STYLE GUIDE FOR ARTICLES
This document provides information on the style and formatting requirements for articles published on Insight for Good’s website .
Please read on if you would like to submit articles for publication on our website.
Format
Tone
Our insights platform is written in a friendly but professional manner with blog-style citations, which are made using hyperlinks or URLs linking to the original online source. This is similar to how online newspapers like The Guardian use them. Please see the section below on references to see what types of sources you should be using.
References/Links
We expect that your article will refer to high-quality and reliable sources to make an argument and support your insights. While there is no specific rule on how reputable a particular reference should be, we would expect to see academic and peer reviewed sources, respected news outlets and other online publications which might be specialised and fact-checked. If you’re in doubt whether a particular source is ok to use, please let us know by email, and we’ll be happy to advise. You can contact wilma@insightforgood.com.
Length
Articles should be between 400 and 600 words in length.
Font
The font will be determined by the website style, which is currently set by the WordPress theme. This may change in the future, but currently, you can submit your article using any font.
Tags
Please submit 2-8 subject tags that summarise your article. These need to be related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Examples could include: sustainability, equality, gender pay or wellbeing.
Image use
Articles should be accompanied by at least one main image that links to the article content. This image will be visible on the main blog. You can also submit one or two additional images, depending on the length of your text.
For your article, you should use photos that have a creative commons license (with commercial use allowed) or if you choose, your own relevant photos. Some useful sites that have photos you can download and use for free include:
Please note the name of the photographer and the website where you got the photos so we can attribute the photo to the photographer in the article captions. You should include these captions when you submit your article. An example would be: “Photo by Sylvie Tittel on Unsplash”.
The photo resolution should be at least 300 dpi if you are submitting photos to be used with the articles.
Copyright
If you publish an article with Insight for Good, the article’s content is owned by Insight for Good. You may not reproduce the exact article for another publication. However, you may be able to adapt your article into a longer article or new article for use with a different publication. Please consult with us before doing this. Our aim is to provide a springboard for students to write about important issues we face in society, but we also want the content we provide readers to be original, insightful, valuable and not published elsewhere.
If you submit your own photo, you will retain the copyright of the photo. In submitting your photo, you are giving us unrestricted license to use the photo for the purposes of publishing your article, publicising the article on social media, our website, any of our partners’ websites and any other additional places we can share links to our website. We will always caption the photo to give you credit, where possible. If you wish to remove the photo, you may request we do so, but we will not be able to remove it from any previous social media shares or posts where it may have appeared.
Blog Article Layout
MAIN PHOTO (Include an image in the ‘featured image’ section which will be displayed above the text)
Start with a catchy title (6-10 words)
AUTHOR PHOTO (Include your personal photo cropped to a square dimension, for example 500 pixels x 500 pixels)
Caption it with: “Your Name Your University”
(photo should be right justified in the published article)
Plan your article layout
Before you write, try to plan your layout as follows:
- What is the problem? Use the following tips:
- Help the reader understand the problem’s magnitude by quoting key facts to put it in context
- Help readers understand why it is important and relevant to them
- Talk about the problem in more depth and create an argument for change
- What are the facts that suggest something is wrong
- Include insights / behavioural insights that help you explain people’s behaviour in this context
- What are the solutions.
- Think about who needs to act
- Explain how have others done it / solved it? Provide examples
Start writing
Include references linked to parts of the text. Aim to be positive and inspiring, rather than negative focusing on problems only.
When you conclude your article, think that this is not just a conclusion of the facts stated, but your point is to inspire your reader to do more about the topic. You should write with a view to drive social change by using an inspirational tone and referring clearly to your insights.
- Remember, throughout the whole article you need to reference your sources in the text.
- You should also include snappy and bolded sub-headings. These truly should be your insights, with the following paragraph outlining the evidence that justifies these insights
- PHOTO (Add another photo if you like)
Caption it with: “Photo by Photographer on Website”
4. Upon finishing the article, save as draft so it can be looked over before publication. Please email a Google doc link to wilma@insightforgood.com.
