Author Guidelines
Getting Started
Articles must be of interest as information to the reader. In general, it is important to write articles that are informative, timely, and practical to structural engineers. We remind authors that STRUCTURE magazine is not a refereed journal. As such, lengthy and detailed “papers” will not be accepted.
Appropriate content for STRUCTURE magazine includes Technical, Project, Product, InSights, and Forum articles, as well as Letters to the Editor; they should be original and not previously published or concurrently submitted elsewhere.
Prospective authors may offer articles, or STRUCTURE magazine may invite articles from individuals or organizations.
No articles are guaranteed publication; all articles are subject to the same scrutiny before acceptance, regardless of the source.
For invited articles, STRUCTURE magazine may provide an abstract to guide the author on key points of interest.
Editorial Board members are assigned to articles and authors to clarify requirements and assist with content. These “Shepherds” are a resource for article criteria, review, and deadlines.
When preparing an article, consider the following:
- Use simple, clear language and include definitions of terms and abbreviations.
- Start with a clear and logical structure for your information.
- Outline main points. Do your points follow logically?
- Keep similar topics together in the flow of the article.
- Write in plain English. Avoid jargon. Use short words.
- You are writing for a publication of general interest. An appropriate rule is to write as if you were describing the contents of your article to a colleague or friend.
- Avoid the inclusion of mathematical equations, unless absolutely necessary.
- Laudatory language and self-promotion are prohibited.
- Do not write in the first person.
- Avoid the use of passive voice (“The project was designed …”).
References are not published in the magazine but should be provided on a separate page for posting in the online version of the article on the STRUCTURE magazine website. This allows the reader to access additional information on the topic. Be cautious about including references to Web pages, as websites change frequently, and may or may not be stable.
Other general rules to remember while developing your article include:
- No more than three authors will receive byline credits. It is the primary author’s responsibility to obtain article approval from all author’s prior to submission. If the Publisher encounters disagreement between authors at the time of “layout review,” it is likely that the article will be pulled until the issues are resolved.
- No more than 3 to 5 graphics (including all photographs, figures and drawings) should accompany articles, unless the author and Shepherd agree to a need for more graphics to adequately express information and reduce the amount of text to compensate.
- Images supplied should be high-resolution and be at minimum 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall at 300 dpi. Limit the use of text within the graphics.
- Limit the use of tables. Although they are useful to present data, remember that large tables can significantly reduce the number of words that will fit into the printable space allotted for your article.
- All submissions must include a byline, and a one or two-sentence description of the author(s). Each Author Tag should also include an email address or telephone number for readers to contact you for more information. Lengthy biographies and/or resumes are not acceptable. Author photographs will not be included with any article.
- When submitting an article, please include your full name, title, current affiliation, and email address, as requested on the Author forms.
Download a PDF of the Author Handbook for your files.
Author’s HandbookFill this form out to pitch your story idea to our editorial board.
Author Intent Form