Current Issue

The Kairos Style Guide

Design Requirements

All webtexts go through a design-edit to ensure they are ready for publication. The design edit consists of checking for readability, accessibility, usability, and sustainability. Design-editing, just like copy-editing, is a practice in negotiation with the author's design-voice. Authors of HTML-based webtexts (e.g., everything except wiki webtexts) are required to follow these design and coding requirements.

Rhetorical Considerations

Accessibility

Usability

Sustainability

Code Requirements

Upon submission, all webtexts will be reviewed for adherence to the basic standards of valid markup. The simplest approach is to code properly from the outset, rather than attempting to correct errors at the end of the editorial process. This primarily requires a few simple steps to ensure that your code will validate. (Tip: You can use http://validator.w3.org/ for HTML and http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ for CSS to review your code at any time during the development process.)

The following is a short list of requirements that published webtexts will be expected to meet prior to final publication:

Modified APA Citation Style

Kairos follows a modified version of APA, 7th edition. This in-house style is modified to include authors' and editors' full names in all reference lists and full names when the author(s) or editor(s) are mentioned in in-text citations for the first time in each webpage of a webtext. Like APA, 7th edition, the in-house style only includes the Retrieved on dates for website citations when the webpage is one that is likely to be updated (like Wikipedia, terms of service pages, about pages, and similar pages).

General Format for In-Text Citations in APA Style for Kairos

In-text citations selected from José Luis Cano Jr.'s "A Scyborg Composition Course"; Margaret Price and Erin Kathleen Bahl's "The Rhetoric of Description: Embodiment, Power, and Playfulness in Representations of the Visual"; and Sean Zdenek's "Designing Captions: Disruptive Experiments with Typography, Color, Icons, and Effects."

Many Kairos webtexts are submitted by authors more familiar with MLA style. With that in mind, what follows are some of the most common changes authors will have to make to be sure a webtext follows APA style for in-text citations:

General Format for References Page in APA Style for Kairos

References page citations selected from issue 26.2 (Spring 2022) webtexts: Amanda Athon's "Great Power, Great Responsibility: Accessible Pedagogy for Teaching Comics"; Margaret Price and Erin Kathleen Bahl's "The Rhetoric of Description: Embodiment, Power, and Playfulness in Representations of the Visual"; Julianne Newmark and Tiffany Bourelle's "Fostering Community Through Metacognitive Reflection in Online Technical Communication Courses"; José Luis Cano Jr.'s "A Scyborg Composition Course"; and Jonathan Marine's Review of Rhetoric, Technology, and the Virtues.

Journal Articles

Open Access Journal Article with a DOI:

Cachia, Amanda. (2013). "Disabling" the museum: Curator as infrastructural activist. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v2i4.110

<p>Cachia, Amanda. (2013). "Disabling" the museum: Curator as infrastructural activist. <cite>Canadian Journal of Disability Studies</cite>, <i>2</i>(4). <a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v2i4.110" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v2i4.110</a></p>

Open Access Journal Article with a URL but not a DOI:
(Note that links to Kairos webtexts don't open in a new tab like other external links do.)

Butler, Janine. (2016). Where access meets multimodality: The case of ASL music videos. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 21(1). http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/21.1/topoi/butler/index.html

<p>Butler, Janine. (2016). Where access meets multimodality: The case of ASL music videos. <cite>Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy</cite>, <i>21</i>(1). <a href="/21.1/topoi/butler/index.html">http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/21.1/topoi/butler/index.html</a></p>

Thompson, Riki, & Lee, Meredith J. (2012). Talking with students through screencasting: Experimentations with video feedback to improve student learning. The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, 1(1). https://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/talking-with-students-through-screencasting-experimentations-with-video-feedback-to-improve-student-learning/

