Submitting articles for Fresh Perspectives

The aim of Fresh Perspectives is to discuss issues that are of interest to graduate students, as well as undergraduates who are thinking about entering graduate school. The column provides a unique forum and reaches a broad audience (over 10,000 members of ESA, plus many more through libraries and other outlets). It is a great way to make a positive impact within the international community of ecologists!

We are looking for students to write on topics that are important and have relevance to the ESA student community. The articles must be creative, provide sound advice, and use personal experience and anecdotes to highlight important points. (Please avoid submitting proposals that are overly focused on just your own personal experiences.)

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT ARTICLES IS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2008.

A panel of students and faculty will review the submitted articles, and choose the best ones for potential publication in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. All articles will be subject to additional peer review before final publication. Each column is about 1000 words, excluding references, and will be accompanied by a 400-450-word faculty response. We invite you to nominate a faculty member or other ecology professional to write the accompanying response. If you do, please supply their name, contact details, and a justification of why you think he or she is the right person to respond to your essay. The Frontiers office will commission the responses.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION

All submissions should be in the form of a complete article, potentially ready for publication in Frontiers.
Articles are limited to no more than 1000 words, not including references. Page and reference format should follow the Instructions for Authors for Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (www.frontiersinecology.org/instructions.php).

Articles focused on topics that are the same as or similar to those already published (or slated for publication) in Fresh Perspectives will be rejected without review. Please see the list of already published and accepted articles at the end of this announcement. If you are unsure whether your topic might have been covered already, send a short abstract of your idea (200-300 words) to Liz Harp (eharp@lamar.colostate.edu) - please put “Fresh Perspectives topic idea” in the subject line.

Students are welcome to submit more than one article; however it is unlikely that more than one column by the same author(s) will be accepted. Multi-authored articles are encouraged (to a maximum of five authors), but the number of authors will not influence reviewer decisions.

The best articles are those that address current and interesting topics, are based on discussions or interviews with relevant individuals, are well written and concise, include a maximum of five references, and will appeal to a diverse audience of ecology and environmental science students.

The most common reason articles are rejected, aside from poor writing, is that they are overly personal. While highlights from your own experience make a column interesting, be careful that the column does not become a personal narrative. Using the experience of others is one way to avoid using too many personal examples while still being able to illustrate your points with real-life experiences.

Articles sent out for review will be judged based on clarity, originality and creativity, interest and merit of advice, overall impression, and reviewers' comments.

If you have any questions, please email Liz Harp (eharp@lamar.colostate.edu)

ALREADY PUBLISHED AND UPCOMING ARTICLES

• Fresh perspectives on timeless questions (August 2007)
• A match made in academia: You and your graduate advisor (September 2007)
• Making the most of your teaching assistantship experience (October 2007)
• Pyramid of ideas: The art of generating novel research questions (December 2007)
• The quest for an ecological postdoc (February 2008)
• Axes of excellence: A role for students as community-engaged scholars (March 2008)
• Striking a balance between the literature load and walks in the woods (April 2008)
• Tap into the law review literature – or better yet, submit an article! (May 2008)
• A lunch date with your future: Exploring non-academic jobs through personal interviews (August 2008)
• Mid-career grad students in ecology (September 2008)
• Of conferences, collaborations, and pool sharks (accepted)
• Partner PhDs: Duel careers in grad school and beyond (accepted)
• Bridging the gap: how graduate students can span the distance between high school and college education (accepted)
• ‘Say goodbye to sleep’ and other perspectives on building a family and a career at the same time (accepted)
• Embracing criticism, fostering feedback (accepted)
• Overcoming “Analysis Paralysis” (accepted)
• Fixing the leaky pipe – Increasing recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in ecology (accepted)

» Examples of Fresh Perspectives articles: August 2008 :  May 2008 :  April 2008 : March 2008

» Submit Your Article: For the proposer

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
The Ecological Society of America
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