The Cove Editorial Policy:

Cove Publishing Rationale:

1. The Cove seeks to publish high-quality, informative articles, podcasts and multimedia professional military education content aimed towards the military professional, to enhance the Australian Army’s Intellectual Edge through content related to the Profession of Arms. 
2. The Cove’s content centres the Australian Profession of Arms, as such contributions are to be of direct relevance to the Australian military professional - this can include Army, RAN or RAAF, other members of the Australian National Defence enterprise.  
3. The Cove publishes content from subject matter experts both internal and external to the organisation (Army). 
   Contributions that are considered relevant are any piece of PME that advances professional mastery of the profession of arms, deepens or enhances a members’ understanding, or advances discussion of a specific topic of interest within the Australian Army. Whatever the topic, the purpose remains the same: to enhance the professional mastery of Australian Army members. Remember, PME isn’t the main effort, warfighting is.

What will and won’t be published:

1. Contributions must NOT contain content or information classified as Official:Sensitive (O:S) or above.
2. The Cove does not require submissions to be cleared by members' chain of command - anyone may make submissions, understanding they are contributing as an individual. Content that is submitted on behalf of an organisation or speaks on behalf of an organisation must be formally submitted from an organisational decision-maker or email account.
3. Content must adhere to the Defence Values. No submissions that directly attack, belittle or criticise individuals will be published. In keeping with the contest of ideas, current policy or decisions may be critiqued, and all such critiques should be rooted in facts and logical arguments.
4. Author attribution. All submissions must be attributed - i.e have an author. The Cove does not publish content submitted anonymously. Where authors believe they have a compelling reason for their contribution to be published without attribution, (for example, personnel with Protected Identity [PID] status), the Author Known attribution may be employed by The Cove pending agreement by editorial staff. Authors must still provide attribution to Cove staff in this instance.

What The Cove accepts:

1. Submissions - Contributions submitted for publication must conform to one of the defined types of submissions (see Submission Guidelines below).
2. Contributors - The Cove’s preference is for contributions to come from a position of expertise or experience. To meaningfully contribute to the professional discussion, you should hold a level of SME knowledge or personal experience in the topic you are discussing. This can be via qualification, training, or current knowledge; or some form of personal experience (first-hand involvement with the matter at hand).
3. Where content is deemed unsuitable for publication on The Cove, editorial staff will offer possible alternatives, such as other organisational PME platforms, formal journals, or non-organisational platforms.

Submission Guidelines

Pitching and Submitting. To avoid disappointment, The Cove requests Pitches prior to making a submission. This is to avoid contributors expending effort on content that may not be suitable for publication.

Submission Process:

To make a submission, follow this process

1. Read these Submission Guidelines.
2. Make a Pitch. Pitches should be maximum 200 words, cover the point/topic of your proposed submission, proposed submission category (Op-Ed, Essay, etc), and why (SME, qualification, experience) you are suited to contribute this content. Pitches are to be made to: the.cove@defence.gov.au and should include PITCH in the subject line.
3. Receive a Call to Submit. A member of the Cove editorial team will review your pitch and advise if it is suitable for publication on the Cove, based on your pitch. A call to submit is not confirmation your final submission will be published, but it provides greater certainty. You may be provided editorial guidance to ensure your submission is suitable for publication. If your pitch outlines content that is not deemed suitable for publication on The Cove, you will be provided feedback and possible alternatives.
4. Peer review your submission. Find a close friend, respected peer, or an Education Officer.
5. Content Submission. Make your full submission via our Submission Portal. Your submission will be reviewed in detail and edited as required by one of the Cove Editors. The edited version with any suggested amendments will be returned to you for clearance prior to progressing; upon detailed review of your submission if the final version is not deemed suitable you will be informed as per Step 2.
6. Consider providing a copyright-free cover image to be published with your article. The Defence Image Gallery is our go-to site. Alternatively, look for material which is ‘Public Domain’ or Creative Common 0 ‘CC0’ classified. If using a google search, select Settings > Advanced Search > Usage Rights > Creative Commons Licence. Provide the URL of the location from where the image was sourced. If using an image from elsewhere, provide information to attribute credit to the originator. If in doubt, leave it out, or contact us for further guidance.
7. Include a short 2 – 4 sentence biography. Keep it professional, as we will not publish personal or family information to protect your personal privacy.
8. Note that submission of your work for publication on The Cove website assigns ownership to the Department of Defence (Professional Military Education Cell). Further information on this is included in the 'Make A Submission' page. You must advise the Cove Team if you have published your contribution elsewhere or if you have already assigned copyright to your work. If you do not wish to do this, have any questions, or need assistance, please contact us at the.cove@defence.gov.au.
9. Publication. Following acceptance of any suggested edits, your submission will be prepared and scheduled for publication, following this it will be published on The Cove website, Cove app, social media and Cove Podcast (where applicable) at the next available publication slot.

