Guidelines for authors - NEW (Backup 2) | Genealogical Society of Victoria

Stylistic conventions
Referencing (citations)
Images and captions

When writing an article for Ancestor, please refer to these guidelines for preparation of your manuscript and to "Tips for writing an article", Ancestor, volume 35, June 2020 pp26-27. Members (when logged in), can access that article online Ancestor June 2020.

We do not publish articles of historical fiction.

All published contributions will be given editorial support by the Ancestor team, and we reserve the right to make amendments for purposes of house style, grammar, clarity, and space limitations.

1. Stylistic conventions

a. Language and spelling

Australian English, as per the Macquarie Dictionary. The Macquarie Dictionary database online can be accessed from home by State Library Victoria members.

Please note:

grandmother etc. (one word)
grand-daughter or granddaughter
great-grandfather etc.
2x great-grandfather or great-great-grandfather
3x great-grandfather, not great-great-great grandfather, etc.

b. Italics

Use these for:

names of commercial databases and blogs/websites
names of ships
names of books, newspapers, magazines and journals
foreign language words

Do not use italics for text quotations.

c. Bold

Use this for:

website addresses (i.e. links)
email addresses
sub-headings

d. Quotations

Use single quotation marks for short quotations (under 30-35 words), which are included in the text.

Use double quotation marks for a quote within a quote.

Longer quotations should be indented as a block quotation. The font size of the quotation should be one unit less than main text (e.g., 11 font v 12 font). No quotation marks are required.

Introduce indented text with a colon.

Always reference your block quotation by inserting an endnote immediately after the end of the block quotation.

e. Spacing

Leave a space between paragraphs but don’t indent them.

Use a single space after commas, colons, semicolons and between sentences.

f. Numbers and dates

Write dates as 3 September 1803 etc. (i.e. simple number, not 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.)

Give the month and year in full, except in a citation where the month should be abbreviated to the first three letters.

Write the span of a decade with an 's' on the end, 1800s not 1800's except for direct quotes when original must be maintained.

Write the numbers one to twenty as words unless part of a measurement or a list of ages.

Ranges of dates for a lifespan should be separated by an en dash (not a hyphen) and have no space either side of the dash, e.g. Joseph Bellow (1832–1896).

Use a comma for numbers greater than 3 digits – e.g. 1,845 and 20,500.

If a number falls at the start of a sentence, write it in full or recast the sentence.

Use World War 1 and World War 2 (not Roman numerals).

Use numerals with the percentage sign when describing percentages in text. Note - per cent is two words if written in full (usually only if unavoidable due to a number falling at the beginning of a sentence).

The mortality rate ranged between 6% and 30%, with the highest being in the mountains.

Seventy-six per cent of the graduates attended the ceremony.

g. Weights and measures

Use those appropriate to the time and place with an equivalent in brackets if required.

Examples:

At the time of admission to hospital the records show he weighed 6 st 12 lbs (43.5 kg).

Markers were placed exactly 15 miles (24 km) apart.

h. Currency

When including references to pre-decimal currency choose the format that makes the meaning most clear to the reader (some of whom may not be familiar with pre-decimal currency).

Examples:

As a junior clerk, she was paid £2 2s 2d per week.

Wheat was bought at three shillings per bushel. (not 3/-)

i. Titles of Ancestor articles and references in endnotes

Use minimum capitalisation, i.e., capitalise only the first word and proper nouns.

2. Referencing (citations)

a. General format for citations

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Guidelines for authors - NEW (Backup 2)

Table of Contents

1. Stylistic conventions

a. Language and spelling

b. Italics

c. Bold

d. Quotations

e. Spacing

f. Numbers and dates

g. Weights and measures

h. Currency

i. Titles of Ancestor articles and references in endnotes

2. Referencing (citations)

a. General format for citations

b. Unusual or non-standard sources

c. Second and subsequent citations to the same source

d. Church records – e.g. baptisms, marriages, burials

e. Church records in languages other than English (e.g. Irish PRs which may be in Latin)

f. Blogs

g. Books

h. Census records

i. Journals and magazine articles

j. Newspapers

k. Passenger lists

l. Personal communications, emails, letters, unpublished diaries and family anecdotes

m. Unpublished material/manuscripts/papers

n. Websites

o. Wills and Probate documents

3. Images and captions