Template to remember compulsory items in U4 publications

Use this template to submit publication drafts and final versions to U4 series editors and for director approval. Please add all required items. This template gives you instructions to follow for each item.

In this template, series editors (normally a U4 adviser liaising with external authors) can complete the fields marked with (Ed.).

Publication policy

Remind yourself of U4’s U4 publication policy before submitting a draft paper. This ensures that you are on the right path in terms of length, formats, compulsory sections, correct citatio U4 publication template n practices, and generally helps uphold U4’s high standards for publications.

Style guide

Authors shall also follow the U4 style guide with rules on language, spelling, tone, and readability – which ensures that U4’s materials are coherent and accessible. U4 engages copyeditors for all publications, and they also check that texts follow the set style, which ensures coherence and accessibility of U4’s publications.

Quality assurance

You can also check out the details about U4’s publication types and quality assurance process.

COMPULSORY ITEMS FOR APPROVAL FOR PUBLISHING

Title

Accurate. Short. Stand alone. Pain points and solutions. Keywords first. It is optional to split a long title into two sentences. The second part – the subtitle – gets less visual emphasis than the title. Aim for 8–14 words / 70 characters with spaces for each part of the title.

Write your title here – you may suggest several versions:

Authors and ‘about the authors’

List authors in order of their level of contribution. Add a short bio paragraph for each author on expertise and affiliation. All U4 publications by a given author display the same bio text as it’s saved centrally. (If you have written for U4 before, we already have your bio – update it now if you wish).

List the authors (and bios, if applicable) here:

Series editors

List the responsible U4 staff member(s) who coordinates the publication.

(Ed.) List the editors here:

Publication type

Will the publication be a Brief, Issue, Practice Insight, Guide, Practitioner Experience Note, or Report? The difference explained.

(Ed.) Specify the agreed publication type here:

Lead text

One or two main points to highlight importance, relevance, and benefit for development professionals. Aim for 400–500 characters with spaces (60–70 words). Remember to comply with the policy, including revealing the news upfront.

Write your lead text here: (best done last, after the main text is drafted)

Main points

List 2–10 implications/recommendations/must-knows for development professionals and others who can make a difference: 1–2 punchy sentences per point.

List your main points here: (best done last, after the main text is drafted)

Main text

The main body text of the publication. Please comply with all rules in the publication policy relating to citations, how to organise your content, and best practice for tables, figures, graphs, and charts.

Write your main text here:

Reference list

All sources you have cited by author-date in the text must be on your reference list, and every source on your reference list must be cited in the text. See the policy for correct layout and style.

Insert your references here:

COMPULSORY ITEMS BEFORE COPYEDITING

Short version: summary and/or blog post

This point applies to publications longer than Briefs (3000 words). A summary (neutral style drawing on just the main text) and/or a blog post (personal style, may reflect on wider issues) in a light 700–1000 word narrative. See policy and blog guide. Include the main recommendations and/or implications and findings, and why this is important.

Write your summary and/or blog here (specify if it is a summary or a blog):

Standfirst

The comms team or copyeditor can supply this quick promo-text for other channels. What is the publication about? Say one thing that convince readers that they will lose out by not reading it. Aim for 170–200 characters with spaces, or 1–2 short lines.

Write your standfirst here:

Pull-quotes

Highlight in green in the main text what you consider the most interesting and preferably solution-oriented snapshots of your research findings/messages. Follow the policy regarding how many to suggest, etc. Copyeditors can shorten pull-quotes for better fit.

Topics

Select relevant U4 topics in order of importance (see menu on u4.no: RESEARCH TOPICS). Normally 1–2 topics.

(Ed.) List the topics here:

OPTIONAL ITEMS BEFORE COPYEDIT

Abbreviations

List your abbreviations if it helps the reader navigate the text.

Enter abbreviations here:

Methodology

For long texts, you may wish to provide a clear statement of the research question and explain your methodology.

Write your methodology here:

Acknowledgements

If you wish to mention certain names.

Write your acknowledgements here:

Partnership

If applicable, write details about joint-publishing organisations, special funding, etc. You can include logo(s):

(Ed.) Enter partnership details here:

COMPULSORY ITEMS BEFORE PUBLISHING

Keywords

Choose from these available U4 keywords or suggest new ones based on our keyword requirements. List 5–10 keywords not including ‘corruption/anti-corruption’. Include countries and world regions.

(Ed.) List your keywords here:

Recommended and related content

Suggest up to three resources from U4 or others, see policy.

(Ed.) List your recommendations here, including URLs:

Photos

We welcome your suggestions for photos for the cover and the inside of publications. All photos must comply with U4's photo policy.

Please paste your photo(s) here, including information on permission to use, photographer, source URL, and possible captions: