Academic Framework

Author Guidelines

Strict adherence to formatting ensures the swift processing of your manuscript.

1 Document Setup & Typography

To maintain a standardised, elegant, and highly readable layout, all manuscripts must strictly use our template and conform to the following specifications:

  • Paper Size: A4 standard (210 × 297 mm).
  • Margins: Normal (2.54 cm / 1 inch on all sides).
  • Page Numbering: Bottom of page, Right, Starting from the title page.
  • Font Type: Times New Roman throughout the entire manuscript, including headings, tables, and footnotes.
  • Title: 14pt, Bold, ALL CAPS, Centred.
  • Author Name & Affiliation: 11pt, Bold for the name; Italic for institution and email, Centred.
  • Section Headings (e.g. “A. Introduction”): 14pt, Bold.
  • Sub-headings (e.g. “1. Background”): 12pt, Bold Italic.
  • Abstract: 10pt, Bilingual with English and your language (if any), Italic if different language with body, Justified, Single Spacing, Maximum 250 words.
  • Body Text: 12pt, Justified, 1.5 Line Spacing, with a first-line indent of 1.27 cm (0.5 inch) on every paragraph.
  • Language: Manuscripts may be submitted in any language. Authors are expected to maintain consistent spelling, grammar, punctuation, and linguistic conventions throughout their manuscript.
  • Footnotes: 10pt, Superscript, Left, Single Spacing.

2 Referencing: The Chicago/Turabian Standard

Concordia Scientiarum follows the Chicago/Turabian Notes and Bibliography style for all academic citations and references. This standard is applied consistently throughout the work.

  • Reference Management (Mendeley): Authors are highly encouraged to use Mendeley. Please install the official Chicago/Turabian style plugin within Mendeley to ensure precision and save time during the editorial process.

3 Image & Chart Optimisation (Max 1MB Rule)

Our bespoke submission system enforces a strict 1MB maximum file size for PDF uploads. This ensures lightening-fast loading times for our readers globally. If your manuscript contains images or charts:

  • Compress Before Inserting: Minimise the file size of your images (JPEG/PNG) using online compressors before inserting them into your Word document.
  • Grayscale Preferred: Unless colour is absolutely critical to the legal analysis, please convert images to grayscale to save space.
  • DPI Limits: Do not use images exceeding 150 DPI. Keep charts simple, flat, and vector-based where possible.

4 Plagiarism & Turnitin Declaration

Originality is the cornerstone of Concordia Scientiarum. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 15% will be immediately desk-rejected.

Important Note on Turnitin: To comply with our 1MB file limit, do not attach the heavy PDF Turnitin report. Instead, simply declare your final similarity percentage in text format at the very end of your manuscript (e.g., "Turnitin Similarity Index: 12%"). Our editorial team will run our own verification upon submission.
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