15/01/2024; venue: Pre-Conference Publication Workshop. The 9th Wolrd Conference on Media and Mass Communication (MEDCOM 2024)

1. Writing for Top-Tier
Journals
Learn How to Impress the Editors
and Increase Your Chances
Pre-Conference
Publication Workshop
MEDCOM 2024
January 15, 2024
PRESENTED BY:
Piotr Siuda
WWW:
piotrsiuda.com
mediaconference.co

2. Piotr Siuda
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES
KAZIMIERZ WIELKI UNIVERSITY
BYDGOSZCZ, POLAND
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
JOURNAL OF CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS
SAGE JOURNALS
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Meet the
Speaker

3. Planning
The category of your paper,
choosing the paper’s type, etc.
Using proper style
If you are not a native English
speaker ...
Choosing the right venue
Lots of factors influencing this.
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PreparingYourself
If you want to impress the editor and increase
your chances.

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Deciding on Categories
NO. 1
My research shows
which theory is true
(or at least closer to
the truth).
NO. 2
This is how it works
(liver cell process,
social or cultural
phenomena, cloud
formation).
NO. 3
What seemed
similar is actually
different (or vice
versa; e.g., a
dolphin is not a
fish).

5. Choosing the Type
Not only research articles,
literature reviews, brief commentaries,
case studies. There may be more.
Research Articles
Research Notes
Replication studies
Research and Politics:
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6. Using Proper Style
Taking on the role of an “academic writer” is a mistake (this is often a way to
hide the mediocrity of one’s work).
Respecting the editor (and the reader) means being transparent and precise
regarding the language and other article features.
Guide from one topic to another and explain.
Do not leave anything to guess; be precise but not wordy.
Do not oversimplify, but explain complex issues clearly.
Write so the reader never returns to what she has already read.
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7. Language
Use
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The article often uses phrasing that is
abstract, obfuscated or unclear. ... The whole
article needs to be examined for clarity of
wording. The writing style is often long and
meandering.

8. Language Use
The structures were placed in a
vacuum chamber with four
optical ports permitting to
measure the spectral
characteristics of the
transmission of light.
To measure the spectral
characteristics of the transmitted
light, the structures were
placed/mounted in a vacuum
chamber with four ports.
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Correct
Incorrect

9. Language Use
The obtained results indicate
the possibility of
applying titanium dioxide layers
in these coatings
These/the results indicate ...
Our results indicate ...
Results from this study indicate ...
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Correct
Incorrect

10. Language Use
In my assessment of this issue, I
have followed the advice
formulated by Storm A. King.
This researcher proposed that
the degree of research
subjects’ privacy infringement
online be assessed by ...
I assessed this issue following
Storm A. King, who proposed ...
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Correct
Incorrect

11. Language Use
The sample of the blogs was not
a representative one since such
a sample is practically
impossible in the case of
research into various Internet
webpages.
The blogs sampled were not
representative.
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Correct
Incorrect

12. Language Use
The main aim of this article is
concentrating on factors that
are connected with problems of
overpopulation and aging in
highly developed countries.
The article concentrates on
factors related to overpopulation
and aging in highly developed
countries.
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Correct
Incorrect

13. The scope
What is the journal's
focus?
Metrics
WoS and Scopus.
Open Access
If you have money
and strive for OA.
Watch out!
Questionable
Journals.
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PUBLISHER
TOOLS
IMPACT FACTOR
CITESCORE
SHERPA ROMEO
DOAJ
LISTS
COPE
Choosing the Right Journal
This can also mean impressing the editor and increasing your
chances.

14. Write a cover letter
The scope, and why is the paper
innovative? Explain rule-breaking.
Follow the standards
Prepare a clear and precise abstract,
a proper title, and crucial keywords.
Respond to comments
Be very precise and informative.
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Presenting Yourself
When submitting a paper.

15. Cover Letter
Dear Editor,
Please find attached the manuscript entitled Light driven soft robot mimics caterpillar
locomotion in natural scale that we would like to submit for publication in Nature
Communications as an Article. The findings presented are the results of collaboration
between the group of Prof. D. Wiersma (LENS, University of Florence) working on liquid
crystalline elastomer based micro photonic robots, mechanical simulation specialists at the
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University (J. Biggins group) and our group working on
photonics and micro robotics at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw.
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Explain who you are, and what you do

16. Cover Letter
Among the long standing challenges in soft robotics is the development of remotely
powered and controlled systems that could mimic biological locomotion in miniature size
devices. One example is the traveling deformation wave locomotion that caterpillars use to
navigate effectively in complex topographies. For traditional robots, such travelling wave
motion requires many discrete, synchronously controlled actuators, which are beyond reach
with currently available materials and technologies all the demonstrations of caterpillar
type walking to date failed to realize this behaviour in natural scale.
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Explain the aims, challanges, problems, RQs

17. Cover Letter
In this manuscript, we show that with proper molecular alignment engineering in a 15 mm
long stripe made of liquid crystalline elastomer, we can mimic a caterpillar traveling wave of
locomotion and demonstrate different walking strategies under laser light illumination.
Spatial modulation of the laser beam is used to control the robot actuation. Both theoretical
simulation and experimental result prove that traveling deformation wave motion can be
obtained in the soft robot in the scale comparable to its natural relatives. Our robot
prototype for the first time not only demonstrates various gaits, but also performs a variety
of tasks, such as walking up a slope, squeezing through a narrow slit and pushing an object
around.
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Explain what is new and innovative

18. Cover Letter
We believe that the results reported in our manuscript will have significant impact in the
fields of smart materials, soft robotics and micro engineering, in particular for development
of complex adaptive behaviors in microscale devices. We therefore ask you to take this
manuscript into consideration for publication in Nature Communications.
We would like to suggest the following expert scientists for the evaluation of this
work:
…
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Suggest potential reviewers

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The Title
Reflects the article’s content.
Encourages reading the article.
SEE THE TITLES IN A GIVEN JOURNAL!

