Information for Authors
The Monongalia Historical Society publishes four newsletters (The Monongalia Chronicle) per year which are printed near the first days of the months of March, May, September, and November. Prospective authors should provide manuscripts as early as possible, and at least a month ahead of these dates. Newsletter articles would typically be one to four pages (about 500 to 2000 words) in length and may include photos and illustrations.
Your manuscript (in Word) may have images embedded to show recommended placement. However, all images must be included electronically and individually as described in the "Recommendations for Supplying Images" section below. Each image file (jpg, tif, etc.) needs to be well labeled and provided separate from the manuscript file.
The Society also publishes annual Papers and Proceedings which typically contain two to five articles, and are longer and of a more formal nature than the newsletter items. Published at the first of March, articles should be submitted as in the following schedule to allow ample time for editing, revision, and printing.
Samples of the above publications are available at the West Virginia University Library as well as at the Aull Center of the Morgantown Public Library.
Authors need not be members of the Society, but topics should be of local or regional interest to the citizens of the greater Monongalia County area, which could include nearby counties in West Virginia as well as southwestern Pennsylvania.
While it is desired to provide publications that are accurate and have a high level of continuity of format and style, it is recognized that new authors may need help in the editing process to prepare the final manuscripts. Society editors can help with this. However, if authors comply as much as possible with the following guidelines it will greatly facilitate the editorial process and aid in timely production of the final copy.
Please do not be overwhelmed by the details in the guidelines; probably only a few of them will apply to your article!
Publication of Your Article – Why and How?
The Monongalia Historical Society is seeking articles suitable for publication in the Proceedings and Papers of the Monongalia Historical Society, an annual publication started in 2002. The publication is distributed to all Society members. It is found in local libraries, may be ordered from listings on the Society internet site, is sold at Society dinners and displays, and is available at the summer tours of the Easton Roller Mill in Morgantown.
Detailed guidelines for prospective authors are found at this website. It is important that authors closely follow the guidelines to allow timely editing of the article.
There are many advantages for authors having their work published in such a journal:
The Society hopes to receive enough prospective articles to allow selection of those most suitable.
Publication is on an annual schedule as follows:
The above schedule is much shorter than for most professional journal publications, and adherence is necessary to insure all deadlines can be met and publication accomplished in the least possible time. If a prospective author cannot quite meet the schedule, please contact the Publications Committee to see if an exception can be made.
Prospective authors should contact the Publications Committee for information and instructions for manuscript submission: rewalters@comcast.net; 304-294-2290.
Please consult the following pages for detailed information:
Monongalia Historical Society Style Manual
Citation Guidelines
Recommendations for Supplying Images
Sample Article from the Papers and Proceedings Publication
Your manuscript (in Word) may have images embedded to show recommended placement. However, all images must be included electronically and individually as described in the "Recommendations for Supplying Images" section below. Each image file (jpg, tif, etc.) needs to be well labeled and provided separate from the manuscript file.
The Society also publishes annual Papers and Proceedings which typically contain two to five articles, and are longer and of a more formal nature than the newsletter items. Published at the first of March, articles should be submitted as in the following schedule to allow ample time for editing, revision, and printing.
Samples of the above publications are available at the West Virginia University Library as well as at the Aull Center of the Morgantown Public Library.
Authors need not be members of the Society, but topics should be of local or regional interest to the citizens of the greater Monongalia County area, which could include nearby counties in West Virginia as well as southwestern Pennsylvania.
While it is desired to provide publications that are accurate and have a high level of continuity of format and style, it is recognized that new authors may need help in the editing process to prepare the final manuscripts. Society editors can help with this. However, if authors comply as much as possible with the following guidelines it will greatly facilitate the editorial process and aid in timely production of the final copy.
Please do not be overwhelmed by the details in the guidelines; probably only a few of them will apply to your article!
Publication of Your Article – Why and How?
The Monongalia Historical Society is seeking articles suitable for publication in the Proceedings and Papers of the Monongalia Historical Society, an annual publication started in 2002. The publication is distributed to all Society members. It is found in local libraries, may be ordered from listings on the Society internet site, is sold at Society dinners and displays, and is available at the summer tours of the Easton Roller Mill in Morgantown.
Detailed guidelines for prospective authors are found at this website. It is important that authors closely follow the guidelines to allow timely editing of the article.
There are many advantages for authors having their work published in such a journal:
- Authors will work with professionals in the preparation and editing of the work, which will be a positive educational experience.
- Since the professional reputations of the Society, the author, and the editors will be on display, the process will be thorough.
- Authors will be able to enhance their organizational and writing skills.
- Publication in a journal highlighting regional history will be an important addition to the author’s professional resume.
The Society hopes to receive enough prospective articles to allow selection of those most suitable.
Publication is on an annual schedule as follows:
- May. First submission of article and feedback of suitability of subject and article style.
- June-August. Revisions with author and editors; emphasis on the main thesis of the article and selection of subject matter.
- September. Further editing with particular attention to historical accuracy. Editor’s comments sent to author.
- November-December. Author’s revisions completed.
- January-February. Final technical editing, proofreading and preparation for printing.
- March 1. Submission to the printer and review and corrections of proof copies.
- March 15. Printing and distribution.
The above schedule is much shorter than for most professional journal publications, and adherence is necessary to insure all deadlines can be met and publication accomplished in the least possible time. If a prospective author cannot quite meet the schedule, please contact the Publications Committee to see if an exception can be made.
Prospective authors should contact the Publications Committee for information and instructions for manuscript submission: rewalters@comcast.net; 304-294-2290.
Please consult the following pages for detailed information:
Monongalia Historical Society Style Manual
Citation Guidelines
Recommendations for Supplying Images
Sample Article from the Papers and Proceedings Publication
Monongalia Historical Society Style Manual
February 4, 2018. (updated 2/11/18 by RJ Sielen, by BJH 2/14/2018)
Resource: The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, with some additions from 16th edition.
Be consistent with your font throughout the manuscript, including endnotes. If you are cutting and pasting something from another source, be sure that the section you insert is in the same font style and size as the original manuscript.
Capitalization
Always cite an article or book title exactly as the source does. For example, in 2006, an article in the Journal of Appalachian Studies was entitled “Practicing Medicine in Mid-Nineteenth Century Wheeling: The Story of Dr. Eliza Clark Hughes,” so we must cite it with the capitalization the journal used.
Names of seasons – not capitalized when used like “the summer mill tours” or “during the winter, the mill has no heat,” but capitalized when used in place of the name of a month in notes, i.e., “Speakers for the spring dinners,” Chronicle Newsletter (Summer 2013).
Names of directions and sections of the country– depends on use in sentence so “A storm system that developed in the East is spreading westward.” Or “Why did the North win the war?”
Names and titles
Titles are to be capitalized as follows: President Ed Hawkins said, “……” BUT titles are NOT capitalized if we say Ed Hawkins, president, said “….”
Richard E. Walters or R. E. Walters (note spacing) but REW if only initials are used.
President Ed Hawkins said . . . , but the president said. . .
The president of the Society, Ed Hawkins, said, “It is hot.”
George Mull, Jr., is the president – note need for commas both before and after Jr.
Spell out titles so West Virginia University Assistant Professor D. J. Pisano, not WVU Asst. Prof. D. J. Pisano.
For nicknames, use Bryson M. “Lad” O’Neal or Stephen “Tyler” Marsten as examples so that the nickname immediately precedes the last name.
“by lines” are “by Charles Brown”
Italicize the name of a ship, but not the prefix so SS Paris.
Chicago now allows no periods after degrees so PhD or EdD or MA is okay. Commas are needed after degrees after names, so “Ken Carvell, PhD, is leading the walk.”
Always use photo captions, which must end in a period, and then “Photo by Joe Photographer.” as the by-line. Note the period after Joe’s name. An exception would be if all the photos in an article are by the same person. In that case, the photo credit could be after the first illustration so “All photos by Joe Photographer.”
Abbreviations
First use of West Virginia University (or any other name to be regularly abbreviated) can be West Virginia University (WVU) and then just WVU thereafter or the University.
First use of our organization’s name –Monongalia Historical Society, and then add (MHS) if there will be subsequent references, or use the Society.
Names of states in articles must be spelled out instead of using abbreviations like W.Va. or WV[RJS1] [BH2] .
Use US as an adjective, but United States as a noun, so “The US dollar declined today,” but “The United States went to war today.”
Names
All non-English words are italicized unless they are proper names of people.
Names of books, magazines, and newspapers are always italicized.
The first reference to any individual must include the first name. In subsequent references just use the last name.
The use of commas can be open to debate. We will use them.
There must be commas after introductory phrases if these are longer than two, so “By mowing in early spring, the native wildflowers . . .,” not “By mowing in early spring the native wildflowers . . .” OR “Following past tradition, we had a plant sale” NOT “Following past tradition we had a plant sale.”
At the other end of sentence, we do not need a comma between a final word or two, so “it rained on Tuesday as well” and not “it rained on Tuesday, as well.”
If we are putting a word in quotes, we use regular quotation marks, not single quotes, so it should be “nearby nature” and not ‘nearby nature.’
Commas
Commas are needed after names of states when used with names of cities, so, “The Easton Roller Mill is located near Morgantown, West Virginia, in Monongalia County.”
Commas are needed when we identify where someone is from in a sentence, so “Ed Hawkins, of Morgantown, is president of the Monongalia Historical Society.”
Commas are needed in a series between the penultimate and ultimate words, so “The volunteers planted daisies, hostas, and other perennials.”
Use of hyphens
A ten-by-twenty-foot room (no space around hyphens)
A hosta- or violet-filled garden (one space after hosta)
Online and not on-line
E-mail and not email
Emerald green, not emerald-green
“We did mill cleanup on Thursday,” but “The mill-cleanup volunteers on Thursday worked hard.”
“It took a half hour to clean the mill,” but “A half-hour cleaning session was productive.”
Other punctuation
There is one space after a period, colon, exclamation point, semi-colon, or comma.
There should be 2 spaces after a bullet. This may have to be adjusted manually as the default is usually more spaces[RJS3] [BH4] .
