Faculty & Staff
Sextant Submission Guidelines
Failure to follow submission guidelines will mean that your submission may be ignored. These guidelines are specifically designed to help speed up our review process.
We prefer that submissions be made via email with attachments: sextant@salemstate.edu
For written submissions:
- Written submissions should be submitted in Microsoft word document format or in rich-text format (RTF).
- Submissions must not exceed 12 pages double-spaced in length (approximately 4,000 words). Please do not use weirdly formatted margins or miniscule text sizes. If it's smaller than 12 point, then we won't read it.
- We accept only one submission from a single author.
- Submissions may use the citation style native to the faculty member's field. If the faculty member is able, Chicago Manual citation style is preferred.
- Regardless of the citation style used, authors should not use footnotes. Please do not use the auto-notes feature; rather, insert superscript numbers in the text and list the notes at the end of the text.
- Authors who integrate images into their MS word files should provide these images as separate files as well.
Please include the following in your e-mail:
- Your first and last name
- Your desired published name
- Your email
- Your affiliation with Salem State University
- The title of your submission
- A short explanation of your submission
For artistic submissions:
- Art submissions must be submitted in a digital photograph format
- All submission photos should be at least 300 dpi resolution. We will not accept anything lower than 300 dpi. Generally, the larger the file size and image (measured in megabytes or gigabytes), the better.
Please include the following in your e-mail:
- Your first and last name
- Your desired published name
- Your email
- Your affiliation with Salem State University
- The title of your submission
- A short explanation of your submission
- The medium of your submission and the original dimensions. If photography, please provide us with the type of film (if digital, then just say digital), the make of the camera, and any special lenses that you may be using.
- The resolution of the image
If you cannot email the file because it is too big (try emailing first!), please contact the editor.
Manuscript Content/Style:
TITLE AND SUBTITLE. The title should state clearly, and in interesting language, what the article is about. The usual format is a short title followed by an explanatory subtitle. For example:
“Text, Tablets, and Teaching: Scribal Education in Nippur and Ur”
“Village Air for Urban Elites: Heritage Café Complexes in Jordan”
TEXT. Authors should assume that readers have little or no prior knowledge of the subject. The first section of the article should engage the readers’ attention, telling them what the article is about and why it is significant. Subheadings should be used to set off sections of the text, providing “signposts” to guide the reader. The text should be written in a relaxed style at a level suitable for students in an introductory college course. Obscure words, technical language, and academic jargon should be avoided. If technical terms are necessary for clarity or brevity, they must be explained or defined on first mention in the text. In rare cases, a glossary may be used to explain unfamiliar words. When writing, use an active voice. First person narratives are fine. To stay within the word limit, eliminate excess words, such as too many adjectives or unnecessary phrases like “The fact that….”
SIDEBARS (OR BOXED TEXTS). In some instances, coherent excerpts of text can be set aside from the main text in sidebars. These allow the author to provide more focused discussions of particular topics without digressing from the main flow of the article. They should be written to stand on their own and they should provide information that supplements and complements the main text.
AUTHOR’S BIO. Include a short biographical note that should not exceed 50 words and an informal or “field” photo of the author. If you have no photo, a Sextant photographer will make an appointment to take your picture.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Acknowledgments can be made in a separate paragraph at the end of the article.
ILLUSTRATIONS/ARTWORK. Good-quality illustrations and informative captions (see below) are an integral part of each article. They clarify and expand the text, providing a visual context for the reader. In selecting images, be sure that they are of interest to a broad readership and capture the human element of your research. For instance, relevant images showing people (e.g., working on a site or holding an object) are preferred over more sterile “record” shots.
- Whenever possible the author should provide illustrations. Inform the editor if there are copyright issues with illustrations you submit.
- CAPTIONS. Captions are the most frequently read part of any article and should be considered central to the narrative. They should be written to stand on their own as complete sentences and they should provide information that supplements rather than repeats the text.
Peer Review Policy/Process:
Submissions are reviewed by the editors and, if necessary, submitted for peer review from faculty volunteers. Authors whose work is accepted will be given an opportunity to revise their work in response to the comments from editors and reviewers before publication.
Editor’s decision. Based on the reviewers’ comments the editor makes a decision to:
- Accept the manuscript without further revision
- Editor accepts the paper without further revision. An acceptance letter is sent to the author and the final manuscript is forwarded to production.
- Accept after revision
- Editor accepts after revision. The author is requested to revise in accordance with reviewers’ comments and submit and updated version or the manuscript to the editor.
- Ask author to resubmit
- Resubmission. The author is requested to make substantial revisions to the manuscript and resubmit for a new evaluation. Back to submission!
- Reject
- Editor rejects. A rejection letter is sent to the author and the manuscript is archived.
