Author Guidelines: Section Newsletters

Are you looking for a way to gain name recognition, earn CPD credit hours, and establish yourself as an expert? Authoring an article for an SOA Section can help you accomplish those goals. Send your article idea to the sections’ volunteer editors to be considered for publication. Generally, the type of article being sought is one that provides information an actuary can apply directly to their job and/or career.

Below are guidelines designed to help you produce an article that will be an interesting and lively addition to a Section’s newsletter. If you have any questions after reading the guidelines, please contact sectionnewsletter@soa.org.

A List of What Must be Provided at Time of Submission

Article text: Microsoft Word doc, single column, single space, single paragraph breaks, no indents. Make sure article title and byline are included. Do not submit a PDF.

Article length: We suggest an article length of 500–2,500 words as an article longer than 2,500 words runs the risk of losing the readers’ attention.

Author bio: Name, credentials, job title, company, and email address of each author. Example: Carolyn Turcot, FSA, is chief insurance officer at Actuaries Business Place. Carolyn can be contacted at cturcot@ABP.com.

Article description: A short description of the article that gives readers a hint of what your article covers. The description should not exceed 30 words. i.e., “Learn ways to master self-management and improve your ability to react quickly and confidently when a difficult situation occurs.”

Article Formatting

Lists: Bullet lists or numbered lists are OK.

Image placement: Do not insert images into the Word document. Use comments to indicate image placement in the article. (i.e., insert chart 1 here) See Artwork section below for more information.

Subheads: Please use font size to indicate subhead order. i.e., size 14, 12, 11, 10, etc. Do not use different colored font.

Adding emphasis: Please use bold, not italics, to add emphasis.

Charts, tables, and graphics: Do create tables in PowerPoint, Word, or Excel. Do not make tables an image placed into Word or submit them as a .jpg file. Doing so makes the image low-resolution and unchangeable. **You must submit your original files used to create the charts and tables.

Math and Formulas: Equations should be created directly in the article file using the Word equation editor or a Word-compatible equation editor such as Math Type. This will keep all the equations properly aligned, sized, and placed in the text even when other changes are made during the editing process.

Endnotes: Section newsletters use endnotes instead of an alphabetical reference list. Notes should be numbered sequentially in accordance with their appearance in text. If a source is used more than once, it is listed again with a new number—i.e., note numbers are never repeated. Text citations should be the endnote number in brackets, such as [1].

For more information, see Endnotes section below.

Justification: Use only left justification.

Headers/Footers: Do not use automated headers/footers.

Usability: Ensure your Word document is not locked.

Track Changes: Turn off the track changes function. Previous edits do not need to be seen.

AI Generated Content

Authors are required to take responsibility for all AI generated content. AI-based tools and technologies, including but not limited to, large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and chatbots (i.e., ChatGPT) cannot be listed as an author. Authors are required to acknowledge where AI tools are used, document the AI generated content accordingly, and continue to sign Society of Actuaries publishing agreements.

Legalities

Permissions: You will need to secure permission for any material (extended text, charts, tables) taken directly or slightly adapted from an outside source. Use reprints only when it is absolutely critical to republish an exact replica of a figure or table from elsewhere. Note: Permission to reprint information from non-SOA publications can take months to secure.

All material on the internet is copyrighted and cannot be reprinted without permission from the copyright holder. Material that has been only slightly adapted and is clearly a derivative of the original source will also need reprint permission from the copyright holder.

The copyright owner can usually be determined by scrolling to the bottom of a webpage. Most websites also post guidelines for securing reprint permission and often indicate the wording that should be used when crafting a permission line to accompany the reprinted material. If the copyright holder does not indicate specific language for the reprint credit line, you may create one using standard bibliographic information. “From B. Thompson, All Great And Not So Great Things, copyright © 2000 Wiley. Reproduced by permission.”

When using data from elsewhere within text or to create a new table or figure, a credit line to the original source will suffice (i.e., reprint permission is not needed).

Review Process

Prior to publishing, all articles are reviewed by an SOA staff actuary as well as the Section’s volunteer editor(s) for publishing consideration. The SOA staff editor is responsible for sending the articles to the afore mentioned parties. The SOA staff editor will review the article for Associated Press and SOA style.

Occasionally an article is flagged for additional review. (i.e., controversial or perhaps puts the reputation of the SOA community or profession at risk). The staff actuary or volunteer editors may recommend some changes and ask the author to modify the article. A counterpoint article may need to accompany the article at the time of posting. Additionally, the staff actuary reviews the inclusion of any SOA advertising to ensure it is aligned with the membership.

