All submissions to Alicante Journal of English Studies / Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses are peer-reviewed by experts to guarantee that published works comply with the highest quality standards.

While book reviews are not peer-reviewed by external evaluators, they are subject to an initial assessment.

1 Initial assessment

When a submission is made to the journal, the author(s) receive(s) an automatic email confirming receipt of their manuscript. Next, an initial assessment is conducted by the editors to evaluate the paper’s quality and suitability and ensure that:

1. the contents of the manuscript are consistent with the journal’s purposes and lines of research (or, where applicable, to the specific themes of a monographic issue proposed through a call for papers in the announcements section).
2. the manuscript meets all the formal requirements set out in the Guidelines for authors’ section.
3. the manuscript complies with the publication ethics policy and anti-plagiarism policy.
4. the manuscript has sufficient academic quality and rigor.

In the event of non-compliance with formal requirements, the author will be asked to make all necessary changes within ten days.

If a manuscript is rejected, the grounds for rejection will be duly explained to the author(s) by email.

2 Peer review

If the initial assessment outcome is positive, manuscripts will be double-blind peer-reviewed by two external reviewers, chosen by the editors from among experts in the relevant fields of study. The reviewers will be required to review the manuscript and draft a report by completing a form (PDF) available on the website. If the two reports disagree on their assessment, or if the editors consider it necessary, the manuscript will be sent to a third reviewer.

The reviewers have a period of six weeks to evaluate the work.

The journal will publish annually the list of reviewers involved in the editorial process.

After examining the referees’ reports, the Editorial Board will assign one of the following statuses to the manuscript and inform the author(s) of their decision:

• Accepted.
• Accept for publication with modifications (minor changes needed).
• New assessment required (major changes needed).
• Reject.

If the submission is accepted, the author(s) will be notified, and the manuscript will be published in the corresponding issue with no changes required.

If a manuscript is accepted with modifications and minor changes are required, the author(s) will receive the referees’ suggestions and comments and will introduce the proposed changes within two weeks using this template. A copy of the evaluation reports will be attached. Once the revised manuscript has been received, the editors will check that the requested changes have been correctly made and decide whether the new version can be published.

If a manuscript is not yet suitable for publication and requires a new assessment with major changes (drafting, structure, changes in approach, etc.), the editors will allow the author(s) to rewrite it and introduce or make any proposed changes within four weeks. A copy of the evaluation reports will be attached. Once resubmitted, the revised article will be peer-reviewed again by two external referees.

If a manuscript is rejected, the grounds for rejection will be duly explained to the author.

In any case, the journal’s decision will be communicated to the author(s) within a maximum of six months from the receipt of the manuscript. Please bear in mind that the editorial process (submission, revisions, layout, etc.) can last from 6 to 9 months from the submission of the proposal. Once an article is accepted, the final publication date could be delayed for up to 6 more months.

3 Review of proofs

After the assessment process a proof of the article will be sent to the author, who may propose non-content-related changes within seven days. Once the final version is ready, the article (and/or book review) will be available on the journal’s website. No further changes can be made after publication in the journal.

4 Acting as a reviewer

Those wishing to act as referees for this or other journals available on the University of Alicante portal can request it from their user account (Edit Profile - Roles). If they do not have an account, they must create one. They may also send an email to the journal to request a certificate stating that they have collaborated with the journal as referees.

Referees must comply with the publications ethics policy, in place and preserve the confidentiality of the manuscript and the peer review. They are not entitled to monetary compensation.