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Creative Writing Format

Manuscripts must be submitted by the end of the 7th week of the quarter. The submission deadline for spring 2016 is May 20, 2016 by 5:00 pm. You are required to upload an electronic copy of the manuscript to CSUSB ScholarWorks, pay the Digital Archive and Review fee, and submit a hard copy of the committee certification form, with all original signatures, by the deadline (a copy of the review fee receipt should be attached to the committee certification form). Manuscripts will be reviewed once all documents have been received and the fee has been paid. We encourage you to submit early!

Note: The committee certification form must be signed by all faculty who previously signed the signature page. (The manuscript will no longer include a signed signature page.) Proxy signatures, phone calls, and emails from faculty will not be accepted in place of signatures. There will be no exceptions.

Creative Writing students should only submit the material they want posted on ScholarWorks (title page through statement of purpose is required). Do not submit the creative work (fiction/poetry) unless you would like it posted on ScholarWorks. Please discuss with your committee.

ScholarWorks now offers open access and restricted access to your manuscript. 
Open Access: The manuscript can be viewed by all via the internet
Restricted Access: Only CSUSB students, faculty and staff can view the manuscript

The manuscript will be checked for plagiarism via Turnitin.com and reviewed for formatting by a thesis reviewer. If there are no corrections, it will immediately be uploaded to the ScholarWorks repository; therefore, it is important that material submitted for review is complete. Once uploaded, it cannot be removed. If corrections are required before the manuscript can be posted, you will receive an email with a memo attached listing the corrections. You are responsible for making the changes and resubmiting the corrected manuscript to ScholarWorks. All manuscripts must be approved for electronic publication in the electronic depository by the publication deadline.

Publication Deadline: TBA - on hiatus

The manuscript must be approved for publication on ScholarWorks by this date. Students who do not make the deadline, as well as those whose manuscripts are rejected, must defer their graduation and resubmit the following quarter.

 

Manuscript Completion

The last day of the spring 2016 quarter is June 17, 2016. The entire manuscript (including the creative work) must be complete and submitted to the Creative Writing program by this date. However, your program may have earlier deadlines. Follow the process and deadlines developed by your program.

 

Formatting for Creative Writing Projects

General guidelines are listed below. For more information, see the Graduate Studies handbook, 

 

Handbook-2014-FINAL_001.pdf 

. The handbook is free online. Please call the Office of Graduate Studies at (909) 537-5058 if you have any questions.

 

 

Order of Project Pages

  1. Title Page
  2. Committee Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Abstract (should be numbered page iii)
  5. Acknowledgements
  6. Table of Contents (should include Abstract, Statement of Purpose, headings within Statement of Purpose, and Appendix. Do not list Title and Committee pages.)
  7. Statement of Purpose ( should be numbered page 1)
  8. References/bibliography (if references are included in the Statement of Purpose)
  9. Appendix Title Page (creative work follows, if included)

 

General Formatting

The font for the title page, committee page, abstract, table of contents and statement of purpose is Arial, 12 point type, double-spaced. See the templates on our website. For more detailed formatting guidelines, including headings, see Chapter Four in A Guide to Graduate Studies.

Margins: Margins for the entire project should be:

  • Top Margin - 1 1/4" / one and one-quarter inches
  • Left Margin - 1 1/2" / one and one-half inches
  • Right Margin - 1" / one inch
  • Bottom Margin - 1 1/4" / one and one-quarter inches
  • Page Number Margin - 3/4" / three-quarter inches
    • Page numbers are measured from the bottom of the number to the bottom of the page and should be centered. Page numbers should be in Arial, 12 pt.

Abstract: The word ABSTRACT is in all capital letters and centered at the top of the page. The text begins on the next double-spaced line below.

Statement of Purpose: The words STATEMENT OF PURPOSE are in all capital letters and centered at the top of the page. There should be two double-spaces after the heading.

Page Numbering: The title page, committee page, and copyright page are not numbered. The abstract is numbered page iii, and is the first number to appear. Continue numbering with lowercase roman numerals up to the Statement of Purpose. The Statement of Purpose should begin on page 1, and should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) ending with the Appendix title page. The manuscript itself may have its own page numbering and table of contents as determined by the author.

Manuscript: The manuscript will be placed in an appendix. See the sample Appendix template on our website. Follow the same margin requirements used for the rest of the project.

 

Creative Writing Resources and Templates

 

 

Please Note: The Office of Graduate Studies does not endorse or promote the use of professional thesis/project/dissertation formatters. The University offers free and substantial resources to students who need formatting assistance.