Periods and commas precede closing quotation marks, whether double or single. “I heard Ed say, ‘the attendance was good last night.’”
Colons and semicolons follow closing quotation marks; question marks and exclamation points follow closing quotation marks unless they belong within the quoted matter.
Which of Shakespeare’s characters said, “All the world’s a stage”? but “What’s the rush?” she wondered.
Use semi-colons if the words or phrases in a series are complex, so “The volunteers planted purple, white, and green flowers; tree seedlings; and some beautiful annuals.
No quotation marks are used around names of groups so Society members, not “Society members.”
Use curly quotes unless you are dealing with measurements so “This is a good article” but “He is 5' 10".
The possessive form of names that end in “s” require an additional “s,” so “Ronald Lewis’s book is required reading,” but “it is the Lewis family’s book.”
If the singular ends in c., j, s, sh, x, or z, add es for the plural so “the Lewises’ book.”
For other cases of the possessive, “It is Steve Johnson’s book,” or “The Johnson family’s book is blue.”
Hyphens are not used to describe people, so African American man, not African-American man.
No - - (space, 2 hyphens, and another space). Instead, use an en or em dash with a space on either side, as needed. En dashes are used for a range of numbers when it is not appropriate to use “to.” Em dashes are used paired, as a substitute for parentheses.
Numbers and dates
10 percent, not ten percent and not 10%
Dates are 1990s, not 1990’s unless it really belongs to the year 1990 alone, such as “1990’s winter was particularly harsh.”
Dates are May 11th (not exponential th)
“April 5, 2013, is the date for the meeting” — note comma after year — or “events take place in April 2013” or “the April 2013 salamander walk” — no comma after year now.
Phone numbers are 304-555-1212, not (304) 555-1212.
Spell out numbers through one hundred, round large numbers (like one billion or three hundred), and any number beginning a sentence. However, if using a series of numbers in a paragraph, use numerals, so
“We sold 6 t-shirts, 7 polo shirts, 10 notecards, and 5 hats. Then, the next day, we sold 2 tote bags and 5 bird houses.”
Money is $15[RJS5] [RJS6] [BH7] , not $15.00.
Time
Use 2:00 p.m. for a specific time
Use “From 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.” for a range of time, not “From 2:00-4:00 p.m.”
Other italics
e.g. and i.e. are not italicized but are followed by a comma.
General thoughts
Always try to avoid the passive voice!
Don’t indent paragraphs but skip a line between paragraphs.
Just use the “return” or “enter” key in creating lists.
Don’t begin sentences with “And.”
Don’t use contractions – except in this document! :-))
Bulleted lists are as follows:
Prepared by Barb Howe
Source: The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed., rev. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003. Some of the sources we work with are not included in style guides, so I have created the following citations to be uniform.
If you are accessing a publication like a city directory or school yearbook via ancestry.com, a book through Google books, or an article from a periodical (newspaper, journal, magazine) that you found on the web, you must cite your source as if you were looking at the hard copy. In other words, if someone somewhere can hold this publication in his/her hands, cite it as if you also held it in your hands.
Please use endnotes. Word sometimes defaults to Roman numerals. Please do not use Roman numerals but do use superscripts for the numbers. We do not include bibliographies so be sure that all your key sources are included in endnotes, without making the endnotes into articles in themselves.
Even if you access a newspaper, article, or book online, cite it as if you are citing the hard copy.
1. Book: (1st reference):
Paul F. Gillespie, ed., Foxfire 7 (Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1982), 50.
Please note that you can cite Foxfire like any book – you don’t need articles within a book unless there is a separate author for the chapter you are using. If there is, then you need to cite it like an article in a book.
Jane Smith, Local History is Fun: A Guide to the Sources (Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press, 1980), 341.
2. Any source (2nd reference if immediately follows first reference):
Ibid. (if referring to exactly same page)
Ibid., 342. (if referring to same source but not same page)
3. Book (2nd reference to same book after citing another source):
Smith, Local History is Fun, 375. (use shortened title)
4. Book (2 authors):
Jane Smith and Martha Doe, Why Study History? (Clarksburg, WV: Feminist Press, 1985), 4.
5. Article in Journal or Magazine:
Martha Jones, “I Like British History,” British History Quarterly 7 (1980): 43.
Evan Siebold, “A Mother’s Legacy: Quiltmaker Catherine Mann,” Goldenseal 20 (Summer 1994): 26.
6. Article in Journal or Magazine (2nd reference after citing another source):
Jones, “I Like British History,” 43.
7. Article in Newspaper:
Tammy Wagner, “The Crisis for Victoria’s Government,” New York Times, July 17, 1873, 7.
NOTE: You only need to cite page numbers for newspaper articles for the New York Times and Times (London), and this should be the edition used for the indexes of these papers. For other papers, the page number for an article could change from edition to edition, so you would have:
Janet Johnson, “Women Face Odds for Jobs,” Clarksburg News, July 3, 1980.
8. Article in Newspaper (2nd reference after another source):
Johnson, “Women Face Odds for Jobs.”
9. Thesis or Dissertation
Nancy Smith, “Women's Role in the English Work Force in the 1820s” (master’s thesis, West
Virginia University, 1981), 45.
