Peer Reviewer
(applications due April 18, 2015)
Vexillum: The Undergraduate Journal of Classical and Medieval Studies invites undergraduate students in medieval studies to apply for the position of Peer Reviewer (applications due April 18, 2015).
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Peer Reviewers will work directly with other members of the editorial board in the following duties:
- To perform preliminary peer evaluations of a selection of undergraduate submissions, providing in-text commentary and critical responses to authors’ arguments.
- To recommend each evaluated article for acceptance, acceptance pending revisions, or rejection.
- To regularly correspond with the editorial board during the evaluation process.
Accepted papers are assigned to Peer Reviewers based on these papers’ relevance to each reviewer’s interests and expertise. This policy allows authors to benefit from reviewers’ subject knowledge while also allowing reviewers the opportunity to gain experience and exposure to a broad range of topics, arguments, and cutting-edge research in their chosen fields.
Qualifications, Skills, and Experience
As the duties of a Peer Reviewer require a fundamental grasp of the methodologies and critical literature relevant to his or her areas of study, applicants should be undergraduates in or nearing their final year of study. An ability to edit prose to improve content, grammar, punctuation, clarity, and concision is essential, as is proficiency with the Chicago Manual of Style. Publications, awards, conference papers, and other proof of scholastic excellence will be strongly considered in favor of an applicant’s candidacy.
Peer Reviewers work on an unpaid, voluntary basis but nonetheless gain valuable experience in online academic publishing as well as opportunities to pre-professionalize. They typically work 2-5 hours per week, particularly during the two months prior to the editorial board’s final decision on the upcoming issue’s accepted submissions, usually from May to late June.
How to Apply
Please e-mail a copy of your CV and a brief cover letter explaining your skills, experience, and research interests to the Editor-in-Chief, Edward Mead Bowen, at vexillumcontact@gmail.com by April 18, 2015. For more information, please send an e-mail to the above address or visit www.vexillumjournal.org.