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ASCE Citations

Document Format

Headings

Sections of the article should not be numbered and use word headings only.

Heading Formatting

HEADING 1

All capitals, bolded, left aligned.

Heading 2

Title case, bolded, left aligned.

Heading 3

Sentence case, italicized, left aligned.

Tables

"Every table must be called out in the text in sequential order. For example, Table 3 should not be called out before Table 1—this will require the copyeditor to renumber the tables and move them. All callouts must match the tables provided" (ASCE 2019)

Table Format

Table labels and titles are placed above the table. Titles are formatted in sentence case.

  • Title: Table titles begin with the boldface “Table,” followed by a boldface Arabic number and a period.

    • Example: Table 1. Ultimate rotations at the joint interfaces and beam ends

  • All tables should be typed with clear columns
  • Vertical rules should not be used in tables. Horizontal rules are used to offset column headings at the top of the table and footnotes (if any) at the bottom of the table and to separate major sections.

  • All columns must have a heading. Each table should have only one set of column headings at the top of the table. Using additional column headings within the body of the table should be avoided.

Example of a ASCE cited table

The table is from PUBLISHING IN ASCE JOURNALS, ASCE Publications, 2019, p. 41. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/9780784479018

Figures

Just like tables, figures are also called out in the text in sequential order.

Figure Format

Figure labels and titles are placed below the figure. Figure titles are formatted in sentence case.

"Figure captions should be short and to the point; they need not include a complete explanation of the figure. Each caption should begin with the abbreviation “Fig.” followed by an Arabic number, followed by a period:

  • Fig. 1. Plan view.

  • Fig. 2. Percentage breakdown of practitioner responses: Year 1 and Year 2." (ASCE 2019)

Calling Out Tables and Figures in the Text

Calling out tables and figures means that in the text of the document—sometimes referred to as the body or narrative of a report—the author(s) specifically mention(s) the table or figure that is being described or referred to in that sentence.

  • Example: This firm’s engineers applied Greenshield’s model to analyze traffic flow and determine how long it will take for congestion to dissipate, as demonstrated in Table 1 below.