Types of Manuscript

1. Introduction

Adabiyyāt: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra is committed to publishing original, rigorous, and significant scholarly contributions to the study of language, literature, translation, and philology, particularly in Arabic, English, and Indonesian contexts. The journal welcomes research that advances theoretical understanding, methodological innovation, critical interpretation, and empirical knowledge in these fields.

The journal's scope encompasses Linguistics studies (theoretical and applied), including discourse analysis, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, and language ideology. Literary studies  covering classical and modern literature, comparative literature, literary criticism, and cultural representation. Translation studies, including theory, practice, ideology, and intercultural communication. Philology and manuscript studies, including text editing, codicology, and intellectual history Language and literature in socio-cultural and religious contexts. Interdisciplinary approaches connecting language and literature with media, digital culture, history, and cultural studies.

Manuscripts must establish a clear scholarly problem, engage critically with relevant literature, identify a research gap or interpretive problem, and demonstrate an original contribution to the field. Studies of language and literature in sociocultural and religious contexts are welcome when they employ appropriate linguistic, literary, translational, philological, or interdisciplinary approaches. Educational studies that do not directly address the journal's linguistic, literary, translational, or philological scope are not considered.

The journal primarily prioritizes original research articles. Review articles, critical textual studies, translation-based research, and short scholarly communications may be considered selectively when they demonstrate strong alignment with the journal's Focus and Scope and make a substantial scholarly contribution.

 

2. Core Scientific Requirements

Regardless of manuscript type, submissions should demonstrate the following core elements:

  • A clearly defined linguistic, literary, translational, philological, or cultural research problem.
  • An adequate and critical engagement with the state of the art.
  • An explicit research gap, interpretive problem, or justification of scholarly novelty.
  • Clearly stated research objectives, questions, or analytical aims.
  • An appropriate and sufficiently transparent research methodology or analytical framework.
  • A systematic presentation of textual, linguistic, literary, documentary, corpus-based, or empirical evidence, as appropriate.
  • Critical interpretation supported by evidence rather than unsupported description or personal opinion.
  • Meaningful engagement with relevant theories, previous scholarship, and competing interpretations.
  • Conclusions that directly address the research objectives and explain the study's theoretical, methodological, interpretive, or practical implications.

 

Editorial Priority

Manuscripts that do not establish a clear state of the art, research gap, research objective, appropriate analytical method, and evidence-based contribution may receive lower editorial priority or be returned before peer review.

The presence of a theoretical framework or a large number of references alone does not establish scholarly novelty. Authors must explain how their research extends, challenges, refines, tests, or reinterprets existing knowledge.

 

3. Original Research Article — PRIMARY TYPE

Original Research Articles are the primary and preferred manuscript type of Adabiyyāt: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra. They must report original findings derived from a systematic research process and demonstrate a clear contribution to linguistic, literary, translational, philological, or related interdisciplinary scholarship.

Required Characteristics

An Original Research Article should include:

  • A relevant linguistic, literary, translational, philological, or cultural background and a clearly defined research problem.
  • A critical review of current scholarship, including relevant theories, previous studies, and established analytical approaches.
  • Explicit identification of the research gap or unresolved scholarly problem.
  • A clear justification of originality and scientific contribution.
  • Explicit research objectives, questions, or hypotheses, where appropriate.
  • An appropriate and sufficiently described qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method, corpus-based, comparative, historical, interpretive, experimental, or other relevant research method.
  • A clear description of the research object, data sources, literary texts, linguistic corpus, manuscripts, translations, participants, research materials, or analytical procedures, as applicable.
  • Systematic presentation of findings supported by textual, linguistic, documentary, corpus-based, or empirical evidence.
  • Critical discussion connecting the findings with relevant theories, previous research, and alternative interpretations.
  • Conclusions that directly answer the research questions and clarify the study's theoretical, methodological, interpretive, or practical implications.

 

Recommended Structure

Introduction → Methods → Results → Discussion → Conclusion → Declarations → References

For humanities research, the Results and Discussion sections may be combined when this structure better accommodates close reading, textual interpretation, historical argumentation, or integrated linguistic analysis.

 

4. Review Article — SELECTIVE

Review Articles are considered selectively and must provide a comprehensive, critical, and original synthesis of a clearly defined body of scholarship in linguistics, literary studies, translation studies, philology, or related interdisciplinary fields.