<p>Thompson, Riki, &amp; Lee, Meredith J. (2012). Talking with students through screencasting: Experimentations with video feedback to improve student learning. <cite>The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy</cite>, <i>1</i>(1). <a href="https://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/talking-with-students-through-screencasting-experimentations-with-video-feedback-to-improve-student-learning/" target="_blank">https://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/talking-with-students-through-screencasting-experimentations-with-video-feedback-to-improve-student-learning/</a></p>

Paywalled Journal Article with a DOI (the DOI URL remains unlinked):

Selfe, Cynthia L., & Selfe, Richard J., Jr. (1994). The politics of the interface: Power and its exercise in electronic contact zones. College Composition and Communication, 45(4), 480–504. https://doi.org/10.2307/358761

<p>Selfe, Cynthia L., &amp; Selfe, Richard J., Jr. (1994). The politics of the interface: Power and its exercise in electronic contact zones. <cite> College Composition and Communication</cite>, <i>45</i>(4), 480&ndash;504. https://doi.org/10.2307/358761</p>

Paywalled Journal Article with no DOI (don't use the index or database URL) or Print-only Article:

Kerschbaum, Stephanie. (2012). Avoiding the difference fixation: Identity categories, markers of difference, and the teaching of writing. College Composition and Communication, 63(4), 616–644.

<p>Kerschbaum, Stephanie. (2012). Avoiding the difference fixation: Identity categories, markers of difference, and the teaching of writing. <cite>College Composition and Communication</cite>, <i>63</i>(4), 616&ndash;644.</p>

Special Issues of a Journal
(Follow the same guidance above for articles regarding print versus online and open versus paywalled.)

Zdenek, Sean (Ed.). (2018b). Reimagining disability and accessibility in technical and professional communication [Special issue]. Communication Design Quarterly, 6(4).

<p>Zdenek, Sean (Ed.). (2018b). Reimagining disability and accessibility in technical and professional communication [Special issue]. <cite>Communication Design Quarterly</cite>, <i>6</i>(4).</p>

Books

Print Book:

Ahmed, Sara. (2019). What's the use? On the uses of use. Duke University Press.

<p>Ahmed, Sara. (2019). <cite>What's the use? On the uses of use</cite>. Duke University Press.</p>

Open Access Book with a DOI:

Dolmage, Jay Timothy. (2017). Academic ableism: Disability and higher education. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9708722

<p>Dolmage, Jay Timothy. (2017). <cite>Academic ableism: Disability and higher education</cite>. University of Michigan Press. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9708722" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9708722</a></p>

Open Access Book with a URL:

VanKooten, Crystal. (2020). Transfer across media: Using digital video in the teaching of writing. Computers and Composition Digital Press; Utah State University Press. https://ccdigitalpress.org/book/transfer-across-media/index.html

<p>VanKooten, Crystal. (2020). <cite>Transfer across media: Using digital video in the teaching of writing</cite>. Computers and Composition Digital Press; Utah State University Press. <a href="https://ccdigitalpress.org/book/transfer-across-media/index.html" target="_blank">https://ccdigitalpress.org/book/transfer-across-media/index.html</a></p>

Paywalled Digital Book with a DOI:

Holmes, Steve. (2017). The rhetoric of videogames as embodied practice: Procedural habits. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203731260

<p>Holmes, Steve. (2017). <cite>The rhetoric of videogames as embodied practice: Procedural habits</cite>. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203731260</p>

Edition Other Than the First:

Johnson-Sheehan, Richard. (2012). Technical communication today (4th ed.). Pearson.

<p>Johnson-Sheehan, Richard. (2012). <cite>Technical communication today</cite> (4th ed.). Pearson.</p>

Edited Collections
(Follow the same guidance above for books regarding print versus online and open versus paywalled.)

Elbow, Peter (Ed.). (1994). Landmark essays on voice and writing. Routledge.

<p>Elbow, Peter (Ed.). (1994). <cite>Landmark essays on voice and writing</cite>. Routledge.</p>

Chapters in Edited Collection
(Follow the same guidance above for books regarding print versus online and open versus paywalled.)

