Unruled white bond paper of good quality in standard letter size, 81/2 by 11 inches, is the most satisfactory.  A high grade of paper not only gives the manuscript a good appearance but stands more handling and saves the recopying of returned manuscripts.  A carbon copy should be made of every manuscript so that, if the original copy goes astray in the mail or in an editorial office, the writer’s work will not have been in vain.  The carbon copy can also be used later for comparison with the printed article.  Such a comparison will show the writer the amount and character of the editing that was deemed necessary to adapt the material to the publication in which it appears.

A cover sheet of the same paper is a convenient device.  It not only gives the editorial reader some information in regard to the article, but it protects the manuscript itself.  Frequently, for purposes of record, manuscripts are stamped or marked in editorial offices, but if a cover page is attached, the manuscript itself is not defaced.  When an article is returned, the writer needs to recopy only the cover page before starting the manuscript on its next journey.  The form for such a cover page is given on page 184.

The upper half of the first page of the manuscript should be left blank, so that the editor may write a new title and sub-title if he is not satisfied with those supplied by the author.  The title, the sub-title, and the author’s name should be repeated at the beginning of the article in the middle of the first page, even though they have been given on the cover page.  At the left-hand side, close to the top of each page after the first, should be placed the writer’s last name followed by a dash and the title of the article, thus: 

    Milton—­Confessions of a Freshman.

The pages should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner.  By these simple means the danger of losing a page in the editorial offices is reduced to a minimum.

     To be paid for at usual Written for The Outlook
     rates, or to be returned
     with the ten (10) cents
     in stamps enclosed, to
       Arthur W. Milton,
       582 Wilson Street,
       Des Moines, Iowa.

CONFESSIONS OF A FRESHMAN

Why I Was Dropped From College at the End of My
First Year

By Arthur W. Milton

(Note.  This article is based on the writer’s own experience in a large Middle Western state university, and the statistics have been obtained from the registrars of four state universities.  It contains 2,750 words.)

Four (4) Photographs are Enclosed, as follows: 

1.  How I Decorated My Room

      2.  I Spent Hours Learning to Play My Ukelele

      3.  When I Made the Freshman Team

      4.  Cramming For My Final Exams