Write for Bulletin

Guidelines

Wondering what to write? Take a look at what we’re looking for in each section of Bulletin, from short opinion pieces to longer feature articles.

Perspectives (500 words)

Is there a topical issue you want to shout about or a personal perspective you’d like to share? Pieces for this section should draw on your own experiences and perspectives, while being relevant to the wider speech and language therapy profession. Please include a high-quality image of yourself alongside your submission.

My working life (500 words)

Tell us about your professional life in 500 words. Your role might be a somewhat unique and unusual one; you might have come to the profession via an interesting route; or maybe you just want to share your passion for your everyday work. Please include a high-quality image of yourself alongside your submission.

Service user voice (500 words)

This new Bulletin section shows the profession from a different perspective, by having a service user share their own speech and language therapy experience. If you have worked with a service user who would like to share their story, either by writing their own article, being interviewed, or co-writing a piece with their SLT, please get in touch.

Focus on diversity (500 words)

We want to hear more from Black, Asian and minority ethnic SLTs, as well as other minorities within our profession. Share your experiences, highlight issues and start discussions within this section dedicated to diversifying our profession.

Email bulletin@rcslt.org for more information on how to get involved in this section.

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.

You are welcome to write about a study of your choice, but please let us know which article you are reviewing before you write it to avoid duplication. We can also help you pick one – please contact us if you’d like support with this.

Take a look at our In the journals guidelines (PDF) for more details.

Letters to the editor (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 100 words or less.

Feature articles (500-2000 words)

We welcome submissions for longer feature articles which showcase members’ valuable experience and expertise in areas of professional practice. Feature articles could include findings from your research project or quality improvement project, or an idea you have developed in your clinical practice.

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. Once you know what you will be writing, please use our guidelines for feature articles (PDF) to structure your piece and make sure you include all the details we need.

Service evaluation – these articles present a service evaluation which looks at how well your service is achieving its aims.

Audit – these articles showcase an audit and present how you have evaluated your service in line with an identified standard, for example a NICE guideline.

Quality improvement – these articles present a project to address a block in the system using improvement methodology.

Research – these articles present 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 – these articles showcase a case study 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 feature articles, please make sure:

• The article is between 500-2,000 words (If you anticipate your feature article being over the above word count, please get in touch before writing.)
• The article is interesting and relevant to readers (Remember members of the RCSLT are varied – including retired members, students, and overseas members).
• You write in a narrative style (not in the style of a journal article).
• The article is grounded in the latest evidence.
• You provide in-text references for any facts you may present and a reference list using Harvard style. You may also include links to any resources you have used, developed, or would recommend.
• You carefully consider and acknowledge the limits of your knowledge/learning.
• You have specified which article types your piece fits into and considered the specific guidelines for this. Our reviewers will use the same guidelines when reviewing your work.

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

In pictures

This section gives a glimpse into what RCSLT members have been up to recently. Submit a photograph you’d like to share with the speech and language therapy community – you could be showcasing an achievement, getting your team together for a group photo, or just curling up with the latest issue of Bulletin! Email your photographs to bulletin@rcslt.org (see the photography guidelines below) or tag @rcslt_bulletin on Twitter.

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.

Photos depicting patients/service users or minors must be accompanied by the subject’s written consent (in the case of minors, their parent or guardian’s consent).

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

Submissions process

Email your submission to bulletin@rcslt.org with the proposed section you’re contributing to (‘Feature: Case Study’, ‘My Working Life’ etc) in the subject line. Bulletin has a rolling deadline, so you can submit whenever you want.

The editorial team will acknowledge receipt of your submission and will endeavour to review it and return it to you with any suggestions or amendments as soon as possible.

You can also submit queries to the team with an outline of a proposed article, if you’re unsure whether or not it will be suitable for publication. The team will get back to you with recommendations on how to proceed.

After submission

If your article is accepted for publication, the editor will contact you with more detailed edits and information about when it will be published.

All articles go through an editorial review panel. Depending on the subject matter, they may also go to an external reviewer. This may take anywhere from six weeks to six months.

Due to the popularity of Bulletin we receive more articles than we can publish. This, combined with our review process, means there is invariably a wait between acceptance and publication.

After publication

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

Please note there is a strict three-month embargo on content from the date of publication. While we normally permit re-printing after this period, we ask you to seek permission from the magazine’s editor and credit Bulletin with first publication rights.