Designing your Encyclopedia Article
Thank you for agreeing to contribute to the Encyclopedia of Sociology. As you prepare to write your essay, please keep in mind the general goals of the Encyclopedia and Blackwell's guidelines for submission.
1. On Encyclopedias and Encyclopedia Entries
A number of characteristics your Encyclopedia of Sociology entry should have:
- A repository of current knowledge, an overview of what we now know
- Locate current knowledge in historical, intellectual context
- Be comprehensive
- Be balanced
- Be integrative- in terms of disciplines, themes, topics, and so on
Unlike a typical journal or book article, encyclopedia entries should contain relatively few references. Only the most important works and findings of a particular area of study should be cited explicitly. If an idea discussed in the entry is “common” knowledge there is no need to provide a reference.
2. Size and Organization of Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia of Sociology will be at least 8 volumes and contain approximately 1500 entries. While the writing assignments have been divided among roughly 30 editorial areas, in the final product, the entries will be listed in alphabetical order. There are four different entry lengths:
A+: approximately 6000 words
A: up to 3000 words
B: up to 2000 words
C: 500-1000 words
The length of the essay is based on an editorial judgment about a topic's relative significance within sociology. Authors should stay within the length assigned to their entry.
3. Entry Format
The format of each entry depends on its length and the type of material with which it deals. For example, entries focused on sociological theories will no doubt look different than entries on sociological figures, and these will differ from entries that describe sociological methods. Nevertheless, we recommend that each article strive for an Encyclopedia style. In particular, we suggest a pyramid structure in which an overview of the subject is followed by progressively greater detail. Each encyclopedia entry should introduce the reader to the full range of relevant issues and information, but at the same time avoid becoming caught up in overly specific details and academic debates.
For further guidelines, see Writing Guidelines.
4. Audience
The major purchasers of the encyclopedia will be libraries, both university and public. The major readership will be sociologists, other scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, and a broad literate audience. The goal should be to create entries that are accessible to the latter without compromising content and losing a more scholarly audience.
5. Use of Previously Published Material
Authors should avoid using material that they have previously published. If you do reuse materials from previous projects, we strongly encourage a revision based on the encyclopedia format. This revision should be demonstrably different from previous work.
