For myparents, with respect and gratitude
WritingYour
JOURNAL
ARTICLE
in
12 WEEKS
A Guide to Academic Publishing Success
(Electronic Version)
WendyLaura Belcher
Princeton University
Copyright 2009, 2016 by Wendy Laura Belcher
This ebook published in March 2016 by the author. The content is unchanged from the 2009 print edition published by SAGE.
Mention of individuals names does not imply their endorsement or recommendation of this book, nor does it affirm their participation in any of Belchers workshops.
For more information, see www.wendybelcher.com .
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4129-5701-4
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-692-63520-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Writing your journal article in twelve weeks : a guide to academic publishing success / Wendy Laura Belcher.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4129-5701-4 (pbk.)
1. Scholarly publishingUnited States. I. Title. Z471.B45 2009
070.50973dc22
Contents
Goals of the workbook. History of the workbook. Philosophy of the workbook. Pedagogy of the workbook.
General instructions. Using the workbook according to your temperament, discipline, or career stage. Using the workbook by yourself, with a writing partner, in a writing group, with coauthors, or to teach a class. Feedback to the author.
Instruction: Understanding feelings about writing. Keys to positive writing experiences. Designing a plan for submitting your article in twelve weeks.
Exercises: Selecting a paper for revision. Choosing your writing site. Designing your writing schedule. Anticipating and overturning writing obstacles.
Instruction: Types of academic articles. Myths about publishable journal articles. What gets published and why. Abstracts as a tool for success. Getting started on your article revision.
Exercises: Hammering out your topic. Rereading your paper. Drafting your abstract. Reading a model article. Revising your abstract.
Instruction: Common reasons why journals reject articles. Main reason journal articles are rejected: no argument.
Making a good argument. Organizing your article around your argument.
Exercises: Drafting your argument. Reviewing your article for an argument. Revising your article around your argument.
Instruction: Good news about journals. The importance of picking the right journal. Types of academic journals: nonrecommended, questionable, and preferred. Finding suitable academic journals.
Exercises: Searching for journals. Evaluating academic journals. Matching your article to suitable journals. Reading relevant journals. Writing a query letter to editors. Making a final decision about which journal.
Instruction: Reading the scholarly literature. Types of scholarly literature. Strategies for getting reading done. Identifying your relationship to the related literature.
Avoiding plagiarism. Writing about others research.
Exercises: Evaluating your current citations. Identifying and reading the related literature. Evaluating the related literature. Writing or revising your related literature review.
Instruction: On the importance of structure. Types of structures. Article structures in the social sciences and humanities. Solving structural problems. Revising for structure.
Exercises: Outlining a model article. Outlining your article. Restructuring your article.
Instruction: Types of evidence. Writing up evidence in the social sciences. Writing up evidence in the humanities. Revising your evidence.
Exercises: Discussing evidence in your field. Revisiting your evidence. Shaping your evidence around your argument.
Instruction: On the importance of openings. Revising your opening and conclusion.
Exercises: Revising your title. Revising your introduction. Revisiting your abstract, related literature review, and author order. Revising your conclusion.
Instruction: Types of feedback. Exchanging your articles.
Exercises: Sharing your article and getting feedback. Making a list of remaining tasks. Revising your article according to feedback.
Instruction: On taking the time. Types of revising. The rules of editing. The Belcher diagnostic test. Editing your article.
Exercises: Running the Belcher diagnostic test. Revising your article with the diagnostic test. Correcting other types of problem sentences.
Instruction: On the perils of perfection. Finalizing your article.
Exercises: Finalizing your argument, related literature review, introduction, evidence, structure, and conclusion.
Instruction: On the importance of finishing. Getting the submission ready.
Exercises: Writing the cover letter. Preparing illustrations. Putting your article into the journals style. Preparing the final print or electronic version. Send and celebrate!
Instruction: An exhortation. Waiting for the journals decision. Reading the journals decision. Types of journal decisions. Responding to journal decisions.
Exercises: Evaluating and responding to the journal decision. Planning your revision. Revising your article. Drafting your revision cover letter. Requesting permissions. On the importance of persevering.
Acknowledgments
I owe much to Assistant Vice Chancellor Jim Turner, emeriti professor and mentor extraordinaire, who incubated the writing workshop at UCLA with me; to Vice Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, who hired me to teach the workshop for the UCLA Graduate Division for ten years; to UCLA Extension Program Writing Director Linda Venis, who hired me to teach for the first time; and to Elin Skaar, who brought me to teach the workshop in Norway.
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