All work submitted to The Externalist: A Journal of Perspectives will be considered with the following criteria in mind:

• Quality: This means the piece stands out through adept use of language and the many tools writers have available. Grammar, syntax, and punctuation are all important considerations.
• Content: The foreground for The Externalist demands that we consider content carefully. Content of the work here contains some element of human experience and reflection on that experience. Politics are fine. Social issues are fine. The day I went to the market with my Grandma is fine so long as it has significant potential to instruct, inspire, or otherwise mean something to someone else. Therapy writing will be rejected.
• Originality: This means we haven't read it before and if we Google the first sentence of your poem/story/essay, we aren't going to get 10,000+ hits.
• For poetry, obvious consideration for word choice, line and stanza/strophe breaks, figurative language, choice of style and form, trope and imagery are all important considerations. Ambiguity and abstraction, if well used, are welcome here. If you don't know what most of these words mean, don't submit.
• For short stories, character and plot are equally valued. Excessive predictability or use of plot crutches are submission killers. The editor has a strong appreciation for well-written satire.
• For nonfiction, excellent use of language and the ability to translate experience are musts. If outside sources are used, they must be cited in standard MLA format.

Plagiarism is grounds for rejection of all future submissions by that author.