NOTE: For dissertation, substitute PhD diss. for master’s thesis.
11. Article in book:
Barbara J. Hudson, “The Army's Role in the War,” in The Army in War and Peace, ed. by Shelley Rooney (Xenia, OH: Central State College Press, 1976), 47.
12. Article in book (2nd reference after citing another source):
Hudson, “The Army's Role in the War,” 47.
13. Address or paper delivered at conference or public meeting:
Ruth A. Siferd, “Democracy in Russia in the 1990s” (Paper delivered at the Institute for Soviet Research, Chicago, IL, August 19, 1991), 20.
14. Interviews:
Sam Young, interview with author, Morgantown, WV, October 5, 1992.
Sammy Younger, interview by Joe Smith, October 5, 1950, tape recording [or transcript], West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
Note: If you are citing a transcription for the interview, please note the page number for your citation so that you have . . . 1950, transcript, p. 5, West . . .
15. Interviews (2nd reference after citing another source):
Sam Young interview, October 5, 1992.
Sammy Younger interview, October 5, 1950, 5.
16. Videotapes or Films:
The Eleanor Roosevelt Story, 1997, distributed by Kino International Corporation, New York.
17. Census material: 1st reference:
US Census Bureau, Census of Population, West Virginia, Taylor County, Court House District, 1920, SD 1, ED 124, 9A. Note: The amount of information on the exact location of a household varies by census so you just need to get people to the right place, so they can easily find the reference.
18. Census material: subsequent references:
US Census Bureau, Taylor County, 1920, SD 1, ED 124, 9A.
19. Unpublished sources:
Letters:
1st:
Susan Z. Smith to John Q. Jones, March 2, 2012, John Q. Jones Collection, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, WV (hereafter cited as WVRHC).
Subsequent:
Smith to Jones, March 2, 2012, Jones Collection.
Diaries:
1st: Susan Z. Smith Diary, February 2, 2014, Suzan Z. Smith Collection, WVRHC (assuming there are prior references to this repository).
Subsequent: Smith Diary, February 2, 2014.
Organizational Records:
1st:
Minutes of the West Virginia University Sierra Club, January 1, 2015, Sierra Club Collection, WVHRC (assuming there are prior references to this repository).
Subsequent: Minutes of WVU Sierra Club, January 1, 2015.
20. Maps (all references)
Sanborn Map Company, Morgantown, WV, March 1899, sheet 1.
21. Town/City Council Minutes:
1st.:
Record of the Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Morgantown, October 1, 1883, Morgantown City Clerk, Council Journal Number 2, May 21, 1878 to May 28, 1889, pp. 190–192 (hereafter MCC, CJ #2). Note: This starts with the title of the document within the journal.
Subsequent:
Record of the Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Morgantown, April 10, 1885, MCC, CJ #2, pp. 229–230.
22. Courthouse records (all references):
Monongalia County County Clerk, Deed Book 43, 415.
Monongalia County County Clerk, Record of Corporations, vol. 1, 203–-204.
Monongalia County Circuit Clerk, Jones v. Smith, 1852. (Here citing a specific court case. Court case records are likely to be tricky so please provide as much information as you can to help someone find your reference and note the use of v. instead of vs. in court cases.)
Email – all references:
Susan Z. Smith, email message to author, March 10, 2016.
Web sites
Note: You only need to include the accessed date if the information is likely to change.
1st:
“The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray NHL Nomination: Authors Chosen & First Draft Received,” accessed March 9, 2016. Note: Here you do need the date because this information may not be available in the future.
Subsequent:
“Pauli Murray NHL.”
Sample material from ancestry.com (which usually tells you how to cite its sources):
West Virginia Death Index, 1853–1973, accessed via ancestry.com, August 8, 2014.
Illustrations
Sample captions include:
WVU Faculty, circa 1897. NOT Photo of WVU Faculty, ca. 1897 as we will easily be able to see it is a photo.
Stansbury Hall, 1990s. Not Stansbury Hall, circa 1990s. Note: The word circa is not needed because the s in 1990s already suggests approximate.
North side of St. Paul AME Church with Stansbury Hall parking lot on right, 2018. Note that, here, adding more information is helpful to people who will not know where this building might be.
Note that photo captions from wvhistoryonview are not always complete and may, on rare occasions, contain errors. Feel free to provide accurate and more complete captions if you can do so and alert the staff of the WVRHC about possible errors.
Sample credit lines include:
Photo courtesy of the author. Illustration courtesy of the author. -- if the author took the photo or prepared the illustration.
Credit line required by the organization providing the image, i.e., Photo, map, or illustration from the West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries. (Image reproduction agreement forms for this source can be obtained from the West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, PO Box 6069, Morgantown, WV 26506-6069.)
Recommendations for Supplying Images
Prepared by Rae Jean Sielen
An image for our purposes is a photograph, a line art drawing, a map, or any other item that is not article text. It is either digital or “hard copy” (original, duplicate, or photocopy). The former can come from a scanner, a digital camera, or an image website or database. The latter is simply an original photo, document, or the like, which can be scanned and made digital.
