General Rules

I. Abstract
We ask that you provide an abstract written in English. The length is up to your discretion but should not exceed 100 words and should sufficiently summarize your paper's content.

II. Keywords
Each submission should have at least ten keywords, which will be inserted into SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by the editor. This allows for a search engine to find the article more efficiently. Keywords should be provided by the author(s) in English.

III. Text

Word Count:

MPMS adheres to the following guidelines regarding text length:

Culture: 1500 words,
History: 2000 words,
Society: 1500 words,
Poland Off the Beaten Path: 600 words

Submissions that exceed the text length guidelines by more than 10% may be shortened according to the editor’s discretion.
 

All articles must be submitted in English. Due to quality issues, do not use translation software if you are translating from Polish to English. Many translation software does not grasp the nuances between languages, making the editor’s job more difficult to discern incorrectly translated passages.

Please always look for Polish-American perspectives on the proposed subject.

Example: There have been many notable soccer players in the Polish national team; preference would be given to those living and working in the United States. Deyna played in the U.S., but not Lubanski, who played in Belgium. Therefore, Deyna is a preferred subject.

 

Also, within the specific subject – please stress Polish American relationships.

Example: There have been many notable soccer players in the Polish national team; preference would be given to those living and working in the United States. Deyna played in the U.S., but not Lubanski, who played in Belgium. Therefore, Deyna is a preferred subject.

 

Also, within the specific subject – please stress Polish-American relationships.

Example: Deyna played for the Polish soccer national team in the 1970s and was considered one of the world's best soccer players. However, the paper about Deyna should stress his career in the United States in the 1980s rather than time spent in Europe.

Layout:

Do not have ANY layout. The MPMS editor will directly format the articles. Therefore all previous styling unnecessarily increases the amount of work.

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Version Numbers:

Please save your files with the version number of each edit. Minor edits should be noted in the following manner: (1_01, 1_02, etc.), while significant edits should be denoted by a change in the first numeral: (1_01, 2_01, etc.) This makes each version easier to track by the editors should a question arise about a previous version.

Pictures:

A picture is worth more than 1000 words… As a rule: each text should be richly illustrated. The amount of pictures is up to the author’s discretion. Pictures should add to the content of your story. Each picture must be numbered (i.e., pic_001, pic_002, etc.)
Provide pictures in jpg format only. Provide picture resolutions of at least 1200x800. Please avoid providing unsharp photographs.
Please mind copyrights: use public domain or obtain required permissions for each submitted photograph/illustration.

Picture Captions:

Picture captions should be attached in a separate file and be clearly linked to picture numbers.
Both pictures and captions must be submitted by email attached to the main article. If the file exceeds 10 MB, submit it by WeTransfer.com.

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References:
Please provide exact references in the case of scientific papers. For non-scientific publications, please provide recommended readings (non-scientific papers) at least 3-5 in English and 3-5 in Polish (if applicable). BOTH references and recommended readings should be available online. English sources are preferred, as the majority of our audience is English-speaking.

Try to avoid password-protected references or for which a subscription is required (i.e., Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and academic databases such as JSTOR). References should be easily accessible to all readers.

Provide a brief description of the provided recommended readings. See examples below:
Don Patterson “Ex Socker Deyna killed in Car Crash,” Los Angeles Times Sept 2, 1989. Accessed on January 6, 2021.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-02-sp-1092-story.html

Strejlau about Kazimierz Deyna. Accessed on January 6, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbEBFogQ2N0

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DOB:

Add DOB and death (if applicable) for all people in your publication who have a particular importance.

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IV. Code of Conduct

MPMS does NOT ACCEPT any form of racism, sexism, nationalism, conspiracy theories, discrimination regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or controversial religious/political statements. MPMS wants to build bridges and not divide people. We strive to be welcoming and accessible to all readers. We are a neutral organization that does not take sides. Any submissions that violate these rules will be rejected.

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Mini AP Stylebook Manual

 

MPMS uses the Associated Press Stylebook. Here are some basic guidelines:

Quotations
Each speaker should be introduced before or after the quotation. In the event of a quotation that is five lines or more, use block quotation format by indenting each line. Quotation marks are not necessary for block quotations.

Quotation Marks
Only use quotation marks (“) surrounding a dialogue or conversation. Punctuation (commas, periods, question marks) should always go inside quotation marks. “What time is it?” “It is noon.” NOT “What time is it”? “It is noon.”

Names of People
Always introduce people by their first and last names. Every reference afterward should only refer to their last name (unless the subject is living and specifies that they would like to be referred to by first name).
Titles are spelled out fully, capitalized, and go before the name. i.e.,” President Agnieszka Holland spoke in front of the European Film Academy. Holland spoke about the importance of saving independent cinema.”
Please note that some titles, such as professor, are not capitalized. See the AP Stylebook for specific examples.
Names of Produced Works (journals, magazines, newspapers, books, movie titles, song titles, etc.)

All names should be capitalized but not offset in quotation marks or italics (contrary to Chicago Manual of Style) ie. The Los Angeles Times, Game of Thrones, Symphony No. 9

Numbers

Numbers from zero to ten are spelled out; all numbers from 11 onward are denoted in numeric form. ie. Two dogs; 25 dogs
The only exception to this case is if a sentence begins with a numeric figure, ie. “Five hundred students attended the graduation ceremony.”

Dates and Times

Use the American format of a.m. or p.m. Note that it is lowercase and that a period follows each letter: i.e., 7 a.m. NOT 7 A.M. or 7 AM
 

Dates are listed in the following order: Month/Date/Year.

Always spell out the names of the months, rather than using numerical notations.
ie. January 19, 2021, NOT January 19, 2021 or 19/1/21.

Also, note the following abbreviations for months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., March, April, May, June, and July are not abbreviated.

V. Order of Authors

In the event that there is more than one author, the order is entirely up to their discretion. You may be listed alphabetically or in order of the contribution amount (ie. the person who writes 80% of the article is listed; first, and the person who writes 20% of the article is listed last).

VI. Acknowledgments

Statements of acknowledgment to contributing parties (i.e., grant providers) are allowed. No acknowledgment for third parties such as businesses, politically- or religiously-affiliated organizations, or other non-profit or for-profit organizations is allowed.

VII. Plagiarism

Do NOT copy and paste from the Internet. It may result in legal consequences. Online sources are easily trackable. MPMS will check each submission for plagiarism and not accept submissions that do not cite sources unless otherwise agreed.

VIII. KOM (Kick-Off Meeting)

Each potential author will have a virtual or face-to-face meeting with the Editor-In-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Meetings are for discussing content only. Please do not submit until you have met with MPMS.

Agenda of KOM:

a. Review of the proposed subject (with particular emphasis on the Polish-American connections of the subject)
b. Review of the submission manual step-by-step / review of requirements
c. Set up of the timelines
d. Discussion of the submission process (submit the paper, pictures, picture descriptions, and copyright statements to office@pamsm.org, wait for feedback from proofreader and editor, provide answers to queries within requested timelines, etc.)

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January 22, 2021, Ver 4.01

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