relevancy and quality based on monthly themes, style, and value to the AFA membership. All notification of acceptance or rejection of articles and/or book reviews will be made by the Essentials Editor.
Policy on Copyright and Plagiarism
By submitting an article for review, you are responsible for ensuring that it has not been and is not being registered for copyright elsewhere. Plagiarism of any kind will not be permitted. If the Essentials Editorial Board has any reason to think that an article submission contains plagiarized content it will not be published.
Submission Deadlines
Article submissions are due to the Essentials Editorial Board approximately four weeks before publication. Essentials is published during the second week of each month. The deadlines and topics for the 2010 issues are as follows:
| Issue |
Submission Deadline |
Topical Theme |
| January |
December 16, 2009 |
Professional development |
| February |
January 6 |
The changing face of students |
| March |
February 3 |
Cross cultural collaboration |
| April |
March 10 |
From my point of view: articles by graduate students |
| May |
April 7 |
Transitions |
| June |
May 5 |
Change management |
| July |
June 9 |
Hot topics |
| August |
July 7 |
Values congruence |
| September |
August 4 |
Mentoring |
| October |
September 15 |
Local chapters |