Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for the Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This document provides details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to your final manuscript submission to the .

Copy edit ( prepares your copy for the typesetter) your manuscript.
Do not include:
1. a title page
2. page numbers
3. headers
4. footers
5. (These will be added by the editors)
Begin the document with the title, author(s), author affiliation(s), and abstract.
Write your article in English (unless the journal expressly permits non-English submissions).
Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file.
Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
Use 1-inch margins on every side of the page, including your tables and figures.
Single space your text.
Use a single column layout. All text should be left justified, including headings.
Font:
1. Main Body—12 pt. Times or the closest comparable font available
2. Footnotes—10 pt. Times or the closest comparable font available
3. Use the same font throughout your paper.
4. Set the font color to black.
If figures are included, use high-resolution figures
When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.
Indent the first line of each paragraph of text 0.5 in. from the left margin. Use the tab key or the automatic paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program to achieve the indentation (the default setting is likely already 0.5 in.). Do not use the space bar to create indentation.

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 submissions must be in English. Except for common foreign words and phrases, the use of foreign words and phrases should be avoided.
Authors should use proper, standard English grammar. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the "standard" guide, but other excellent guides (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style, University of Chicago Press) exist as well.

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. We suggest aiming for 18-22 total pages (single spaced).

'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.)

Headings identify the content within sections of a paper. They should be distinguished from the main body text using bold for the first level, and bold and italics for the second level.
Follow APA Guidelines when formatting headings.

Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the final page at the end of the paper, before the references. Footnotes should be in 10 pt. Times or closest comparable font available, they should be single spaced, and there should not 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-justified.

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" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

Roman letters used in mathematical expressions as variables should be italicized. Roman letters used as part of multi-letter function names should not be italicized.
Whenever possible, subscripts and superscripts should be a smaller font size than the main text.
Short mathematical expressions should be typed inline.
Longer expressions should appear as display math.
Also expressions using many different levels (e.g., such as the fractions) should be set as display math. Important definitions or concepts can also be set off as display math.
Equations should be numbered sequentially. Whether equation numbers are on the right or left is the choice of the author(s). However, you are expected to be consistent in this.
Symbols and notation in unusual fonts should be avoided. This will not only enhance the clarity of the manuscript, but it will also help insure that it displays correctly on the reader's screen and prints correctly on her printer. When proofing your document under PDF pay particular attention to the rendering of the mathematics, especially symbols and notation drawn from other than standard fonts.

Follow APA guidelines for all references.
It is the author's obligation to provide complete references with the necessary information.
After the last sentence of your submission, please insert a page break and begin your references on a new page.
References should appear right after the end of the document, beginning on the last page if possible. References should have margins that are left-justified.