Instructions to Authors of Papers

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 70, 1940-41, Unnumbered Page

Instructions to Authors of Papers The attention of authors is particularly directed to the following instructions, the observance of which will greatly aid the work of both Editor and printer. 1. All papers must be typewritten, unless special permission to send in written papers has been granted by the Editor for the time being. Wide spacing between the lines and ample margin should be left. 2. The author should read over and correct the copy before sending it to the Editor of the Transactions. 3. A badly arranged or carelessly composed paper will be sent back to the author for amendment. It is not the duty of an editor to amend either bad arrangement or defective composition. 4. In regard to underlining of words, it is advisable, as a rule, to underline only specific and generic names, titles of books and periodicals, and foreign words. 5. In regard to specific names, the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Rules for Botanical Nomenclature must be adhered to. 6. Titles of papers should give a clear indication of the scope of the paper, and such indefinite titles as, e.g., “Additions to the New Zealand Fauna” should be avoided. 7. Papers should be as concise as possible, and the number of figures should be strictly limited. 8. Photographs intended for reproduction should be the best procurable prints, sent flat. 9. Line Drawings.—Drawings and diagrams may be executed in line or wash. If drawn in line—i.e., with pen and ink—the best results are to be obtained only from good, firm, black lines, using such an ink as Higgin's liquid India ink, or a freshly mixed Chinese ink of good quality, drawn on a smooth surface, such as Bristol board. Thin, scratchy, or faint lines must be avoided. Bold work, drawn to about twice the size (linear) of the plate, will give the best results. Tints of washes may not be used on line drawings, the object being to get the greatest contrast from a densely black line drawn on a smooth white surface. 10. Wash Drawings.—If drawing in wash is preferred, the washes should be made in such water-colour as lamp-black, ivory black, or India ink. These reproduce better than a neutral tint, which inclines too much to blue in its light tones. High lights are better left free from colour, although they may be stopped out with Chinese white. As in line drawings, a fine surface should be used (the grain of most drawing-papers reproduces in the print with bad effect), and well-modelled contrasted work will give satisfactory results.

11. Size and Arrangement of Drawings.—The printed plate will not exceed 7 ¼in by 4 ½in, and drawings for plates may be to this size, or preferably a multiple thereof, maintaining the same proportion of height to width of plate. When a number of drawings are to appear on one plate they should be neatly arranged, and if numbered or lettered in soft pencil the printer will mark them permanently before reproduction. In plates of wash drawings, all the subjects comprising one plate should be grouped on the same sheet of paper or cardboard, as any joining-up shows in the print. Text-figures should be drawn for reduction to a width not exceeding 4 ⅓in. If there are a number of small text-figures they should be drawn all for the same reduction, so that they may be arranged in groups. In the case of plates composed of a number of separate figures, the latter should be arranged by the author in groups of appropriate dimensions. Alternatively, exact instructions as to proposed arrangement of figures should be included with the MS. 12. Maps.—A small outline map of New Zealand is obtainable at a low price from the Lands and Survey Department, Wellington, upon which details of distribution, etc., can be filled in according to the instructions given above for line drawings. 13. Citation.—References may be placed in a list at the end of an article or arranged as footnotes. The former method is preferable in long papers. In the list references must be arranged alphabetically, reference in the text being made by writing after the author's name, as it occurs, the year of publication of the work, adding, if necessary, a page number, and enclosing these in parentheses, thus: “Benham (1915, p. 176).” Example of forms of citation for alphabetical list: Benham, W. B., 1915. Oligochaeta from the Kermadec Islands. Trans. N.Z. Inst. vol. 47, pp. 174–285. Park, J., 1910. The Geology of New Zealand, Christchurch, Whitcombe and Tombs. When references are not in alphabetical order the initials of the author should precede the surname, and the year of publication should be placed at the end. Care should be taken to verify the details of all references—date, pages, etc.—and initials of authors should be given. 14. In accordance with a resolution of the Council, authors are warned that previous publication of a paper may militate against its acceptance for the Transactions. 15. Reprints.—In ordinary cases twenty-five copies of each paper are supplied gratis to the author, and in cases approved of by the Publication Committee fifty copies may be supplied without charge. Additional copies may be obtained at cost price. [The present rate is 1s 3d per page for 100 extra copies; thereafter 3d per page for each additional 25 copies.]