How to Define Serial Publications

Newspapers are a type of serial publication.

Almost every category of printed photo or word has appeared over the years as a serial publication. Indeed, many classic novels in the Western canon of literature first appeared as serials. Defining this type of publishing should only take a matter of minutes, and you can make your students fully grasp the concept very easily.

Instructions

1. Give a basic, formal definition. According to the free dictionary's website, a serial publication is "a periodical that appears at scheduled times."

2. Speak specifically about what this definition means. The word "periodical" stems from the word "period," which denotes the release of something at regular intervals. Instead of referring to all newspapers as "periodicals that appear at scheduled times" we categorize a newspaper as a serial publication for the sake of simplicity.

3. Discuss and define some different types of serial publications. Several different kids of serials exist: defined by different words and/or the frequency with with they are published. For example, a semiweekly appears twice per week. A weekly appears once per week. A quarterly appears four times per year: once every three months. A bimonthly appears twice per month. Serials are also referred to as issues and/or the specific number or month of issue. Sometimes they are called an installment, a periodical or a series.

4. Give specific examples of serial publications of different types. US Weekly represents a weekly magazine serial. Literary magazines, sold at bookstores, appear two to three times per year. Some are monthly serials. Comic strips in newspapers represent serials as well; new strips of favorite comics often appear weekly on Sundays. As mentioned, the newspaper as a whole constitutes a daily serial.

5. Discuss the history of serial publications, if you choose. Many people may not know that in the 18th and 19th centuries most novels first appeared in magazines as serial publications rather than as bound books sold in a shop. Most of Charles Dickens' novels, for example, first appeared in serial format.

References

• The Free Dictionary: Serial Publication
• PBS: Dickens and Serial Publication

Resources

• PBS: Dickens and Serial Publication