Article Writing Guideline

Editorial guidelines for those willing to publish their work/ article on Planning Tank.

All articles contributed must be written without biases. Planning Tank will not be responsible for opinions reflected in the articles.

One article should cover only 1 topic. The relevant points might be discussed, but they should not change the focus of the article itself. Approx. 70% -80% of the content should focus on the main topic (unless otherwise required & agreed upon) as this keeps the focus of the article clear. Articles to be written using the Author account (Word Press Interface).

Note: Please check if the topic you wish to write about has already been covered on our website to avoid duplication. You can also check this by searching on Google for "Your Topic/ keywords" followed by Planning Tank. For ex, the Central Place theory Planning Tank. Then check for the first few results from our website. This will give a basic idea about what has already been covered, and if the topic has been covered, then what aspects are already covered by checking the few articles from the search results.

Kindly provide us with the following information.

If you have not written the article yet

Title or the topic you wish to write about if you are planning to start writing.
Please perform a search on our website to verify that the topic is not yet covered. If it has already been covered, then kindly give it a read to check if it is similar to what you wish to write about or if you are covering something different/ doing any value addition.
If you wish to submit your research work such as dissertation/ thesis/ term paper etc., then a different format has to be followed. More details are available on Thesis Submission.

If the article you wish to submit/ start writing is complete

kindly submit your article by sending it in a MS Word format (a simple file without multiple columns, border, design or other decorative formatting). Please make sure it follows the following guidelines:

Unique, well formatted with relevant heading & subheadings, bullet points (if required). Please do not use "ALL CAPS" unless really required.
Min. Word requirement - 1200 words.
Use of tables, bullet points, comparisons (as and where required) are highly recommended.
Please perform a Plagiarism check before sending the article (you can do so here with the Plagiarism Checker. Once your submission is received, we will perform a more detailed plagiarism check.
Have images (optional) that both you and Planning Tank have the right to publish, alternatively taken from Public Domain (copyright free images), or properly referenced and credited. (refer to Image Guidelines below for more details)
A brief author bio 2-3 lines which will be published at the end of the article to credit the author/s.
Add the link to relevant existing articles on our website/ other websites.
Different examples, including international examples (if applicable), as we cater to a global audience, this helps the readers to understand the situation with a wider perspective instead of being restricted to a particular geographical region.
Information about any prior publication (if the work being submitted to Planning Tank has been published anywhere else either online or offline).
Have a catchy title for the article and have subheadings in the articles to divide it into parts as it makes it easier to read.
Generic headings/ sub-headings to structure your article can be:

Introduction/ Overview/ A brief history/definition
Few lines on what the topic deals with and a few closely related topics.
Additional paragraphs on the aspects you wish to cover on the main topic.
Pros & Cons or Other comparisons (if applicable)
Supporting facts/ conclusions/ examples

References/ Citation/ Sources

Provide references/ citations and sources wherever relevant and applicable. Kindly move the sources and references to the end of the file (kindly use end notes in place of footnotes), numbering can be added in the form of superscript or in brackets.
Add sources/ references if facts and figures are being used to give proper credits. Specific URLs should be provided and not just the home page URL.

Note: Please right click and click on "Open image in new tab" for a larger size image if the difference is not clearly visible and understood.

The right section in the image below is acceptable format as long as the reference number is not hyperlinked. A simple plain text number is allowed.