Example ms: Simulation & Gaming

This is where your main text starts. The first section of the main text should be fairly short, with NO heading (the article title serves as the heading). The objective of these first paragraphs is to introduce the reader to the main concepts, ideas, organization, objectives, rationale, problems and so on. of the article.

Although these first few paragraphs do not constitute an abstract, some of the information in the abstract may be re-stated here, but in a less stylistically-tight and propositionally-condensed form, and probably providing more detail and some background about some of the most important issues and topics addressed.

This section is thus much more of an invitation to read than is the abstract; it should engage the reader's curiosity at the outset, encouraging her or him to read on. This section also clearly states the main objectives of the article and at least summarizes the main conclusions/findings. These few, probably short, paragraphs say to the reader: "Hey, you should read this article because ...".

The nitty gritty [first level 1 heading]

It is after your first main heading that the nitty gritty of your discussion starts. Headings should be kept as short as possible, giving them more impact. Use lower case whenever possible. Use many headings; avoid long stretches of text without headings.

From here on, use a maximum of three levels of heads (main headings, sub-headings and minor headings) as described in the mecanics section of this Guide. However, avoid only one sub-heading within a main-heading section; and also a single minor heading under a given sub-heading [1].

Use square brackets for endnotes [2]. This is where the main text of your article ends. It is followed by notes [3], references, and so on.

Notes

For more details on the three-level system of headings, see elsewhere in this document.

Make sure all notes correspond to their correct numbers in the text.

Make sure that a note is really necessary, and that it cannot be placed in the text.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments or similar notes should be made here, for example, to grants or colleagues. Also, if authors have been particularly pleased with the help they have received from their reviewers or naive readers, they may wish to mention this here. If you know the name, affiliation and country, mention these. This is not an endnote; it is part of the text.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Indicate here any conflicting interest that may arise between you and the matter discussed in the article. If none, then say: "The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article."

Funding

Indicate details about any finding that you may have received in connection with the article, direct or indirect. If none, then say: "The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article."

References

Reference, A. (1989). This is a reference to the document you are holding. In D. Crookall (Ed.). Guide for authors (pp. 000-000). Warri, Nigeria: S&G Editorial Office.

Reference, T. (1990). References should flow on after text and notes: See elsewhere in this Guide for exact format. Mimeo.

Bios

Lea R. Ning has been hooked on games for many a year. At this point write a short bio-statement, which might include any of the following (or other) items: degrees, recent publications and simulation/games designed, current research, training, personal interests, activities, association responsibilities, noteworthy accomplishments, a favorite short quote. Contact: Department of Game Engineering, University of Learning, 678 Model Street, Box 9009, Playville, SG 12345-9009, Playland; +33 (0)4.29.19.09 (w) & +99 101-010-0102 (h); fax +60 909-090-9090; lrn@unl.edu; http://www.here.me.

Sim Ulation likes paddling games and has written the world's all-time best-seller on the subject, called New Games for Old Paddlers. Bio-statements should be no longer than 60 words, per author. Start a new paragraph for each author. Do not use titles, but mention (if you must) key degrees. Contact: Institute for Watery Studies, Pond University, ..., ..., Simland; +44 (0)1305-889-352; su@iws.su; http://www.there.me/site.

NB: Start the bio statement with FirstName and Name, not Dr, Prof or other title. If you must include such, then use this format: Sim Ulation (PhD, U of Play, Gameland), is associate professor at the University of Play. He has played many games ...

Follow the above address pattern exactly. Do not abbreviate street, road, etc. Always include the country. Telephone and fax numbers: in the above format and wording (include country code as +NN). Use format of originating country; for USA, use +1 123-456-7890 format. Only mention URLs if they are reasonably short. The maximum length for each bio, excluding contact details is 60 words, as measured in the Word properties-statistics tab, not including contact details.