Manuscript Formatting
When preparing a manuscript for publication, you may have questions about formatting. Here are solutions to some of the most common situations that arise.
alphabetizing/indexing
See the Chicago Manual for guidelines on alphabetizing and indexing.
bibliographies and references
University style is to follow the Chicago Manual for all footnote and bibliographic entries. Exceptions are permitted only for the recognized style manual of the respective scholarly discipline (examples: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for psychology; A Manual for Authors of Mathematical Papers for mathematics; The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual for journalism and for news releases prepared by the Department of Public Information). No other manuals or stylesheets may be used. Ad hoc styles are not permitted. University style calls for listing references alphabetically by author. If another order, such as chronological, is preferred, that should be made clear when the manuscript is submitted to the Department of University Publications. Chronological order is preferred for lists of research publications written by faculty members (see next entry).
faculty publications in reference lists
The following examples from the Chicago Manual illustrate how to cite faculty publications in reference lists (commonly used in graduate program recruitment pieces):
H. G. Baker, K. S. Bawa, G. W. Frankie, and P. A. Opler. 1983. Reproductive biology of plants in tropical forests. In Tropical rain forest ecosystems, ed. F. G. Golley, 183–215. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
M. L. Arnold, R. L. Honeycutt, R. J. Baker, V. M. Sarich, and J. K. Jones, Jr. 1982. Resolving a phylogeny with multiple data sets: A systematic study of phyllostomid bats. Occas. Pap. Museum, Texas Tech Univ. 77:1–15.
R. D. Alexander. 1974. The evolution of social behavior. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 5:324–83.
G. M. Allen. 1939. Bats. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
In this case, article titles are not enclosed in quotation marks. Also note en dashes between page numbers.
For more information, see sections 16.107 through 16.120 of the Chicago Manual.University style differs from Chicago style in that publications are listed chronologically (most recent first) instead of alphabetically. Journal titles may be either abbreviated or spelled out; just be consistent.
footnotes
University style is to follow the Chicago Manual for all footnote and bibliographic entries. Exceptions are permitted only for recognized style manuals of a respective scholarly discipline (examples:Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for psychology; A Manual for Authors of Mathematical Papers for mathematics). No other manuals or stylesheets may be used. Ad hoc styles are not permitted.
publications check
Before you submit a manuscript for review by the Department of University Publications or produce it yourself, double-check the following items:
- names—spelling of names of people and places
- dates—make sure day and date correspond
- phone numbers and addresses
- courses—name, number, and description must correspond exactly with the degree program description in the bulletin or on the University Faculty Senate blue sheets
- tuition—must be as stated on information sheets from the Bursar, approved by the Board of Trustees
- rank of University faculty members (professor, assistant professor, instructor, etc.)
- accuracy and completeness of quotes and references
If you are submitting a manuscript on computer disk, call the Department of University Publicationsfor instructions.
reply card/application format
When including an application or reply card in your publication, follow the format example below. Cap first word only, unless you’re asking for the person’s Penn State ID number.
- First name:
- Middle initial:
- Last name:
- Street address:
- City/State/Zip code:
- Date of birth:
- PSU ID:
- Previous courses taken: