Submission and Review Process FAQs
Submissions should be submitted electronically to the submission form here and should be attached as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file. Submissions must conform with the official policies listed on this website; please note requirements for title page, abstract, and citation style.
How does the review process work?
All submissions will have personally identifying information removed and will be sent to three anonymous student reviewers who are knowledgeable on the subject of the article and the research methodology employed. These reviewers will read the work, score it on six dimensions, and provide the editor and the author with comments and recommendations on its suitability for publication.
Based on the feedback from reviewers and editorial staff, the editor will make initial decisions on publication. These decisions will fall into four categories: 1) accept 2) accept with minor revisions 3) reconsider with major revisions 4) reject. Articles that require minor revisions will be accepted for publication pending appropriate changes, while articles that require major revisions may or may not be accepted for publication depending on the strength of the revisions made by the author.
After authors revise their work and resubmit it, it will be reassessed by the same panel of peers. The editor will make final publication decisions with advice from reviewers and editorial staff.
Submission deadlines are determined each semester.H
What is the correct format for submissions?
All submissions must follow the Chicago Manual of Style format and use in-text parenthetical citations. Papers should be double-spaced in Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins. All papers must be written in American English.
Submissions should also include a title page and 200-word abstract. The title page should contain the author name, submission title, author major and minor, and expected graduation date. For submissions based on papers completed for a class, the course name, professor name, course and section number, and semester taken should also be included. All personally identifying information should be removed from the body of the paper before submission.
Submissions should be between 4,000 and 8,000 words in length.
Am I eligible for publishing?
Clocks and Clouds publishes work completed by American University undergraduate students. Students who have graduated or transferred from American University within one year of the submission deadline may submit work completed while an undergraduate at the university. Students who have transferred to American University may submit work completed at a previous institution.
Students in a combined B.A./M.A. program may only submit work substantially completed before finishing the requirements for the B.A. and may not submit work completed for a 600 or 700-level class.
All submissions should make an original contribution to the field of study. Clocks and Clouds does not publish literature reviews, policy briefings, memos, or essays. Submissions may use any accepted methodology, quantitative or qualitative. All research must also comply with the American University Academic Integrity Code and be in compliance with the AU Institutional Review Board policies. Submissions may be based on previous class work or work presented at conferences and research seminars, but may not be based on work previously published in an academic journal or similar printed source.