20. Acceptance of the limitations resulting from a chronic somatic disease
example of people with psoriasis
Psoriasis is an example of high acceptance of the limitations resulting from a
chronic somatic disease: an empirical study of psoriasis patients in Poland
Theoretical investigation of titanium oxide nanoparticles with surface defects
Surface defects in titanium oxide nanoparticles strongly affect scattering in
ceramic lasers
Controversial amendments in the revised Code of Criminal Procedure
Lack of functional value of amendments on relegating court cases to the
attorneys in the revised Code of Criminal Procedure
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21. Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner? Evaluating Online Restaurant
Reservations for Disease Surveillance (Journal of Medical Internet Research)
You Probably Think This Paper’s About You: Narcissists’ Perceptions of Their
Personality and Reputation (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)
Ashes to Ashes: Thermal Contact Burns in Children Caused by Fires (Burns)
Children and Mini Magnets: An Almost Fatal Attraction
(Emergency Medicine Journal)
Friends With Benefits: On the Positive Consequences of Pet Ownership
(Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)
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The Abstract
This is the first part seen by the reviewer.
DOES THE ABSTRACT CLEARLY AND
ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THE CONTENT?

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Consider author guidelines
and article types!

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Designing the Abstract
You need to reflect the proportions.
No. Section The question Number of sentences
1. Introduction What has been studied and why? 1-3
2. Methods How did we study? 1-2
3. Results What have we found out? 3-5
4. Discussion What all this means? 1-3

25. REVIEWER 1
3. Conclusion is not new or surprising.
These two points are rather difficult to address, given their vagueness and no references to
any publised sourcs (“not new”). We are not aware of any previous demonstrations of similar
microstructured gradient index structures. Given the sophisticated techniques used to
fabricate gradient indexed coatings before we believe that our simple, yet effective design
opens new perspectives in optical technology.
The Keywords
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The Google Scholar experiment

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The Overall
Quality
The editor and the reviewers read the whole
paper and asses the structure, innovativeness
and contributions, tables and figures,
references, etc.

27. Some Hints
Use RMID approach.
Results: a story leading to several take-home messages (are all the
details necessary?).
Results: you can use Tables and Figures, but avoid common mistakes.
Methods: be informative.
Introduction: the funnel approach.
Discussion: be attentive to various ways of writing this part.
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28. Responding to Comments
Indicate the main changes by referring to reviewers’ comments
separately.
You can make generalizations for minor revisions.
Point out the reviewers’ discrepancies (in your favor).
Defend your work if you believe the reviewers are wrong.
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29. Responding to Comments
4. Conclusion is assuming that no scattering or absorption occur.
Indeed, we have verified in our experiments that both absorption and scattering are not
present please compare the response to point 1 above.
Reviewer 2
2. Abstract, line 7: Please specify if the reflectance is the modal.
We used the general term “the measured reflectance” in the abstract to keep it short. We
also address this issue with respect to the light propagation simulations in the structure
in point 19 below.
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Clearly indicate the main changes

30. Responding to Comments
Comment 7
Reviewer 1
The language has been corrected so as not to seem one sided and to avoid making implicit
assumptions about the “right” state of affairs.
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Generalizing minor revisions

31. Responding to Comments
REVIEWER 1
3. Conclusion is not new or surprising.
These two points are rather difficult to address, given their vagueness and no references to
any published sources (“not new”). We are not aware of any previous demonstrations of
similar microstructured gradient index structures. Given the sophisticated techniques used to
fabricate gradient indexed coatings before we believe that our simple, yet effective design
opens new perspectives in optical technology.
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Defending yourself

32. Responding to Comments
Dear Editor,
I am sending the revised article.
Please note that the review is generally very positive. We have carefully considered and
followed the referee’s advice; however, one issue has been resolved in a way different than
suggested. We do not consider splitting the results and presenting them only partially to be a
reasonable solution. We explain the reasons for our decision in our responses to the referee’s
comments.
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Defending yourself

33. Responding to Comments
REVIEWER 1
3. Conclusion is not new or surprising.
These two points are rather difficult to address, given their vagueness and no references to
any publised sourcs (“not new”). We are not aware of any previous demonstrations of similar
microstructured gradient index structures. Given the sophisticated techniques used to
fabricate gradient indexed coatings before we believe that our simple, yet effective design
opens new perspectives in optical technology.
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Being extremely precise

34. Paper revision
Frequency of language related
revision is 12.5 higher.
Writing
Need 51% more time
to write a paper.
Paper rejection
Frequency of language related
rejection is 2.5 times higher.
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AI CANNOT REPLACE ORIGINAL RESEARCH IDEAS
AI CAN AUGMENT ACADEMIC WRITING
Can Generative AI Help...
...if you are not a native English speaker?

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Use specialized
(academic) and not
general AI tools!

36. Be Transparent
Template
DECLARATION: I acknowledge the use of [AI tool] and [link] to generate ...
PROMPT: I used the following prompt/s ...
OUTPUT USE: I used the output to ... / I modified the outpu to ...
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Acknowledge AI usage

37. Got Questions?
Reach Out
WWW
piotrsiuda.com
EMAIL
piotr@ukw.edu.pl
SOCIAL MEDIA (X, LINKEDIN, FB)
@piotrsiuda