About Us

UDA Digest article format/Guidelines

There are four formats of articles/publications in UDA Digest:

1. Commentaries 
2. Issues Briefs 
3. Expert Articles 
4. Short Report 

Guidelines for Commentaries:

1. These are brief articles written by experts in their domain. These are based on data and facts and contain sound analyses of current affairs and important policy trends. 
2. MRC encourages facts that analyze contemporary developments along with a prognosis for the future. 
3. Indicative length: Up to 800 words.
4. Review process: A plagiarism check is done on the article. Later, the editor edits it per the requirements of the SOP of writing for UDA Digest. 

Guidelines for Issue Briefs:

1. It provides an analytical account of a public policy issue of national or global relevance.
2. We expect it to be comprehensible to both the informed and general reader.
3. Indicative length: 800 – 2,500 words. 
4. Review process: A plagiarism check is done on the article. Later, the editor edits it per the requirements of the SOP of writing for UDA Digest. 

Guidelines for Expert Articles 

1. These are the lengthier versions of Issue Briefs and are authored by experts from the domain. 
2. Indicative length: 2,500-5,000 words. 
3. Review process: Drafts are reviewed by at least one MRC researcher. A plagiarism check is done on the article. Later, the editor edits it per the requirements of the SOP of writing for UDA Digest. 

Guidelines for Short Reports

1. They are similar to an extended journal article. 
2. It is expected to be of high academic quality and may be based on secondary or primary research.
3. Authors are strongly encouraged to provide tables, graphs, and other graphics that will make the paper more comprehensive and visually appealing.
4. Indicative length: 10,000 words. 
5. Review process: Drafts are reviewed by at least one MRC researcher. A plagiarism check is done on the article. Later, the editor edits it per the requirements of the SOP of writing for UDA Digest. 

You may choose to write on any of the following domains:-

• Maritime Security
• Blue Economy
• Marine Environment
• Disaster Management
• Geopolitics and International Relations
• Science and Technology
• Underwater Archaeology

Author Guidelines

We request our authors to incorporate details on the importance of the UDA Framework in your potential article.

1. Concise and clear headline is a must:Please ensure that the headline of your article is clear and concise. Please skip writing the name of your subject or the topic of your internship project as the headline of the article. Ensure that the headline is catchy enough to engage the readers in the first go.
2. Word limit:Your article should not be less than 1500 words and should not exceed more than 2500-3000 words. If your intent is to write a lengthy article then do intimate the editor about the same. The word limit for short reports is 10K words.
3. Font and Font size:The font should be ‘Calibri’ and the font size must be ‘11’.
4. Connect your article to the current scenario:It is always good to add current scenarios and policy updates regarding your project in your article. This gives an update to the reader about what is going on in that policy domain.
5. Paragraphs:Please ensure to divide your articles into paragraphs. This helps to ensure the flow of your article and would also help you to establish successive points that you would want to put forth.
6. Give sub-heads:It is always good to give sub-headlines to your article. This ensures the reader that what they are reading is connected to the sub-topic.
7. Add graphics and illustrations:Please add graphics, charts, figures, and images to your article to make it more presentable and interesting. Also, please mention the source of the figures added, by adding the link to the source.
8. Please share images separately in the email:Kindly ensure that you share the images separately in the email, along with adding them to your article.
9. Add ‘About the author’:At the bottom of your article, please mention a line or two about yourself. This goes in the “About the author” section of your article’s webpage on UDA Digest.
10. Highlight important stuff:Please ensure that you highlight the important lines and important quotes in your UDA Digest article because you definitely want your reader to view your opinion about the topic. The highlighted text can go from 3 in number to more than 5.
11. Put down the key highlights of your article:Please ensure that the key highlights are crisp.
12. Word format please:Please ensure that you share your article in Word format so that it becomes easier for the editor of the e-magazine to review your article and make slight changes wherever required.
13. Double-check the flow and grammar:Please ensure to double-check the flow of your article and also if there are any grammatical mistakes so that your article is flawless.