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ReThinking Behavior Style Guidelines

Download the latest Style Guidelines below:

ReThinking Behavior Style Guidelines

Updated January 2024

These style guidelines help define the writing style and “look” of ReThinking Behavior —a combination of both magazine and academic styles. Its purpose is to establish consistency and provide guidance to article editors, issue editors, reviewers, and authors of ReThinking Behavior .

ReThinking Behavior will primarily follow APA style, which is documented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th Edition, with the exceptions stated in this document (e.g., in-text citations and references). Although used primarily for scholarly writing in our field, we have adapted APA style to be suitable for a magazine. APA style may not apply to some categories of content, such as personal statements (Voices), fiction, poetry, and humor. For reprinted materials, the original source style (such as MLA or Chicago/Turabian) will typically be used, although the style may be changed to APA at the discretion of the editors.

While the target audience for ReThinking Behavior is experienced educators and other professionals who may serve children and youth with behavioral and mental health needs, the magazine will strive to make materials readable and accessible to a wide set of potential readers. To do that, it will strive to publish articles that are relatively brief and clearly written, with limited use of technical jargon and only essential references. For more details regarding the magazine goals, see ReThinking Behavior magazine goals .

Concern about formatting style should not inhibit submission of articles or prevent acceptance of articles. New authors are not expected to know APA style and/or be familiar with this document. Typically, an article editor will be assigned to each article idea or article submission to assist authors in implementing the magazine style guidelines. Article editors and authors are advised to use Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar checking tools. They are compatible with APA style and may address many editing issues.

Style Guidance and Requirements

Abbreviations and Acronyms

• Abbreviations without periods are acceptable, with the full spelling included in the first use.
  • The Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorder (MSLBD); United States (US)
• Full wording may be repeated to improve clarity. Avoid unnecessary acronyms.

Apostrophes

• Singular: one teacher’s lesson
• Plural: three teachers’ lessons
• For names ending in s , use ’s : Jones’s

Author Information

• Author information will be stated at the end of each article, following the references, in this format:
  • Name, position, affiliation, city, state, email address
  • Or as agreed upon with the author
  • Titles, credentials, and degrees will not be included.

Boldface and Underlining

• While APA uses boldface for certain levels of headings, the design of headings will be determined with our graphic artist.
• Bold type can be used for emphasis, but very sparingly in magazine writing.
• Underlining of text or headings is not used in digital/electronic text because hyperlinks are often represented by underlining.

Capitalization

• Capitalize proper nouns.
  • Superintendent Williams versus the superintendent of our school district
  • The National Education Association (NEA) versus the education association
• Capitalize the name of a strategy only if it is a proper noun.
  • Aggression Replacement Training versus applied behavior analysis
• Capitalize Black, Brown, Indigenous, and White when referring to race and ethnicity.
• Use COVID-19 for the specific virus. Use coronavirus to refer to a general group of viruses.

Commas

• Use the serial (Oxford) comma in lists of three or more items.
  • Teachers, social workers, and parents
• Use commas to set off nonessential clauses.
  • Walden University, established in 1970, offers many degree programs.
• Use commas to separate two independent clauses.
  • Smith (2011) conducted the research, and Heller (2018) commented on the results.
  • Jessica and I went to the conference, and we had a good time.
• Do not use a comma when the second part is not an independent clause.
  • Smith (2001) found that results were consistent but also suggested further investigation.
• Use commas after an introductory clause, phrase, or word.
  • If you are using this sentence structure, place a comma after the dependent clause.
  • Before completing the interviews, I must obtain Walden University approval.
  • Therefore, I created three research questions.
  • However, further research is needed.
• For “such as,” use commas with nonrestrictive clauses only.
  • Strategies such as time out and exclusion are not recommended.
  • In this classroom, you’ll see many types of instructional technology, such as SMART Boards and tablets.
• Use commas to introduce a quotation.
  • Freud (1900) claimed, “the dreamer...assumes that the dream has at all events transported the dreamer into another world” (p. 5).
• Do not use a comma when the quotation is integrated with that .
  • Freud (1900) claimed that “the dreamer...assumes that the dream has at all events transported the dreamer into another world” (p. 5).
• Commas are usually not needed with “as well as.”

