About the Particle
Submission and Style Guide
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The Particle is a trustworthy and reliable resource to help all publics understand science, mathematics, environmentalism, engineering, technology, etc. , (henceforth referred to as “science”) in accessible terms. We seek to provide an outlet for writers and creators to talk about science, no matter their background.
The Particle seeks to cover all science and science-adjacent topics in quality articles. News articles, personal stories, interviews, and all forms of non-fiction writing is welcome to The Particle for submission. These pieces should seek to help the public understand science or science-adjacent topics better than before they read the article.
Interested in Joining the Particle?
Submissions should be in U.S. English and free of grammar, spelling, or language issues. Additionally, submissions should follow the style guide below. The easiest way to request to contribute is by contacting the editors via The Particle’s Twitter or Facebook page. Please be prepared to share a published writing sample or a draft writing sample.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the editors via The Particle’s Twitter or Facebook page.
Style Guide
The provided style guide helps keep a consistent experience fore readers throughout our publication. All submissions should follow the Style Guide. For Medium terms and guides, visit the Medium Blogging Guide.
Topics, Language, and Diction
- The Particle does not allow any offensive, profane, or inappropriate language for our wide audience. We reserve the right to reject such content.
- The Particle seeks to be a non-discriminatory and inclusive publication to help women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ remain respected in the science community. As a result, we strongly encourage inclusive writing styles. The University of Western Australia and the Linguistic Society have two wonderful resources for those first learning inclusive writing. Our editors will help ensure your writing is inclusive.
- For those beginning news article writing, OWL Purdue has a section on their site about journalistic writing.
Titles and subtitles
- Submissions should have a clear and descriptive title and subtitle at the top of the article. These are the first thing a reader sees when opening your article. If you are struggling with a title, please provide write “WORKING TITLE” in caps. Our editors can help brainstorm.
- Titles should be written in title case. Subtitles should be written in sentence case. “Capitalize My Title” can be used if you’re having trouble.
- Submissions should use Medium’s built-in title and subtitle formatting. Adding a kicker is permissible only when identifying and connecting a series of stories within The Particle.
Images
- All submissions must include at least one unique feature image. This image, and any other images included, must be something you have the legal right to publish. Medium is partnered with Unsplash to easily add images with proper citation to every submission.
- All images require a caption clearly citing the source and usage rights, even if it is a photo taken or created by the author. This citation should read “Photo: Photographer/Source” or “Photo: Photographer (Source)” with the source linked. When an image is provided by the author or permission has been granted individually, the citation should read “Photo Courtesy of Person Who Provided Image” or “Photo Courtesy of Author First Name Last Name.”
- Submissions that do not follow the image guidelines will not be published until corrected. If you are having trouble accurately sourcing images, please feel free to reach out to our editors. We reserve the right to remove questionable images from otherwise acceptable submissions.
Section headings
- If a submission is broken into sections, properly formatted section headings are required. This is recommended for articles over 500 words.
- Section headings should be written in sentence case without trailing punctuation. Section headings should not be more than one sentence long. If this is confusing, this tool can help properly format in sentence case.
Text formatting
- Utilize Medium’s tools for formatting text.
- When importing a story from another source, ensure the formatting is correct before submitting for publication.
- Drop caps are not permissible in any submission.
- Ensure lists trigger Medium’s automatic list formatting. This occurs when a paragraph begins with an asterisk (*) or a dash (-).
- Pull quotes and block quotes may not used as section headings or as a way to emphasize text.
