This resource is intended to help:

  1. Help AUTHORS prepare their content for submission to the Backpacking Light editorial staff; and
  2. Help EDITORS maintain style guidelines during the editorial process

Google Docs Styles

Please use default Google Doc Styles when submitting your article for titles, headings, text, bolded text, italicized text, etc. Any custom styles create more time for the editorial team to sort out, and will be stripped from the document when imported online.

Writing Tips & Style Guidelines

Article Structure

Each article should follow an outline that makes sense for its story. Trip reports should be written in a narrative format while scientific research articles should outline the scientific method in the article. The editorial team will provide you with an outline, questionnaire, and/or example articles within your genre if necessary.

Readability

Before you submit your article, make sure that both the quality of writing and readability are high!

Readability should focus on clarity of writing:

  • Be concise – don’t use more words or more complex words than needed to communicate your idea.
  • Be clear – don’t use colloquial language, jargon, superlatives, or hyperbole
  • Be consistent – when communicating similar concepts throughout a story, don’t confuse the reader by communicating those concepts differently each time.

Utilize Grammarly in order to improve your writing:

  • Narrative articles should score >75 on the Flesch Readability Test and technical articles should score >65.
  • Check for grammatical errors, passive voice, and ways the writing can be improved using this tool. Use your best judgment – Grammarly is an AI writing assistant, not the final say.

Tense

Narrative articles may be written in present tense (in-the-moment, journal style) or past tense (trip report style). Be consistent with your chosen tense throughout the story; consider wether you are writing about a past event, or a present action.

In technical writing and gear reviews, generally maintain present tense. Some exceptions to this may include narratives of past experiences with the gear on trail.

Passive Voice

Beware of using passive voice in sentence construction. In general, use passive voice to convey emphasis on the action (The tarp was pitched by Ryan), and use active voice to convey emphasis on the person doing the action (Ryan pitched his tarp).

Active voice is generally the preferred phrasing for narrative style articles. Passive voice is useful in technical and scientific writing in order to maintain objectivity.

Headings

Utilize headings and subheadings to help delineate sections of the article.

Ideally, each section should have less than 300 to 500 words of text between headings (3-5 paragraphs). Don’t force extra headings if it breaks up the article and inhibits readability though.

When using headings, consider the following:

  • Utilize Heading 2 for Headings and Heading 3 for subheadings.
  • Do not use Heading 1 as this is reserved for titles
  • Do not use Heading 4. If more delineation is needed, try to simplify the article structure to improve flow, or, use bold text as your heading 4 substitution.
  • Headings should be written in title case using less than 7 words, unless the heading is a complete sentence.

Images, Figures, and Captions

Images should be center-aligned, and follow the following guidelines:

  • be a minimum 1600 pixels on their longest side
  • be taken with the camera on its highest possible settings
  • be uploaded as uncompressed JPEG files
  • be submitted with a file name of article-name-index-number.jpeg, where the index number is order of appearance in the story
  • be artfully edited – click here for more information on photo editing

Image captions should be:

  • immediately below the image (without a line space),
  • left aligned,
  • in italicized text, and
  • followed by the source / photographer’s name if not the author’s

Illustrations and maps should be easily readable on a webpage and submitted in the same format as images. Text overlaps, zoom being too far out for the map being reading, or too small of an image are common reasons why revisions are asked from author’s on images.

Audio and Video Submissions

Upload your audio or video file to the google folder provided to you, and include a note as to where it should be implemented with the article. We typically host all of our own audio and video files. If this is a problem, contact your assigned editor.

Audio Submission Guidelines:

  • Format: .mp3
  • Bit Rate: 192 Kbps (minimum 38 Kbps)

Video Submission Guidelines:

  • Format: .mp4 (preferred) or .mov
  • Video Codec: H.264
  • Audio Codec: AAC-LC (Stereo Audio)
  • Framerate: 24, 30, or 60 FPS
  • Resolution: 1080p
  • Video Bitrate: 10-15+ Mbps
  • Audio Bitrate: 192 Kbps
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9

Tables

Tables should be created in a google sheet in the article folder, and follow all the same guidelines as on this page. Multiple tables can be made using multiple pages within a sheet.

