Writers' Guidelines

FACCCTS Editorial Policies

FACCCTS is the journal of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, a nonprofit, professional association that lobbies exclusively for community college faculty, and the FACCC Education Institute, which provides information and professional development. FACCC encourages policymakers to provide adequate resources and appropriate laws and regulations to assure Californians broad access to quality community college education.

FACCCTS is published four times during the academic year, offering information, analysis and provocative points of view about the politics, philosophy and practice of education. FACCCTS' primary purpose is to provide a forum for faculty and the CCC "community." Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of FACCC and FACCC EI, their boards of governors, general membership or staff.

FACCCTS publishes letters to the editor, commentaries and other contributions on a space-available basis. FACCCTS reserves the right to condense and edit all text according to The Associated Press style and as deemed necessary.

Length and Types of Submissions

• Articles and commentaries are 600 to 1,200 words.
• Book and software reviews are 300 words (or if related to education, no more than 600 words).
• Teaching tips are 200 words or less.
• Letters to the editor are 250 words or less.

Articles take an objective look at a specific topic and address "The Five Ws"—Who, What, Where, Why and When. They're written with an attention-getting introduction and in the inverted pyramid style, in which the most important and interesting information is contained in the first few paragraphs, and less important information appears in order of decreasing
news value.

Articles draw on two or more sources (newspaper articles, books, interviews), and contain quotes from leaders or experts on the topic. See the news/feature articles on the front page of The Wall Street Journal for examples of well-written articles and leads – the first short, attention-getting sentence of an article.

An alternative to the inverted pyramid style mentioned above is the flashlight style. Begin with an attention-grabbing lead, then give a brief summary that includes The Five Ws. Next, transition to a narrative style to tell a story with real characters and a beginning, middle and end. The end of the story should include a solution to any problems presented earlier or answers to questions you've raised.

Commentaries clearly state the author's opinion about a subject, and provide information to support that opinion.

Book reviews clearly state the reviewer's opinion about a book. They don't just summarize what the book says. A couple of questions to ask yourself: Why did I like or dislike the book? Why would or why wouldn't my faculty colleagues find the book interesting or useful?

Alan Wolfe, in The Solemn Responsibilities of Book Reviewing, said "...The goal of those who review books should be to give readers a fair summary of the book's contents, along with reasoned judgments about its success or failure. Book reviewing also requires a set of virtues that include humility, respect and empathy. People who live for the book ought to see reviewing books as among the most solemnly undertaken of academic responsibilities."

Calling the Muse

We look for articles and opinion pieces that analyze or provide new information about community college faculty issues. Authors should write in an informal, conversational style with particular attention to crafting an attention-getting introduction. All submissions will be edited for length and style according to The Associated Press Stylebook.

Here are a few tips:

• Use an interesting "lead," the first attention-getting sentence of a story. If you don't grab readers' attention with this, they may not continue reading the rest of your story. See the main story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal for examples of good leads.
• Simplify: "Omit unnecessary words."-E.B. White. Use words you say in normal conversation. (For example, don't say "utilize" when you can say "use.") Think about how you would explain the issue to your mother or a neighbor.
• Be succinct. Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
• Avoid jargon. Don't assume everyone understands your terms.
• Spell out acronyms on the first reference.
• Use the active voice. It is livelier and more direct than the passive voice. (Say, "The governor praised community colleges…" not, "Community colleges were praised by the governor….")
• Use practical examples to support key points.
• If you cite references, use the author's full name, article title, source and publication date (Bob Thompson, "Distance Learning," Educational Technology, March 1999).
• We usually accept manuscripts that have not been published elsewhere. If you submit a story that was previously published, please tell us.

Graphics Are Your Friends

We welcome charts or high-quality photographs that would complement your story. Please be sure to provide the correct spelling of people's names, and explain who, what, where, why, when. We prefer interesting photos of people in action, rather than just posing for the camera.

Before You Send It
Before you submit your story, ask yourself these questions (from The Word: An Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing, by Rene J. Cappon):

1. Have I said what I meant to say?
2. Have I put it as concisely as possible?
3. Have I put things as simply as possible?

Format

Don't send originals. E-mail all manuscripts as an attached rich-text format file. Include the following information on the first page: story title, author's name, job title, college, author's address and phone numbers. At the end of the article, include a few sentences for an author's bio.

Where to Send It

Send all stories to info@faccc.org, or by mail to Communications Director, FACCCTS, 1823 11th St. , Sacramento , CA 95814 . Follow up by calling to confirm that we received it.

How We Review and Edit Your Story

The FACCC Board of Governors Communications Committee reviews all submissions, and may ask for revisions if it accepts your story for publication. FACCCTS conforms to The Associated Press style with few exceptions.

Corrections

Authors are responsible for information accuracy. If you need to make changes after you've submitted your story, please notify the managing editor as soon as possible. FACCCTS publishes corrections and clarifications in the "For the Record" column.

Copyright Policy

FACCC holds the copyright for all submissions. We grant permission to reprint articles in other education publications or for use at conferences or workshops. Please call for permission. Generally, we'll ask you to credit any excerpts with © Faculty Association of California Community Colleges or "This article originally appeared in FACCCTS, the journal of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges." We also request a copy of your publication containing the reprint.

Questions?
Contact Communications Director at (916) 447-8555 or via e-mail to info@faccc.org.