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Style Guide / Reference Formats

This section contains rules and guidelines for preparing and formatting the content of Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering papers. General instructions for the submission of papers, including technical details for submitting text and graphics files, can be found in the Manuscript Preparation section.

General Format of Papers

File Template – A LaTeX file template and a LaTeX style file are available to assist in the preparation of manuscripts.
- LaTeX template
- LaTeX style file
A Word template is not available at this time.    Top

Structure of Paper – The sections of the paper should follow this order: Title (English and French), Author(s)/Address(es) and Affiliation(s), Abstract (English and French), Body of Paper, Appendices, Acknowledgements, References, Author Photos and Biographies. Tables and figures with captions may be placed at the end of the paper; CJECE staff will position them in the text during production.   Top

Title – The first letter of the first word should be capitalized. All other words should be lower case unless they are commonly capitalized (e.g., proper nouns). The title should be in English and French. If the author cannot provide a translation, the editor will do so.   Top

Author(s) – There should be no space between initials. (EXAMPLE: R.I. Higgins) There is no final period following the list of authors.   Top

Address(es) and Affiliation(s) – The organization with which each author is affiliated and the complete address of each organization should be listed. Inclusion of e-mail addresses is encouraged.   Top

Abstract – The abstract should be between 25 and 200 words in length. Use of the first person (I or we) should be avoided in the abstract. Reference numbers should not appear in the abstract. The abstract should be in English and French. If the author cannot provide a translation, the editor will do so.   Top

Keywords – The author may list up to six keywords or index terms in alphabetical order following the abstract.   Top

Appendices – Appendices should not be numbered, but if there are several, they may be labelled with letters as Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on. If the appendix has a title, it should follow the label, separated by a colon. EXAMPLE: Appendix C: Terms and Glossary   Top

Acknowledgements – This section should not be numbered. Acknowledgements of financial support as well as other expressions of thanks should be noted here. The names of supporting organizations should be written out in full. "Acknowledgements" should be written with an "e" following the "g."   Top

References – See References section below.   Top

Author Photos and Biographies – Author photos may be black and white or colour (they will be printed in black and white). The height-to-width ratio should be 4 to 3 (we will crop the photo if necessary). Biographies should be brief.   Top

Text Formatting

Section Headings – Primary headings should be set in boldface type, designated with upper-case Roman numerals, and centred in the column with space above and below. Secondary headings should be set in boldface type, designated with upper-case letters, and positioned flush left with space preceding but not following. Tertiary headings should be set in boldface italic type, designated with Arabic numerals, and positioned flush left with space preceding but not following. Quaternary headings, if required, should be set in boldface italic type, designated with lower-case letters, positioned flush left, followed by a colon, and run into the text. EXAMPLE:

                              I. Primary heading

A. Secondary heading
(Text)

1. Tertiary heading
(Text}

a. Quaternary heading: (Text)   Top

Paragraphs – The first paragraph of a section (following a heading) should not be indented. All other paragraphs should be indented. There should be one line of space between paragraphs.   Top

Theorems, Definitions, etc. – In general, formal enunciations like theorems and corollaries should be set as separate paragraphs. Headings should be set in boldface small capitals, numbered with Arabic numerals, positioned flush left, followed by a colon, and run into the text. The text of the paragraph may be italicized if the author wishes. For less formal items such as cases and problems, the heading may be treated as a quaternary heading (see above) without the section numbering, and the text of the paragraph may be italicized if the author wishes.   Top

Lists – When the sequence or priority of items on a vertical list is not significant, bullets should be used to mark each item. When the order is significant, Arabic numerals or lower-case letters followed by a period and a space may be used. If an ordered list is run into a paragraph, the numerals or letters should be enclosed in parentheses. If the list elements are complete sentences, they should begin with an initial capital and end with a period. Otherwise, they should begin with lower-case letters and should be separated by commas or semicolons.   Top

Footnotes – Use of footnotes is discouraged. However, when they are necessary, footnotes in the body of the paper should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Footnotes within tables that refer to the entire table do not need to be numbered. Footnotes within tables that refer to specific elements of the table should be ordered in an independent sequence with lower-case letters.   Top

