1. Introduction

1.1. Some editorial rules

To obtain a clear and correct presentation, it is necessary to decide how to distribute the content between:

  • the body of the text
  • the footnotes: the apparatus of notes is an essential component of the scientific character of a work. The footnotes perform the function of providing the necessary information outline, and of reconstructing the path of the logical process followed by the writer.
Equal attention should be paid to the syntactic construction of the paper, and to punctuation. Below you will find some basic punctuation rules:

  • there must be no spaces before the punctuation marks
  • there must be a space after the punctuation marks
  • after an apostrophe at the beginning of a word there must be no space
  • there must be no space after an opening parenthesis and before a closing one. The same rule applies to open and closed quotation marks 
  • every time you decide to go to the end, it is necessary to insert an indent;
  • if a dotted abbreviation is placed at the end of a sentence, another period will not be added to indicate the conclusion of the sentence (eg.);
  • if you want to emphasize a particular expression, you can use italics; simple quotes can be used to highlight the particular meaning of a term;
  • it is preferable to write the numbers in letters;
  • for dates it is advisable to write the day and year in Arabic numerals, the month in full with a capital initial; if not written in Roman numerals, centuries must be written with a capital initial; the decades must be written in full in capital letters and it is appropriate, when it is not already clear, to specify the century.