Choral Journal Writer's Guidelines

Guidelines for Article Submission

The following guidelines are designed to assist those interested in submitting articles for publication in the Choral Journal, the official publication of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Articles not conforming to the guidelines may be returned for revision. Articles submitted for review should be concise and contain primarily new or original information or research relevant to the choral art. This is not meant to exclude a fresh and creative approach to standard materials. The length of the manuscript should generally be limited to a maximum of eighteen double-spaced, typewritten pages. The ideal length for short papers is from six to nine typewritten pages. Lengthy articles should be divided into sections separated by subtitles to lead the reader through the article.

The author should use a writing style that is direct and easily understood. Extremes of academic stuffiness, research terminology, vague generalities, and overworked educational jargon should be avoided. The final draft should be carefully proofread and free of grammatical errors. The author should be selective and judicious in presenting evidence and documentation in support of research. Quotations should be brief. Referenced material should be indicated by superscript and cited in end notes, which should be double-spaced, numbered consecutively, and formatted in the style of Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 5th ed.

For articles with musical examples, printed or computer-generated reproductions are preferable. They may be included with the text or paced at the end of the article. In either case, placement of musical examples should be indicated within the body of the article itself (i.e., "Figure 1"). Permission of copyright owner should be given underneath each musical example (e.g., copyright year, publisher, and reprint permission statement). The article is not complete until the author has obtained all necessary copyright permissions.

1. The title page should contain only the title of the article. The author should enclose, on a separate piece of paper, his/her address and telephone number, and a professional identification, one or two sentences in length. Photographs, artwork, or tables may be submitted and, if deemed appropriate, may be published. All articles submitted are subject to a blind review by the editor, associate editor, and three additional members of the editorial board. Articles are accepted for publication when board members determine that the article contains information that pertains directly to the general interests of the national ACDA membership. Some expanded criteria for acceptance are:
2. Topic is of national importance; will interest many readers. Editors of state or division newsletters welcome articles on topics of local or regional interest.
3. Article offers new knowledge or offers new insight on the topic. Articles that rely heavily on secondary sources are seldom judged to offer new knowledge. For example, extensive citations from New Grove articles are usually rejected. A compilation of widely scattered secondary sources, however, might effectively demonstrate a new hypothesis.
4. Article will challenge readers' thinking.
5. Material is timely. Anniversaries of composers or events offer timely opportunities for articles.
6. Premise is well-defined, supported, and developed. The purpose of the article should be clear. The author should supply convincing evidence to support the thesis, developing the premise so that a reader unfamiliar with the topic will understand the article's arguments.
7. Scope is appropriate‹neither too narrow or too broad. An example of too broad a scope would be an article that introduced a composer, presented biographical information in detail, and then compared all the composer's cantatas point-for-point with the cantatas of Telemann and Bach. Such an article could be made appropriate in scope by reducing the biographical material to a paragraph or two that discussed aspects of the composer's life and works that were important to the present study. Works relevant to the thesis could then be selected for analysis. If the goal is to prove that this composer imitates the text-symbolism or rhythmic techniques of Bach, for example, a selective presentation of works that strengthen this point would be in order. If numerous works are studied as a part of preparation for the article, findings should be summarized rather than set out in detail work by work.
8. Information is precise, accurate, and well-documented. Sometimes writers use vague, subjective adjectives to describe musical elements‹e.g., a "wonderful" melody or "beautiful" harmonies or "fine" orchestration. Precise, objective descriptions are more effective at convincing readers that the work is wonderful, beautiful, or fine.
9. Article is well-written; material flows in an easily read, narrative style. This criterion covers a wide range of stylistic issues.
   • Clichés: phrases such as "choir and audience alike," "eminently singable," and overused metaphors may give an article a pretentious or thoughtless tone.
   • Imprecise generalizations: phrases such as "Many conductors think . . ." or "One of the most . . ." or "Very frequently, choir . . ." indicate that the author is hoping to convince the reader of something without offering any evidence. For example, it is not known how many conductors the author has surveyed, if any, to support the first phrase above.
   • Sentences beginning with "It is . . ." or "There are . . ." are weakly constructed and can usually be recast.
   • Repeated use of passive voice also weakens an article's style. The goal is to encourage clear, interesting expository prose that is neither verbose nor chatty. Some grammar can be polished as an article is revised for publication. An article is more likely to be rejected if ambiguous grammar obscures its meaning.
10. Most of the ideas seem to be the author's; quotes enhance the article. Secondary-source quotes offering analytical descriptions of scores are not as strong as original musical insights, unless the source of the citation has special significance. Analyses that take a "road-map" approach to the score by simply listing all musical events as they occur cause readers to lose interest.
11. Author uses musical examples judiciously (if applicable). As a rule, it is not desirable to print large excerpts. However, enough music needs to be provided to make the author's descriptive comments understandable.
12. Material is not readily available in other publications. If a topic has been covered in a recent book or journal that overlaps Choral Journal readership, it is assumed that readers who are interested in that topic will find that material. Material that may be considered common knowledge by some may be new to developing conductors and, if originally presented in a new context, can prove valuable.
13. Article avoids promoting a company, person, product, or performing organization.
14. Title is appropriate. An article is not rejected for it title; instead, attempts are made to devise a better one.

Submission

Articles should be submitted via email attachment to the Choral Journal Assistant . We will send you a letter confirming receipt of your article. If you have not received confirmation with in a reasonable time, please contact us.

[Back to the Choral Journal main page]