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Open Access Policy

The Coastal Review is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of all articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access (opens in new tab).

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Review Process

The Coastal Review is an open access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal published by the Department of World Languages and Cultures (opens in new tab) at Georgia Southern University (opens in new tab). The Coastal Review invites manuscripts on an open and rolling basis and publishes articles as soon as they are accepted. In addition, presenters at the annual Southeast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures (SECCLL) (opens in new tab) are encouraged to submit an extended and thoroughly revised manuscript of their presentation for possible inclusion in the Journal. The Coastal Review may also solicit manuscripts and publish special issues from time to time.

Submitted manuscripts cannot have been previously published nor be forthcoming in an archival journal or book. Inclusion in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. By submitting material to The Coastal Review, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal, and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal until the completion of the editorial decision process at The Coastal Review. If you have questions or concerns about the terms of submission and review, please contact the editors at thecoastalreview@georgiasouthern.edu.

Editorial Workflow

Following is the Editorial Workflow that every manuscript submitted to The Coastal Review will undergo:

  • Following submission, the manuscript is assigned to a member of the General Editorial Board for initial screening.
  • If the Editor determines that the manuscript is out of scope for the journal or of insufficient quality to undergo further review, the Editor may reject the manuscript.
  • If the Editor accepts the manuscript for further review, he/she assigns the manuscript to an external reviewer for double-blind peer-review.
  • The reviewer submits his/her manuscript report to the General Editorial Board with one of the following recommendations:

    • Accept submission
    • Accept submission with minor revisions
    • Major revisions required for acceptance
    • Reject submission
  • Depending on the reviewers' feedback, the Editor may either accept or reject the manuscript for revision and publication. Any manuscript deemed to require major revisions for acceptance will be submitted to a second peer review.

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Initial Submission Guidelines

File Format and Submission Guidelines

  • Prepare manuscripts using Microsoft Word (PC, Windows).
  • Save files in .doc or .docx format.
  • The manuscript will automatically be converted into a tagged PDF upon publication.

Document Organization

  • General order: Body Text → Bibliography → Endnotes (if used).
  • Do not include a title page or page numbers.
  • The abstract should be written in English, regardless of the manuscript’s language (80–100 words).

Page Layout

  • One-inch margins on all sides.
  • Paragraphs should be single‑spaced, indented, and separated with no extra space between them.
  • Use fully-justified text throughout the document.
  • Avoid pages with over 25% empty space when possible.

Fonts

  • Main text and bibliography: Times New Roman, 12-point.
  • Notes: Times New Roman, 10-point.
  • There should be no font changes anywhere else in the document.

Style and Citation

  • Follow the MLA Handbook, 9th edition, for citations, bibliography, and formatting rules.
  • For guidance, refer to the OWL Purdue MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

Figures and Images

  • Use high‑resolution images.
  • Use EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) for figures whenever possible.
  • Every image must have meaningful alt text (Right‑click → Edit Alt Text) or be marked as decorative when appropriate.
  • Decorative images should be designated using the “Mark as decorative” checkbox in the Alt Text pane.

Tables

  • Insert tables via Insert → Table, not by drawing.
  • Use header rows and enable “Repeat as header row” in Table Properties → Row tab.
  • Avoid using merged cells whenever possible.
  • Make sure tables are understandable without depending solely on color.

Color and Contrast

  • Color should not be the sole way of conveying meaning.
  • Ensure adequate color contrast (at least 4.5:1 for regular text).
  • Test contrast with accessibility tools (e.g., Colour Contrast Analyser).
  • Ensure the content stays understandable in grayscale.

Hyperlinks

  • Hyperlink text should be descriptive (e.g., “See the survey results”), not “click here” or plain URLs.

Language and Metadata

  • Set the default language for the document: Word: File → Options → Language; PDF: File → Properties.
  • Ensure all text uses the correct language setting for screen readers.

Accessibility Requirements (WCAG 2.1 Level AA)

  • Run the Microsoft Accessibility Checker (Review → Check Accessibility) and resolve all issues (with zero errors).
  • Ensure the PDF includes tags, a logical reading order, and proper heading structure (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.).

