Pacific Rim Law
& Policy Journal
Production Editing
Checklist
q Is all text in the body of the piece 14-point Times New Roman, single-spaced, justified?
q Is all text in all footnotes 10-point Times New Roman, single-spaced, justified?
q Are there two spaces between the end of each sentence and the beginning of the next sentence?
q There should be two spaces after colons. (Exception for titles of works in the footnotes where only one space exists.)
q There should be only one space after semicolons.
q We use three periods with spaces for ellipses rather than the ellipse character (i.e. this: . . . rather than this: …).
q Quotes of 50 words or more must be indented. To use the word count feature on Word, highlight the quote, click on Tools menu, and select “Word Count.”
q Long quotes in the main text are indented 0.5.” Long quotes in footnotes are indented 0.3.”
q Long quotes require a textual introduction and conclusion. They should NOT be left hanging at the end of a paragraph.
q All quotation marks are “smart quotes” like these.
q Punctuation generally goes on the inside of quotes, “except when the punctuation consists of a colon.”
q Use quotes when quoting. Use italics for emphasis or to designate foreign words under Rule 7 of the Bluebook. DO NOT use quotes for emphasis.
q Quotes within quotes are designated as follows: “The statute limits access to the system by granting jurisdiction only when plaintiffs can establish an ‘irreparable harm due to failure to yield.’” (Where “irreparable harm due to failure to yield” is the directly quoted language from the statute.) Otherwise, ‘single quotes’ are NOT permitted.
q When long names or terms are given shortened reference names by the author, check each term for consistency both for capitalization and actual terms. Within text, use (“short name”). Within footnotes, use [hereinafter short name]. In footnotes, the shortened version should be in the same font format as the original source.
q We use “em dashs”—like these—rather than two hyphens strung together -- like these -- (Microsoft Word Command: Insert, Symbol, Special Character, Em Dash).
q When referring to decades, i.e., 1960s, do not use an apostrophe.
q When listing items in text, the list may either be treated as a long quote and indented OR may remain in the text. (Unless the list is a direct quote of over 50 words, and then it must be treated as a long quote.)
q If a list is in the text, designate as such by 1) number with parens after, 2) comma before last item of the list, 3) the last item in the list. Do not use (1) or (a) etc. as markers.
q When including a list in series, a comma is required after the second to last item in the series, i.e., cats, dogs, and mice.
q There should be no bolding, underlining, or ALL CAPS anywhere in the text or footnotes (except for the names LEXIS and WESTLAW, which are all caps).
q Footnotes must be complete sentences.
q Only capitalize proper names. If you feel the urge to capitalize other things, consult the Bluebook, Rule 8, and The Chicago Manual of Style.
q Headings should have a period after the heading designation.
q Headings should not have closing punctuation. However, ending with a question mark is permissible.
q All headings above the “a, b, and c” levels should be capitalized. This means capitalize all first and last words, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and subordinate conjunctions. If you’re unsure, look in the dictionary and it will tell you what the word is. See also Rule 7.123 in Chicago Manual of Style.
q In the text, numbers one through ninety-nine must be spelled out. In footnotes, only numbers one through nine must be spelled out. In all other cases, use numerals. However, where material repeatedly refers to percentages or dollar amounts, numerals should be used for those percentages or dollar amounts.
q Any number that begins a sentence must be spelled out.
q Numerals should be used if the number contains a decimal.
q If numbers are spelled out, use the names of the symbol (forty-two percent, seventy-five dollars). If the numerals are used, use the symbol (42%, $500).
q If the Bluebook does not answer your question, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style (there is one copy by the dictionaries). If there still is no answer, please talk to the production editor about the problem. If anything you find in the Chicago Manual of Style conflicts with the above instructions, please talk to the production editors.