Preface Page
OUP treats the preface as optional preliminary matter and describes it as a short introductory section that may explain aims, intended readership, scope, special features, acknowledgments and changes from an earlier edition. This page focuses on the preface as a practical book component rather than repeating the separate Foreword vs. Preface comparison.
A preface is optional authorial front matter used to explain the work’s aims, intended readership, scope, special features or edition changes. Exact placement and contents follow the publisher’s workflow.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
["A preface is optional and publisher-dependent; the separate Foreword vs. Preface guide owns the distinction between those two labels."]
Further guidance
Placement
["Treat the preface as preliminary/front matter and follow the publisher’s required sequence."]
Purpose
["Use a preface when the author needs to orient readers to the work, its scope, intended readership, edition changes or other contextual information."]
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Front and end matter — Oxford Academic (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · OUP book-workflow guidance for forewords, prefaces, half-title/frontispiece, epigraph, illustration/map lists, contributors, reader notes and endpapers