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LibGuides

Publishing in the university's own series

Writing instructions for the University of Vaasa series Acta Wasaensia, University of Vaasa Research Papers and University of Vaasa Reports

Visual appearance

A unified visual appearance is an essential part of effective communication; it supports the University’s brand and has an impact on how familiar the University is to the public. The University’s visual appearance, which is designed by the advertising agency Dynamo, consists of its logo, the University colours, photos and typography. The University’s Communications and PR Unit is responsible for brand control.

Fonts and page layout

  Font Font size Notes
 
Body Georgia 11 also Table heading, Figure Caption and reference text
Heading 1 Lucida Sans 14 all caps, starts a new page
Heading 2 Lucida Sans 14  
Heading 3 Lucida Sans 11 this is the smallest recommended heading font size
table contents sans-serif font, such as Calibri 10  
mathematical formulas Times New Roman 12 Georgia may also be used, but it lacks some special characters

Body text and margins

The basic font is Georgia, and the point size is 11. In template it is called “Body”. Italics are used for highlighting. In special cases, in addition to italics, boldface can be used but underlining cannot. For legibility reasons, highlighting should be used sparingly. The line space in the body text is set at at least 16 pt, the inside margin at 3.57 cm and the outside margin at 2.86 cm. The top margin is 2.98 cm and the bottom margin 3.57 cm.

The inner and outer margins of a publication that is published only online are symmetrical.

Headings

The template contains specific layout styles for headings. They contain all the formatting and blank rows referred to below. The following instructions for point sizes etc. apply to writers who, for one reason or another, fail to use the template.

All headings are the font Lucida Sans, a sans-serif font.

Headings begin from the left marginal. Headings are marked with hierarchical numbering, with no dot after last number. Between numbers and text is a tab stop. First tab stop is 1,55 cm from the left margin. Do not use space bar between numbering and heading text.

Hyphenation should be avoided in all headings.

Heading hierarchy

MAIN HEADING (1st level heading) is written in 14-point uppercase letters. Main headings are not hyphenated. The main heading should be followed by a 29-point blank space if a text paragraph follows. If the main heading is followed by a 2nd level heading, no blank space is needed.

An unnumbered heading (PREFACE, References, Appendices) is placed at the top of the page, aligned with the left margin. The heading PREFACE is written in 14-point uppercase letters. References and Appendices are written in 14-point lowercase letters.

The table of contents is headed Contents, without a number, in 14-point lowercase letters on the top of the page, aligned with the left margin.

A 2nd level heading (1.1 Heading, etc.) is written in 14-point lowercase letters with a 29-point space above and a 12-point space beneath.

A 3rd level heading (1.1.1 Heading) is written in lowercase 11-point (text size) also with a 29-point space above and a 12-point space beneath. If needed, 4th level headings have the same settings.

Tables and figures

Tables and figures are numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, each in their own series (e.g. Table 1., Figure 1., etc.). Between number and heading or caption is a tab stop.

The tables, figures and captions should be self-explanatory without needing to read the body text. Headings and explanations are placed on top of the tables and captions underneath the figures.

Figures must have alternative texts. In addition to a complex chart, a table can be used to represent figures.

If you have to continue the table on the next page, write (jatkuu), (continues), or (fortsätter). On the next page, write the table number on the left and the same text, for example Table 5 (continues). However, it is advisable to keep tables on one page if possible. Repeat table header on subsequent pages.

As regards the text content, try to fit in a maximum of text on each page. References to figures and tables in the text are to be made with numbers, for instance (table 2) or (figure 3), which means that the text will continue uninterrupted by tables or figures. This means that a table, for instance, will be moved to the next page if there is not sufficient space on the current page. Try to avoid partially empty pages in the publication.

If you are writing a publication which will be printed, please observe that the size of the printed book will be 84 % of an A4. Tables and figures must still be readable in the printed version.


Prefer sending horizontal tables and figures separately. Make sure the settings of the template are preserved when copying from another Word document.

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