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PLANNING YOUR ARTICLE
This brief has been written to ensure the overall coherence of the book. It is meant to guide your thinking and will apply to all articles. If you feel it is necessary to amend the organizational style of your article, please discuss this with Bret Carroll to ensure that the development will be acceptable.
1. STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK. This is a straightforward A-Z encyclopedia. Entries will be arranged alphabetically, but the front matter will include an entry list arranged according to the topical categories that have been assigned to each entry.
2. LENGTH/WORD COUNT. Articles will be assigned by length. Within these categories, there will be five article lengths used. These are:
- A length article-1700-2000 words
- B length article-1200-1500 words
- C length article-800-1000 words
- D length article-650-750 words
- E length article-400-500 words
Each article should conform to the ranges specified above. When you are assigned your article(s), you will be told what length category it fits into. If you absolutely need to depart from the assigned length, please discuss this with Bret Carroll ahead of time.
3. READERSHIP. The book is designed for upper-level high school and college students as well as for the general public. You should write for this audience, explaining all specialized terminology. Avoid technical vocabulary and jargon as much as possible.
Do not assume knowledge of individuals. Identify them with some sort of descriptive phrase (e.g., "eighteenth-century writer" or "American theorist").
4. INTERPRETATION. Your article should present your interpretation of the topic or issue; however, because the encyclopedia is a reference work, it has an obligation to present all significant interpretations on controversial and unresolved questions. Avoid polemic and partisanship.
5. GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE. The book seeks to use nonsexist language, although writers should not torture a sentence to achieve it. Please follow these general rules:
- Avoid sex-specific terminology, such as mankind, and the use of "man" or "men" as the generic for human being.
- Avoid male pronouns to describe people in general. Use "They" in place of he or she when appropriate. Also, please avoid the awkward "s/he" construction whenever possible.
6. DATES. Because this is a historical encyclopedia, your entry should include references to important dates, including dates of events, books, films, etc. Please double-check all dates to ensure accuracy.
Note: It is not necessary to include the life span of each individual mentioned in your article. Life spans will only be included in the header section of "People" articles.
7. VISUAL IMAGES. The encyclopedia will include 20 visual images. Feel free to make suggestions, including relevant photos, portraits, cartoons, posters, etc. If you do have a suggestion, please submit a photocopy of the image on a separate sheet of paper and include complete information on its source. A brief rationale for including your proposed image would be welcome, as well as a brief caption that could be included with it. The Moschovitis Group will be responsible for securing permission to use any suggested visual images.
8. QUOTING PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL/PERMISSIONS. The use of quotations from copyrighted works, such as from novels or scholarly works, should be kept to a minimum, so as to minimize the need to secure written permissions and to ensure the originality of the articles. If your article requires a quotation of more than a few words, please contact your editor to determine your need to secure written permission for use. If you do need permission, it will be your responsibility to secure it.
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