Submission Types:

Articles. The Cove accepts the following types of written article:

1. Op-Ed: An op-ed piece is a short-form article that represents the strong, informed, and focused opinion of a writer on an issue of relevance to a targeted audience. It is a written prose piece which expresses the opinion of the author with no affiliation with the publication's editorial board, or enterprise/organisational policy (‘the party line’). Articles submitted to The Cove under the Op-Ed category must meet the following requirements:
   - Length: Short-form (500 - 1000 words)
   - Style: The writing should advance an opinion or thesis on a current topic relevant to the profession of arms and/or the Australian national defence in a very tightly argued format. Your opinion should be informed by facts and figures but does not need to expound upon them as you would in an academic essay. Op-Eds are not a rant, ‘letter to the editor’-style diatribe or a chance to simply complain, but should offer some form of recommendation or solution. While Op-Eds are a form of personal opinion, that opinion should derive from a solid grounding in expertise or experience. That is, to advance your original opinion on a specialist topic, you should argue from a position of expertise (such as being a subject matter expert via qualification, training, or current knowledge) or experience (first-hand involvement with the matter at hand). Referring to the author in the first-person is permitted and appropriate.
   - Referencing: Not essential but encouraged to support central argument. Academic-style referencing is not required, in-text hyperlinking or use of diagrams etc is suitable for an Op-Ed.
2. Informal Essay. An essay is a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument. The informal essay is characterised by the personal element, humour, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme.
   - Length: Long-form (Up to 2500 words)
   - Style: Your informal essay should advance your own argument, opinion, or a discussion based on experience and facts for the purpose of informing or illuminating the reader. This category may be used to relate personal experience that provides lessons to the reader; uses humorous or informal subject matter; or is otherwise not in keeping with an academic-style argumentative essay - whilst still advancing a logical conclusion to the edification of the reader. Referring to the author in the first or third person is permitted.  
   - Referencing: Suitable referencing to support assertions or statements of fact made in the article. Oxford or Harvard encouraged, but in-text hyperlinks may also be used where appropriate.
3. Formal Essay. Formal essays are characterised by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organisation, length. 
   - Length: Long-form (Up to 2500 words)
   - Style: Formal essays should be in the form of an ‘argumentative essay’. This is a critical piece of writing, aimed at presenting objective analysis of the subject matter, narrowed down to a single topic. The main idea of all the criticism is to provide an opinion either of positive or negative implication. As such, a critical essay requires research and analysis, strong internal logic and sharp structure. Its structure normally builds around an introduction with a topic's relevance and a thesis statement, body paragraphs with arguments linking back to the main thesis, and conclusion. In addition, an argumentative essay may include a refutation section where conflicting ideas are acknowledged, described, and criticised. Each argument of an argumentative essay should be supported with sufficient evidence, relevant to the point. The author should write in the third-person.
   - Referencing: Required to support your arguments and overall thesis. Oxford or Harvard style can be used, with a bibliography provided.
4. Monograph or Series. A monograph is a specialist written work or exhibition on one subject or one aspect of a usually scholarly subject, often by a single author. Although a monograph can be created by two or more individuals, its text remains a coherent whole and it keeps being an in-depth academic work that presents original research, analysis, and arguments. It is a focused, in-depth and specialised written work in which one or more authors develop a uniform and continuous argument or analysis over the course of the piece. A series is a cohesive long-form paper that lends itself to reading over multiple iterations, and will be published in a serial format. Due to the great length of a monograph, monographs will be published as series even when they are not submitted as such.
   - Length: Very Long-form (Above 2500 words)
   - Style: In addition to all style requirements of the Formal Essay (above), this category should be composed of original research, first-hand accounts of value, and/or truly unique and valuable arguments that require this amount of space for elaboration. Papers of this length will not be read by many readers unless the argument is compelling and the support and data given in the paper is unique. A 200-word abstract that states your thesis or argument must accompany your submission, this both assists in the editorial process and allows you to essentially advocate your argument in the hope that busy readers will invest their time in reading more.
   - Referencing: Required to support your arguments and overall thesis. Oxford or Harvard style can be used, with a bibliography provided, including footnotes/endnotes.

Review: Book, Podcast, Film, or other
- Length: Short-form
- Style: Informal. Reviews may be discussed in the first person and can adopt a more relaxed tone. A review should focus on the relevance of the reviewed material to the profession of arms or the military professional.
Referencing: Only the work being reviewed is required to be referenced.

Podcasts
- Audio Article. You may narrate your own written submission and submit for publication on The Cove Podcast. See Audio Articles for more details.
- Original Podcast. If you have an idea for an original podcast series you wish to be published on The Cove, contact us at the.cove@defence.gov.au to discuss.

Videos. Video content is welcomed. To contribute video content, please contact The Cove at the.cove@defence.gov.au to discuss further.

Tips for Contributors:

How should you write?

Submissions need to be suitable for our website, or a mobile device, which is why we recommend:

• Write in an active voice. This will help keep your word count down.
• Know your intended audience. In fact, state who you hope to appeal to and why your content is important to them.
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Approximately 20 words per sentence and 80 words per paragraph.
• Where appropriate, use clear and meaningful headings and sub headings. Only if this helps the flow of your work.
• Avoid jargon and acronyms – try to appeal to a general audience who may not be experts in your field.
• Format: MS word, 12 font. We have limited formatting on our webpage – sorry! We can include 1 level of sub-paragraphs
  1. Like this is ok.
     • This extra numbered sub-list is problematic.
• If you intend to use images in the body of your article, indicate the location in text (i.e. 'Image 1 here'). Then, name and submit the jpeg as separate files during your submission. This will result in better quality resolution upon publication.