breaking down the article writing process for new academics

Breaking Down the Article Writing

Process for New Academics

Alison M. Youngblood, University of Central Floridaa.youngb@knights.ucf.edu

Melanie C. González, University of Central Floridam.gonzalez@knights.ucf.edu

TESOL 2012Philadelphia, PA

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Target Audience

This workshop is designed for doctoral students, new faculty members, and/or practitioners that do not have a lot of experience writing articles but need to publish for career advancement.

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Workshop Objectives

① Design a realistic writing plan to help manage the article writing process.

② Select an article to write/revise for submission to a journal.

③ Write a good abstract.

④ Break down the journal publication process.

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Overview of Workshop

① Introduction to article writing process and 12-week writing plan

② Designing your writing plan

③ Starting your article & varying article structures

④ Writing an abstract and making a strong argument

⑤ Selecting a journal & journal review processes

⑥ Writing a letter of inquiry

⑦ Wrap-up & feedback

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Let’s take a poll

Polleverywhere – Use your text-messaging enabled phones!What is your biggest obstacle to writing?a) Family/friends

b) No time

c) Writer’s block

d) Not a good writer

e) Dislike writing

f) Intimidated

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Let’s take a poll

What is your typical writing process like?a) Work on it a little at a time

b) Wait till the last minute

c) Heavy on the revision process

d) Methodical: outline, fill-in, revise

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Let’s take a poll

How do you feel while writing?a) Fabulous, I love writing!

b) Stressed, this is never going to get done!

c) Frustrated, I don’t know what to say!

d) Neutral, it is something I have to do

e) Good, when I have time.

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Activity 1• There are many obstacles when trying to make

writing a daily habit. From the obstacles discussed in our workshop, which ones were the most relevant to you? Discuss some possible solutions with your group?

Obstacles: Solutions:

Designing Your Writing Plan

MAKING THE COMMITMENT

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Making the commitment

• Traditionally, we think of writing as a solitary activity.

• Working with a writing partner/writing group helps not only to provide a reviewer, but adds motivation

• Sign a contract (examples on following slide)

• Decide a reward & punishment• Rewards: new shoes, movie, tickets, etc. • Punishments: a week without Facebook/Twitter, no

TV for a week, etc.

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Making the commitment(Belcher, 2009)

Writing Partners Writing Group

Designing Your Writing Plan

MAKING IT A HABIT

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Making it a habit

• Pick a writing site and stick to it!• What improvements can you make to it?

• Plotting out your time and creating a writing plan• Use a chart• Use online/mobile phone tools/apps such as

iCal, Google calendar/reminders

• Plotting out writing tasks for each day for the span of plan

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Activity 2

• We discussed obstacles that make it hard to write every day. One of the best ways to overcome these obstacles is to create a writing space. What could site could you use as your primary writing location? What could be a back-up writing site? What changes would you have to make to either in order to make it a productive space?

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Sample 12-Week Writing Plan(Belcher, 2009)

• Goal is to set up a realistic, not ambitious writing plan!

• Think about how you currently spend your time and where you can fit in 15 minutes of writing.

Starting your articlePICKING A TEXT YOU’VE ALREADY WRITTEN

“Look what I found in the dumpster! A perfectly good article!”

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Types of academic articles in TESOL

Commentary* Discusses issues of concern in the field supported by research and/or theory

Book reviewReviews of recent professional books, textbooks, or electronic resources; check with journal sites for list of books needing review

Pedagogical/Effective/Best practice articles/Action research

Describes successful or promising application of instructional practices or activities

Literature review article

Reviews a body of literature and/or previous research on a particular topic

Theoretical article Traces the development of a certain theory, proposes a better theory, and criticizes the old theory.

Research article: quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods

Reports on data collected from an experiment/research project. Includes a literature review, methodology, and discussion of results.

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Picking a text you’ve already written

• For your consideration (Belcher, 2009):• Praise: has a professor said a certain paper was strong?• Pleasure: was there a topic you really enjoyed writing

about?• Relevance: have you talked/written about a current

debate in the field?• Research/Findings: have you performed any

research/collected data in the field?• Conference presentation: have you presented on a

topic at a professional conference?• Thesis: did you write a Master’s/Doctoral thesis?• Rejected article: did you send in an article already?

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Activity 3

• The first step to writing an article is to pick a project or piece of work that you already have in progress. Brainstorm which of your artifacts have potential to become articles? What article structure would they follow? What is your best option to focus your attention over the next twelve weeks?

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Collaborating with others

Consider co-writing with:

• A peer

• A professor

• A mentor

• A practicing teacher

Tips for collaborating

• Determine a file naming system e.g. YEAR_MONTH_DAY_AUTHOR INITIALS_TITLE.docx

• Save ALL drafts

• Never have two authors working at the same time

• Take advantage of others’ strengths

Writing an Abstract for Your Article

THE DO’S AND DON’TS

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Writing a good abstract

• Now that you’ve selected a topic, let’s examine what comprises a good abstract

• An abstract can serve as a general outline to keep your writing focused

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Elements of a good abstract(Belcher, 2009)

• State why you are writing about this topic –a gap in literature? Debate in the field? A persistent problem?

