1. Academic Integrity Policy

1. 1. Submission to this journal does not guarantee publication.

   2. We do not accept submissions researched or written with AI assistance. 

   3. All work should be entirely original to the author and feature proper citations.

   4. Images, illustrations, and graphs can be included in papers, but they must have proper citation and/or permissions. 

   5. Submissions can be based on papers for class or independently written. Independently written papers should be reviewed by a history (or other relevant, history-adjacent) professor prior to submission. 

   6. Papers should have been written within roughly the last academic year.

   7. Papers later discovered to have not followed the Academic Integrity Policy may be removed from the "On Second Thought" website and other relevant locations.

2. Formatting

   1. Body text should be double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt font.

   2. Footnotes should be single-spaced, Times New Roman, 10pt font.

   3. Block quotes should be single-spaced and indented 1 inch, not italicized.

3. Works Cited

   1. All citations should be formatted according to the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual Style.

   2. A bibliography is not necessary.

4. Length and Composition

   1. Papers should have a historical focus, but can be written for a class in any department or independently. 

   2. Papers should aim to be no more than 2500 words, and no fewer than 1500. Longer papers (such as term papers) can be submitted and may be edited down after being accepted.

   3. Pieces should be grammatically correct and free of typographical errors.

5. Writing Style

   1. Papers should be academically rigorous, but language should be relatively approachable to non-historians to maintain the journal's accessibility. Do your best to avoid excessive use of jargon, and include historical context when relevant.

6. Submissions should include:

   1. Your paper, in a Google Doc. The document’s title should include your full name and OST.

   2. A title that expresses the subject matter discussed in your paper.

   3. An abstract of roughly 200 words summarizing the paper’s subject matter, argument, and methodology. This is not included in your paper’s word count.

Keep in mind that submissions that do not follow the guidelines will not be considered for publication.