Table names and descriptions are options, and if necessary, should be provided above a link to the table doc, formatted as below:

Table Name: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet…

Table Description: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet…

<Insert Hyper Link to Google Sheet Here>

The following text formattings are acceptable in tables:

  • Hyperlinks
  • Bold
  • Italics
  • Superscript (Units only)

Claims and Citations

Claims should be backed up by facts, data, observations, and reputable outside references such as academic journals (not blogs or magazines).

When using outside sources, citations should be given in text with a hyperlink to the source. In circumstances where there is a lot of outside material referenced, it may be useful to include an annotated bibliography of the sources with endnotes indicated where these sources are referenced in the article.

Lists

Use numbered lists when your list designates a chronology or sequence, ranking of importance, or reflect an exact number stated in the lead-in statement. In other circumstances, use bulleted lists.

When using lists follow the following guidelines:

  • Introduce the list with a complete sentence above the list.
  • Items in the list should have parallel verb/sentence construction:
    • hike three miles
    • cross the river
    • hike downstream 100 yards to a large eddy
    • paddle downstream for seven miles
  • In the case of a bulleted list that consists of incomplete sentences, each item starts with a lowercase letter and needs no terminal punctuation
    • bears
    • wolves
    • coyotes
  • Periods are not required for items in a list unless one item is a complete sentence. Then all items should be treated as complete sentences, beginning with capital letters and ending with periods.
  • If a list completes the introductory sentence, items begin with lowercase letters and conclude with a comma or semicolon. The final item in the list concludes with a period.
  • Items in numbered lists should begin with a number followed by a period, then a space, then a capital letter (1. Cut fabric on its bias).

Word and Line Spacing

Eliminated multiple spaces between words and sentences – we aren’t on typewriters anymore!

There should be no line spaces before and after headings. Only use a line space between paragraphs, before images, or between an image caption and paragraph.

Numbers and Units of Measurement

When using numbers and units of measurements in your writing, use the following principles:

  • A number and its unit should be separated by one space – 8 oz.
  • Decimal units with a value of less than one, should have a leading zero – 0.5 mi.
  • Include both imperial and SI units with imperial units first – 14.4 miles (23.2 km) – with the following exceptions:
    • Product branding / sizing – Platypus 2.0L Bottle
    • Values are too small or used in an application where imperial values no longer make sense.
  • In technical texts (gear reviews, scientific reports), the number is given in numeral form with the abbreviated unit – 14 mi.
  • In narrative texts (trip reports), any whole number less than 100 is spelled out with the unit spelt out in full – fourteen miles.
  • A unit of measurement without the numeral, the unit should always be spelled out – I didn’t know how many miles I had left to hike.”
  • Ranges of units should use the word “to”, not a dash – 16.8 to 17.5 ounces (476 to 495 g).
  • For units denoting temperature follow the numeral with a space, the degree symbol, and F (fahrenheit) or C (celsius). Omit the degree symbol for temperatures given in Kelvin – 32 ºF, 0 ºC, 273 K.
  • For monetary values, omit the cents value if it isn’t needed – $15.
  • For complex units, utilize the dot-operator unicode symbol to separate multiple units in either the numerator or denominator – Kelvin Meter Squared per Watt: K⋅m2/W.
  • Obscure Units, such as Kelvin Meter Squared per Watt should be spelt out in parentheticals at their first usage in an article.
  • When expressing R-values, use a hyphen between the R and the numeral – R-0.22.
  • Use a comma for mille separators on large values – 4,531 miles.

Names and Locations

All brand names should link to the brand website, and gear from the brand should link back to the brand website’s shop page for that gear at their first mention. Verify the spelling and capitalization for all trademarks, brands, and technologies. For example:

Place names and land management units should link to the portal page for that land management unit at their first mention. For example:

Unicode Characters

For non-English characters, mathematical characters, and other symbols that are not used in conventional typography, copy and paste these as unicode symbols.

Acronyms

Spell all acronyms out at their first usage, and place the acronym in parentheses following – Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)

Review Ratings

Write in the 3rd-person and avoid personal opinions. Keep ratings objective and unbiased. Eliminate hyperbole from review ratings.

Justify claims with specifics: focus on the objective attributes of the gear, and not on personal experience for the review rating section.

Please refer to our Gear Review Ratings Guide on the About Gear Reviews webpage when writing gear reviews.