Last updated: March 23, 2020.
This guide will be updated to deal with issues as we become aware of them.
This contributor guide is for contributors to a book collecting stories on why Leavers supported Leave in the 2016 referendum on UK membership of the EU. We are only looking for contributors who in 2016 supported Leave and who still support Leave.
With this contributor guide we would like to provide contributors with some guidance and tips on creating their contribution. We will read your contribution carefully and e-mail you with any questions and suggestions. However, in the interest of efficiency it is best if you read this guide and write your contribution keeping this guidance in mind so your style and format etc. match the requirements. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions and comments not answered by this guide or if you would like more guidance!
Email: book@cambridgeleavecampaign.org
Website: https://www.cambridgeleavecampaign.org/book.html
File Format
Please send us your file as an MS Word document or .txt file with the following convention for your file name:
Lastname_Firstname_year_month_day.fileformat ,
for instance: Smith_John_2020_03_05.doc .
If you are requested to make some edits and you send us an updated version, all you have to do is change the date in your file name.
Biography
We would like to ask that you write a small biography of yourself (max. 300 words), which will accompany your contribution. You should write your bio in the third person. Include whatever details you are happy to share with the world so that readers can get to know you a bit.
We are not planning to include any photographs of the contributors.
Theme
What we would like to ask of you as a contributor is to write in your own words what your reasons were in 2016 to support Leave and how you came to your decision to support Leave and/or how you came to your attitude towards the EU and the UK’s membership of the EU. Please write a min. of 300 words, and do not exceed a few thousand words.
Some questions that might help you along the way are:
If you were around when the UK joined the EU, do you remember what your thoughts were at the time, and what your expectations where for UK membership of the EU?
What are your first memories of the UK and its relation to the EU, or of EU politics? What were your thoughts?
Have you always been sceptical of the EU and/or UK membership of the EU, or have your views changed over time? What made you change your views?
What were the reasons in 2016 for you to support Leave?
Have you thought about what kind of Brexit you want?
What are your hopes/fears for the UK after it has left the EU?
What are your hopes/fears for the EU after the UK has left?
Style Tips
Please put your full name and e-mail address at the top of your contribution. Please use the name you want us to use for you in the book.
Your contribution should not have a title.
Please adopt British spelling conventions.
Write your story in your own words. Please do not copy text from other sources even if it reflects your opinion.
Include one or more personal stories if it helps explain why you hold your views, how you came to your views, or why the topic is important to you. Considering that for many if not most Leave supporters the key reasons for supporting Leave will overlap significantly, it is these personal stories that will provide most value to readers.
You will be sharing your opinions. However, these are best supported with facts, so do cite your sources when making factual statements (please see the References section of this contributor guide).
Avoid using uncommon abbreviations when possible. However, if it makes sense to use them (because they often appear in your contribution), introduce them in your text in full first (you can then use the abbreviation throughout): The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is headquartered in Switzerland.
Feel free to use subheadings if this benefits the reader.
There is no need for page numbers.
Images etc.
Because of potential issues with copyright when using images created by others, we would like to request you do not use any images in your contribution. However, if you strongly feel that you need one or more images, please get in touch to discuss options.
References
We would like to request that you refer to your sources when appropriate. For instance, if you write about someone in the media having said/written something, it is desirable that you refer to the author, media outlet, title of the piece of content, and the date, for instance. This might cost you some extra time but will go a long way to ensure that statements are attributed to the right people and facts are checked, reducing the risk of using false information in your contribution.
It might be easiest to write your first draft without worrying about references, then search for the references when you review your first draft. That way you do not disrupt your train of thought when writing your first draft.
To include references in your contribution, use the number of the source from your source list in square brackets at the end of the sentence in which you made the statement that needs the reference:
Such and such said this and that [1]. In recent years we have seen this phenomenon happen with the following consequences: A, B, and C [2].
At the end of your contribution, please include a numbered list of your references:
1: John Smith, Article Title, media outlet, date. URL (if possible).
2: Jane Smith, Book Title, Publisher, publishing year, page number(s).
Questions?
Please get in touch: book@cambridgeleavecampaign.org