Arola, Kristin. (2017). Indigenous interfaces. In Douglas M. Walls & Stephanie Vie (Eds.), Social writing/social media: Publics, presentations, and pedagogies (pp. 209–224). https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.2.11

<p>Arola, Kristin. (2017). Indigenous interfaces. In Douglas M. Walls &amp; Stephanie Vie (Eds.), <cite>Social writing/social media: Publics, presentations, and pedagogies</cite> (pp. 209&ndash;224). <a href="https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.2.11" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.2.11</a></p>

Articles in Online Periodicals

Metz, Cade. (2015, October 27). Facebook's AI can caption photos for the blind on its own. Wired. http://www.wired.com/2015/10/facebook-artificial-intelligence-describes-photo-captions-for-blind-people/

<p>Metz, Cade. (2015, October 27). Facebook's AI can caption photos for the blind on its own. <cite>Wired</cite>. <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/10/facebook-artificial-intelligence-describes-photo-captions-for-blind-people/" target="_blank">http://www.wired.com/2015/10/facebook-artificial-intelligence-describes-photo-captions-for-blind-people/</a></p>

Podcast Episodes

Reid, Thomas (Host). (2018, May 2). On Black Panther audio description: On race, selection, and time [Audio podcast episode]. In Reid my mind. http://reidmymind.com/reid-my-mind-radio-on-black-panther-audio-description-race-selection-time/

<p>Reid, Thomas (Host). (2018, May 2). On Black Panther audio description: On race, selection, and time [Audio podcast episode]. In <cite>Reid my mind</cite>. <a href="http://reidmymind.com/reid-my-mind-radio-on-black-panther-audio-description-race-selection-time/" target="_blank">http://reidmymind.com/reid-my-mind-radio-on-black-panther-audio-description-race-selection-time/</a></p>

Webpages That Are Likely to Change or Be Updated
(Use "Retrieved from" and the date you accessed it.)

Twitter Help Center. (n.d.). How to make images accessible for people. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/picture-descriptions

<p>Twitter Help Center. (n.d.). <cite>How to make images accessible for people</cite>. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/picture-descriptions" target="_blank">https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/picture-descriptions</a></p>

YouTube Videos

Marvel Entertainment. (2015, July 14). Marvel's Ms. Marvel volume 1: No normal in GraphicAudio trailer [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_Gs357uNpOA

<p>Marvel Entertainment. (2015, July 14). Marvel's Ms. Marvel volume 1: No normal in GraphicAudio trailer [Video file]. <cite>YouTube</cite>. <a href="https://youtu.be/_Gs357uNpOA" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/_Gs357uNpOA</a></p>

Images

Todd, Gary Lee. (2016, July 22). Ancient Greece stone statues [Photograph]. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/KoZfPb

<p>Todd, Gary Lee. (2016, July 22). <cite>Ancient Greece stone statues</cite> [Photograph]. Flickr. <a href="https://flic.kr/p/KoZfPb" target="_blank">https://flic.kr/p/KoZfPb</a></p>

Blog Posts

Kynard, Carmen. (2012, August 20). "Beyond Miranda's meanings": My first two lessons. Education, Liberation, and Black Radical Traditions for the 21st Century. http://carmenkynard.org/beyond-mirandas-meanings/

<p>Kynard, Carmen. (2012, August 20). "Beyond Miranda's meanings": My first two lessons. <cite>Education, Liberation, and Black Radical Traditions for the 21st Century</cite>. <a href="http://carmenkynard.org/beyond-mirandas-meanings/" target="_blank">http://carmenkynard.org/beyond-mirandas-meanings/</a></p>

ChatGPT and Generative AI

If you use ChatGPT or any other generative AI tools to produce content, we ask that you cite it in APA format.

General Suggestions for Modified APA, 7th edition

Many Kairos webtexts are submitted by authors more familiar with MLA style. With that in mind, what follows are some of the most common differences authors will have to make to be sure a webtext follows APA style for a final references page:

Common Grammar, Style, and Usage Errors