Mathematical Expressions and Equations 

Display vs. In-Text Equations – Short mathematical expressions may be run into the text of the paper. Long or important expressions and equations should be displayed. Displayed equations should be centred in the column with space above and below. If several equations are grouped together on several lines, the relation symbols (e.g., "=") should be aligned. If an equation is too long to fit across one column (89 mm or 3.5"), it should be broken after an operation or a relation symbol.   Top

Numbering of Equations – Display equations may be numbered. If they are, Arabic numerals enclosed in parentheses and positioned to the right of the equations should be used. A group of related equations may be assigned a single number, which should be centred vertically to the right of the group. If a paper includes appendices with numbered equations, each appendix should have its own numbering sequence: (A-1), (B-1), and so on.   Top

Italic vs. Non-Italic Characters – Numerals are set in non-italic type. Abbreviations and language-specific terms used as variables or subscripts are also generally set in non-italic type. Variables are generally set in italics, but there are exceptions, as outlined in the next paragraph.   Top

Scalars, Vectors, and Matrices – In general, scalar variables are set in italic type, vector variables are set using bold, non-italic, lower-case letters, and matrix labels are set using bold, non-italic, upper-case letters. Bold vectors should not have arrows above the letter symbol.   Top

Fractions – To minimize line spacing problems, fractions in text should be set with a solidus (forward slash) on one line. Fractions in display equations should be stacked, but fractions in superscripts or subscripts may again use the solidus.   Top

Spacing of Numbers – Numbers of up to four digits on either side of a decimal point should be written together without commas. Numbers of five or more digits on either side of a decimal point should be grouped into sets of three digits. EXAMPLE: 2487.9, 73 568.087, 0.188 25   Top

Punctuation of Equations – Equations should be punctuated as part of the sentence to which they belong. Thus, they will often be followed by a period or a comma. Grouped equations should be separated by commas.   Top

References to Equations – References to equations in text should use the relevant number enclosed in parentheses. There is no need to use the term "equation" unless the reference begins a sentence. EXAMPLE: In (3), the value of a is negative. Equation (4), however, presents a different result.   Top

Figures and Tables 

Numbering of Figures and Tables – Figures should be numbered in sequence according to the order of citation in the body of the paper, using Arabic numerals. Tables should be numbered in a separate sequence, also according to the order of citation and also using Arabic numerals. If required, parts of figures should be labelled with lower-case letters in parentheses.   Top

References to Figures and Tables – References to figures in text should use the abbreviated, capitalized forms "Fig." or "Figs." References to tables should be written out in full and capitalized. EXAMPLE: In Figs. 2(a) and 3, the results presented in Table 1 are depicted graphically.   Top

Position of Figures and Tables – Final positioning of figures and tables is determined by CJECE staff according to the following guidelines: Figures and tables should be positioned either on the page on which they are first mentioned in the text, or on the following page. They should be grouped at the top of each page in top-to-bottom, left-to-right order.   Top

Capitalization in Figures and Tables – Headings, subheadings, and other elements in tables should be treated like titles: the first letter of the first word should be capitalized, and all other words should be lower case unless they are commonly capitalized. Labels in figures may be capitalized or written in lower case, as long as a consistent style is used.   Top

Spelling and Usage 

Use of First Person – Use of the first person (I or we) is permissible, except in abstracts. Efforts to avoid it often lead to awkward and ungrammatical constructions. However, an overly casual or informal style should be avoided.   Top

Acronyms and Abbreviations – The range of topics covered by the CJECE is broad, and readers may not be specialists in a particular subject area. Therefore unless they are very well known, terms should be written out in full when they are first used, followed by an acronym or abbreviation in parentheses. IEEE provides a useful list of "Some Common Acronyms and Abbreviations." (To view the list in a PDF format, go to IEEE's Information for Authors and see Appendix II.)   Top