Images downloaded from the Internet
Scanned images, to be provided as electronic files
Photos from digital cameras, “smart phones”
Photos from e-mails and texts:
Digital images that are e-mailed may be automatically downsized by the mail program. Avoid allowing your mail software to downsize photos that will be printed. You may need to change the program preferences to turn off this feature—or you may be able to turn it off for individual messages. If you send such images, look for an option to “send actual size.” When you receive images via e-mail, check their pixel dimensions to make sure they haven’t been reduced.
Photos sent and shared on Facebook or in text messages should be evaluated carefully. Photos downloaded from Facebook, Instagram, etc. may be of very high quality, but this depends on the intent of the user. Many such photos will not be suitable for print.
Sample Article from the Papers and Proceedings Publication
February 4, 2018. (updated 2/11/18 by RJ Sielen, by BJH 2/14/2018)
Resource: The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, with some additions from 16th edition.
Be consistent with your font throughout the manuscript, including endnotes. If you are cutting and pasting something from another source, be sure that the section you insert is in the same font style and size as the original manuscript.
Capitalization
Always cite an article or book title exactly as the source does. For example, in 2006, an article in the Journal of Appalachian Studies was entitled “Practicing Medicine in Mid-Nineteenth Century Wheeling: The Story of Dr. Eliza Clark Hughes,” so we must cite it with the capitalization the journal used.
Names of seasons – not capitalized when used like “the summer mill tours” or “during the winter, the mill has no heat,” but capitalized when used in place of the name of a month in notes, i.e., “Speakers for the spring dinners,” Chronicle Newsletter (Summer 2013).
Names of directions and sections of the country– depends on use in sentence so “A storm system that developed in the East is spreading westward.” Or “Why did the North win the war?”
Names and titles
Titles are to be capitalized as follows: President Ed Hawkins said, “……” BUT titles are NOT capitalized if we say Ed Hawkins, president, said “….”
Richard E. Walters or R. E. Walters (note spacing) but REW if only initials are used.
President Ed Hawkins said . . . , but the president said. . .
The president of the Society, Ed Hawkins, said, “It is hot.”
George Mull, Jr., is the president – note need for commas both before and after Jr.
Spell out titles so West Virginia University Assistant Professor D. J. Pisano, not WVU Asst. Prof. D. J. Pisano.
For nicknames, use Bryson M. “Lad” O’Neal or Stephen “Tyler” Marsten as examples so that the nickname immediately precedes the last name.
“by lines” are “by Charles Brown”
Italicize the name of a ship, but not the prefix so SS Paris.
Chicago now allows no periods after degrees so PhD or EdD or MA is okay. Commas are needed after degrees after names, so “Ken Carvell, PhD, is leading the walk.”
Always use photo captions, which must end in a period, and then “Photo by Joe Photographer.” as the by-line. Note the period after Joe’s name. An exception would be if all the photos in an article are by the same person. In that case, the photo credit could be after the first illustration so “All photos by Joe Photographer.”
Abbreviations
First use of West Virginia University (or any other name to be regularly abbreviated) can be West Virginia University (WVU) and then just WVU thereafter or the University.
First use of our organization’s name –Monongalia Historical Society, and then add (MHS) if there will be subsequent references, or use the Society.
Names of states in articles must be spelled out instead of using abbreviations like W.Va. or WV[RJS1] [BH2] .
Use US as an adjective, but United States as a noun, so “The US dollar declined today,” but “The United States went to war today.”
Names
All non-English words are italicized unless they are proper names of people.
Names of books, magazines, and newspapers are always italicized.
The first reference to any individual must include the first name. In subsequent references just use the last name.
The use of commas can be open to debate. We will use them.
There must be commas after introductory phrases if these are longer than two, so “By mowing in early spring, the native wildflowers . . .,” not “By mowing in early spring the native wildflowers . . .” OR “Following past tradition, we had a plant sale” NOT “Following past tradition we had a plant sale.”
At the other end of sentence, we do not need a comma between a final word or two, so “it rained on Tuesday as well” and not “it rained on Tuesday, as well.”
If we are putting a word in quotes, we use regular quotation marks, not single quotes, so it should be “nearby nature” and not ‘nearby nature.’
Commas
Commas are needed after names of states when used with names of cities, so, “The Easton Roller Mill is located near Morgantown, West Virginia, in Monongalia County.”
Commas are needed when we identify where someone is from in a sentence, so “Ed Hawkins, of Morgantown, is president of the Monongalia Historical Society.”
Commas are needed in a series between the penultimate and ultimate words, so “The volunteers planted daisies, hostas, and other perennials.”
Use of hyphens
A ten-by-twenty-foot room (no space around hyphens)
A hosta- or violet-filled garden (one space after hosta)
Online and not on-line
E-mail and not email
Emerald green, not emerald-green
“We did mill cleanup on Thursday,” but “The mill-cleanup volunteers on Thursday worked hard.”
“It took a half hour to clean the mill,” but “A half-hour cleaning session was productive.”
Other punctuation
There is one space after a period, colon, exclamation point, semi-colon, or comma.
There should be 2 spaces after a bullet. This may have to be adjusted manually as the default is usually more spaces[RJS3] [BH4] .