A high-quality Review Article should:

  • Present a clearly defined review question, research problem, or analytical objective.
  • Explain the literature-search strategy, source selection, inclusion criteria, and analytical procedures appropriate to the type of review.
  • Engage with relevant and sufficiently current scholarly publications, while incorporating foundational works where necessary.
  • Critically compare theories, concepts, methodologies, interpretive traditions, and empirical findings.
  • Identify conceptual inconsistencies, methodological limitations, unresolved debates, and underexplored research areas.
  • Develop an original synthesis, conceptual framework, typology, theoretical proposition, or critical interpretation.
  • Establish a substantive research agenda or explain the implications of the synthesis for future linguistic, literary, translational, or philological research.
  • Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and other structured evidence syntheses may be considered when their procedures are appropriate to the research question and clearly reported.

Not Acceptable

A review that merely summarizes previous publications, lists theoretical definitions, reproduces textbook explanations, or compiles scholars' opinions without critical comparison, synthesis, or an original scholarly contribution will not receive priority.

A review article must demonstrate what becomes clearer, more precise, or newly understandable as a result of the authors' synthesis.

5. Critical Textual and Philological Study — SELECTIVE

Critical Textual and Philological Studies are considered when they offer a substantial contribution to textual scholarship, manuscript studies, literary history, intellectual history, or the interpretation of linguistic and literary traditions.

Such studies may focus on classical and modern literary works, manuscript traditions, textual transmission, textual variants, historical language use, authorship questions, or the relationship between texts and their intellectual and cultural contexts.

Required Characteristics

A Critical Textual and Philological Study should include:

  • A clearly defined textual, philological, historical, or interpretive problem.
  • A justification for selecting the text, manuscript, edition, or textual tradition under investigation.
  • A description of the primary sources and their provenance, where available.
  • An appropriate philological, historical, linguistic, comparative, or textual-critical method.
  • Evidence-based analysis of textual variants, linguistic features, editorial decisions, historical context, or interpretive problems, as relevant.
  • Critical engagement with previous editions, interpretations, or philological scholarship.
  • An explicit statement of the study's contribution to textual understanding, literary history, philological method, or intellectual history.

Editorial Considerations

The transcription, translation, description, or reproduction of a text does not automatically constitute an original research contribution. Authors must demonstrate the scholarly significance of their editorial decisions, textual findings, interpretations, or methodological innovations.

For digital philology, manuscripts, digital corpora, or computational tools, the research should explain how the materials and methods advance scholarly understanding rather than merely presenting a digital resource.

6. Translation Studies and Critical Translation — SELECTIVE

Research in translation studies is considered when it advances theoretical, methodological, critical, or empirical understanding of translation and intercultural communication.

Eligible contributions may examine translation strategies, equivalence, ideology, cultural transfer, literary translation, translation criticism, translator agency, reception, or the relationship between source and target texts.

Required Characteristics

       A manuscript in this category should include: 

  • A clearly defined translation-related research problem or analytical objective.
  • Relevant engagement with translation theories and previous research.
  • An explicit rationale for selecting the source and target texts, translations, or translation practices.
  • A transparent comparative, descriptive, interpretive, corpus-based, or other appropriate analytical method.
  • Specific textual evidence demonstrating significant translation phenomena.
  • Critical analysis of linguistic, stylistic, cultural, ideological, or pragmatic implications.
  • An original contribution to translation theory, translation criticism, intercultural understanding, or translation practice.

Not Acceptable

A translation accompanied only by a general introduction, a sentence-by-sentence commentary without a defensible analytical framework, or a translation exercise without a clear research contribution will not receive priority.

7. Linguistic or Literary Case Study — LIMITED

Linguistic or Literary Case Studies are considered when a particular text, author, community, discourse, translation, corpus, or cultural phenomenon offers significant theoretical or empirical insight into language and literature.

A case study should provide analytical depth and demonstrate how its findings contribute to a broader scholarly problem.

