Editorial Guidelines-Quality Enhancement Plan
Quality Enhancement Project Team Reports
Writing Guidelines
1. Please write in a direct, concise, readable style. Consider your reader to be intelligent, but uninformed as regards TVCC or issues related to your student population.
2. Please use the active voice. (e.g., NOT: "Students will be encourage by faculty to make greater use of the Writing and Communication Center." BUT: "Faculty will encourage students to make greater use of the Writing and Communication Center.")
3. I' ve done my best to make the report template user friendly and consistent across all three teams. However, if you encounter problems in using the template, please call me at 675-6313 or email me at jmcmillen@tvcc.edu. I would much prefer to fix problems as they arise than try to do so once the reports are in.
General Instructions for Completing Templates
1. Microsoft Word (version 2003 preferred)
2. Verdana 10-pt font throughout
3. Margins = 1-inch top, bottom, left and right (preset on template; please don' t change these)
4. Single space text entries. I have already inserted needed spaces before and after sections and subsections; please do not alter this spacing. Use additional paragraphs as needed flush left (no indent) double space between paragraphs.
5. Typing text. The template shows where text is to appear in headings, paragraphs and tables (e.g., " Type heading for first achievement here "; "Type description of first achievement here."). Where indicated, please type over the existing text to enter yours
6. About page numbers, page breaks, etc. Because each report will be presented as a continuous screen on the website, please do not include headers, footers, page numbers, page breaks, or repeat table headings in the final electronic report. I will have to deal with matters of pagination, etc. once I have all our reports at hand.
7. Headings. I have already created the headings to be used in the report. Please do not insert additional headings. Note: The headings on the template were created using the headings style function in Word. This will allow us to create an index to the report. The tiny squares to the left of headings are not bullets; they are symbols Word uses to designate headings.
8. Bullets and numbering. I have inserted bullets and numbering in some places. Please retain these and do not change the formatting. If you wish to use bullets in other places (which I doubt will be necessary), use the same format as for those already in the template.
9. Please do not use bold text, underlining or italics for emphasis, as we are already using these font styles for headings and other purposes.
Text Formats
1. Spell out numbers in text if ten or less; use Arabic numerals for 11 or greater unless the number begins a sentence (e.g., "Twenty-four percent were..." NOT "24% were..."). Note that spelled numbers take the written word percent, but Arabic numerals take the % symbol. If possible, cite fractions as decimals (e.g., 65.5). When referring to year intervals, include all four digit is for both years and use a single hyphen with no spaces (e.g., 1998-2000); if the year interval is part of an official title and only has two digits (e.g., 1998-00), leave as is.
2. Spell out statistical references should be spelled out (e.g., a total of 600; an average age of 22; a mean of 53), even when used in parenthetic expressions [e.g., "(mean, 56; standard deviation, 0.24)"].
3. Dates should include a comma if day is cited, otherwise do not use a comma between month or semester and year (e.g., September 17, 1998; September 1998; fall 1998).
4. You may use acronyms, but introduce each acronym as a parenthetic expression after the first use of the full name [e.g., "The Committee on College Planning (COCP) ... "]. The only exception is the use of "TVCC," which does not require a parenthetic reference. However, if a reference to the institution begins a paragraph, use "Trinity Valley Community College" as the lead; the acronym can then be used in all following sentences for that paragraph.
5. Capitalize official names of committees, groups and offices, but use lower case for abbreviated titles or casual reference ("Admissions Committee" vs. "the committee"). Titles of individuals are capitalized only when attached to a name. Please verify all official names and titles.
6. When citing documents or other material at the end of a sentence, type the period for the sentence after the parenthetical expression.
Citing Documents
In Text:
1. References to documents may be active parts of sentences or parenthetical expressions at the end of sentences.
2. Italicize titles of documents (e.g., TVCC Undergraduate Catalog, 2005-2006). Italicize the date when it is an integral part of the publication (i.e., ongoing cyclic publications such as catalogs). Also italicize titles of official committee reports (Committee on College Planning Report, date) and matters of public record (TVCC Board Meeting Minutes, date) but do not italicize the dates associated with these publications. Do not italicize references to other specific associated information (e.g., Policy 6:04:00:00; or p. 40).
3. Page citations should always use Arabic numerals and the abbreviation "p." if reference to a single page, or "pp." if multiple pages, before the numeral.
4. When citing scholarly literature (e.g., books or articles), use APA format in the body of the report. If you cite the title of such a document, italicize it as you would any other title in the report.
5. When referring to websites in the body of the report, do NOT include the URL in the body of the report. List the name of the website (e.g., TVCC Distance Learning website), then list the website and the URL in the Documentation table at the end of the report.
In Documentation Table:
1. Provide the complete and official title following italics rules listed above for text citations.
2. Do not use abbreviations.
3. List documents in the same order in which they appeared in the text.
4. If a web URL address is available, include the complete addresses (http://..) in the "Web Location" column. DO NOT type a return following the URL, because this will not allow us to make the URL a hot link on the web. Also, please make sure the title of the website in the "Source" column matches exactly the title of the website to the link will go.
5. For scholarly sources (books, articles, etc.), enter a complete APA citation in the "Source" column. The "Location" column will be empty, unless the source is also available on the web.
6. In current versions of WORD, please make sure that the "internet & network paths with hyperlinks" option is NOT checked (go to Tools, Autocorrect, Autoformat as you type, replace as you type). By not checking this option, the typical color and underlining formats will NOT be applied and cannot obscure any portion of the web addresses you enter.
Some Standard References
TVCC Undergraduate Catalog, 2005-2006
TVCC Faculty Handbook
TVCC Policy Manual
TVCC Board, Meeting Minutes Index
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