Formatting guidelines
Please prepare your article according to the journal's formatting requirements before submission. The journal's article template is available in the Microsoft Word format (*.docx) and contains style sheets for all article components.
Adherence to these standards is mandatory for acceptance of articles for the review process.
If you have any questions or issues, please contact our editorial office.
Language
The Journal of Alevi Studies (JAS) currently accepts submissions in English, German, and Turkish. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are written in clear, readable, accurate, and grammatically correct language. Manuscripts should be carefully proofread prior to submission. If the language quality of a manuscript does not meet the standards required for peer review and publication, authors may be asked to arrange for professional language editing, preferably by a native speaker of the language in which the manuscript is written. Any costs associated with such editing are the responsibility of the author.
Formatting guidelines
Below you will find detailed specifications for formatting articles that correspond to the MS Word template and are stored there as style sheets.
In general
- File format: Microsoft Word (*.docx)
• Font color: Black
• Underline: Text is generally not to be underlined, with the exception of URL addresses.
• Typesetting: Left-aligned, no block text
• Page numbers: Consecutive from the first page
Authors
- Names: The names of all authors must be given.
- Affiliation: The affiliation of all authors must be stated. If authors do not belong to an institute, the respective profession and city must be given.
- ORCID: The ORCID iDs of all authors must be given.
Title and subtitle
- Title: 28 pt, bold, spacing: 0 pt before, 24 pt after
- Subtitle: 14 pt, spacing: 24 pt before, 24 pt after
Keywords
- Formatting: 10 pt, spacing: 12 pt before, 6 pt after
- Position: Directly after the abstract
- Separation: Individual words are separated by commas
Headings
- Order: Maximum up to 3rd order. E.g.: 1.2.3 = 3rd order heading.
- Formatting of 1st order headings: 12 pt, bold, spacing: 24 pt before, 12 pt after.
- Formatting 2nd order headings: 12 pt, spacing: 18 pt before, 6 pt after
- Formatting 3rd order headings : 12 pt, spacing: 18 pt before, 6 pt after
Continuous text
- Font size: 10 pt
- Line spacing: 1.5
- Abbreviations: Abbreviations must be defined in the text, including those of institutions and organizations. Abbreviations such as percent or euro must be written out.
- Omissions: Omissions are to be presented as follows: [ ... ]
Numbers and dates
- Numbers: Numbers 1-12 must be written out in full. E.g.: one to twelve. Numbers of 1,000 or more are divided by a period (e.g.: 1,012 or 32,450). Millions and billions must be written out. E.g.: two million, 14 billion.
- Years: Years must be written out in four digits. E.g.: 1998 instead of '98 and 1950s instead of 50s.
- Dates: April 24, 1983 in the body text (dd. month YYYY), 04/24/1983 in the references (DD.MM.YYYY).
Equations
- Display: Word Equation Editor
- Reference in text: All equations must be referenced in the text. E.g.: "equation 1"
- Position: At an appropriate position in the text, not at the end of the manuscript.
- Label position: To the right of the formula. E.g.: a + b = c (1)
- Numbering: Consecutively in the article: equation 1, equation 2, equation 3, ...
Footnotes
- Position: At the bottom of the respective page. Footnotes should be used for explanatory comments only and not for bibliographic references.
Tables
- Grid: Black, horizontal lines only
- Colors: Table fields may not be filled with colors except for light gray
- Font size: 10 pt
- Reference in text: All tables must be referenced in the text. E.g.: "Table 1"
- Position: At an appropriate position in the text, not at the end of the manuscript.
- Caption: 9 pt, spacing: 18 pt before, 6 pt after
- Caption position: Above the table, e.g. "Table 1: Label text of the table".
- Numbering: Consecutively in the article: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, ...
Figures
- Format (for submission): pixel graphic as *.png, embedded in MS Word document
- Format (for production): pixel graphic as *.png (300 dpi and at least 1200 pixels in width), or ideally as vector graphic = *.pdf / *.eps
- Source and rights: The source must be indicated including the image rights.
- Reference in body text: All figures must be referenced in the text. E.g.: "Fig. 1".
- Position: At an appropriate position in the text, not at the end of the manuscript.
- Caption: TheSans UHH, 9 pt, spacing: 6 pt before, 18 pt after.
- Caption position: Below the figure, e.g.: "Figure X: Caption text of the figure".
- Numbering: Sequentially in the article: Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, ...
- Figure composition: Figures consisting of several graphics or images must be divided into panels A, B, C. In the text, references should then be made to e.g. Fig. 1A, B or C.
- File names: Graphic files for article production are to be named identically to the label in the text: "Fig_1", "Fig_2", …
Reference examples according to the CMOS citation style
- Journal article:
Assmann, Jan. 2003. “Cultural Memory: Script, Recollection, and Political Identity in Early Civilizations.” Historiography East and West 1 (2): 154–177. https://doi.org/10.1163/157018603774004485.
Asad, Talal, Geneviève Granata, and David Scott. 2018. “Thinking About Tradition, Religion, and Politics.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 38 (2): 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1215/1089201X-6982212. - Website:
Caulfield, Jack. 2024. “Chicago Author-Date Style: A Complete Guide to Citing Sources.” Scribbr. April 9, 2024. https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/author-date/.
- Book and book chapter:
Anderson, Benedict. 2006. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Rev. ed. London: Verso.
Stausberg, Michael, and Steven Engler, eds. 2017. The Oxford Handbook of the Study of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture.” In The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, ed. Clifford Geertz, 3–30. New York: Basic Books.
For further guidance, authors should consult the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.
Transcription and Transliteration
- Authors should use established orthographic and transliteration conventions consistently throughout their manuscript.
- Turkish terms, quotations, titles, and personal names should follow modern Turkish orthography.
- Kurdish (Kurmanji) terms and texts should follow the Hawar orthography (see Kurdish Studies Journal Style Sheet):
https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/Author_Instructions/KSJ.pdf - Zazaki/Kirmanckî terms and texts should follow the Vate orthography (see Kurdish Studies Journal Style Sheet):
https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/Author_Instructions/KSJ.pdf - If non-Latin scripts are used, a transliteration should be provided where necessary for clarity and accessibility.
- For transliterated Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish terms, authors should use the transliteration system appropriate to the language of the article:
- Articles in English: International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES) Transliteration System: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-file-manager/file/630d1d754cf5970011527e65/IJMES-Translation-and-Transliteration-guide.pdf
- Articles in German: Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG/DIN 31635) Transliteration System: https://dmg-web.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ergaenzungen_arabisch-transliteration_de.pdf
- Articles in Turkish: İslâm Ansiklopedisi (İA) Transliteration System: https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/transkripsiyon
- Diacritical marks must be retained consistently in all languages.
- Personal names, place names, and titles should normally be cited in the form used in the original source unless transliteration is required.
- Where alternative spellings exist, authors should choose one form and use it consistently throughout the article.
- Any departures from standard orthographic or transliteration conventions should be explained by the author.





