Author Guidelines

Article template — Word document
Download the article template (.docx, in French)

Preparing and submitting your article
This guide supports authors preparing a manuscript for Cahiers Africains de Rhétorique. It sets out the scientific requirements, formatting rules and responsibilities associated with publication.

1. Scope and publication languages

The journal publishes two issues per year and welcomes original articles in linguistics, literature and communication. Contributions in philosophy or sociology may be submitted as miscellaneous articles when they have a clear connection to the journal’s editorial scope.

Articles may be submitted in French or English. The title, abstract and keywords must be provided in both languages.

2. Manuscript presentation

• Length: 15–22 pages, including notes and references.
• Font: Times New Roman, 10-point.
• Line spacing: single.
• Margins: 4 cm at the top, bottom, left and right; binding margin of 0.5 cm.
• Orientation: portrait.
• Page numbering: Arabic numerals at the top right.
• Abstract: 250–350 words, accompanied by five keywords; provide French and English versions.
• Keywords: each begins with a capital letter; keywords are separated by commas.

Before submission, carefully proofread the manuscript to correct language, typographical and presentation errors. Prepare an anonymised version for double-blind review; author identification details are entered separately during submission.

3. Article structure

The journal refers to the CAMES editorial standards (NORCAMES). The structure must suit the nature of the contribution.

Theoretical or fundamental contribution

1. Title; each author’s first and last name; institutional affiliation; email address.
2. French abstract and keywords; English abstract and keywords.
3. Introduction: rationale for the topic, research problem, hypotheses or scientific objectives, and approach.
4. Development organised into coherent sections.
5. Conclusion.
6. References.

Field research

1. Title and author details.
2. Abstracts and keywords in both languages.
3. Introduction.
4. Methodology.
5. Results.
6. Analysis and discussion.
7. Conclusion.
8. References.

Sections in the main body are titled and numbered using Arabic numerals: 1., 1.1., 1.2., 2., 2.1., 2.1.1., etc. The introduction, conclusion and references are not numbered.

4. Citations and references

Citation references are incorporated into the text rather than footnotes, following this model: (First-name initial(s). Surname, year, page(s)). Quotations must be clearly identified and accompanied by their exact source.

The reference list includes only works cited in the article. References are ordered alphabetically by authors’ surnames. Names begin with a capital letter and are not written entirely in capitals.

• Book: surname and first name(s) or initial(s), year, title in italics, place of publication, publisher.
• Article: surname and first name(s) or initial(s), year, title in quotation marks and roman type, journal or edited-volume title in italics, issue or volume, article page range.
• Translation or new edition: specify the translator’s name and/or edition after the title.

Formatting examples

Arrivé M., Gadet F., Galmiche M., 1986. La Grammaire d’aujourd’hui : un guide alphabétique de linguistique française. Flammarion, Paris.

Amuri Mpala-Lutebele, 2019, Oralité, traditions et modernité en Afrique aux XXI siècle, Paris, L’Harmattan.

Awa Thiam, 1978, La parole aux négresses, Paris, Éditions Divergences.

Amossy R., 2012. L’argumentation dans le discours, Paris, Armand Colin.

Check each reference against the edition actually consulted and use consistent punctuation throughout the reference list.

5. Originality and research integrity

Authors guarantee the originality of their contribution. The manuscript must not have been published in another journal or edited volume, or be simultaneously submitted to another journal during review and revision.

Use of other people’s ideas, texts, data or illustrations must be accurately attributed. Data fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are prohibited. All submissions undergo similarity checking and editorial assessment: a similarity percentage alone is not proof of plagiarism.

Potential breaches are examined under the journal’s publication ethics policy, taking account of available evidence and authors’ explanations.

6. Author details and contributions

Each author provides their name, accurate affiliation, email address, ORCID identifier and a biographical note stating their institution, status, academic rank and publications. Affiliation and contribution statements must be accurate.

