本刊的主要栏目有语言研究、外语教学研究、翻译研究、文学及评论。

语言研究栏目主要发表语言学研究类的论文。

外语教学研究栏目发表外语教学涉及到的课程改革、教学理念和教学方法的更新、外语教师发展、二语习得、测试等方面的论文。

翻译研究栏目发表翻译理论和实践研究方面的论文。

文学及评论栏目发表文学及文论方面的论文。

本刊重点关注外语教学方面定性与定量相结合的研究成果。除此之外，本刊还不定期设有专题研究特色栏目，发表同一主题研究的论文，如教育语言学、批评话语分析、叙事学、莎士比亚研究、语料库语言学等。专题研究栏目的主题不是固定的，是根据编辑部的设计而组织而成。

本刊的审稿为三审制，即编辑部进行一审和二审，三审由编辑部聘请的外审进行。编辑部将二审通过的稿件匿名发给外审，由外审决定是否录用。

外审的结论分四档：可发、修改可发、修改重审、不可发。修改可发和修改重申的稿件会由编辑部发给作者进行修改，然后再由外审审读，最后决定是否录用。

因为博士毕业、项目结题、评职称、院校的学科评估等都有论文的要求，因此每篇论文后面都有一个或几个着急的作者。所以，和编辑沟通并不能加快审稿速度。编辑部必须按先后顺序审稿。

如果编辑部采用了投稿系统，在投稿系统中也许可以看到。但是，编辑部面对大量的稿件，不可能每篇稿件都有详细的回复。本刊对没有通过一审和二审的稿件一般没有回复，在即将使用的投稿系统中，对这些稿件也只能告知作者没有采用而已。

本刊只看论文，不看背景。不过，审到最后还是具有博士研究经历的作者的稿件留下的多。表面上看来是“背景”的原因，其实并不是背景的因素起了作用，而是这些作者的学术研究经历起了作用。在本刊发表的论文的作者许多都是“讲师”职称，并不都是“教授”。由于我国大学地域分布的原因，具有良好学术背景的教师集中在一些工作单位中，这也造成了作者集中在一些工作单位中的现象。希望大家不要只看现象，应看到问题的真正所在。编辑部可以在知网上检索到作者发表过的论文。以往发表的论文对审稿还是有一定作用的，但不是绝对的。

如上所言，论文能够得到发表，是作者的学术研究经历起了很大的作用。如果没有受过严格的学术训练，又对自己研究的领域没有了解，写出的论文往往是在规范的学术期刊上发表不了的。

通过查阅国外和国内的数据库，阅读那里的论文。

阅读已经发表的该领域中的论文的结尾部分，了解这些研究的“不足”，许多创新就在此。 

绝对不是。

研究的前瞻性、学术观点的理论意义、研究结果和结论与既有研究的关系、研究方法的创新。

摘要的最终目的是为发表后方便别人查阅和引用。当然，也为编辑部审稿提供了方便。本刊要求的摘要有点像论文的“梗概“，即要有研究目的及内容、研究方法、主要研究结果、重要结论等内容被包括在内。不能仅仅提到研究领域或话题。

与你的研究最相关的重要文献。注意这里有两层意思：与你的研究最相关，最重要的。

如果是这样，提到重要的代表人的名字，然后概括他们的观点即可。不必分别综述。

仅呈现能回答你的研究问题的结果。

图表的作用在于能简单明了地呈现结果，便于对照，节省文字。对图表的文字“解释“是不必要的的。因为数据结果图表都表示清楚了。对图表的内容应该“诠释”，即透过图表的现象，得出结论。

先可以针对研究问题概括结果，但不是解释结果。概括结合讨论。讨论应该与既有的研究结果和结论进行对比，然后提升理论意义。论文如果只停留在呈现结果，得出结论上，还差一步，即提升理论意义。

以上所述的写论文的细节，是编辑的理想化要求。其实，每个期刊所发表的论文或多或少都有些缺陷，只不过没有严重缺陷罢了。科研中没有“完美”二字，编辑部很清楚这一点。《外语与外语教学》这些年一直在努力为广大外语教师服务，坚守学术的纯洁领地，与作者共同成长。希望大家继续支持我们！