Contractions

• Commonly used contractions are acceptable.

Dates and Times

• Use the following formats: August 24th; August 24–30, 2018; 1960s; ’30s; and 8 pm.

Bias-Free Language and Diversity

• APA emphasizes the need to talk about all people with inclusivity and respect. Consult APA (2020) or the APA bias-free language guidelines for guidance.
• Use Black rather than African American. African American is the term used for non-White persons of African descent who live in the United States and is not a synonym for Black. Black is the term used for non-White persons of Black descent, regardless of national origin.
• Current preferred terminology includes LGBTQ, sexual orientation, and specific terms including lesbian, gay, heterosexual, straight, asexual, bisexual, queer, polysexual, and pansexual (also called multisexual and omnisexual).
• Avoid deficit-based language. Do not label people as “poorly educated”; instead, use “people who have not completed high school.”

Footnotes

• Footnotes will not be used unless requested by an editor or included in a reprint article. Instead, an APA citation should be included in the body, with the full reference in the reference list.

For Example and In Other Words

• e.g. = for example; as in “the colors of the flag (e.g., red, white, and blue)”
• i.e. = in other words

Headings and Subheadings

• Headings and subheadings in the magazine will not always follow APA heading requirements and may be modified by our graphic designer.

Hyphens and Dashes

• Use hyphens:
  • To link some compound words: 10-year-old, mind-set, self-respect, light-year, X-axis
  • With some prefixes: anti-inflammatory, pre-Civil War
  • With numbers: twenty-four, thirty-day period
  • To link adjectives before a noun: zero-tolerance policy, short-term investment, off-the-cuff remark, best-kept secret
• Dashes can be used in place of commas, parentheses, or colons.
  • Look—a squirrel!
  • What I meant to say is—hey, are you paying attention?
  • You have three options—fight, flight, or surrender.
  • The original version of the document—the one I hold here—is worded differently.

In-Text Citations and References

• Limit the number of in-text citations and references. Note: This is an exception to APA guidelines.
• Use the one or two most relevant references to cite. Avoid disrupting the flow of the text with several citations.
• Do not cite information that can be considered common knowledge for readers of ReThinking Behavior —certified educators.
• Avoid references that are several years old with questionable relevance to current practices, with the exception of “classic” information and research.
• For references with three or more authors, include the first author and et al. in all in-text citations and include all authors in the reference list: (Smith et al., 2019). Note: This is an exception to APA guidelines.

Internet Terms

• Always capitalize Internet; do not capitalize online.
• Use website and email, not site and e-mail.
• When a URL comes at the end of a sentence, put a period after it.
• Provide complete URLs for as many relevant links as possible. Active links may be applied at publication.
• Hyperlink the first mention, then use regular text from that point on.
• Capitalize Google when used as a proper noun, not when used as a verb: She googled the term.

Italics

• Use italics with the following:
  • Titles of books, journals, periodicals, films, podcasts, television shows, longer poems, magazines, videos, paintings, sculptures, and speeches
  • Foreign words not yet assimilated into American English
  • Legal citations
  • Letters of the alphabet when referring to them as letters: The letter G
  • Scientific names
  • Words, phrases, or letters presented as linguistic examples: Kids learn words such as play and game when...
  • Some statistical information: n = 5
  • The anchors of a scale: Scores ranged from 0 ( never ) to 5 ( continuously ).
  • To introduce a new key technical term or label
• Do not use italics for foreign phrases common in English ( et al. , a posteriori , ex post facto ) or names of sacred works such as the Bible or the Koran.
• Article titles, chapters, and episodes require quotation marks, not italics.
• In The New York Times , the word “the” would be in regular type.
• Use italics very sparingly for emphasis—otherwise, emphasis is lost.

