Writing for academic publication
Time management
\subsection{Stage I: random reading (1 month)} purpose is to generate an idea for a paper
spend an hour or so every other day looking through recent issues of journals/conference proceedings
read an average of one article a day, including weekends
put in an hour or two of work each morning, first thing
identify the pressing questions, issues and major references
look out for references to unsolved problems or unanswered questions
write a 200 word ABSTRACT of proposed research
\subsection{Stage II: focussed reading (1 month)} purpose is to collect and organize the information needed to write up the idea
collect relevant articles, follow references from recent articles on the topic
be open to articles that present a variety of viewpoints and types of evidence, especially opposing ones
absence of research about your topic
go through each article, make notes and highlight passages that you want to quote or evidence that you want to cite
copy any material you think you might use onto note cards, one note/quote per card
\subsection{Stage III: first draft (2 weeks)} getting the first draft on paper is the most difficult
process of transferring cards onto paper should be done without regards for precise wording
reorganize as necessary, add transitions, add introduction and conclusion
finally revise at the sentence and word levels
make the argument/key ideas transparent
\subsection{Stage IV: final draft (2 weeks)} solicit criticism and revise accordingly
give reviewer at least a week to look over the manuscript
ask for feedback on particular areas/sections
give reviewer some idea of what you want to do with the manuscript
accept feedback graciously and assess it judiciously
put the manuscript aside for a few days and come back and read it fresh
Book review
scholarly books, textbooks and collections of articles
at least one month: 2 weeks to read the book, a week to digest it and a week to write the review
\subsection{textbook review} description (including chapter titles), purpose
2-3 notable strengths and weaknesses
overall evaluation
\subsection{collections} evaluative as well as descriptive
characterize the book as a whole,
what were the editor’s goals and how well were they achieved
major themes, how well do papers represent the theme/topic
Abstract
abbreviated version of a paper, 100-250 words
topic abstract or thesis abstract
background, purpose, methodology, results
Conference Presentation
speak extemporaneously
stay within the time limit
use a visual aid (show and tell)
handouts should be short (at most 2 pages), simple and dependent upon interpretation
oral presentation is an advertisement for the paper, purpose is to persuade the audience to read the paper
Response Article
summarize in general terms the original article
enumerate claims and state objections
use a positive tone
should be self-contained, response should be impersonal and unemotional
Research Article
\subsection{Problem} lay out the rationale for writing the paper
unsolved problem, unanswered question, inconsistency in the literature, unexplained phenomenon
“why is it important for me to know this?”
\subsection{Approach} explain the technical, theoretical or background information necessary to solve the problem
“why is this so confusing?”
\subsection{Solution} author’s approach is applied to some domain of data in order to solve the problem
“what is the author’s point?”
Sections of a Paper
\subsection{Introductions} serve as a map to guide the reader
must engage the reader quickly and convincingly
what’s the problem?
what’s been said about it by others?
what have I got to say about it?
how am I going to say it?
\subsection{Examples} serve as bridges between the abstract and the concrete
provide evidence to support the thesis
abstraction: simple statement of the point
illustration: data that supports the abstraction
interpretation: spell out how the illustration embodies the abstraction
constructed vs live examples
academic writing is didactic: to explain theories to the reader
\subsection{Figures} a picture of an idea
serving as illustration in an example
point of focus
\subsection{Metalanguage} series of guide posts for the reader
tell the reader how to interpret what follows
without metalanguage, the read learns the facts but not their significance
\subsection{Conclusions} essentially a thesis abstract of the paper
should be self contained, problem-approach-solution
abstraction-illustration-interpretation
should not introduce anything new, but should bring up related topics for future research