Periods and commas precede closing quotation marks, whether double or single. “I heard Ed say, ‘the attendance was good last night.’”
Colons and semicolons follow closing quotation marks; question marks and exclamation points follow closing quotation marks unless they belong within the quoted matter.
Which of Shakespeare’s characters said, “All the world’s a stage”? but “What’s the rush?” she wondered.
Use semi-colons if the words or phrases in a series are complex, so “The volunteers planted purple, white, and green flowers; tree seedlings; and some beautiful annuals.
No quotation marks are used around names of groups so Society members, not “Society members.”
Use curly quotes unless you are dealing with measurements so “This is a good article” but “He is 5' 10".
The possessive form of names that end in “s” require an additional “s,” so “Ronald Lewis’s book is required reading,” but “it is the Lewis family’s book.”
If the singular ends in c., j, s, sh, x, or z, add es for the plural so “the Lewises’ book.”
For other cases of the possessive, “It is Steve Johnson’s book,” or “The Johnson family’s book is blue.”
Hyphens are not used to describe people, so African American man, not African-American man.
No - - (space, 2 hyphens, and another space). Instead, use an en or em dash with a space on either side, as needed. En dashes are used for a range of numbers when it is not appropriate to use “to.” Em dashes are used paired, as a substitute for parentheses.
Numbers and dates
10 percent, not ten percent and not 10%
Dates are 1990s, not 1990’s unless it really belongs to the year 1990 alone, such as “1990’s winter was particularly harsh.”
Dates are May 11th (not exponential th)
“April 5, 2013, is the date for the meeting” — note comma after year — or “events take place in April 2013” or “the April 2013 salamander walk” — no comma after year now.
Phone numbers are 304-555-1212, not (304) 555-1212.
Spell out numbers through one hundred, round large numbers (like one billion or three hundred), and any number beginning a sentence. However, if using a series of numbers in a paragraph, use numerals, so
“We sold 6 t-shirts, 7 polo shirts, 10 notecards, and 5 hats. Then, the next day, we sold 2 tote bags and 5 bird houses.”
Money is $15[RJS5] [RJS6] [BH7] , not $15.00.
Time
Use 2:00 p.m. for a specific time
Use “From 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.” for a range of time, not “From 2:00-4:00 p.m.”
Other italics
e.g. and i.e. are not italicized but are followed by a comma.
General thoughts
Always try to avoid the passive voice!
Don’t indent paragraphs but skip a line between paragraphs.
Just use the “return” or “enter” key in creating lists.
Don’t begin sentences with “And.”
Don’t use contractions – except in this document! :-))
Bulleted lists are as follows:
- the first item;
- item number two; and
- the last item.
Prepared by Barb Howe
Source: The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed., rev. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003. Some of the sources we work with are not included in style guides, so I have created the following citations to be uniform.
If you are accessing a publication like a city directory or school yearbook via ancestry.com, a book through Google books, or an article from a periodical (newspaper, journal, magazine) that you found on the web, you must cite your source as if you were looking at the hard copy. In other words, if someone somewhere can hold this publication in his/her hands, cite it as if you also held it in your hands.
Please use endnotes. Word sometimes defaults to Roman numerals. Please do not use Roman numerals but do use superscripts for the numbers. We do not include bibliographies so be sure that all your key sources are included in endnotes, without making the endnotes into articles in themselves.
Even if you access a newspaper, article, or book online, cite it as if you are citing the hard copy.
1. Book: (1st reference):
Paul F. Gillespie, ed., Foxfire 7 (Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1982), 50.
Please note that you can cite Foxfire like any book – you don’t need articles within a book unless there is a separate author for the chapter you are using. If there is, then you need to cite it like an article in a book.
Jane Smith, Local History is Fun: A Guide to the Sources (Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press, 1980), 341.
2. Any source (2nd reference if immediately follows first reference):
Ibid. (if referring to exactly same page)
Ibid., 342. (if referring to same source but not same page)
3. Book (2nd reference to same book after citing another source):
Smith, Local History is Fun, 375. (use shortened title)
4. Book (2 authors):
Jane Smith and Martha Doe, Why Study History? (Clarksburg, WV: Feminist Press, 1985), 4.
5. Article in Journal or Magazine:
Martha Jones, “I Like British History,” British History Quarterly 7 (1980): 43.
Evan Siebold, “A Mother’s Legacy: Quiltmaker Catherine Mann,” Goldenseal 20 (Summer 1994): 26.
6. Article in Journal or Magazine (2nd reference after citing another source):
Jones, “I Like British History,” 43.
7. Article in Newspaper:
Tammy Wagner, “The Crisis for Victoria’s Government,” New York Times, July 17, 1873, 7.
NOTE: You only need to cite page numbers for newspaper articles for the New York Times and Times (London), and this should be the edition used for the indexes of these papers. For other papers, the page number for an article could change from edition to edition, so you would have:
Janet Johnson, “Women Face Odds for Jobs,” Clarksburg News, July 3, 1980.
8. Article in Newspaper (2nd reference after another source):
Johnson, “Women Face Odds for Jobs.”