Required Characteristics

  • A clear research or analytical objective.
  • A justification for selecting the case and an explanation of its scholarly significance.
  • A sufficiently detailed description of the linguistic, literary, historical, social, or cultural context.
  • An appropriate linguistic, literary, comparative, interpretive, or interdisciplinary analytical framework.
  • Systematic examination of primary evidence, such as texts, discourse samples, translations, manuscripts, interviews, or other relevant data.
  • Critical engagement with existing scholarship and alternative interpretations.
  • Findings that explain the broader implications, theoretical relevance, or transferability of the analysis, where appropriate.

Not Acceptable

A case study that merely describes a literary work, summarizes an author's biography, recounts a cultural event, or presents personal impressions without systematic analysis and scholarly contribution will not receive priority.

8. Short Communication or Research Note — LIMITED

Short Communications or Research Notes may be considered when they present a concise but significant scholarly finding, a methodological innovation, a newly identified linguistic or textual phenomenon, a focused theoretical intervention, or a well-supported correction to an existing interpretation.

Required Characteristics

A Short Communication should:

  • Address a narrowly defined and significant research problem.
  • Explain the novelty and relevance of the contribution.
  • Present sufficient primary evidence and methodological justification.
  • Engage with the most relevant previous scholarship.
  • State the principal finding and its scholarly implications clearly.

This category is not intended for incomplete research, preliminary observations without adequate evidence, opinion pieces, or manuscripts shortened merely to avoid the analytical requirements of a full research article.

9. Manuscripts Outside the Journal's Scope

The following submissions are generally unsuitable for Adabiyyāt: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra:

  • Studies primarily concerned with language teaching, educational practice, curriculum, or learning outcomes without a substantive linguistic, literary, translational, or philological research contribution.
  • Descriptive essays that do not establish a research problem or analytical objective.
  • Literature reviews that lack critical synthesis or original scholarly insight.
  • Literary interpretations based solely on personal impressions without textual evidence or an appropriate analytical framework.
  • Biographical or historical accounts without a clearly defined linguistic, literary, translational, or philological argument.
  • Translations, transcriptions, or manuscript descriptions presented without a demonstrable scholarly contribution.
  • Manuscripts with inadequate engagement with relevant scholarship, unclear methodology, unsupported claims, or conclusions that do not follow from the evidence.
  • Previously published manuscripts or manuscripts simultaneously submitted to another journal.

10. Recommended Research Article Structure

For Original Research Articles, the following structure is recommended:

  • Introduction: Research background, state of the art, research gap, novelty, and objectives.
  •  Methods: Research design, data or primary sources, analytical framework, and procedures.
  • Results: Presentation of findings derived from the research materials.
  • Discussion: Interpretation of findings in relation to theories, previous studies, and the broader scholarly debate.
  •  Conclusion: Direct answers to the research questions, principal contributions, limitations where relevant, and implications for future research.
  • Declarations: Relevant ethical statements, funding, conflicts of interest, author contributions, and other applicable disclosures.
  • References: Complete and accurate bibliographic information.

The structure may be adapted to the intellectual traditions and methodological requirements of the relevant subfield. Philological, historical, theoretical, and close-reading studies may require a different arrangement, provided that the research argument remains coherent and the analytical process is transparent.

11. Editorial Screening and Selection Principles

All submissions are subject to initial editorial assessment to determine their relevance to the journal's Focus and Scope, originality, scholarly quality, and readiness for peer review.

Manuscripts that satisfy the initial requirements may proceed to independent peer review under the journal's applicable review procedures. Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological appropriateness, quality of argumentation, and the significance of the contribution.

The editorial team may return or reject submissions before peer review when they fall outside the journal's scope, fail to establish a defensible research contribution, lack adequate analytical evidence, or do not meet the journal's minimum scholarly standards.

Meeting the formal requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Publication decisions depend on the overall quality and significance of the manuscript.

12. Alignment with Author Guidelines

Manuscripts must comply with the journal's current Author Guidelines regarding language, formatting, length, referencing, transliteration, originality, and submission procedures. The journal accepts scholarly manuscripts in Arabic, English, or Indonesian, within its stated scope.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research is original, accurately documented, ethically conducted where applicable, and properly referenced. All claims, interpretations, and conclusions must be supported by appropriate scholarly evidence.

The journal prioritizes manuscripts that advance knowledge through rigorous analysis, critical engagement, and original scholarly argumentation, thereby strengthening research in language, literature, translation, and philology across linguistic and cultural traditions.