Style Sheet & Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation

Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice (LR:TMP) reports on contemporary research and theory in literacy and literacy education reflecting the content of the Literacy Research Association Annual Conference. Manuscripts grounded in a wide array of theoretical, methodological, and knowledge traditions as well as those speaking across paradigms are welcomed. LR:TMP includes refereed articles by both emerging scholars and more established researchers. We invite all presenters at the Annual LRA Conference to submit articles based on their presentations for possible inclusion in LR:TMP.

LR:TMP is a double-anonymized peer-reviewed publication. Only manuscripts that were presented at the 2025 Literacy Research Association Annual Conference and not under consideration for publication through another outlet will be considered for LR:TMP Volume 75. Acceptance of papers by the 2025 LRA Annual Conference program committee does not guarantee publication in LR:TMP.

All submissions will be made electronically through ScholarOne. ScholarOne will automatically generate an email receipt when your manuscript is successfully submitted. After preliminary editorial review, at least three reviewers with expertise in the subject area will be invited to evaluate each manuscript. All manuscripts will receive a double-anonymized review. Authors are cautioned to report their research in ways that will not provide unnecessary clues to their identities. References to the author’s work can be inserted upon acceptance.

Manuscripts will be evaluated and selected for inclusion in LR:TMP based on the following criteria:

●      Scholarship: Situated in relevant and contemporary scholarship

●      Framing: Cogency of theoretical and/or conceptual framing

●      Methodology: Modes and/or techniques of inquiry and analysis well-suited to questions/focus

●      Findings/Conclusions: Well-supported findings and/or conclusions

●      Coherence: Clear organization and coherence across all sections of the manuscript

●      Significance: Contribution to knowledge, theory, method, and/or practice in the field of literacy

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION CHECKLIST

●      Manuscripts: Aimed toward 7500-8500 words, not to exceed 9000 words including abstract (250 words), references, figures (1/2 page=205 words), and tables;

●      Submit manuscript as a word document

●      Submit figures and tables as a separate word document

●      Figures and tables submitted as separate documents

●      Permissions for photos, videos, links, and texts

●      Include 4-5 keywords

●      Include order of authors and institutional affiliation and ORCID for each author

●      APA guidelines (7th edition)

●      A Microsoft Word document should be uploaded to: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/lrtmp

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

1. Follow APA style (7th edition) when preparing the text, reference list, tables, and figures. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) is available from the American Psychological Association (1200 17th Street N. W., Washington, D.C. 20036). Please pay particular attention to APA guidelines for headings, references, and construction of tables and figures.
2. Content and clarity of communication are critical considerations for acceptance.
3. LR:TMP rarely publishes endnotes or footnotes. Please incorporate this information into the text.
4. Name the file with the title of the article, not the author’s/authors’ names to ensure masked review. Please consult the APA guide (7th edition) for information about masking manuscripts both in the body of the manuscript and reference list. Submit the masked Microsoft Word manuscript electronically on the ScholarOne website.

○      Include 4-5 keywords. These keywords will appear beneath the abstract in the publication.     

○      Authors should aim for 7500-8500 words, not to exceed 9000 words, including an abstract (up to 250 words), tables, figures, images, etc.

○      Specify the order of authors and include the institutional affiliation and ORCID for each author.

5. To meet length specifications, consider the following:

○      Eliminate nonessential words and phrases. Removing unnecessary prepositions, articles, and superfluous phrases often reduces an article by one to three pages.

○      Use tables and figures only when absolutely necessary, as these items can add considerably to the length of the manuscript. Tables, figures, and images should be included only when they increase clarity. Information in tables/figures/images should not be repeated in the narrative. Authors must select tables/figures/images to be half or full page, although the final decision will be made by Sage based upon the quality of the tables/figures/images. Each table/figure/image included in the manuscript will be included in the word count (1-page image = 410 words; ½ page image = 205 words). 

6. Figures should be uploaded as separate files according to the following guidelines:

○      Format–TIFF, JPEG, PDF: Common format for pictures (containing no text or graphs). EPS: Preferred format for graphs and line art (retains quality when enlarging/zooming in). Microsoft Office files (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) are also accepted.

○      Resolution–Rasterized based files (i.e. with .tiff or .jpeg extensions) require a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Line art should be supplied with a minimum resolution of 800 dpi.

○      Color–Please note that images supplied in color will be published in color online and black and white in print (unless otherwise arranged). Therefore, it is important that you supply images that are comprehensible in black and white as well (i.e. by using color with a distinctive pattern or dotted lines). The captions should not include words indicating color. 

7. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for photos, videos, links, and texts included within their manuscripts.
8. Confirmation of manuscript receipt will be sent to the contact author when the submission is successfully submitted via ScholarOne. If confirmation notice is not received, please contact LRA_LRTMP@illinoisstate.edu with “Confirmation Request” in the subject line.
9. Timeline for peer review and editorial decisions:

•            February 9, 2026 : Author Submission Deadlines
• March 13, 2026: Peer Reviews Due
•       April 15-24, 2026: Decision Letters Sent to Corresponding Authors 

Conflict of interest
It is the policy of Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within all published articles.

It is the policy of Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within all published articles. Please ensure that you have declared any conflict of interest during the submission process in ScholarOne. Visit this page for more information about identifying conflicts of interest.

Funding acknowledgement
Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice requires all authors to acknowledge any funding sources during the submission process in ScholarOne. For funded projects, you will be asked to list the name of the funding agency and the grant or award number in ScholarOne. Please visit this page for more information about funding acknowledgments.
 
Informed Consent
All research studies with human participants must have been performed in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Ethical approval must have been obtained for all protocols from the local institutional review board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee. You will be asked to confirm this to be the case during the submission process in ScholarOne. For research articles, authors are also required to attest that participants provided informed consent (and assent, if applicable).

Authors must be prepared to provide further information to the journal editorial office upon request

*Manuscripts that do not meet these guidelines or submission deadlines may not be reviewed or may be rejected at the editorial level.

For more information, please refer to the Sage Manuscript Submission Guidelines.