Return to the MHJ Submission Checklist.
All article and book review manuscripts must conform to the following style guide.
Unless directed otherwise, follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. Spelling and hyphenation must follow the most recent online edition of the Macquarie Dictionary.
Please strip any formatting created through Endnote or other citation programs prior to submitting your word document.
Use of Capitals
- Other than for proper names, use capitals only when lower case would cause ambiguity.
Abbreviation
- Full titles of countries, states, institutions, organisations, etc. must be used at the first reference; subsequent references may be abbreviated.
- Use a full stop after an abbreviation (Vic., ed.), but not after a contraction (Mr, Mrs, Qld, eds). Symbols for currency and units of measurement are to be written out in full (five kilometres, twenty-five pounds, three seconds). Note that this practice differs from that recommended by the Chicago Manual of Style.
- Do not use any full stop with abbreviations that consist of capitals: (NSW, ALP; also BA, PhD, MA), nor with their plurals.
Quotations
- Use single quotation marks for quotations; within a quotation use double quotation marks. Note that this advice reverses the practice recommended by the Chicago Manual of Style.
- Indent quotations of more than three lines.
- Always preserve the spelling, grammar and punctuation of the original. Use [sic] sparingly to indicate aberrant usage.
- Put any interpolations in square brackets.
- If omitting material from a quotation, use an ellipsis ( … ). Do not use an ellipsis at the beginning of a quotation. A space must be placed on either side of the ellipsis.
- Close quotations before a final punctuation mark (‘All hail Ra’.), except when the quote contains a complete sentence (It was ‘a significant change. Vogel’s policy was revolutionary.’). This too departs from the recommendations of the Chicago Manual of Style.
Bracketed phrases
- Where phrases are bracketed with dashes, use en-dash not em-dash or hyphen, placing spaces between words and dashes. For example: ‘I journeyed from my home – located in the remotest highlands of Scotland – to a new world.’
Numbers
- Within the text, numbers and ordinals up to one hundred are spelled out: twenty-five, fifty-sixth anniversary.
- Numbers over one hundred are given in figures (276), except for round numbers (five thousand). Use figures with a succession of numbers: 16 frocks, 5 smocks, 102 stockings.
- For percentages write 91 per cent, not 91%.
- Page numbers must be given as a numeral, ‘p.’ or ‘pp.’ are not required (‘Morrell, Provincial System, 270′). Page ranges must be as short as possible, e.g. ’22–7′, ’77–8’, ‘117–21’, ‘287–303′ (but note exception for numerals in the tens: ’14–17’). Note use of en-dash, not hyphen.
Dates
- Use the form 15 January 2000. Avoid beginning a sentence with a date in this form.
- Months must be spelled out in full.
- No apostrophe is used in 1870s, 2000s.
- Show a span of years as 1845–50, not 1845–1850. Note use of en-dash, not hyphen.
Italics & Underlining
- Underline only if reproducing a specific device in a quotation; emphasis will normally be marked by italics.
- Use italics for uncommon foreign words; the inclusion of a word or phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary or the Macquarie Concise Dictionary indicates that it is no longer considered uncommon.
Formatting
- Fully justify text, excluding block quotes (which must be centred) and footnotes (which must be aligned to the left margin).
- Submissions must be in 12-point Times New Roman font. Block quotes are an exception: use 10-point Times New Roman.
References
- Use the form of footnote citation recommended by the Chicago Manual of Style (humanities), with the exceptions already noted, that is: use single quotation marks rather than double ones; use full stops after abbreviations but not after contractions; and close quotations before the final punctuation mark. Do not use endnotes or in-text citations.
A short guide to referencing can be found on the Chicago Manual of Style website.
The University of Melbourne Re:cite tool and the Monash University Citing & Referencing: Chicago guide are particularly useful for history citations.
Subsequent References: Use author name, short title, and page number. Use ibid. for a single work cited in the note immediately preceding.
Further Referencing Notes:
- Where you refer to an article with a Volume + Issue number, use the form 43.1, for example Rula Patterson, ‘History in Stone: The Work of the Victorian Historical Memorials Committee’, Melbourne Historical Journal 43.1 (2015).
- When quoting URLs add access date in square brackets after URL. For example: ‘John Teasdale – Chronicle of a Country Life’, Culture Victoria, http://www.cv.vic.gov.au/stories/creative-life/john-teasdale-chronicle-of-a-country-life [accessed 27 November 2015].
- Use maximal capitalisation for titles in references.
Bibliography
All submissions must include a full bibliography in a separate file. It is for the benefit of peer reviewers and will not be published, so ensure research is reflected fully in footnotes.
Return to the MHJ Submission Checklist.