SUBMISSION RUBRIC: USURJ special issue, “Disrupting and Expanding the Status Quo.”

Rubric for Special Issue Submissions:

   

1: Legal / Ethical

• Special Issue Publication agreement is filled out.
• The primary author must be an undergrad, or someone who graduated up to two years ago.
• The language is not biased or harmful.
• Submission is free of Copyright infringement and Plagiarism.
• Consider special copyright considerations for Indigenous Knowledges.

2: Suitability

• The submission conforms to special issue criteria. See USURJ’s flyer.

3: Organization

• The submission is well organized and structured for a general audience.

4: Content

• Relevant voices in the (scholarly) conversation are represented.
• Information is accurate, up-to-date, and well researched. 

5: Clarity

• Visual and audio elements, as well as tables, are clear to the context of the work.   
• Sentences are not overly complex or lengthy for no apparent artistic or rhetorical reason.
• No issues of accessibility, such as contrast issues with images, using colour alone to convey meaning, or lack of alt text.

6: Language

• Shifts in tone, tense, or level of formality are appropriate to the context of the work.
• No unexplained jargon/technical terminology.
• Content about a person’s or peoples’ characteristics is written in a way that is respectful of intersectionality.
• Writing is  concise.

7: Proofreading

• The work follows commonly agreed-upon principles of punctuation, (unless there is a reason not to e.g., World Englishes, language experimentation, political act, play, mixed languages, or multilingual).

 8: Consistency

• Tables, photos, multimedia, and other visual elements consistent with surrounding text are consistently presented (e.g., headings, numbers, captions).
• If relevant to the genre, the work conforms to rules of style for the chosen style guide (APA, MLS, CMS etc.).

9: Accuracy and Completeness

• No errors in math, statistics, or numerals (e.g., conversions, incorrect totals).
• No missing captions or headings, email addresses, or web links.  
• No missing citations (unsupported generalizations, tables missing data sources, quotations or paraphrased material without citations).
• Traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders are cited properly.

10: Genre-Specific Resources and Considerations

•  Images are high resolution; unnecessary elements/white spaces are removed.
• Videos include alt-text, closed captioning/transcript, and appropriate warnings.
• Reflective writing moves beyond basic description of experiences to critically review existing knowledge, question assumptions, and works to understand self, others, or disciplinary concepts.