Write for Bulletin

Writing tips

• Write in a narrative style using plain English.
• Avoid academic language where possible and explain technical terms at first use.
• Ensure the article is grounded in the latest evidence.
• Provide in-text references for any facts you may present and a reference list using Harvard style.
• Carefully consider and acknowledge the limits of your knowledge/learning.

Types of article

Take a look at the guidelines for each section of Bulletin, from short opinion pieces to longer feature articles.

Perspectives (450 words)

Is there a topical issue in speech and language therapy you want to shout about or a personal perspective you’d like to share?

My working life (450 words)

Your first-person account of working life. This can include things like a day in your life, your career journey or an unusual professional setting.

Service user voice (450 words)

Sharing the lived experience of people who have used speech and language therapy. Individuals can write their story independently or with support from you.

Focus on diversity (450-900 words)

We want to represent SLTs from diverse communities including SLTs of colour, and members with disabilities and neurodivergence in Bulletin. We also want to show work being done within diverse communities. Share your experiences and highlight issues to raise the profile of diversity, equity and belonging in the profession.

In the journals (220 words)

The aim of this section is to summarise recent clinical research studies (preferably published in the last 6 months) that are relevant to clinical practice. It is not a critical appraisal.

Letters to the editor (80-100 words)

Share your thoughts on a particular issue, respond to something you’ve read in Bulletin, or put a question to other members.

In pictures

Our photo gallery showing what RCSLT members have been up to. Submit a photograph you’d like to share with the SLT community to bulletin@rcslt.org or tag Bulletin on social media.

Feature articles (900-1350 words)

If you are considering writing a feature article, please first identify your piece as one of the below article types using the descriptions to help you, and then get in touch with us to discuss your idea. We can agree a brief with you and support you through the editorial process.

Types of feature article

Service evaluation looks at how well your service is achieving its aims.

Audit presents how you have evaluated your service in line with an identified standard, for example a NICE guideline.

Quality improvement presents a project to address a block in the system using improvement methodology.

Research looks at the methods and findings of clinical research. This could be a small piece of practice-based research; a large, international, multi-centre randomised controlled trial; a survey; implementation research; or any other kind of design.

Case study – the story of a client you have been working with. Case studies help to bridge the gap between an explanation of how something is done in theory and being able to replicate it in practice.

Clinical idea – these articles share an interesting idea which has been developed through your clinical practice. It may be an idea you’ve tried out, or an idea you’re still tinkering with.

For further information about writing for Bulletin, get in touch with us at bulletin@rcslt.org.

Photography

Photographs submitted to Bulletin should be of a high resolution (normally 300 dpi or at least 500kb in size). Please notify us at the time of submission of any photo credits.

If you submit photos depicting patients/service users or minors, you need to ensure that you have written consent from the person or a parent/carer.

Scanned images from books and magazines cannot be used for copyright and technical reasons.

Submissions process

As Bulletin is a member-led magazine, we depend on our readers to provide articles and share their ideas with us. We review all the proposals and draft articles we receive. As we get a large number of proposals, it can take some time to consider and respond to each one. We have long lead times, and as a quarterly publication may plan articles for an issue six months or even a year ahead. We always contact authors before publishing.

When you send in an article or idea we:

• read your proposal
• may ask you for more details
• work with you to agree deadlines and editing requirements if your article is accepted for publication
• work closely with you to finalise the text, including a peer review process and editorial checks.

Reasons why an article may not be accepted

The main reason for not accepting an article is the limited space in Bulletin. We aim to cover the widest possible range of topics and specialisms suitable for readers at all career stages. This means that some content will not appear in the magazine even if it is relevant and high quality. You may be able to share your ideas in other contexts such as a Clinical Excellence Network, or contact our Professional Enquiries Team for suggestions.

If we are not able to follow up on your proposal, please don’t be discouraged – it doesn’t reflect on the quality of your idea. There are some other ways to share your ideas with peers and we very much encourage all our readers to seek opportunities for sharing knowledge within professional networks such as Clinical Excellence Networks (CENs) and Hubs. If your article is about good quality research you might want to consider the IJLCD or another academic journal. Our Professional Enquiries team is available to advise on the academic publishing route info@rcslt.org, and you can log into the website to visit our Research pages.

After publication

The RCSLT retains the copyright of any article accepted for publication.

We encourage all our authors to share their publication news with their networks and on social media. Feel free to post your news, add images or videos announcing your success! Remember to tag RCSLT. If you would like to share the text of your article please could you contact us first?