Submissions

Submission is currently closed for the Essex Student Journal. We will be accepting submissions for Volume 16 in Spring 2025. If you want to be contacted when submissions reopen, please complete this quick form so we can email you.

This page is designed to help you ensure your submission fits the scope of the journal.

Before submitting you should read over the guidelines both on this page, and within the relevant submission template:

Template for academic writing (essays, research papers, case studies, academic blog posts, etc.).
Template for creative writing (short fiction and poetry - please get in touch if you want to submit other forms).

Use the relevant template to format your paper, then register for an account before submitting (or login if you have an existing account).

This visual guide outlines the publishing process from pre-submission to publication. The short video below provides an overview of the submission process, and how to convert your paper into a journal article.

About

The Essex Student Journal is an online multi-disciplinary academic journal, run by and for University of Essex students, with the administration funded and supported by the University of Essex.

The journal is dedicated to the publication of high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate writing, and is committed to creating accessible and engaging content for a non-specialist readership. The Essex Student Journal encourages and celebrates student research by offering valuable early experience of academic publishing and the peer review process.

More information about the Essex Student Journal is available on the About pages and University of Essex Library website.

Peer Review

This journal operates a double blind peer review policy, meaning that neither the author nor the reviewer will be aware of each other's identities. The final decision on accepting/publishing a paper is made by the editor but informed by peer reviewer comments.

If you are a PhD student and are interested in becoming a peer reviewer, you can sign up here. Please ensure you add your subject interests after creating your account by editing your profile, as this ensures you are assigned papers relevant to your expertise and interests.

You can find more information and advice on completing peer review in our peer reviewer guidance for academic and creative writing. No experience of peer reviewing is required to be a reviewer for the Essex Student Journal, and we are always happy to help.

Focus and Scope

The Essex Student Journal publishes the work that was written by current Essex undergraduate and postgraduate taught students within the past year. Submissions will also be accepted from undergraduate or postgraduate taught students who have graduated as long as their work was written whilst they were a student and within the past year.

The Essex Student Journal is a multidisciplinary journal, meaning we accept submissions from all subject areas. Please see below for further information.

Submission Checklist

Submission is currently closed for the Essex Student Journal. We will be accepting submissions for Volume 16 in Spring 2025. If you want to be contacted when submissions reopen, please complete this quick form so we can email you. Submissions made before 1st October will be published online when ready.

Submissions must be written by University of Essex undergraduate or PGT students. They can be original works or based on coursework written whilst studying at the University of Essex. If based on coursework, please ensure you refine the work using any feedback you received from tutors before submitting.

All writing, both "original draft" and "review & editing" as defined in the CRediT taxonomy, for submissions should be completed by University of Essex students. Where anyone has been involved in any non-writing roles, we recommend acknowledging them in the publication. If someone who is not an Essex student has been involved in the writing of the submission, please contact the Student Journal Team.

Submissions must be in English, and written or substantially revised (e.g. to ensure the content is up to date) no more than one year prior to submission.

We currently accept these types of submissions from all subject areas:

Essays
Research papers
Case studies
Other academic writing (e.g. academic blog posts, conference papers, reviews etc.)
Creative writing in the form of short fiction or poetry. More information about the format of creative writing is available in our creative writing template. If you would like to publish creative writing in a form other than short fiction or poetry, please get in touch with the team.

Below is some information about how we classify our standard academic publication types: essays, research papers, and case studies.

Essay	Research Paper	Case Study
Gives your ideas based on reading Structured by your ideas/argument Has an introduction, main body split into paragraphs, and conclusion Can be: Descriptive Argument-based Comparing and contrasting	Reports research findings Fairly strict structure, with headed sections (including lit. review, methods, discussion, conclusion) Especially used in Sciences, Business, and Social Sciences	In-depth study of a specific real-world problem Generally has one of three purposes: Exploratory (looking for patterns, developing models, etc.) Descriptive (e.g. “what have been the effects of…”) Explanatory (tries to explain why or how something happens)

And below is information on the forms of creative writing we accept:

Short fiction	Poetry	Other
Usually in the form of a single short story (collections of short stories within the word limit also acceptable) Must include an abstract	Usually in the form of a single poem or collection of poems Must include an abstract	If you would like to publish other forms of creative writing, please contact the team prior to submission.

Submission checklist

Submissions must be submitted in a Word document, using either our academic writing template, or our creative writing template.
Abstracts should be 200 words maximum.
The word limit for general submissions is 2,800-3,000 words for the main body. For Masters students who wish to submit their dissertations, the word limit is 8000 words. Please be aware that longer submissions of this nature will take more time to peer review.
Submissions must be edited according to the style guide (below) to suit the journal audience.
Do not include your name anywhere in the Word document, as the peer review process will be double blind (both author and peer reviewer are anonymous). Your name will be linked to the document in the submission system, which only the Editor will see.

Style guide

All formatting should follow the guidelines available in either our academic writing template, or our creative writing template
We require all submissions to follow Harvard style referencing where sources are cited. However, in some cases, such as legal texts, other referencing styles can be used (e.g. OSCOLA).
Academic writing should be concise, with clear subjects and actions in every sentence. This style will vary when submitting creative writing.
Use consistent verb tenses throughout your manuscript. This style will vary when submitting creative writing.

Please note that all submissions will be subject to peer review to decide whether they are suitable for the journal. We also expect that submissions will not be under consideration, or previously published, with another publication.

If you have any questions about submissions, please email us at journal@essex.ac.uk. If you would like support with writing your submission or incorporating any feedback you receive, you can either email us at journal@essex.ac.uk or book a 1-1 with Skills for Success via CareerHub.

Expectations for authors

Follow the journal’s deadlines (for corrections and re-submission in case of conditional acceptance).
Provide an email address that will stay active for at least 6 months. You can provide either your Essex email address or your personal one.
In cases where we cannot communicate with you for more than 4 months, your paper will be deleted from our system, and it will not be published.
Don’t forget to remove your name or personal details from any part of your paper.
Follow the style guide on the submission checklist.

Expectations for reviewers

Follow the journal’s deadlines for reviewing the papers. In cases where you need more time, you can contact the journal to ask for an extension to the original deadline.
Provide an email address that will stay active for as long as you are volunteering to be a reviewer. You can provide either your Essex email address or your personal one.
Remember to anonymize your review, because the journal operates a double-blind peer review process.
Provide fair and constructive feedback to authors, and offer additional clarification if requested by the editor.

Expectations for the editor

Respond to any enquiries within a week.
Pass on the submitted papers to peer reviewers in a timely fashion.
Inform authors about completed reviews, including comments and feedback from the reviewers.
Notify the author when the paper is published.
Provide clear messaging if the editorial team will be on a break.
Be objective and professional when reading the submitted papers.
Make the final decision on whether a paper should be accepted and published.