All co-authors must have contributed to the work according to disciplinary conventions, approved the submitted version and agreed to publication. Each person’s contribution is described. Any change to the author list, author order or corresponding author must be justified, approved by the persons concerned and reviewed by the editorial office.

7. Role of the corresponding author

• Manage communication with the editorial office and keep co-authors informed.
• Coordinate proofreading, corrections and submission of revised versions.
• Complete publication formalities with co-authors’ agreement and obtain permissions from other rights holders where necessary.
• Arrange payment of the fees announced by the journal.
• Respond to enquiries about the article after publication and report any significant error.

8. Conflicts of interest and research data

Authors disclose funding and financial, institutional, professional or personal relationships that could influence the work, or state that no conflicts of interest exist. Reviewers and editors withdraw from handling a manuscript when a conflict compromises their impartiality.

The journal encourages a data availability statement and sharing of corpora supporting the findings, subject to copyright, consent and confidentiality. Restrictions on sharing must be explained.

9. Review, fees and copyright

Eligible manuscripts undergo double-blind review by two reviewers. Authors respond to comments and make the requested revisions. Payment of fees does not guarantee acceptance.

The publication fee is 50,000 CFA francs per accepted article, payable only after acceptance. No manuscript processing fee is charged upon submission. Payment instructions are provided by the editorial office. Payment does not influence peer review or scientific decisions; reading and downloading articles remain free.

Authors retain their copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, editing and online dissemination. Articles are freely accessible to readers, subject to the licence stated on each publication.

Payment by MTN Mobile Money

Amount: 50,000 FCFA per article, payable only after acceptance.

MoMo number: +242 06 696 93 18
Recipient: Elongo Arsène

Transfer the payment to this ordinary MoMo account after receiving the acceptance notice and instructions from the editorial office. Check that the recipient is Elongo Arsène before confirming.

Email the transaction reference, date, amount, your name and the article title or submission number to cahiersafricainsderhetorique@gmail.com.

The editorial office checks receipt of the funds and confirms payment manually. Payment confirmation is not automatic on this website. Any transfer fees are those displayed by MTN before confirmation. Never share your PIN.

10. Pre-submission checklist

• The topic falls within the journal’s scope.
• The manuscript is original and is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere.
• Formatting, length and page numbering follow the instructions.
• The title, abstracts and five keywords are available in French and English.
• Citations and references are consistent and checked.
• The version intended for reviewers is anonymised.
• Author details, contributions, funding and conflicts of interest have been provided.
• All co-authors have approved submission.

Submission and contact
Visit the submission page
Editorial office: cahiersafricainsderhetorique@gmail.com

11. Scholarly quality and final preparation

Each contribution states a clear research question, situates its contribution in relevant scholarship, justifies its approach and presents evidence-based analysis. Corpus studies explain corpus construction, selection and limitations; theoretical contributions define their concepts, reasoning method and limitations. Conclusions address the stated objectives without unsupported generalisations.

French and English titles, abstracts and keywords must accurately reflect the content and be checked for language quality. References must identify their sources; include DOIs where available. Authors are not required to cite this journal: every citation must have scholarly relevance.

Before publication, authors check names and affiliations, both ISSNs, volume, issue, pages, dates and the DOI where assigned. The final version must include funding and conflict-of-interest statements and, where relevant, a data or corpus availability statement. The applicable licence must agree across the PDF, article page and metadata. Earlier publications retain their own licences.

12. Scholarly positioning of the contribution

In the introduction, authors explain how their topic relates to the rhetorical, argumentative or discursive practices studied by the journal. They identify the research question, material or corpus, analytical approach and expected contribution in relation to existing scholarship.

The abstract states the question, method, main findings and scholarly contribution. The discussion explains what the findings illuminate beyond the case studied while respecting the limitations of the corpus. Philosophy and sociology contributions make their connection to the journal’s research areas explicit.