Submissions

Author Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS

 Papers submitted for the consideration of LETRAS mustmeet the following requirements, otherwise, they will not be admitted for the refereeing process:

1. Materials must be unpublished. The paper cannot be simultaneously submitted to any other process of refereeing or publication. Other versions of the work whether in Spanish or any other language must be handed in, to verify they have not been published previously.
2. Contributors must attach a letter requesting the submission of the paper for refereeing, so that publishing possibilities in LETRAS be studied. Contributors must also commit to act as referees of future papers in their disciplines in case their papers are admitted for publication. It is understood that contributors acquiesce to the present norms. The letter must also specify the following information: author’s address, home and cell phone number, e-mail address. Check the following example.
3. Papers will be sent to the following address:

letras.ivillab@gmail.com

Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Lingüísticas y Literarias “Andrés Bello” (IVILLAB). Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador – Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas. Edificio Histórico, Piso 1, Av. Páez, Urbanización El Paraíso, Teléfono 0058-212-451.18.01. Caracas – Venezuela.

4. Papers must contain the following information: a) title; b) author’s full name; c) author’s résumé (institutions, teaching area, research area, title and sources of previous publications (if any).
5. Typescripts must meet the following specifications: Times New Roman, or Arial, 12-point type, double-spaced, letter-sized paper.
6. Papers must contain a title and an abstract both in Spanish and English. The abstract should range between 100 y 150 words in length and it must specify: purpose, theory, methodology, results and conclusions. For translation purposes it is advisable the use of short, direct and concise sentences. At the end, four keywords must be included which need to be partof the text as well.
7. Papers should be 15 to 30 pages long (plus three pages of references). The manuscripts must not contain identification or clues that lead to identification of the author; neither should they have acknowledges or dedications; these aspects could be included in the final version after the refereeing process has been completed.
8. With regards to text structure, an introductory section must specify the purpose of the paper; the development section must clearly specify which parts represent the author’s contributions and which correspond to other researchers; conclusions can only be derived from the arguments developed in the paper.
9. Quotations larger than 40 words will be presented on a separate paragraph with no quotation marks, single-spaced and 5cm indentation on both sides. On the other hand, shorter quotations will be integrated into the text with quotation marks. Source references must contain the author’s last name followed by the publication year and page number in parenthesis, for instance: Hernández (1958, p. 20).
10. At the end of the paper a list of references must be included, headed with the subtitle References, bolded at left margin. Each entry will be single-spaced with French indentation. Between each entry there will be a 1, 5 space. The APA system must be observed. Some examples are provided:

• Book by a single author:

Páez, I. (1991).  Comunicación, lenguaje humano y organización del código lingüístico.  Valencia: Vadell Hermanos Editores.

• Book byseveralauthors:

Barrera, L. y L. Fraca. (1999).  Psicolingüística y desarrollo del español.  Caracas: Monte Ávila.

• Chapter included in a book:

Hernández, C. (2000).  Morfología del verbo.  La auxiliaridad.  En M. Alvar (Dir.).  Introducción a la lingüística española.  Barcelona: Ariel.

• Paper included in a journal:

Cassany, D. (1999).  Puntuación: investigaciones, concepciones y didáctica.  Letras, (58), 21-53.

• Thesis

Jáimez, R. (1996).  La organización de los textos académicos: incidencia de su conocimiento en la escritura estudiantil.  Trabajo de grado de maestría no publicado, Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador, Instituto Pedagógico de Caracas, Caracas.

11. Notes may be added as foot notes at the end of every page in numbered sequence and not at the end of the paper.
12. The refereeing process entails the participation of two or three experts to evaluate the research. Given the fact that they usually belong to different institutions and universities, a period of forty five (45) days is estimated for the referees to make their judgment. As soon as the Coordination receives all the opinions, a single report will be sent to the author, this might take one more month. The contributors, once they have received the report, will hand in the final version within the next thirty (30) days. If the paper is not handed within this period of time, the Coordination will assume that the author has declined to publish it. Therefore, the paper will be excluded.
13. Authors are responsible for the appropriate transcription of their works. This involves making sure there are no orthographic or typo mistakes of any sort.
14. Drawings, graphics, photos and diagrams must be included in their corresponding place within the text.
15. Approved papers become part of future issues. The editing, diagramming, and final publication could take some time, approximately three (03) months. This is due to a convenient planning and editorial projections on the basis of the journal extension, frequency (two issues per year), contributors’ heterogeneity, thematic variation and perspective diversity. After this, a period of four (04) months is estimated for the final publishing process.
16. The Coordination will send back papers which are discarded during the refereeing process to their author(s) with the necessary argument and support for their rejection.
17. Submissions may also consist of reviews or critiques on recent scientific texts or literary works. Their aim is to provide guidance and information to interested readers. Reviews must not be longer than six (6) pages.
18. Referees of articles which are not approved for publication will be also considered as part of the refereeing committee of LETRAS.