Editorial Guidelines

Thank you for contributing to Punk Head, a unique site covering the past, present, and future of the entertainment industry. We have assembled these guidelines to help maintain effective communication and stylistic uniformity throughout the website.

Punk Head’s house style is informative and thought-provoking. We feature content with compelling storytelling while engaging readers to participate in intellectual and creative exchange. It’s important that every writer cultivate his or her own individual approach to writing while painting a stylistic coherence and a degree of professionalism with Punk Head’s body of writing. Always approach with respect, an open mind, and a critical eye.

We’re hoping that you can use the information in this section to enrich your writing and ensure that Punk Head is as much a good fit for you as you are a good fit for Punk Head.

OVERVIEW

• The Essentials

• Effective Communication

• Article Type and Length

• Editorial Involvement

• Styles & The Specifics

  Film/TV

  Music

The art of writing often occurs in the first draft, but the real craft lies in the editing. Your first draft may say roughly what you mean, but you can always find ways to significantly improve it. The ideas below are meant to sharpen text for publication. Skirt the danger zones, but never lose your spark.

DO…

Always use spell and grammar checkers—and fact-check names, location, and release info before submitting your article. We recommend composing your articles using Google Drive Docs, so you have cloud backup. It includes a spellchecker. Install the Grammarly browser plug-in as a grammar checker.

Break up long paragraphs when appropriate. In general, it’s good to aim for an average paragraph length of around 4-5 sentences.

Use full names or last names when referring to artists. First name references create a chummy atmosphere that isolates the reader and often denies the artist full respect.

Find alternative adjectives and verbs and interesting ways to phrase your sentences. Try not to use the same word more than twice or have similiar sentence structure in a roll (unless for dramatic effect).

Articulate efficiently and add depth to your writing.

Always proofread. Self-editing is much appreciated.

DON’T…

Over-personalization. We appreciate a light first-person reference to add perspectives, but Punk Head is not a blog.

Pure self-expression (especially when writing reviews). There are other spaces for writing as a practice of artistic self-expression.

Avoid dangling paragraphs/sentences, weak arguments, and circling back and forth in an article. Most readers won’t read past the first paragraph unless something intrigues them. They also abandon articles when the content appears to be confusing or when they encounter duplicate content (two sentences/paragraphs that are slightly different but basically making the same point).

Audience: Keep in mind your audience. Before hitting the keyboard, ask the question: who are your targeted readers? Punk Head serves a broad reader body from creative minds to knowledgeable readers to normal-day people. The language should be as inclusive as possible.

Storytelling: Find a theme or something that naturally intrigues you and go from there. Every story has been told thousands and millions of times, but what is your take on it? The same applies to queries and discussions.

Evidence: Support your argument/story with details worth pondering upon. Don’t dwell.

Try to communicate information, opinion, and experience cleverly, creatively, and efficiently. Make your lead sentence sparkle, make each paragraph more irresistible than another, and make your ending linger.

Below are meant to be taken as advice and not as hard-and-fast rules.

REVIEW

250-499 words.

There are different ways to write a review and countless perspectives on what it should be, but please don’t be fixated on only one.

Ask a question and be the leading voice of a discussion.

Provide a different perspective on how to perceive art.

Challenge existing ideas while informing.

Critical thinking, not judging.

Experiment with how different art/music influence your writing. Let it inspire you.

If your review exceeds 500 words, it will be automatically converted to an “Extended Analysis.”

There’s no need for most music reviews to be extensive unless you have a really good reason.

EXTENDED ANALYSIS

500-900 words.

This type of article provides deeper insight into the subject matter.

Informative with strong characters and intriguing storytelling.

Suitable for explainers, op-ed, queries, and other feature articles.

Submissions may be edited for accuracy, clarity, style, standards, and length.

An editor may provide feedback or contact you when revisions are needed. Your piece will not be considered for publication until the required revisions are completed.

Please be time-sensitive when submitting your revised version. For assignments with specific deadlines: we will not be able to consider your piece for publication if you’re unable to resubmit before deadlines.

• Titles: Use italics for film/TV titles and include the year with a bracket (not italics). For example, The Batman (2022), or Loki Season 1 (2021). Use “" for episodes.

• Dates: Always use Arabic figures and abbreviate months. For example, Feb. 6. Spelling it out when using the month alone or when it’s followed by a year. For example, February 2021.

• Spoiler Warning: Should appear on the top of the article, in bold and italic. For example, SPOILER ALERT: This article contains minor spoilers for Morbius (2022).

• Names: When addressing a character’s name, always include credit with a bracket when it’s first mentioned in the article. Another alternative is to spell it out, depending on the content (usually when the character is being portrayed by multiple actors in the past). For example, Jared Leto’s Joker, or Joker (Jared Leto).

• Title: An album’s title should be italic: Unlimited Love, but a song’s title should use “".

• Artist’s name: Should be written exactly as it is displayed on Spotify or addressed by the artist.