Authors - Preparing the Text

• What to send us 
• Writing to length 
• Formatting the text 
• References 
• Preparing the front matter         

Formatting the Text

General points  Headings  Spelling, style and punctuation

Lists  Tables  Equations

Your word-processed text disks are eventually imported into a typesetting system. Some features of word-processing programs may cause problems for the typesetter. Listed below are some essentials to keep in mind, but please address any more detailed queries to your editor. 

General points 

• Keep all formatting as minimal as possible
• Double space the text, use one column only, and left align
• Do not use the carriage return (enter) at the end of lines within a paragraph; allow the word-processing program to turn the line over
• Use the tab key (once only) or a double carriage return to indicate new paragraphs
• Avoid automatic formatting of text such as headers, footers and endnotes. Footnotes should be indicated in the sequence * † ‡ § || , or numbered in the text and presented together at the end of the file. Avoid very long footnotes; take them into the text instead. For some titles, footnotes are inappropriate; discuss alternatives with your editor
• Do not use the hanging indent facility
• Do not indent lists (except to indicate the hierarchy of entries)
• Do not use the 'hidden text' or 'annotations/comments' facilities in your word-processing program. Provide only the text which you wish to see printed in the final version
• Distinguish between 1 (one), I (upper-case 'eye') and l (el); O (upper-case o) and 0 (zero); and b (Greek beta) and ß (German esszett)
• To represent italic, place the text in italic, rather than underline
• If there are any special characters that need to be inserted in the manuscript, please specify what they are in a separate document        

Headings 

• Range headings with the left-hand margin (do not centre them on the page)
• Indicate the hierarchy of headings by marking h1 for a main heading, h2 for a subheading, etc. at the start of each heading. Do not include chapter titles in this system. (Note: this may not apply to all authors, so please check with your editor.)
• There is no need to add extra styling such as bold or italic. Do not use all capitals, as they are difficult to remove globally
• Avoid using excessive levels of subheadings: two to five are usually sufficient        

Spelling, style and punctuation 

• Please contact your editor for specific guidelines, or if one is provided, refer to your style guide        

Lists

• Decide whether the list should be bulleted (the items in the list have no particular order) or numbered (e.g. steps in a procedure which must be followed in order, or item 1 is more important than item 2, etc.)
• Range lists with the left-hand margin
• Indent the subentries only        

Tables

• Present tables and their captions after the main text (see What to send us  )
• Supply a caption for each table. Keep the caption succinct and reserve more detailed discussion for the main text
• Ensure that all tables are numbered sequentially, according to their appearance in the text and the chapter number, e.g. Table 3.4 is the fourth table in Chapter 3
• Use a maximum of three horizontal rules to separate the column headings from the main table body. Vertical rules are rarely necessary
• Define all abbreviations and symbols used in the table in a footnote at the end of the table
• If the table, or data used in the table has been published elsewhere, ensure that you have obtained written permission  from the copyright holder and acknowledge the original source at the end of the caption        

Equations

• Provide simple, one-line equations in Word or in any other common word-processing package; contact your editor for providing more complex equations
• Equations should be numbered sequentially within chapters, to allow them to be cross-referenced        

The key to successfully using your text is consistency in the use of formatting throughout the manuscript.