This series contains copies of publications and drafts sent to Dardess for review with his annotated notes and suggestions as well as correspondence about these publications. The series also includes publishing contracts and correspondence about publications and compilations written or edited by Dardess.

Drafts and published copies for works and articles written and compiled by Dardess found in the collection include but are not limited to More than the Great Wall: The Northern Frontier and Ming National Security, 1368-1644, Four Seasons: A Ming Emperor and His Grand Secretaries in Sixteenth-Century China, Confucianism and Autocracy: Professional Elites in the Founding of the Ming Dynasty, A Political Life in Ming China, and a "Dardess Family Letters" compilation. With the drafts and publications, there is also related correspondence and research notes.

Several drafts included in this series were pulled from floppy disks. A hardcopy was printed and included with the collection.