Style Guide

Please follow the Submission Guidelines for specific types of submission for details regarding the expected length, content, and structure of the articles.

FORMATTING

Points of style:

  • Use single inverted commas for quotations in-text, and double quotation marks for quotations within quotations. Large quotes should be indented but not italicised. Speech marks are not needed for indented quotes.
  • Keep the use of capital letters to a minimum and avoid excessive use of emphasis. 
  • Use only one space after a full stop.
  • Use 's' in place of 'z' in organise, problematise, analyse, etc.
  • Avoid footnotes.
  • Illustrative materials, diagrams and graphs are welcomed.
  • Avoid use of abbreviations such as cf.; ibid.; op cit.; and etc., where possible.

Please use headings and styles when formatting your document as follows:

  • Article title: Heading 1 (Arial 16 point bold)
  • Section headings: Heading 2 (Arial 14 point bold italics)
  • Sub-headings (if necessary): Heading 3 (Arial 13 point bold)
  • Body text 12 point Arial, 1.5 line spacing, left-aligned

REFERENCING

Please use the Harvard (Cite Them Right) conventions as outlined in Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2022) (12th ed.) Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide, London, Bloomsbury Study Skills, https://www.citethemrightonline.com/

The examples below are for brief guidance on in-text citation and compiling reference lists.

In-text citation should be as follows:

It has been demonstrated (Cirstea, 2022)...

OR: In his influential work on the matter, Hagyard (2010) argues…

OR: Some authors assert (Wilkins, 2009; Hayes, 2010)

Page numbers should only be included in a citation if the text includes a direct quotation or to indicate an idea is from a particular page (‘p.’) or pages (‘pp.’) of a work.

… those in the network ‘seeing the humanity in others, and being seen in return’ (Buckley, 2021, p.3)...

OR: … as evident from Cowan’s (2015, pp.15-16) discussion of unconditional acceptance. 

In-text citation of sources with two or three authors.

El-Badri and Abu-baker (2021) argue…

OR:  … indicating that students ‘should not be considered a homogenous group who are au fait with technology’ (Williams, Windle and Wharrad, 2020, p.9) 

In-text citation of sources with four or more authors.

The evidence suggests (Smith et al., 2023) …

OR: Smith et al. (2023) provide a compelling discussion … 

 

End-text reference lists and bibliographical information:

Coneyworth, L., Jessop, R., Maden, P. and White, G. (2020) ‘The overlooked cohort? – Improving the taught postgraduate student experience in higher education’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 57(3), pp.262–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1617184.  

Hilsdon, J. (2005) 'Re-thinking reflection', Journal of Practice Teaching in Health and Social Work, 6(1), pp.57-70. https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v6i1.322.

Hilsdon, J. (2008) 'Towards a brief definition of learning development', LDHEN JISCmail list, 22 April. Available at: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/ldhen.

Lowe, T. (ed.) (2023) Advancing student engagement in higher education: Reflection, critique and challenge. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003271789.

McVitty, D. (2022) ‘Building back learning and teaching means changing assessment’, Wonkhe, 24 January. Available at: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/building-back-learning-and-teaching-means-changing-assessment/ (Accessed: 1 November 2023). 

Newstead, S. E. and Hoskins, S. (1999) 'Encouraging student motivation', pp.70-82, in Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. and Marshall, S. (eds.) A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education. London: Kogan Page.

Ridley, P. and Sinfield, S. (2010) 'Making ideas visible – drawing as a tool for teaching, learning and research’, Celebrating partnerships in learning: 7th LDHEN Symposium. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, 29-31 March.

Roberts, L. and Berry, J. (2023) ‘Should open-book, open-web exams replace traditional closed-book exams in STEM? An evaluation of their effectiveness in different disciplines’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 28, pp.1-39. https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi28.1030.

Universities UK (2023) How can universities prepare for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act? Available at: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/how-can-universities-prepare-higher (Accessed: 30 October 2023).