9. Thesis or Dissertation
Nancy Smith, “Women's Role in the English Work Force in the 1820s” (master’s thesis, West
Virginia University, 1981), 45.
NOTE: For dissertation, substitute PhD diss. for master’s thesis.
11. Article in book:
Barbara J. Hudson, “The Army's Role in the War,” in The Army in War and Peace, ed. by Shelley Rooney (Xenia, OH: Central State College Press, 1976), 47.
12. Article in book (2nd reference after citing another source):
Hudson, “The Army's Role in the War,” 47.
13. Address or paper delivered at conference or public meeting:
Ruth A. Siferd, “Democracy in Russia in the 1990s” (Paper delivered at the Institute for Soviet Research, Chicago, IL, August 19, 1991), 20.
14. Interviews:
Sam Young, interview with author, Morgantown, WV, October 5, 1992.
Sammy Younger, interview by Joe Smith, October 5, 1950, tape recording [or transcript], West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
Note: If you are citing a transcription for the interview, please note the page number for your citation so that you have . . . 1950, transcript, p. 5, West . . .
15. Interviews (2nd reference after citing another source):
Sam Young interview, October 5, 1992.
Sammy Younger interview, October 5, 1950, 5.
16. Videotapes or Films:
The Eleanor Roosevelt Story, 1997, distributed by Kino International Corporation, New York.
17. Census material: 1st reference:
US Census Bureau, Census of Population, West Virginia, Taylor County, Court House District, 1920, SD 1, ED 124, 9A. Note: The amount of information on the exact location of a household varies by census so you just need to get people to the right place, so they can easily find the reference.
18. Census material: subsequent references:
US Census Bureau, Taylor County, 1920, SD 1, ED 124, 9A.
19. Unpublished sources:
Letters:
1st:
Susan Z. Smith to John Q. Jones, March 2, 2012, John Q. Jones Collection, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, WV (hereafter cited as WVRHC).
Subsequent:
Smith to Jones, March 2, 2012, Jones Collection.
Diaries:
1st: Susan Z. Smith Diary, February 2, 2014, Suzan Z. Smith Collection, WVRHC (assuming there are prior references to this repository).
Subsequent: Smith Diary, February 2, 2014.
Organizational Records:
1st:
Minutes of the West Virginia University Sierra Club, January 1, 2015, Sierra Club Collection, WVHRC (assuming there are prior references to this repository).
Subsequent: Minutes of WVU Sierra Club, January 1, 2015.
20. Maps (all references)
Sanborn Map Company, Morgantown, WV, March 1899, sheet 1.
21. Town/City Council Minutes:
1st.:
Record of the Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Morgantown, October 1, 1883, Morgantown City Clerk, Council Journal Number 2, May 21, 1878 to May 28, 1889, pp. 190–192 (hereafter MCC, CJ #2). Note: This starts with the title of the document within the journal.
Subsequent:
Record of the Meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Morgantown, April 10, 1885, MCC, CJ #2, pp. 229–230.
22. Courthouse records (all references):
Monongalia County County Clerk, Deed Book 43, 415.
Monongalia County County Clerk, Record of Corporations, vol. 1, 203–-204.
Monongalia County Circuit Clerk, Jones v. Smith, 1852. (Here citing a specific court case. Court case records are likely to be tricky so please provide as much information as you can to help someone find your reference and note the use of v. instead of vs. in court cases.)
Email – all references:
Susan Z. Smith, email message to author, March 10, 2016.
Web sites
Note: You only need to include the accessed date if the information is likely to change.
1st:
“The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray NHL Nomination: Authors Chosen & First Draft Received,” accessed March 9, 2016. Note: Here you do need the date because this information may not be available in the future.
Subsequent:
“Pauli Murray NHL.”
Sample material from ancestry.com (which usually tells you how to cite its sources):
West Virginia Death Index, 1853–1973, accessed via ancestry.com, August 8, 2014.
Illustrations
Sample captions include:
WVU Faculty, circa 1897. NOT Photo of WVU Faculty, ca. 1897 as we will easily be able to see it is a photo.
Stansbury Hall, 1990s. Not Stansbury Hall, circa 1990s. Note: The word circa is not needed because the s in 1990s already suggests approximate.
North side of St. Paul AME Church with Stansbury Hall parking lot on right, 2018. Note that, here, adding more information is helpful to people who will not know where this building might be.
Note that photo captions from wvhistoryonview are not always complete and may, on rare occasions, contain errors. Feel free to provide accurate and more complete captions if you can do so and alert the staff of the WVRHC about possible errors.
Sample credit lines include:
Photo courtesy of the author. Illustration courtesy of the author. -- if the author took the photo or prepared the illustration.
Credit line required by the organization providing the image, i.e., Photo, map, or illustration from the West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries. (Image reproduction agreement forms for this source can be obtained from the West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, PO Box 6069, Morgantown, WV 26506-6069.)
Recommendations for Supplying Images
Prepared by Rae Jean Sielen
An image for our purposes is a photograph, a line art drawing, a map, or any other item that is not article text. It is either digital or “hard copy” (original, duplicate, or photocopy). The former can come from a scanner, a digital camera, or an image website or database. The latter is simply an original photo, document, or the like, which can be scanned and made digital.
