Ohio Reading Teacher - call for manuscripts

Submission deadline: October 15th, 2011

Writing for The Ohio Reading Teacher

Like the Reading Teacher, The Ohio Reading Teacher is a peer-reviewed journal that provides research-based articles covering topics such as applying research to classroom practice and using strategies to help all learners succeed. 
Full-length articles are accepted for consideration through peer review. In addition, the journal is soliciting less formal personal essays from classroom teachers for the I am a Teacher feature, poetry addressing teaching and learning, descriptions of book collections for The Bookshelf, and reviews of new professional and children’s books, and technology resources. Note that I am a Teacher, Teacher Tips, The Bookshelf, and Reviews are not peer-reviewed features.
 Submission guidelines appear below. As of fall 2010, submissions for peer review are adjudicated by incoming editor Gail Saunders-Smith for publication in issues beginning spring 2011.

Appropriate Submissions

ORT welcomes well-written, original descriptions of research-based instruction that improves literacy learning of children through grade 12. Manuscripts must provide an appropriate blend of practical classroom application and solid theoretical framework. The journal does not consider literary analyses, class projects, term papers, dissertations, endorsements of commercial products or services, previously published work, or manuscripts under consideration elsewhere.  Authors must be members of OCIRA.

Each manuscript will be judged on its contribution to the field, timeliness, freshness of approach, and clarity and cohesiveness of presentation. The acceptance rate is approximately 50%. Before submitting a manuscript, become familiar with articles published in ORT to gain insight on the voice, tone, and format appropriate for the journal’s audience.

Manuscript Types

Articles should provide ORT’s practitioner audience with classroom ideas for literacy development, based on sound theory and research. Manuscripts should run between 5,000 and 6,000 words, including main text and references.

Teaching Tips are 1,500 to 2,500 words in length that focus on a single, research-based application for improving literacy that can be readily implemented by readers.  

The Bookshelf includes 400 to 500 word articles that describe book clusters that are useful for teaching specific concepts or skills.

I am a Teacher are 400 to 500 word essays that inspire and motivate by sharing reader reflections on teaching experiences and profiles of exemplary teachers and classrooms, offering advice for new teachers, voicing perspectives on current issues, and so on.

Poems may be of any sort and address any topic relevant to the teaching profession – from heartfelt to humorous.

Reviews are 350 to 450 words in length that synthesize and critique new professional and children’s books and technology resources.

Preparing Work to Submit

All submissions for peer review should conform to the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association style. The author is responsible for ensuring that APA 6th ed. guidelines are used correctly for in-text and reference citations. The reference list includes only those sources cited in the text. Authors of accepted manuscripts must also provide written permission releases for use of material from another source (including student writing samples, text or figures excerpted from another published work, etc.) and for use of a person’s likeness. Refer to OCIRA’s web site for details.

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically to Gail Saunders-Smith at gasaunderssmith@ysu.edu. Text should be presented double-spaced in 12 point font, preferably in Microsoft Word; images should be submitted in tif or jpg format.

Provide the following with your submission:

• A cover letter, that includes your name and affiliation (as you would have them published), OCIRA membership number, and your mailing and e-mail addresses. Any coauthors should be listed in preferred order, with name, affiliation, and contact information. Indicate the type of manuscript being submitted.
• An abstract of 150 words, written in the third person and without citations.
• One blinded copy of the manuscript. To prepare this version, remove author names and affiliations from bylines, replace references to your own and to coauthors’ published work simply with “Author (year)” in text and in reference list (that is, delete publication titles), and mask any city, state, institutional affiliation, or links to personal websites. Note that all in-text citations and corresponding references must comply with APA 6th ed. format. Footnotes and appendixes should not appear; instead, incorporate such material into the article text.
• Include figures in separate file(s), but with their content included in the total word count.

Review and Adjudication

All submissions receive an initial evaluation to determine appropriateness. Appropriate manuscripts are reviewed by two members of the editorial board who recommend that the article be accepted, accepted conditionally, or rejected.  Articles accepted conditionally are returned to the authors with the reviewers’ notes and suggestions for revising and are resubmitted.

The journal editor adjudicates reviews and makes publication decisions. Factors that influence acceptance include the reviewers’ recommendations, available space, and balance of topics in upcoming issues. A decision is typically rendered eight weeks from the date of submission. Publication date of accepted manuscripts is determined primarily by the amount of material already awaiting publication.  Accepted articles are edited to meet ORT style guidelines.

Publication

Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to assign their copyright to OCIRA so that the Association can register copyright to the journal as a whole and administer requests for reuse. (Authors are invited to read IRA's rights and permissions policies, which do not restrict authors' own reuse of their work.)

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