• State what the article is about

• State your methods

• State your results/findings

• State your conclusions/argument

• Think of all the keywords possible

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What to avoid in an abstract(Belcher, 2009)

Avoid including the following items in your abstract:

• Just introducing the topic

• Detailing data, results, significance

• Your hopes for the article

• Footnotes or citations

• Quotations

• Abbreviations, symbols, or acronyms

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Activity 4

• It is important to understand how an article’s structure affects the abstract. Look at the four example abstracts below and determine what kind of article structure they represent.

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Activity 5

• Once you have completed the description and summary activities related to your article, write a single sentence that explains what your article is about.

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Example of Lit ReviewArticle

• Folse, K., Gonzalez, M., & Youngblood, A. (in review). Five suggestions for creating a rich lexical environment in any classroom.

• Initial stage: literature review from course• Pick a journal & inquire about topic• Revise according to journal

guidelines• Submit!

Getting It PublishedMATCHING YOUR ARTICLE TO A JOURNAL

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Good News about Publishing

• Based on a survey conducted in 2000:• 38,000 active academic journals in circulations

today• 22,000 of these are peer-review journals• Only 35% of journals get more than 100

submissions each year• Only 5% of journals have a 90% rejection rate or

higher

(as cited by Belcher, 2009)

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Familiarize Yourself With Journals

• Find the acceptance rates/impact factors of the journals to which you desire to submit your article• Cabell’s Publishing http://www.cabells.com/directories.aspx• Science Watch http://sciencewatch.com/

• Visit the journal websites – publication guidelines for authors

• Is there an upcoming theme or special issue on your topic?

• Is the journal formal or informal in style? Prefer primary, secondary, or pedagogical articles?

• What does the review process for the journal look like?

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Familiarize Yourself Author Guidelines for Publishing

Major Journals

Research-oriented, high impact factors• TESOL Quarterly• Modern Language Journal• Language Learning• Reading in a Foreign Langu

age• Journal of Second Languag

e Writing• Computer Assisted Langua

ge Learning

Local Journals

Pedagogical in nature, lower impact factors• CATESOL• Sunshine State TESOL Jour

nal• Idiom (NYTESOL)• WAESOL World Quarterly

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Suggested Publishing Outlets

Category Example in TESOL Additional Information

Regional journals Florida Reading Quarterly

21-30% acceptance rate

Newer journals The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL

Debuts in March 2012; Review process about 8 weeks

Field specific journals Reading in a Foreign LanguageEnglish for Specific Purposes

Review process 8-12 weeks

21-30% acceptance rate

Disciplinary journals SystemCanadian Modern Language ReviewTESOL Quarterly

11-20% acceptance rate21-30% acceptance rate

8-10% acceptance rate

(Belcher, 2009; Cabell, 2007)

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Activity 6

• It is important to select a specific journal where you will submit your completed article. What journals are you considering?

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Choosing the Right Journal

• Consider contacting the Managing Editor and/or the Editor to get further information. • Managing editor: oversees daily operations of

journal; keeper of manuscripts & blind peer review processes, copy editor, proofreader

• Editor: oversees manuscript ideas, content, & makes final judgment calls

• What questions would be appropriate to ask these journal representatives? Are they the same for both the Managing Editor and the Editor?

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Activity 7

• Brainstorm questions that you would send to a Managing Editor and an Editor of a journal in which you want to publish.

Getting It PublishedWRITING A LETTER OF INQUIRY

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Letters of Inquiry

• It is a good idea to write first to an editor regarding your topic

• Be sure to mention that you are a graduate/doctoral student if you are still in school

• Use your abstract as a guide for writing this letter.

• Sample letter

Getting It PublishedTHE PEER REVIEW PROCESS

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The Peer Review Process

1• Manuscript received by managing editor• Journal editors decide if meets criteria• Select two blind peer reviewers from

editorial board

2• Two reviewers read manuscript• Make comments, suggestions• Make recommendation to journal editors

on whether to accept, accept with revisions, reject

3• Manuscript returned to managing editor• Managing editor compiles reviewer

comments• Contacts author with journal decision

and attaches reviewers’ feedback

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Resources for Writing

• Forms & sample writing plan http://www.wendybelcher.com/pages/WorkbookForms.htm

• Self-Control for Mac OS X http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/31289/selfcontrol

• Facebook Groups, EdModo

• DropBox http://www.dropbox.com/

• EverNote http://www.evernote.com/

• Wunderlist, Orchestra To-Do

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It starts now!

• If you would like to provide encouragement and support to your peers in today’s workshop, we have created a group in EdModo to inspire each other to stay the course!

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Call for Papers

http://tapestry.usf.edu/journal/

• We would like to invite you to submit your manuscript to an invited novice academic issue of The Tapestry Journal.

• Theme: Issues relating to the education of English learners in the P-12 classroom.

• Submit ideas/manuscripts to tapestry@ucf.edu by July 31, 2012

• Editors will work more closely with authors than is typical in the field for this issue