Images downloaded from the Internet
- In the items that follow, mention is made of recording information about photos or other visual matter that you download. If you have many images, a spreadsheet would work well; otherwise, a word-processing file (e.g., MS Word) is fine. Do not skimp on recording information where suggested, since it may prove necessary later in the production process.
- Do not attempt any editing of images unless you have professional image editing skills and expertise. These should be submitted in the same state as when you downloaded them.
- When selecting images to download, seek those with larger dimensions (as stated in “pixels”). Ideally, at least one side should be greater than 1000 pixels. Most browsers allow you to “get info” or “get properties” when you right-click on an image. (Mac users: Control + click). Look for an entry labeled “Size” or “Dimensions” (e.g., “Dimensions: 1080 x 768”).
- Many images on the web have been compressed in size to download faster. Often these images are too blurry or otherwise lacking in quality for use in print.
- Always try to record source information to match each image (e.g., the URL or address where you found it, any author or photographer credits, etc.). Be alert for any claims of ownership or copyright or limitations/prohibitions on reuse.
- If you download an image that is ostensibly offered freely for reuse, record any suggested or required attribution credits. You will often see “license terms” for images you might want to download from Wikipedia and similar sites—and they sometimes provide suggested attribution text verbatim.
- Images obtained from the Internet may have file names that are unintelligible (often just long strings of seemingly random letters and numbers). Do not change such file names, since they may be needed when requesting permission to print (and have published) or to obtain digital or print copies (for publication). In your records, enter the image file name exactly as downloaded and then add a description from which a more meaningful file name can be created later.
Scanned images, to be provided as electronic files
- Your scanner should be adjusted to provide adequate resolution for each scanned image, depending on its type. By resolution, we mean “pixels per inch” or PPI. The more pixels the more visual “information” and the clearer the image will be in print. Try to meet the following PPI values:
- Black and white line art (no shades of gray and no color): 1,200 PPI. Examples include documents of just text, prints from wood cuts, or a pen and ink illustration in just black.
- Photos or other items larger than “wallet” size (3" x 2" or so): 300 PPI
- Any item of wallet size of smaller: 600 PPI, to permit enlarging.
- Any item that may be used for a spread or on a cover: 600 PPI
- If you must reduce a large item (e.g., tabloid size) to fit a smaller page, select the highest quality or PPI setting your scanner supports. Otherwise, the reduction process may reduce clarity.
- Line art should be scanned and saved in black and white. All other items should be scanned in color, even though they will be printed in shades of gray (“grayscale”). The extra color data can be used in obtaining the best conversion for black and white printing.
- Scan all items at their full size. (Exception: items larger than 8.5" by 14" may have to be reduced.)
- When scanning, avoid size adjustments, color correction, color enhancement, or image rotation unless you are skilled in professional image editing. The results cannot be reversed. Necessary adjustments may be made during production.
- Don’t scan framed items through glass. Remove these from the frame, if at all possible.
- Save scanned images in TIFF format with no compression. If TIFF is not supported, save in JPEG format, and adjust image quality to maximum or compression to none (or minimum).
- Electronic image files must be supplied on CD/DVD/”flash” drives
- If you are scanning from a book, it should be held as flat as possible against the scanner glass to minimize shadows and distortion at the spine—but avoid pressing hard enough to damage the binding. (It sometimes helps to lay a dark cloth over the scanner to reduce shadows.)
- Consumer/hobbyist-grade all-in-one scanners (with printer, fax, and copier) do not produce images equal in quality to those from a stand-alone scanner. If you must use an “all-in-one” scanner, set resolution and quality adjustments to their maximums and save the results with no file compression.
Photos from digital cameras, “smart phones”
- These are usually saved in JPEG format. If you have a choice, always select the largest image size and highest quality settings available. If you have a small memory card, take just a few photos, download them to a computer, and then take a few more.
- Do not provide Camera Raw images, since these can require special software to open.
- If your camera supports digital zoom, avoid using it. Rely on the mechanical zoom. If using a smart phone, be aware that images from zooming in closer can result in significantly poorer photo quality, especially when zooming in very close. Also, for best quality, use a tripod and proper flash settings.
- A digital camera photo may claim a resolution of only 72 pixels per inch, yet have very large dimensions (e.g., 30 or more inches on a side). Such images are acceptable for submission “as is.” When prepared for print during the production process, such photos should easily meet the goal of 300 or more pixels per inch
Photos from e-mails and texts:
Digital images that are e-mailed may be automatically downsized by the mail program. Avoid allowing your mail software to downsize photos that will be printed. You may need to change the program preferences to turn off this feature—or you may be able to turn it off for individual messages. If you send such images, look for an option to “send actual size.” When you receive images via e-mail, check their pixel dimensions to make sure they haven’t been reduced.
Photos sent and shared on Facebook or in text messages should be evaluated carefully. Photos downloaded from Facebook, Instagram, etc. may be of very high quality, but this depends on the intent of the user. Many such photos will not be suitable for print.
Sample Article from the Papers and Proceedings Publication