If your article is accepted for publishing, you will be asked to complete a license agreement and metadata form. Your article cannot be published until the license agreement and metadata forms have been received by the SOA. Links to the forms will be sent to you once your article has been accepted for publishing.

Copyright license agreement: The SOA requires all authors of articles that are published in a Section’s newsletter to fill out a copyright license agreement form. Filling out the form does NOT transfer ownership of the copyright from the author to the SOA. By filling out the license agreement, the author is confirming the SOA has the right to publish the article in the Section’s newsletter. The license agreement must be completed in order for an article to be published in the Section’s newsletter.

Metadata: The information you provide on the metadata form is what will be used to make your article “searchable” by the various internet search engines. Articles cannot be published until the metadata have been received by the SOA.

Writing Tips

As a general rule, you should keep in mind the readability of the content for its intended audience. There are a number of considerations to keep in mind while writing:

• Avoid clichés.
• Avoid inflammatory language.
• Clarify areas that are your opinion.
• If using “we,” clarify who “we” is.
• Clarify that you are not making statements on behalf of the SOA as an organization, if they could be misinterpreted that way.
• Clarify whether your audience is just actuaries or a broader audience.
• Avoid suggestions (including implied suggestions) that public policy should change.
• Avoid suggestions (including implied suggestions) of actions that other actuarial, professional, or governmental organizations should or could take.
• Avoid bias in presenting the content.
• Avoid using the passive voice.

Consider web writing best practices—Users read content differently on the web than in print. For more information, visit the Writing for Web article found on usabilty.gov.

Potential Article Hold Ups

Public Policy: Article content may be considered to have public policy implications. Determination of public policy implications can occur at any point prior to posting. Articles determined to have public policy implications undergo an additional review process. The review process includes several additional sign-offs beyond sign-off by the staff actuary. Our public relations and governmental affairs consultants review as well. The purpose of the review is to ensure the article content adheres to the SOA’s objectives to provide unbiased information that informs public policy.

Controversial Topics: A review similar to the public policy review will occur with any topics that may be considered controversial, even if outside the realm of public policy. This may also result in additional review steps. As soon as possible, we will make a determination on whether an article will need to undergo such a review, with guidance given to you. An example is research on a technique that has dissenting opinions within the actuarial profession; a review would be appropriate to ensure the article is unbiased and objective in its recommendations.

Things that will contribute to an article being excluded from a publication include, but are not limited to:

Profanity; derogatory slang terms; bias in presenting research; political views; and negative statements about a fellow actuary, the profession, or other actuarial organizations.

Rights After Publishing

Authors retain copyright to the content they submit for the Section’s newsletter and are allowed to submit the article for publication elsewhere after the article has been published in the newsletter. Authors may post a link to their article on their company’s or personal website. Authors may not post the article in full online. If the author wishes to post the article on a personal or company website or share elsewhere, all stock photography provided by the SOA must be removed.

Artwork

Images

All images submitted with articles will undergo a review process for content and technical specifications. To ensure quality, all images need to be 773 pixels at 125 dots per inch (DPI) and in color. Author submitted photos can only be used as secondary images; NOT main (hero)images. Group photos or interview photos can only be used as secondary images; not main (hero) images. They must be 400 pixels wide saved at 125 DPI in .jpg or .tif format and should also be professional subjects/poses. Color pictures are preferred as they create crisper images. Stock images are provided by the SOA professional design staff. No cartoons, drawings or clip art will be used.

Endnote Citation Formats

The following are examples of endnotes for some of the more common types of sources. This list is not exhaustive, so for more detailed information and examples, please refer to the latest edition of the University of Chicago Manual of Style, chapter 14.

Books

One author

First Name Last Name, Title of Book (City publisher is located: Name of Publisher, copyright year).

[Ex.: Chris Anderson, Free: The Future of a Radical Price. 2nd ed. (New York: Hyperion, 2019).]

More than one author

First name Last Name and First name Last name, Title of Book (City publisher is located: Name of Publisher, copyright year). NOTE: If there are more than three authors, cite only the name of the first-listed author follow by “et al.”).

[Ex.: Guy Cowlishaw and Robin Dunbar, Primate Conservation Biology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020).]

Complete chapter from a book

First Name Last Name, “Title of Chapter,” in Title of Book (City of Publisher: Name of Publisher, year of copyright), page number.

[Ex: Brendan Phibbs, “Diary of a Battle," In The Other Side of Time (Boston: Little, Brown, 2017), 117.

