ALKAD Writing Rules and Page Layout
General Guidelines
Articles submitted to the Journal of German Language and Culture Research must follow the rules of APA Style (7th Edition). For more details, consult the APA 7 writing and referencing guide.
Manuscripts uploaded to the article submission system must begin with abstracts in both the language of the article and English. Each abstract should consist of 150-200 words, summarizing the study’s purpose, scope, methodology, and findings.
Below each abstract, include 3-5 keywords. The first line of the abstract should be aligned to the left (no indentation).
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Page Layout
• Paper Size: A4 Portrait
• Margins:
o Top: 2.5 cm
o Bottom: 2.5 cm
o Left: 2.5 cm
o Right: 2.5 cm
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Text Formatting
• Font: Calibri
• Font Style: Normal
• Font Size:
o Main Text: 11 pt
o Abstract: 9 pt
o Footnotes: 9 pt
• Paragraph Spacing:
o Before: 6 pt
o After: 0 pt
• Paragraph Indentation:
o The first line of each paragraph should be indented by 0.5 inches from the left margin. Use the TAB key or the automatic paragraph formatting feature of the word processor (default setting is 0.5 inches). Do not use the space bar for indentation.
• Line Spacing: Single (1)
Note: Necessary adjustments have been made in the writing template. If you change the settings, ensure that you reapply the above formatting.
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Headings
• Section Labels: Section labels (e.g., "Abstract," "References") should be centered and bold. The first letter of all words in headings should be capitalized. Headings should not be numbered.
• Heading Levels:
o Level 1: Centered, Bold
o Level 2: Left-Aligned, Bold
o Level 3: Left-Aligned, Bold, Italic
o Level 4: Indented, Bold, Ends with a Period
o Level 5: Indented, Bold, Italic, Ends with a Period
Note: Limit headings to a maximum of four levels.
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Tables and Figures
• Tables:
o The table number should be in plain text, bold, and placed above the table.
o The table title, written in italics with title case, should appear below the table number on a separate line.
o Do not add a period at the end of the table number.
o Tables should not include vertical lines, and horizontal lines should be minimized.
o Column headers must be included in every table.
o Column headers should be centered, and the first letter of each word in the headers should be capitalized.
• Figures:
o Figure numbers should be in plain text, bold, and placed above the figure.
o The figure title, written in italics with title case, should appear below the figure number.
o Additional explanations, if needed, should be included as notes below the figure.
Formatting:
• Tables and figures should use single line spacing.
• If necessary, the font size in tables may be reduced to 8 pt.
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Citations
Single Author
• Parenthetical: ……. (Koçak, 2018).
• Narrative: Koçak (2018) …….
Two Authors
• Parenthetical: ……. (Leung & Spurgeon, 2009).
• Narrative: Leung and Spurgeon (2009) …….
Three or More Authors
• Parenthetical: ……. (Alrawashdeh et al., 2021).
• Narrative: Alrawashdeh et al. (2021) …….
Groups with Abbreviations
• First Citation: ……. (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020).
• Subsequent Citations: ……. (WHO, 2020).
Groups without Abbreviations
• Parenthetical: ……. (Gazi University, 2020).
• Narrative: Gazi University (2020) …….
Note: For works with three or more authors, citations should be abbreviated using "et al." starting from the first mention, in line with APA 7.
Multiple Sources in One Citation
• List sources alphabetically and separate them with a semicolon, e.g., (Author A, 2020; Author B, 2019).
Unknown Publication Dates
• Use "n.d." (no date), e.g., (Author, n.d.).
Anonymous Works
• Use "Anonymous" for references and in-text citations, e.g., (Anonymous, 2017).
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Quotations
Short Quotations (Less Than 40 Words)
• Enclose short quotations in quotation marks and integrate them into your text. Do not add ellipses unless the original source includes them.
Example:
It can be challenging to define effective teams because "high performance in one area does not guarantee high performance in another" (Ervin et al., 2018, p. 470).
Long Quotations (40 Words or More)
• Start long quotations on a new line, indented 0.5 inches (1.25 cm) from the left margin. If the quotation includes a second paragraph, indent the first line by another 0.5 inches. Do not enclose block quotes in quotation marks.
Example:
The results indicated that students perform better when...
(Author, Year, p. X).
Secondary Sources
• If the primary author and year are known: (Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014)
• If the primary year is unknown: Allport's diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003)
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References
• Use a hanging indent of 0.5 inches.
• The reference list should start on a new page at the end of the main text.
• Sort entries alphabetically by the first author’s surname.
• Works by the same author should be arranged chronologically.
• For works published in the same year, use a, b, c after the year (e.g., 2020a, 2020b).
Examples:
• Books:
Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (2003). Qualitative research methods in social sciences. Seçkin Publishing.
• Book Chapters:
Aktay, S. (2015). Technology-supported science teaching. In Ş. S. Anagün & N. Duban (Eds.), Science teaching (pp. 425-454). Anı Publishing.
• Articles:
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2014.981810
• Websites:
Aktay, S. (2010, July 10). How does the internet work? Internet Nedir. https://www.internetnedir.net/internet-nasil-calisir.html
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Appendices
• Labels and titles for appendices should be centered and bold.
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Changes Introduced in APA 7
1. Full DOI links must be provided.
2. Up to 20 authors can be listed in the reference list.
3. Retrieval dates must be included for online sources (if applicable).
4. Hyperlinks must be active for online sources.
5. Figure captions should be placed above figures.
6. The publisher’s location is no longer required.
7. For works with three or more authors, use "et al." for all in-text citations.
8. DOIs should be formatted as URLs (e.g., https://doi.org/...).
9. Do not add retrieval dates unless necessary.
10. Include website names if different from the author.