Lists

• When listing items that must appear in a certain order within a paragraph, avoid using (a), (b), and (c) or (1), (2), and (3). Instead:
  • The teacher followed this sequence: I do, we do, and you do.
  • The strategy includes information gathering, peer sharing, and assignment completion, in that order.
• Use vertical and/or bulleted lists for sets of five or more items.

Names

• In most cases, use a person’s last name. Do not include titles or credentials.

Numbers

• The numbers one through nine should be written out, while numbers above nine should be presented numerically.
• Numbers starting a sentence are always spelled out.
• Numbers in a series should be written as follows:
  • Competitors 1–8 will be first; competitors 152–160 will be next.
  • State awards as the first-place winner or the 14th-place rider.

Person-First Language

• Use students with behavioral disorders, not BD students.
• Use teacher of students with autism, not autism teacher.
• Use program for students with special needs, not special needs program.
• Use identity-first language when it is preferred by the individual/group: autistic adult.

Photos and Graphics

• Include the photographer/artist name and source for all photos and graphics.
• Use royalty-free, public-domain, or copyright-free photos, or obtain permission from the photographer to use a photo.
• Take or obtain high-resolution photos. Save and send photos in the highest quality available. Most cell phone cameras work well.
• Sources for royalty-free graphics: Snappa’s free stock photo guide .

Pronouns

• The singular “they” or “their” is endorsed by APA 7th Edition as a gender-neutral pronoun.
  • A researcher’s career depends on how often they are cited.
• Use an individual’s preferred pronouns whenever possible.
• Avoid making assumptions about an individual’s gender or pronouns.

Quotation Marks, Exclamation Points, and Question Marks

• Use quotation marks with titles of articles, chapters, episodes, songs, and short poems.
• In American English, put periods and commas inside quotation marks.
  • “Don’t underestimate me,” she said with a disarmingly friendly smile.
  • I can never remember how to spell “bureaucracy.”
• Semicolons, colons, and dashes always go outside quotation marks.
  • Her favorite song was “Gangnam Style”; she spent weeks learning the dance.
• Put question marks and exclamation points inside quotation marks unless they apply to the sentence as a whole.
  • Reynold asked, “Can we have ice cream for dinner?”
  • Do you actually like “Gangnam Style”?

Reprinted Articles

• Reprint information will be printed with appropriate credit to the copyright holder at the end of the article. Example:
  • Published with permission from Teaching Tolerance , volume #, issue #, pages, May 3, 2022. Web version available at http://www...

Spaces

• Use one space between sentences in a paragraph and after a comma, semicolon, or colon.

Tables and Figures

• Tables and figures will not follow APA style guidelines; format will be determined with our graphic artist.

Titles

• Use ReThinking Behavior as the title of our magazine.
• Titles of articles should be engaging and conversational. Consider “It’s About Time” rather than “Organizational Strategies to Increase Instructional Time.”
• Consult these resources:
  • Goins, Writer: Catchy Headlines
  • Enchanting Marketing: Headline Formulas
  • Dreamgrow: Seven Easy Tricks to Write Catchy Headlines

Web Addresses

• Web addresses will be accessible in the published magazine through active links. URLs will not be published in the text or included within a reference.

Reference Format and Examples

From APA 7th Edition and Purdue OWL.

Journal Article

Include the DOI as a hyperlink if available.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Book

Publisher location is not included. Applies to authored and edited books.

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle . Publisher Name.

Magazine Article

Peterzell, J. (1990, April). Better late than never. Time, 135 (17), 20–21.

Newspaper Article

Schultz, S. (2005, December). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The Country Today , 1A, 2A.

Webpage Content

Authored webpage:

Last Name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page . Site Name. URL

Organization webpage:

Group Name. (Year, Month Date). Title of page . Site Name. URL

YouTube

Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of video [Video]. Streaming Service. URL

TED Talk

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of talk [Video]. TED. URL

Film or Video

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production Company.

Podcast

Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Range of publication). Title of podcast [Audio podcast]. Production Company. URL

Note: In place of the executive producer, you can also list the host of the podcast.