Selected pages from a book

First Name Last Name, Title of Book (City publisher is located: Name of Publisher, copyright year), page number–page number.

[Ex: Brendan Phibbs, The Other Side of Time (Boston: Little, Brown, 2017), 212–225.]

Periodicals

Journal articles

Author First Name Last Name [If there is more than one author, follow the format for multiple-authored books], “Title of Article,” Title of Journal volume number, issue number (publication month and year): page numbers.

[Ex: Michel Denuit and Esther Frostig, “Life Insurance Mathematics With Random Life Tables,” North American Actuarial Journal 13, no. 3 (June 2019): 339–355.

Magazine articles

First Name Last Name, “Title of Article,” Magazine Title, Issue Date.

First Name Last Name, “Title of Article,” Magazine Title, Issue Date, page number.

[Ex.: Larry Rubin, Victor Shi, and Nadezhda Roskova, “The Word on Fair Value Accounting,” The Actuary, October/November 2019.]

[Ex.: Larry Rubin, Victor Shi, and Nadezhda Roskova, “The Word on Fair Value Accounting,” The Actuary, October/November 2019, 14.]

Newspapers

With an author:

Full name(s) of author or authors, “Title of article.” Title of Newspaper, issue information (volume, issue number, date, etc.). Page reference (where appropriate). For periodicals consulted online, a url or, in some cases, the name of the database used to consult the resource.

[Ex: Laurie Goodstein, “The Well-Marked Roads to Homicidal Rage.” New York Times, April 10, 2020.]

Without an author:

Title of Newspaper. Year of publication. Title of article. Month and day.

[Ex: New York Times. 2012. Texas Race for Governor Heats Up. July 30.]
[Ex: Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 30, 1990.]
[Ex: “Pushcarts Evolve to Trendy Kiosks,” Lake Forester (Lake Forest, IL), March 23, 2000.]

Papers/Lectures Presented at Meetings

Full name(s) of author or authors, “Title of paper.” Paper/lecture presented at Name of Meeting, date of meeting, location of meeting.

[Ex: Robert McCory, “Communicating Risk in Public Pension Plans.” Paper presented at the Public Pension Finance Symposium, May 18–19, 2019, Chicago, Ill.]

Online Sources

Online newspapers, news services, and other news sources:

Author name (if known), “Title of Article,” newspaper or service’s title, date, url.

[Ex: BestWire, “Best’s Special Report: Disclosures Suggest Wide Variation in IFRS 17 Impact on Shareholders’ Equity,” Best’s News & Research Service, May 11, 2023, https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?refnum=249581&altsrc=114.]

Online research reports, white papers and fact sheets from associations, corporations and government organizations:

Author name (if known), “Title of Paper,” name of website, date, url.

[Ex: Juliet Spector, Cory Gusland and Carol Kim. “Insurance Risk and Its Impact on Provider Share Risk Payment Models,” Society of Actuaries, January 2018, https://www.soa.org/49345d/globalassets/assets/files/resources/research-report/2018/insurance-risk-impact.pdf.]

[Ex: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “Medicare Learning Network Fact Sheet: Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital,” CMS, March 2021, https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/Downloads/Disproportionate_Share_Hospital.pdf.]

Other online sources/webpages:

Author name (if known), “Title of Article/Page,” website where article/page appeared, date posted or updated, url.

[Ex: Amanda Becker, “Test Yourself: Would You Act Unethically on the Job?” BNET INSIGHT, October 19, 2019, http://blog.bnet.com/mba/?p=l 330&tag=nl.e7 13.]

Other Sources

Podcast interviews:

Name of interviewee, interview by [insert interviewer’s name], title of podcast, podcast, date, url.

[Ex: Mike Bishop, interview by Blake Hill, InsureTech Insights, podcast, April 19, 2023, https://www.soa.org/resources/podcasts/.]

TV programs:

Title of Program, “Title of Episode/Report,” reported by/presented by/directed by [insert person’s name], air date, on [insert channel], url (if applicable).

[Ex: Power Lunch, “Mortgage Industry to Factor Climate Risks Before Lending,” reported by Diana Olick, aired March 20, 2023, on CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/03/20/mortgage-industry-to-factor-climate-risks-before-lending.html.]

Professional standards:

Author/organization name, “Title/Number of Standard,” publishing entity, date, url.

[Ex: Actuarial Standards Board, “Actuarial Standard of Practice No. 56: Modeling,” ASB, December 2019, http://www.actuarialstandardsboard.org/asops/modeling-3/?msclkid=ad170057aa2811ecb03761eae6ebbdf6.