Supplementary Materials

Microsoft Word Documents (.docx):
  • Use built-in heading styles to organize your manuscript.
  • Add alt text to all images and figures (right-click > Edit Alt Text).
  • Use the Insert Table feature for creating tables and specify header rows.
  • Ensure the color contrast complies with WCAG standards.
  • Run the built-in Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility) and resolve all issues.
  • Set the document language (File > Options > Language).
PDF Documents (.pdf):
  • PDFs need to be tagged. When converting from Word, choose “Save As PDF” and ensure the “Document structure tags for accessibility” option is enabled.
  • Check the PDF’s reading order with Adobe Acrobat’s Accessibility tools or the free PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker).
  • Set the document’s title and language in the document properties.
  • Perform Adobe Acrobat’s complete Accessibility Check and fix any issues.
  • Image-only (scanned) PDFs are not accessible. If scanned content needs to be included, apply OCR and verify the resulting text.
PowerPoint Presentations (.pptx):
  • Use built-in slide layouts instead of manually placing text boxes.
  • Add alternative text to all images, charts, and SmartArt.
  • Ensure a logical reading order on each slide (Review > Check Accessibility will identify any reading order issues).
  • Use adequate color contrast and do not rely on color alone to convey information.
  • Add titles to all slides.
  • Run the Accessibility Checker built into the program.
HTML Content (.html):
  • Use semantic HTML elements: <h1>–<h6> for headings, <table> with <th> for table headers, and <img> for images with alt attributes, <ul>/<ol> for lists.
  • Ensure all interactive elements are keyboard-accessible.
  • Use ARIA attributes only when semantic HTML is insufficient.
  • Validate against WCAG 2.1 Level AA using tools such as WAVE or axe DevTools.
Images and Figures (All formats):
  • Every image that conveys information needs to have descriptive alt text that explains its content and purpose.
  • Complex images (charts, graphs, diagrams) should include either extended alt text or a text-based description in the body of the document.
  • Decorative images that convey no information should be marked as decorative (empty alt text in Word; artifact in PDF).
  • Ensure text within images is also available as actual text.
  • Use patterns or shapes alongside color to differentiate data series in charts and graphs.
Data Files and Spreadsheets (All formats):
  • Name all worksheet tabs descriptively.
  • Designate header rows and avoid blank rows or columns used for spacing.
  • Add alt text to any charts or graphics within the spreadsheet.
  • Avoid merged cells.
  • Run the built-in Accessibility Checker in Excel.
Video and Audio Content (All formats):
  • All prerecorded videos with audio must include accurate, synchronized captions.
  • All prerecorded audio-only content must include a text transcript.
  • Video content that relies on visual information for understanding must include audio descriptions or a complete text alternative.
  • Auto-generated captions (e.g., from YouTube) should be reviewed and corrected for accuracy before submission.

Final Preparation

  • Use built-in heading styles (Home → Styles).
  • Copyedit your manuscript for clarity, grammar, and consistency.

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Final Manuscript Guidelines

See the Final Manuscript Formatting & Preparation Guidelines page for details.

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Accessibility Requirements

By submitting the final manuscript for publication, the author(s) warrant and affirm the following:

  1. The author(s) have reviewed the journal’s accessibility requirements as outlined in the Formatting Requirements for Manuscripts.
  2. The author(s) have made a good-faith effort to ensure that this submission—including all text, images, figures, tables, supplementary materials, and multimedia files—complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA, including but not limited to:

    • All images and figures contain descriptive alternative text (alt text).
    • The document uses built‑in heading styles to reflect its structural hierarchy.
    • All tables are created using proper table tools and include clearly identified header rows.
    • Color is not used as the sole method of conveying information.
    • An accessibility check has been run on the submission, and all identified issues have been resolved.
    • Any included video or audio content contains accurate captions or transcripts.
  3. If any component of the submission cannot be made fully accessible due to the nature of the content (e.g., complex mathematical notation, historical facsimiles, archival documents), the author(s)have described these limitations and the accommodations provided in the cover letter accompanying the submission.
  4. The author(s) understand that submissions that do not meet accessibility requirements may be returned for remediation prior to review or publication.

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Copyright & Licensing Terms

All papers published in The Coastal Review are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (opens in new tab) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain all copyrights without restrictions, and agree to the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license for their work as a condition of publication.

End users' rights under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license are outlined on the Creative Commons website (opens in new tab). For all other purposes, permission must be obtained from the author.

Copyright and licensing terms for The Coastal Review are registered with Open Policy Finder (opens in new tab).

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Plagiarism Policy

The Coastal Review may use Similarity Check, a multi-publisher initiative, to selectively screen article submissions for originality. Similarity Check uses the iThenticate software, which checks submissions against millions of published research papers (the Similarity Check database), documents on the web, and other relevant sources. These submitted papers are not retained in the Similarity Check system after they have been checked. Read more at Crossref's Similarity Check (opens in new tab) page.

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Charges & Fees

The Coastal Review levies no submission charges, or charges or fees for publication of accepted articles.

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Digital Archiving

The Coastal Review is preserved using CLOCKSS (opens in new tab), a leading preservation archive that guarantees persistent access to journal content for the very long term. Articles also receive Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) through Crossref (opens in new tab) to ensure they can always be found.

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Need Help?

Have a question about GS Commons? Need additional description, text alternatives, or captions for GS Commons resources? Contact us or request accessible formats (opens in new tab).

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