Submissions

The emphasis of Relevant Rhetoric: A New Journal of Rhetorical Studies is on the context of discovery rather than the context of justification. This means that the writing and editorial conventions practiced by most academic journals is modified so that the focus of each article is on the author’s findings, conclusions, interpretations, or suggestions, rather than previous literature and research methods.

Relevant Rhetoric: A New Journal of Rhetorical Studies asks authors to minimize the use of separate literature reviews in favor of weaving previous literature into the narrative created by the results. If a separate literature review is necessary for clear understanding of the results, this unit should be short and limited to only that which is necessary for an educated lay-person to understand the results. If a methods section is included in the submission, it should be brief and submitted as an appendix to the article.

The use of technical, field specific jargon should be kept to the minimum necessary for precision and clarity. The writing style, syntax, punctuation, and paragraph structure should accommodate lay-audience needs and preferences without sacrificing clarity and precision.

Relevant Rhetoric: A New Journal of Rhetorical Studies publishes submitted and invited pieces by new and established academics and practitioners. Every invited or submitted piece will go through a masked review in which the Editor, the Assistant Editor, and at least two subject-matter experts examine the manuscript.

Submission Guidelines:

1. Relevant Rhetoric: A New Journal of Rhetorical Studies seeks short to mid-length manuscripts (approximately 10-20 pages, excluding references and appendices). Longer submissions will be considered, but must be justified by the importance of the topic and the depth of the analysis.
2. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word attachment to an e-mail. Include your name and contact information in the e-mail message.
3. Follow The Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition or Online).
4. Remove all personal and institutional identification from the body of the manuscript.
5. As a separate attachment, submit a cover page that includes the following information for the corresponding author:
   • Manuscript title
   • Name, institutional affiliation
   • Mailing address
   • E-mail address
   • Telephone number
   • Fax number
6. One or two sentences of each author’s biography. A photograph may be requested upon acceptance.
7. A statement that the manuscript is original and is not under consideration nor has it been published elsewhere.
8. Submit the manuscript as a separate attachment from the cover page.

• On the first page of the manuscript, include 1) the title, 2) an abstract of 150 words or fewer, 3) five keywords for online searchability.
• Start the body of the paper on the second page.
• Check the paper and references for accuracy.
• Write clearly and concisely, in a style and language that can be understood by an educated lay-audience.
• To conceal your identity during the review process, refer to your previously published research by using the word AUTHOR rather than your name.
• Submit any tables or figures as part of the word document and place them after the references but before any appendices.
• Submit any video clips, photos, or other digital documents in a form that is appropriate for posting. Follow the guidelines below when using proprietary material in your article.