Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Submission
Manuscripts must be submitted by one of the authors through the Online Submission System of JCIDS. Only Word documents (.doc, .docx) are accepted. Submissions from individuals other than the authors will not be considered.

The submitting author (corresponding author) is responsible for the manuscript throughout the submission and peer-review process. If technical difficulties occur, the author may contact the editorial team via email (jcids_cvla@gmail.com).

Procedure
To submit an article, authors need to register and log in to the journal website.

  1. Visit the JCIDS website: https://ojs.laaudere.org/index.php/JCIDS/about
  2. Click Submissions > Register.
  3. Fill in your profile (name, affiliation, country, phone) and login details (email, username, password).
  4. Agree to the privacy policy and terms of submission.
  5. Confirm reCAPTCHA, then click Register.
  6. Once registered, authors can log in to submit their manuscripts.

Terms of Submission

  • Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.
  • All authors must approve the submission.
  • Submissions not adhering to the guidelines will be returned for correction or rejected.
  • All manuscripts are checked for plagiarism using Turnitin. A similarity index below 15% is required for review.

Language and Style

  • Manuscripts must be written in academic English.
  • Authors are encouraged to have their work professionally edited by a native speaker or language expert before submission.

Manuscript Format

  • Length: 5,000 – 8,000 words (excluding abstract, references, and appendices).
  • File format: MS Word (.doc or .docx).
  • Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
  • Spacing: single-spaced.
  • Margins: standard A4 with 2.5 cm on all sides.
  • Referencing style: APA 7th Edition using Zotero, Mendeley, or similar software.
  • The manuscript has been written in good English and is free of grammatical errors. It has been checked with a proofreading tool (e.g., Grammarly (http://app.grammarly.com) and, if possible, proofread by a language editor.

Submission file (main document or original file):
The main document is a manuscript without the authors’ names, the author's affiliation, and the corresponding author's email address. This document will be used for double-blind peer review.

Supplementary files:

  • Title page (article title; authors’ names; authors’ affiliation; email address of the corresponding author; authors’ contributions, funding, acknowledgements, declaration of conflicting interest, author notes)
  • Cover letter (cover letter should contain authors statements maximum in 4 paragraphs containing the article’s title and authors; the essential part of the abstract containing objective of the study, the employed theory or practice, data collection method, data analysis; considerations why the manuscript is eligible to be published; the statement that the article has not been submitted/under consideration at any other journal/published elsewhere)
  • Submission checklist
  • Statement of originality
  • All the authors’ biodata of 50 words (narrative)
  • Other files (if necessary) such as research data, instruments, etc.

Manuscript Structure

  1. Title – concise, informative, reflecting novelty; avoid uncommon abbreviations. (14 pt, bold).
  2. Author(s) details – full name(s), affiliations, corresponding author’s email. (11 pt).
  3. Abstract – max. 250 words, containing: research gap, aim, method, findings, implications. (12 pt, single paragraph).
  4. Keywords – 3–7 keywords, separated by semicolons, alphabetically arranged.
  5. Introduction – background, literature context, research gap, purpose, contribution.
  6. Literature Review – conceptual/theoretical framework and review of related studies (15–20% of article).
  7. Method – research design, data sources, participants (if applicable), data collection, and analysis (10–15% of article).
  8. Findings – supported by data, highlighting key results.
  9. Discussion – interpretation of findings, engagement with theory and prior research, significance, contradictions, implications (40–60% of article).
  10. Conclusion – restates aims, summarizes findings, highlights contributions, limitations, and recommendations for future research.
  11. Acknowledgements – individuals or institutions that supported the research.
  12. Funding – funding source(s), if any.
  13. Conflict of Interest Statement.
  14. ORCID iD – author’s ORCID link.
  15. References – APA 7th style, minimum 80% journal articles (preferably last 5 years).
  16. Appendices – if necessary (e.g., interview protocols, coding schemes).

Figures and Tables

  • Figures and tables must be numbered consecutively.
  • Title above, source below.
  • Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
  • Align left, ensure readability.

In-text citations

Author: one person
Richards (2001) states that ...
The curriculum in language teaching should be .... (Richards, 2001).

Authors: two people
Taylor and Bogdan (1984) suggest that ...
Qualitative research methods should be ... (Taylor & Bogdan, 1984).

Authors: three people and more
Davies et al. (2011) state that ...
A needs analysis from ........ (Davies et al., 2011).

Referencing Style (APA 7th Edition)
Examples:

  • Journal article (with DOI):
    Fairclough, N. (2018). CDA as dialectical reasoning. Critical Discourse Studies, 15(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2018.1427120
  • Book:
    van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and power. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Edited Book Chapter:
    Wodak, R. (2011). The discourse of politics in action. In T. A. van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary introduction (pp. 525–545). SAGE.
  • Thesis/Dissertation:
    Jones, P. (2020). Identity construction in online political discourse [Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds]. White Rose eTheses Online. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/12345
  • Conference Proceeding:
    Chiluwa, I. (2019). Digital activism in Nigeria. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Language and Power (pp. 34–47). Routledge. https://doi.org/xxxx

Review Process

  • All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review.
  • Reviewers are selected based on expertise in critical discourse analysis and related fields.
  • Editorial decisions are based on originality, methodological rigor, theoretical contribution, and relevance to JCIDS scope.

Checklist before Submission

  • Manuscript prepared according to JCIDS template
  • References follow APA 7th and use Zotero/Mendeley
  • Abstract (max. 250 words) and keywords provided
  • Main document anonymized
  • Title page, cover letter, and author biodata uploaded
  • Checked for plagiarism (Turnitin <15%)
  • Proofread for English grammar and clarity