Author Guidelines
Thought and Practice is a biannual, peer reviewed, Open Access online journal. Its Vision is to create a forum for incisive philosophic reflection on intellectual, social and political issues within the African context. Its Mission is to serve scholars with broad interests in the humanities and social sciences by disseminating original articles with a philosophical outlook, with emphasis on intellectual, social and political issues that are of special relevance to contemporary Africa.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please note: only articles that strictly adhere to the guidelines below will be considered for publication in Thought and Practice.
1. Title Page - This must include:
- Title of paper
- Title and Name of author
- Institutional affiliation of author
- Author's email address
2. Number of Words - The required number of words is 7,000-8,000 (from the Abstract to the Conclusion - excluding the title page, abstract and list of references). Just before your abstract, clearly indicate the number of words in your article (you can obtain this in MS Word by going to “Tools” then “Word Count”).
3. Abstract - Include a short abstract answering the following questions: A. What is the purpose of the article? B. What is the research methodology employed in the preparation of the article? C. What is the central argument of the article? ? D. Is the article relevant to the Vision and Mission of Thought and Practice?
4. Key Words - Give a list of key words/phrases after the Abstract, with the heading “Key Words” preceding them. The words or phrases must be separated by commas.
5. Introduction - The Introduction must have the following four elements:
- A very brief background of the issue under discussion.
- A statement of the goal of the article.
- THESIS OF THE Article: a clear but brief statement of your central argument which guides your discussion throughout the article.
- A statement of the way in which the article is divided.
6. Use of Language - Authors must ensure that their use of language conforms to the rules of English grammar and spelling. Towards this end, it is helpful to use a word processor spell checker. However, extra care must be taken to ensure that the spell checker does not mislead the author to make changes that distort names of places, names of people or direct quotations.
7. Formatting
- FILE FORMAT: Microsoft Word (.doc, not .docx).
- FONTS: Times New Romans, 12 points, 1.5 line spacing, justified.
- IN-TEXT REFERENCES: Chicago Manual of Style, author-date-page system, with a list of references at the end of the paper. See Author-Date: Sample Citations. Use footnotes for explanatory material only.
- LONG QUOTATIONS: 0.5” left indent, 0.5” right indent, single line spacing.
- SHORT QUOTATIONS: within the text, in double quotation marks. Headings • Heading 1: centred, bolded, 14 points, 1.5 line spacing. • Heading 2: aligned left, bolded, 14 points, 1.5 line spacing. • Heading 3: aligned left, bolded, italicized, 12 points, 1.5 line spacing. • Heading 4: aligned left, italicized, 11 points, single line spacing.
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Article manuscripts should be submitted as email attachments to thoughtandpractice@gmail.com.
