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Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

Formatting Requirements

  • 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.)
  • Do not include page numbers, headers, or footers. These will be added by the editors.
  • Write your article in English (unless the journal expressly permits non-English submissions).
  • Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single MS Word file.
  • Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
  • All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), including your tables and figures.
  • Single space your text.
  • Use a single column layout with both left and right margins justified.
  • Font:
    1. Main Body—12 pt. Palatino Linotype or the closest comparable font available. Block quotations should be indented and presented in 11-pt. type.
    2. Footnotes—10 pt. Palatino Linotype or the closest comparable font available.
  • If figures are included, use high-resolution figures.
  • Copyedit your manuscript.
  • When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.

Additional Recommendations

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification

Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading. An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces.

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.

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). Where possible, it should also be right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin). "Where possible" refers to the quality of the justification. For example, LaTeX and TeX do an excellent job of justifying text. Word does a reasonable job. But some word processors do a lousy job (e.g., they achieve right justification by inserting too much white space within and between words). We prefer flush right margins. However, it is better to have jagged right margins than to have flush right margins with awkward intra- and inter-word spacing. Make your decision on whichever looks best.

Text formatting

  • All submissions must be in English, following American spelling and grammar conventions.
  • Quotation marks: use double quotation marks ("...") generally and single quotation marks ('...') for a quotation within a quotation.
  • Work titles: capitalize musical genres when used as a title (Quintet Op. 16, Symphony No. 5, Ninth Symphony)
  • Translated quotations: provide an English translation for any quotation from a text in another language.
  • Capitalization: capitalize emperors, dukes etc. only when giving a title (Emperor Joseph etc.); otherwise lowercase ("the emperor decreed" etc.).
  • Numbers: spell out single numbers from zero to one hundred and round multiples (e.g. seven hundred spectators).
  • Number ranges: follow the policy outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style, namely:
    • First number less than 100: use all digits (e.g. 4–23, 35–112)
    • First number 100 or multiples of 100: use all digits (e.g. 100–104, 1100–1113)
    • First number 101 through 109, 201 through 209 etc: use changed part only (101–8, 808–33)
    • First number 110 through 199, 210 through 299 etc,: use two digits unless more are needed (321–28, 1496–500)
  • Measure numbers: use numerals and the abbreviated forms m. and mm.
  • Dashes: use the en-dash to indicate a continuous range: 1770–1827. Use unspaced em-dashes in parenthetical contexts or when used in place of a comma or colon.

    • Word count

    Because this journal publishes electronically, page limits are not as relevant as they are in the world of print publications. We are happy, therefore, to let authors take advantage of this greater "bandwidth" to include material that they might otherwise have to cut to get into a print journal. This said, authors should exercise some discretion with respect to length.

    Colored text

    Set the font color to black for the majority of the 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.

    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. (You may need to "accept all changes" in track changes or set your document to "normal" in final markup.)

    Font faces

    Except, possibly, where special symbols are needed, use Palatino Linotype or the closest comparable font available. If you desire a second font, for instance for headings, use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Computer Modern Sans Serif).

    Font size

    The main body of text should be set in 12pt. Avoid the use of fonts smaller than 6pt.

    Headings

    Headings (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the main body text by their fonts or by using small caps. Use the same font face for all headings and indicate the hierarchy by reducing the font size. There should be space above and below headings.

    Captions

    All figures, tables, and music examples must have an accompanying caption. Include measure numbers for music examples. Use 11-pt. type for captions.

    No punctuation is needed after a caption consisting solely of an incomplete sentence (e.g. Beethoven, Violin Sonata Opus 96, m. 1). If one or more complete sentences follow it, include closing punctuation after each.

    Image permissions

    Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce images or other third-party materials. Images in the public domain from the collection of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies may be used without charge for articles published in The Beethoven Journal with the following ownership credit: “From the collections of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San José State University. Those that are not in public domain may require permission from the copyright holder.

    Main text

    The font for the main body of text must be black and, if at all possible, in Palatino Linotype or closest comparable font available.

    Footnotes

    Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced rather than at the end of the paper. Footnotes should be in 10 pt. Palatino Linotype or closest comparable font available, they should be single spaced, and there should be a footnote separator rule (line). Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede, punctuation. Excessively long footnotes are probably better handled in an appendix. All footnotes should be left and right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin), unless this creates awkward 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 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 1.5" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

    References

    Footnotes should follow the conventions in the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. “Author-date” style is not accepted. A bibliography is not required.