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: The System journal is devoted to the applications of educational technology and applied linguistics to problems of foreign language teaching and learning. Attention is paid to all languages and to problems associated with the study and teaching of English as a second or foreign language. We publish full length articles and book reviews but we do not have columns. For details, please visit https://www.journals.elsevier.com/system.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: We do not have plans for a feature column or articles. We do have special issues that have already been planned. The most recent one will be on study abroad. There will be another one on language teacher agency. We also have virtual special issues periodically, which consist of a selection of published articles on particular themes. Those articles will be accessible for free for a certain period of time.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: We publish more empirical papers, but we also welcome reviews, including conceptual, systemic and methodological reviews, which have important messages for researchers. Whichever category of papers we are talking about here, the most important things to consider are the currency of the topics, particularly with reference to the contribution to the discipline or the field of applied linguistics.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: When we receive a manuscript, we will follow the procedures to process it. First of all, the manuscript will go through a technical check to ensure that  the manuscript has been properly anonymized, does not exceed the word limit (i.e. 7,000 words, for the first submission) and nor contain materials without proper citation. Second, the manuscript will be assigned to editors after the technical check for initial screening. Two editors will read the manuscript and decide whether it should be sent out for review. The initial screening will be complete within 2 weeks. Around 80% manuscripts are desk rejected after the initial screening. Third, if the manuscript survives the initial screening, it will be sent out for review. We will ask at least 2 experts to review it. It usually takes another 3 months to have the reviews returned. In case of split reviews, more time is needed to secure a third opinion. If the manuscript survives the review process, the authors will be usually asked to revise and resubmit. Then, a second round of review will be undertaken to ensure that the revision meets the reviewers’ expectations. Fourth, if the manuscript survives the review process, it will be then read by one of the editors to decide whether it could be published or not. It does happen that the editors may reject a manuscript at this stage but in most cases, the editors will ask the authors for further changes to improve the quality of this manuscript before acceptance. Fifth, the accepted manuscript will be sent to the production department for publication.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: It takes about 50 weeks to get a manuscript accepted and published. As mentioned earlier, editors reserve the right to reject or accept any manuscripts. We editors take our professional responsibility very seriously. The accepted papers are arranged by the production team according to the availability of space in each issue/volume. Most often the order in which accepted papers are arranged is dependent upon the date when the accepted papers are ready for inclusion in that issue/volume. There is no other specific consideration given that System is no longer confined to the limited pages that print journals always have to abide by.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: Our authors have a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. The System journal is always proud of being one that publishes junior scholars’ major research articles. Professor Jim Coleman, our former editor, has given excellent advice for aspiring authors in his article ‘How to get published in English: Advice from the outgoing Editor-in-Chief’.: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0346251X14000116. Junior scholars who intend to submit their work to System might want to read it closely for a better success rate of acceptance.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: We strongly suggest that researchers follow closely what has been published in System and other applied linguistics journals. We also encourage them to attend conferences and socialize with various researchers so that they can learn about what has been done on particular topics. Frequently reading top journals in the field, including System, will give all potential authors a rather accurate estimation about the currency of their research topics.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: We understand that it is hard for us to be original in research. Almost all the viable topics have been researched on. For this reason, we suggest that young researchers be critical when reading the relevant literature on particular topics. They need to evaluate what has been published and identify controversies in the relevant studies. If a significant problem without clear answers can be addressed somehow by your research, then your research is publishable. Again, the anonymous manuscript reviewing process is a strong mechanism that helps our journal in many ways to ascertain that the papers finally published are ones that are current, or original.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: I do not think so. We publish articles that address significant knowledge gaps in the field. Very narrowly focused studies in linguistics, for example, will not be able to attract interest in them among our large readership based. So we will not consider such manuscripts.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: We always ask whether a manuscript addresses significant knowledge gaps in the field, whether the relevant methodology is sound and rigorous, as well as whether it is accessibly written to meet the professional needs of the journal’s internationally diverse readership.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: We always rely on voluntary peer reviewers. If any young teachers are interested in reviewing for us, they can just send us emails with CVs. If they have published in System or equivalent journals, we would love to have them as reviewers for our journal. Different from reviewers for journals in China, reviewers do the review as a professional service and is not given any remuneration in financial terms. So their readiness to volunteer their service to our journal is usually “paid off” because of the privilege they have of reading new research papers in the field so that they keep abreast of what is current and happening.

Prof. Zhang & Prof. Gao: The System journal has received 900 submissions this year. The entire process is getting increasingly competitive by virtue of the large numbers of submissions. Therefore, it is important for young researchers to send the best manuscripts to us for possible consideration. The topic of your paper should show some degree of originality, either in its research design, sample size, theoretical framework, or methodological innovation, among other things. Only high quality papers have a better chance for revision and resubmission, with the possibility of eventually getting published in System. Equally importantly, write your paper diligently and before submission do a thorough proof-reading to ensure that all mechanic errors are removed at least so that your reviewers will be more positive to your work.