Style Guide

Unless directed otherwise, follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1993). Spelling and hyphenation should follow the Macquarie Concise Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Sydney: Macquarie Library, 1998).

Manuscript presentation

1. Do not write your name anywhere on the manuscript.
2. Send one hard copy of your manuscript, and an electronic copy, either on disk or preferably as an email attachment (rtf. file).
3. The manuscript should be double-spaced throughout, including indented quotes and endnotes.
4. Manuscripts should be no more than 6,000 words in length, including references.
5. The article should be preceded by a brief abstract of no more than 150 words.
6. References should be supplied as endnotes, not footnotes.

Use of Capitals

1. Other than for proper names, use capitals only when lower case would cause ambiguity.

Abbreviations

1. Full titles of countries, states, institutions, organisations etc. should be used at the first reference; subsequent references may be abbreviated.
2. 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 have no full stop (5 km, 25 lbs, 3s). Note that this practice differs from that recommended by the Chicago Manual of Style.
3. Do not use any full stop with abbreviations that consist of capitals: (NSW, ALP; also BA, PhD, MA), nor with their plurals.

Quotations

1. 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.
2. Indent quotations of more than forty words and double space.
3. Always preserve the spelling, grammar and punctuation of the original. Use [sic] sparingly to indicate aberrant usage.
4. Put any interpolations in square brackets.
5. If omitting material from a quotation, use three ellipsis points ( … ). Do not use ellipsis points at the beginning of a quotation.
6. Close quotations before a final punctuation mark ('She left him dead'.). This too departs from the recommendations of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Numbers

1. Within the text, numbers and ordinals up to one hundred are spelled out: twenty-five, fifty-sixth anniversary.
2. 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.
3. For percentages write 91 per cent, not 91%.

Dates

1. Use the form 15 January 2000. Avoid beginning a sentence with a date in this form.
2. Months should be spelled out in full.
3. No apostrophe is used in 1870s, 2000s.
4. Show a span of years as 1845–50, not 1845–1850.

Italics/Underlining

1. Underline only if reproducing a specific device in a quotation; emphasis will normally be marked by italics.
2. Use italics for uncommon foreign words; the inclusion of a word or phrase in the Macquarie Concise Dictionary indicates that it is no longer considered uncommon.

References

Use the form of 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.

Books

1. The first citation should contain: author’s initial(s) or given name(s) as used on the title page, surname, title of book, place of publication, publisher, year of publication, and page reference if appropriate. The subtitle is capitalised and follows a colon. The place of publication is a city, not a suburb. Vron Ware, Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism and History (London: Verso, 1992), 5-6.
2. Articles in journals/chapters in books: Fiona Paisley, ‘Don’t Tell England!: Women of Empire Campaign to Change Aboriginal Policy in Australia Between the Wars’, Lilith, no. 8 (Summer 1993): 144-45. Judith Allen, ‘Evidence and Silence: Feminism and the Limits of History’, in Feminist Challenges: Social and Political Theory, ed. Elizabeth Grosz (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1986), 176.
3. Unpublished material: In the first citation the general rule is to cite the document first, followed by the name of the collection and the file number, then the name and location of the archive. Bessie Rischbieth to the Editor, West Australian, 2 October 1933, Bessie Rischbieth Papers (hereafter Rischbieth Papers), MS 2004, Box 12, Folder 56, National Library of Australia (hereafter NLA), Canberra.
4. Theses: The first citation should contain author’s first name, surname, title of thesis, type of thesis, university, date of completion, and page reference if appropriate. Georgine Clarsen, ‘The Vote on Wheels: Australian Women and Motoring, 1915-1945’ (PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, 1997), 140.
5. Subsequent References: Use author name and page number. If more than one book by the same author is cited, use suitable short titles, including author’s surname and key words from title of book, chapter/article or thesis. Ware, Beyond the Pale, 5–6. Paisley, ‘Don’t Tell’, 144. Allen, 177. Clarsen, 231. Use ibid. for a single work cited in the note immediately preceding.