Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

1. About JEPIC  

The Journal of English for Purposes of International Communication is a refereed practitioner-oriented electronic journal that focuses on both research and practice in the field of TESOL and English for Purposes of International Communication (EPIC).  We welcome both theory- and research-based articles as well as those that are of a practical nature. 

2. General Submission Guidelines 

  • Manuscripts submitted to JEPIC must not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. The author(s) should indicate to the editors if similar articles by the author(s) have been published or submitted to another journal at the same time.
  • Submissions should be written in a style that is accessible to a broad readership. Manuscripts may be submitted to JEPIC in the following categories: Feature Articles (both research- and practice-based), Short Research Reports, Book/Media/Materials Reviews, and Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analyses. For specific guidelines please see the relevant category description below.
  •  JEPIC does not accept multiple submissions from the same author; please submit only one manuscript. If multiple submissions are received, they will be returned without undergoing review. Submitted manuscripts containing substantial excerpts from the author(s)’ own work that has been published elsewhere will be considered self-plagiarism and will not be processed.  Likewise, submitted manuscripts containing substantial extracts of others’ work that have been published will be deemed plagiarism. In either case, authors will be banned from submitting or publishing in JEPIC for a period of one year.
  • To facilitate the double-blind review process, please anonymize references to the author(s) and to academic affiliations in the manuscript (for example, if a study was conducted at a specific institution). Non-anonymized manuscripts will be returned without review for alteration and resubmission. References will be restored once the manuscript is accepted for publication.
  • It is the author(s)’ responsibility to secure copyright permission to reprint tables or figures that are used or adapted from other sources. JEPIC will not publish manuscripts submitted without written permission from the copyright holder.
  • The views expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect those of the JEPICeditors.
  • The author(s) are expected to take into consideration reviewer or editorial suggestions and make necessary changes of language and style to ensure clarity, coherence, concision, or consistency. The editors’ decisions are final.

3. Submission

All submissions are to be sent via email to jepic@h-inet.org and must include the following:

  • names, affiliation, and contact information for all authors
  • cover letter
  • title page with the first author’s and co-authors’ affiliation and email address.
  • abstract (150 words) and 5 key words
  • blinded manuscript (no author details): The main body of the paper (including the references, figures, tables and any acknowledgements) should not include any identifying information, such as the authors’ names or affiliations (editable Word file; see word count)
  • tables, figures, and graphs, with legends. (May be uploaded as separate files with a placeholder in the manuscript).*
  • references and citations in APA format**
  • acknowledgments (if any)
  • disclosures (if any)

*Please make sure that both text and visuals are of good quality and easy to read; otherwise, your manuscript may be sent back for alteration and resubmission.

**Manuscripts submitted to JEPIC must conform to the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. References require DOIs (see http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/).

Please contact the Managing Editor, Devora Hellerstein (jepic@h-inet.org), if you experience difficulty.

4. The Review Process

To facilitate the double-blind review process, please anonymize references to the author(s) and to academic affiliations in the manuscript (for example, if a study was conducted at a specific institution). Please replace the author’s name with Author in the main text, the citations and references. If there are multiple authors, please use Author1, Author2, etc. Non-anonymized manuscripts will be returned without review for alteration and resubmission.

All manuscripts go through a two-step review process:

Step 1 – Internal Review: each manuscript is reviewed by the editors. Those which do not conform to the journal’s basic requirements and format are rejected. Suitable manuscripts are sent for external review.

Step 2 – External Review: manuscripts meeting the journal’s requirements are sent to two experts in the field for double-blind peer review. This process takes up to 3 months. The external reviewers’ decisions will be accept, accept with revisions, recommend major revisions and resubmission, or reject. Authors will be notified of the reviewers’ decision and receive a copy of their comments.  JEPIC reviewers evaluate manuscripts for the following:

  • appeal to the interests of JEPIC’s readership
  • originality
  • sound scholarship and research design
  • clear relationship between theory and practice
  • implications and/or applications for practice in the field
  • justified conclusions
  • significant contribution to the field
  • appropriate, correctly interpreted references
  • overall quality of writing 
  • conformity with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

5. Submission Categories

JEPICinvites submissions in the following categories.  (Word counts include references, tables, and end materials):

Feature Articles

JEPIC publishes two types of feature articles:

  • research-based, with strong pedagogical implications (5000 – 7000 words),
  • theory- or concept-based practice (2500 – 5000 words).

Both types of articles must demonstrate clear links between theory/research and practice; and be of relevance to the broader English language teaching community. All feature articles require an abstract of 150 words and 5 key words. Empirical research studies should include the following sections: introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Research in progress / Working papers  (2000 words)

Graduate students, novice researchers and/or teacher researchers are invited to submit brief summaries of research findings or empirical studies in progress. Manuscripts should include a brief narrative of the research; a current literature review; an interview with an established scholar on a relevant topic. Submissions for the Research in Progress section must fall within the focus of the journal, and will undergo the same review procedures as other manuscripts.

Action Research and Classroom Pedagogies (1200 – 1400 words)

The Action Research and Classroom Pedagogies section invites teachers and students to submit manuscripts relating to issues arising from the EFL/ESL teaching and related fields in tertiary education settings. Authors may present personal perspectives on their own classroom pedagogy and related challenges and successes. The theoretical, conceptual or research focus of the manuscript must be outlined briefly and supported in the first paragraph. Embedded links may be included if the resources serve to highlight the author(s)’ practical work. Preference will be given to submissions which relate to innovative classroom pedagogy, technology-enhanced learning, and/or virtual exchange (telecollaboration). 

Reviews: (1000 – 1500 words)

The Review section invites submissions which review teaching materials (including textbooks), teacher resources and technology resources in a manner that is of practical relevance for JEPIC’s readership. To include images or links from items being reviewed, please first ensure you have permission from the publisher for JEPIC to reproduce them.

6. JEPIC Special Topic Issues

JEPIC welcomes proposals for special topic issues. Those wishing to suggest topics or serve as guest editors should contact JEPIC editors XXXX. Issues will generally contain both invited articles designed to survey and illuminate central themes as well as articles solicited through a call for papers.

7. Informed Consent and Ethical Guidelines

Before submitting manuscripts for consideration, authors and contributors using human participants in their study must certify that they meet the following requirements:

  • You have informed participants of the purpose of your study and your intention to write about them for publication and/or to include samples of their work.
  • You have described the procedure and the information that you will be collecting.
  • You have explained that participation is voluntary and that participants may withdraw at any point without penalty.
  • You have reassured participants that their confidentiality will be protected.
  • You have obtained a signed consent form from each participant (or from an underage participant’s parent or guardian), or if your research involves minors (persons under age 18), you have obtained separate signed informed consent forms from the parent or guardian and from the minor, if they are old enough to read, understand, and sign the form.
  • Anonymity and confidentiality of the participants have been maintained and safeguarded.