Submission Requirements
Authors are asked to use the following template for formatting purposes, and to follow the guidelines outlined on this page.
This Microsoft Word template is designed not only to help authors meet the Journal’s manuscript submission requirements, but also to help them focus on the content of their study rather than concern themselves with formatting.
This template:
- helps save the author an enormous amount of time. If the paragraph styles are used correctly, it also saves us time importing the text into the layout-editing software. If styles are ignored, this can add many extra required work hours required for publication. Please help by adhering to these guidelines to the best of your abilities.
- contains built in paragraph style, which facilitates the formatting of titles, subtitles, body, block quotes, footnotes, and more. It is rather easy to learn how to effectively utilize these styles. There are many online video tutorials to learn, including this one, which not only teaches you how to use styles already in a template, but how to create your own, or modify existing styles (please do not modify the styles in this template). If you prefer text tutorials rather than video, try this one.
- is cropped to the same dimensions as the printed version of the journal (6″ x 9″), so that you can get a rough idea as to the length and look of the article in it’s deliverable format. If you are having a difficult time printing a file that uses this template, simply change the page size to that of your country’s standard letter (8.5″ x 11″ – US Letter for USA).
- uses font sizes and margins similar to the printed version.
The Process:
- Download the template and save it to a convenient location on your computer.
- To begin a new article, open the template, and save the document with an appropriate name.
- Replace the basic parts of the template with the correct information (title, subtitle, author, section heading).
- Begin writing, and don’t forget to save regularly 🙂
- After you feel the manuscript is ready for submission, send attach it in an email to collin@unisal.it
- You will receive feedback from members of the review board, who may or may not ask for revisions. Please Note: when your article is accepted, the author retains intellectual property rights to the material. However, unless another arrangement has been made prior, the Institute of Salesian Studies retains sole rights of publication. Your submission implies that your work has not been submitted to any other journal or published in any official form. If this is not the case, please inform us before your article is reviewed.
Content Basics
Scope & Purpose:
The Journal of Salesian studies is an academic publication covering topics primarily related to the Salesian tradition of Saint John Bosco, including its connection to the wider Salesian tradition relating to Saint Francis de Sales. In order to progress the Salesian mission, and to properly understand and discern the call of Salesian discipleship, many articles take on a historical perspective, and to delve into the origins of the Salesian charism, spirit, educational style, and its historical application through time. These historically-based articles are designed to encourage the critical reflection of the reader, and to draw connections to its current application. However, many articles make more of an immediate practical application.
The Journal of Salesian Studies, therefore, welcomes proposals and contributions that bring to the fore any of the following subjects:
- Education and evangelization of youth
- Don Bosco’ s charism and method
- Timely and pertinent topics relating to Salesian work in today’s world
- Historical research in topics relating to the growth and development of the Salesian Society
- Profiles of personalities who have made a notable contribution in Salesian history, such as Mother Mary Mazzarello
- Francis de Sales’ charism, spirit, and historical influences, as well as related persons and topics such as Jane de Chantal and the Visitation Order
- Book reviews of publications that are either explicitly Salesian, or publications which may be of interest to those involved in the education and evangelization of youth)
Article Length and Language
The articles must be in english.
Articles of various lengths are accepted.
- Minimum: 5,000 words
- Average: 10,000 words
- Maximum: 25,000 words
Please note:Word counts do not include the abstract. Articles over 15,000 words may be split into two issues, depending upon the length of others articles in the issue.
Abstract
An important component to all academic articles, especially those published online, is an abstract. This 100-500 word summary is used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper’s purpose. The abstract is not intended to substitute the article, and does not necessarily meantion the conclusions. Rather, it is meant to whet the appetite of the reader, and draw their interest by noting some of the key points of study and perhaps the methodology.
The abstract will be available to the public in the online format, whereas the article itself will only be available to subscribers.
Keywords / Tags
In addition to the abstract, it will be helpful for authors to include a list of keywords separated by commas. Since articles are not visible to the public, or to search engines, a list of important key words (or short phrases) will help optimize search engine results, and navigate potential readers to your article. If this is omitted, the editors will make a list of keywords, but this not only adds time to the publication process, but also may not result in the most optimal list, should certain keywords or phrases be overlooked.
Good candidates for keywords are important people, places, dates, and events referenced by your article. Keywords are often found in section headings, and the first paragraphs of new sections. There is no limit to the amount of keywords you may include, but a most lists should have at least 20.
One way to find key words to include in your list is to ask yourself, “If I were looking for an article about the topic of my article, or about somethings tangentially related to the topic, whatwords might I include in a Google Search?” Because many topics or persons are referred to in different ways, it is good to include variations of the same name such as: Don Bosco, Saint John Bosco, John Bosco, St. John Bosco, Bosco, Giovanni Bosco. Another example: Salesian Mother House, Casa Madre, Turin, Turino, Valdocco.
Style Basics
The Journal almost completely follows Turabian (Chicago) formatting guidelines, especially for citations.[1] This may be different than you’re used to, so please familiarize yourself with the latest edition of Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. A quick reference guide may be found here.
Quotes, Citations, & References:
Quotes translated by the author should be quoted in the original language in a footnote.
Quotes less than three lines are to follow the following format, “This is a quote that is less than three lines.”[2] As you can see, the punctuation almost always appears INSIDE the quotation marks.[3] Another example of a quote, which “seamlessly integrates into a sentence,” looks like this. Again, the comma is inside the quotation marks.
Block quotes are formatted as follows:
This is a block quote. Block quotes are required if a quote runs more than 2 lines. As soon as the quote reaches the third line, the quote should be formatted as a block quote. The style built into this website theme italicizes block quotes, so please ignore that in this example. This should not be a concern if you use the paragraph style built into the template entitled “Blockquote (JSS).”[4]
If the article continues by commenting on the content of the block quote, the following paragraph is not indented. However, if the following paragraph is intended to be distinct from the quote, then it should be indented.
Inline citations are only permitted if they help facilitate the reading experience, or if they do not distract the reader from the content of the article. For example, if the reader will likely read all the citations as (s)he reads, it is better that the citations are in line. Another example would be if there are many scripture quotes or references within the same paragraph and the reader already knows the book that is being referenced. For example: the author may state that in the second chapter of the Gospel of John, Mary informs Jesus that there is no wine (v.3), and then tells the head waiter to “do whatever he (Jesus) tells you” (v.5).
Section Formatting
The Journal of Salesian Studies utilizes only two section levels, designated by two different heading styles named Section Heading (JSS), and Subsection Heading (JSS). The Journal does not use outline-style numbered sections and subsections: i.e. 2.0.0, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, etc. Authors may use numbered sections for their own organizational purposes, but they should not be present in the submitted manuscript. Outline numbers will be removed before publication if they are submitted, but because this adds to the amount of paid labor required for layout editing and copy-editing, please format the draft as requested (to the best of your ability).
These style guides will be periodically updated, so please refer to the style guideline page of the website for the latest version.
[1] Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students & Researchers, 9th Edition (Chicago: The University of Chicago, 2018).
One difference between the formatting used for the Journal of Salesian Studies and Turabian is in footnote style; the Journal format does not use an indent before the footnote number.
[2] Notice how the footnote reference is outside the quotation mark.
[3] The only time punctuation appears outside the quotation marks is if you are using inline citations (see the last paragraph of this section).
[4] Footnote reference numbers for block quotes follow the final punctuation of the quote.