WRITING AN ARTICLE IN SPORTSCIENCE NEWS: Instructions and Template Alison Authora, Department, Institution, City, State/Country Erin Authore, Corporation/Consultancy, City, State/Country Sportscience News Xxx-Yyy 1997 http://www.sportsci.org/news/news0000/newstemp.htm

If a summary does not appear in this box, the gist of the article must be covered in the first paragraph or two. The topic is then expanded in the rest of the article.

Optional caption for this image.

In this document we explain how to write an article for Sportscience News. The document itself is a template to help you format the article. The template is available in html format (newstemp.htm) and Microsoft Word rich text format (newstemp.rtf). Keep the fonts, colors, and spacing of this template. Preserve the method of spacing between headings and their paragraphs (non-breaking space in smallest font size).

How to Use the Template
 
If you prefer to work with the rtf document, (right-)click/hold on this link to download it. You will need Microsoft Word, version 5.1 or higher, to edit the rtf document. When you Save As..., the document will try to save itself as hypertext markup language (html), if you have Internet Assistant installed. Switch it back to rich text format (rtf) if you feel uncomfortable with the html format. Click the option for the current IA template, not the normal template, when prompted.

To use the html document, you will need an html editor like Claris HomePage 2 (available for a free 30-day trial from the Claris site) or Netscape Gold or Composer (available free from the Netscape site). Claris HomePage is best, and there is a beginner's guide available at this site. If you're using plain Netscape Navigator, download this html document by saving it using File / Save Frame As… in the menu bar, and choose Source (not Text) in the window that opens. Then edit the document with Claris HomePage or other webpage editor.

You can also edit the document with Netscape Gold or Communicator as your browser/editor. Once you've installed it, come back to this page. From the menu choose File / Save As to save this page to your computer. Then choose File / Open File to open the saved file. Save the images and adjust links when prompted. Then edit the document. Check out how the appropriate image was made to reside on the right of this page before you delete it and (hopefully) insert something suitable for your article.

We suggest you add your writing at the beginning of each heading or paragraph, then delete the original words of the heading or paragraph. If you need to check the instructions after you have deleted them, open the original document or view it on the Web. Keep the fonts, styles, and capitalization of the original. Be obsessional about such details, please: it means less work for us.

Add hypertext links where possible. If you find it too difficult (especially if you are creating the document in rtf), place the URLs next to the words you want linked so the editors and webmasters can add them.

Images
 
If you have photos, get them scanned and converted to jpg format at the lowest quality consistent with clarity of any special features you want to be visible. Figures and diagrams should be created on a computer and saved in gif format. Use a simple painting or image-processing program to crop, size, and tone images.

You can often poach a good image off the Web. See the special section on how to find images on the Web on our page devoted to searching Web pages.

Style and Other Points
 
Please read the editorial on style (Hopkins, 1997) for general advice on how to write well, and for specific advice about punctuation, grammar and so on. For example, tables should conform to the following example, which you can use as a template. Add or delete rows and columns as necessary:

Here are a few more important points:

• Contact newseditor=AT=sportsci.org about the suitability of any article you have in mind.
• Read other articles in Sportscience News to get an idea of what's needed.
• Try to work in a sentence or two about your background or qualifications that are relevant to the article. Don't be afraid to use the first person (I or we).
• Include a few published references if possible. The references can be in magazines or journals on the Web or on paper. The citation style is that of the American Psychological Association (APA).
• Include the article itself as the first reference in the reference list.
• Send the article and any images as an email attachment to newseditor=AT=sportsci.org.
• Your article will be reviewed by one or more of the Sportscience editorial team. There may be several iterations of the review process before your article is accepted or rejected.
• If your article is accepted, it will be published in the next issue of Sportscience News. It can be cited as a popular-level publication in your vita.

Examples of References

Brown, A. B., & Jones, C. D. (1999). The title of a paper. Sports Journal, 100, 23-46.

Jones, C. D., Smith, A. B., & Brown, E. F. (1999). The title of another paper. Journal of Sport, 100, 23-46.

Smith, C. D., & Brown, A. B. (1999). This is the book title (2nd ed.). City, State: Sport Publishers.

Smith, C. D., & Jones, A. B. (Eds). (1999). This is the title of the edited book (2nd ed.). City, Country: Free Press.

White, A. B. (1999). This is the title of the book chapter. In E. F. Brown, A. B. Jones, & C. D. Smith (Eds.), This is the book title (pp. 33-44). City, State: Kinetics Press.

White, A. B., & Brown, C. D. (1999). The title of a paper in a Web journal. Sports Journal, 100, 23-46, http://site.address/directory/subdirectory/wab.htm.

White, A. B., & Jones, C. D. (1999). The title of a Web document. http://site.address/directory/subdirectory/wab.htm.

References
 
Hopkins, W. G. (1997). Advice on style for contributors to the Sportscience website. Sportscience 0, 00-00, http://www.sportsci.org/journal/jour9701/style/style.htm.