Indefinite Article before Abbreviated Terms – In general, it is assumed that abbreviations are pronounced as a series of letters rather than as the words they represent. The choice of "a" or "an" to precede such an abbreviation is based on this assumption. EXAMPLE: an HTML document NOT a HTML document   Top

Capitalization of Terms – In general, terms should not be capitalized unless there is a clear reason to do so. Even in the case of terms that are mentioned for the first time with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses, there is no automatic need to use initial capitals. Note that references to specific, numbered figures, tables, or sections should always be capitalized. EXAMPLE: in Section III.   Top

Italics for Emphasis – Italics may be used for emphasis, but sparingly. There is no need to italicize a term simply because it is being mentioned for the first time.   Top

Hyphenation – It is impossible to supply hyphenation rules for every case. Some general guidelines can be given: Modifiers consisting of numbers and abbreviated units should not be hyphenated. (EXAMPLE: a 10 m distance) Constructions involving an adverb ending in -ly should not be hyphenated. (EXAMPLE: a steeply rising curve) Compounds formed with prefixes like non-, pseudo-, or inter- are often written in a closed form with no hyphen. (EXAMPLE: nonlinear) Spelled-out fractions are generally hyphenated. (EXAMPLE: one-half) Often hyphens are used to create "temporary compounds" for the sake of clarity. EXAMPLE: The term "least asymmetric wavelets" could be ambiguous. To make it clear that "least" modifies "asymmetric" rather than "wavelets," a hyphen is added: least-asymmetric wavelets.   Top

Writing Numbers – In text, the numbers one to nine should generally be written out. However, Arabic numerals should be used whenever units are given. (EXAMPLE: 7 cm) Larger numbers are generally written as Arabic numerals. Any number that begins a sentence should be written out.   Top

States and Provinces – Standard abbreviations rather than postal abbreviations should be used for states and provinces in addresses, references, and elsewhere. EXAMPLE: Alta. NOT AB; Calif. NOT CA   Top

Units and Quantity Symbols – The CJECE uses the SI (International System) of units wherever possible. IEEE provides a useful "Table of Units and Quantity Symbols." (To view the list in a PDF format, go to IEEE's Information for Authors and see Appendix I.)   Top

Indicating Range – An n-dash (typed as two hyphens) should be used to indicate a range of numbers. It should be used even with consecutive numbers. EXAMPLE: [3]--[4]   Top

Dangling Participles – Participles (often identifiable by their -ing endings) should modify a subject. If they do not, they are said to be dangling. Such dangling constructions should be rewritten. EXAMPLE: INCORRECT Assuming that the result is valid, the value is substituted for x. (Who or what did the assuming?) CORRECT Assuming that the result is valid, we substitute the value for x. OR The result is assumed to be valid, and the value is substituted for x.   Top

Spelling Preferences – A list of preferred general and technical dictionaries is given below for reference. The CJECE occupies a middle ground between American and British spelling conventions. The following spellings and practices are preferred:

database NOT data base
gray NOT grey
-gue NOT -g (analogue)
-our NOT -or (colour, neighbour)
-re NOT -er (fibre, metre)
-tt-, -ll- NOT -t-, -l- (formatted, modelled)
-ze, -zed, etc. NOT -se, -sed, etc. (analyze, parameterize)  Top

References

See Reference Formats for guidelines and examples.   Top

Resources (Dictionaries, etc.)

The CJECE uses the following dictionaries for reference:

General Terms – The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 1998

Scientific and Technical Terms – McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th edition, 1994

Electrical Engineering Terms – The New IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms, 6th edition, 1997

The following works are helpful for questions of style and formatting, including formatting of mathematics:

The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition, 1993 (especially Chapter 13, "Mathematics in Type")

Mathematics into Type, revised edition, 1979/1986

IEEE offers several helpful resources for use in preparing papers and reference lists:

Table of Units and Quantity Symbols
Some Common Acronyms and Abbreviations
List of IEEE Transactions, Journals, and Letters
List of IEEE Magazines

(To view these resources in a PDF format, go to IEEE's Information for Authors and see Appendices I, II, III, and IV respectively.)  Top

Updated January 2012