1.
Breaking Down the
Article Writing Process
for New Academics
Alison M. Youngblood, University of Central Florida
a.youngb@knights.ucf.edu
Melanie C. González, University of Central Florida
m.gonzalez@knights.ucf.edu
TESOL 2012
Philadelphia, PA

2.
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.
2

3.
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.
3

4.
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
4

5.
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
5

6.
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
6

7.
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.
7

8.
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:
8

9.
Designing Your Writing
Plan
MAKING THE COMMITMENT

10.
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.
10

11.
Making the commitment
(Belcher, 2009)
Writing Partners Writing Group
11

12.
Designing Your Writing
Plan
MAKING IT A HABIT

13.
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
13

14.
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?
14

15.
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.
15

16.
Starting your article
PICKING A TEXT YOU’VE ALREADY WRITTEN
“Look what I found in the
dumpster! A perfectly good
article!”

17.
Types of academic articles in
TESOL
Commentary* Discusses issues of concern in the field
supported by research and/or theory
Reviews of recent professional books, textbooks,
Book review
or electronic resources; check with journal sites
for list of books needing review
Pedagogical/Effective/Best Describes successful or promising application of
practice articles/Action instructional practices or activities
research
Literature review article Reviews a body of literature and/or previous
research on a particular topic
Traces the development of a certain theory,
Theoretical article
proposes a better theory, and criticizes the old
theory.
Research article: Reports on data collected from an
quantitative, qualitative, or experiment/research project. Includes a literature
mixed methods review, methodology, and discussion of results.
17

18.
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?
18

19.
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?
19

20.
Collaborating with others
Consider co-writing with: Tips for collaborating
• A peer • Determine a file naming
system e.g.
• A professor YEAR_MONTH_DAY_AUTHOR
INITIALS_TITLE.docx
• A mentor
• Save ALL drafts
• A practicing teacher
• Never have two authors
working at the same time
• Take advantage of others’
strengths
20

21.
Writing an Abstract for
Your Article
THE DO’S AND DON’TS

22.
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
22

23.
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
23

24.
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
24

25.
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.
25

26.
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.
26

27.
Example of Lit
ReviewArticle
• 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!
27

28.
Getting It Published
MATCHING YOUR ARTICLE TO A JOURNAL

29.
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)
29

30.
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?
30

31.
Familiarize Yourself Author
Guidelines for Publishing
Major Journals Local Journals
Research-oriented, high impact Pedagogical in nature, lower
factors impact factors
• TESOL Quarterly • CATESOL
• Modern Language Journal • Sunshine State TESOL
• Language Learning Journal
• Reading in a Foreign • Idiom (NYTESOL)
Language • WAESOL World Quarterly
• Journal of Second Language
Writing
• Computer Assisted Language
Learning
31

32.
Suggested Publishing Outlets
Category Example in TESOL Additional Information
Regional journals Florida Reading Quarterly 21-30% acceptance rate
Newer journals The European Journal of Debuts in March 2012;
Applied Linguistics and Review process about 8
TEFL weeks
Field specific journals Reading in a Foreign Review process 8-12 weeks
Language
English for Specific 21-30% acceptance rate
Purposes
Disciplinary journals System 11-20% acceptance rate
Canadian Modern 21-30% acceptance rate
Language Review
TESOL Quarterly 8-10% acceptance rate
(Belcher, 2009; Cabell, 2007)
32

33.
Activity 6
• It is important to select a specific journal where
you will submit your completed article. What
journals are you considering?
33

34.
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?
34

35.
Activity 7
• Brainstorm questions that you would send to a
Managing Editor and an Editor of a journal in
which you want to publish.
35

36.
Getting It Published
WRITING A LETTER OF INQUIRY

37.
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
37

38.
Getting It Published
THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS

39.
The Peer Review Process
• Manuscript received by managing editor
• Journal editors decide if meets criteria
1 • Select two blind peer reviewers from editorial board
• Two reviewers read manuscript
• Make comments, suggestions
• Make recommendation to journal editors on whether to accept, accept
2 with revisions, reject
• Manuscript returned to managing editor
• Managing editor compiles reviewer comments
3 • Contacts author with journal decision and attaches reviewers’ feedback
39

40.
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
40

41.
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!
41

42.
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
42