X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ▣ Most of all,I thank my parents,who taught me to love writing and books.While I wrote,they regularly showed up to take care of cooking,car maintenance,laundry,and even the bills,and devoted many long days to reading every page of this workbook with enthusiasm and care
X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS- (!) Most of all, I thank my parents, who taught me to love writing and books. Whlle I wrote, they regularly showed up to take care of cooking, car maintenance, laundry, and even the bills, and devoted many long days to reading every page of this workbook with enthusiasm and care
▣ Introduction Using This Workbook GOALS OF THE WORKBOOK The primary goals of this workbook are to aid you in revising a classroom essay,conference paper,unpublished article,chapter,or thesis and sending it to the editor of a suitable academic journal.That is,the goals are active and prag- matic.The workbook provides the instruction,exercises,structure,and dead- lines needed to do an effective revision.It will help you to develop the habits of productivity that lead to confidence,the kind of confidence that it takes to send out into the world a journal article that you have written.By aiding you in taking your paper from classroom or conference quality to journal article quality,it also helps you to overcome anxiety about academic publishing. HISTORY OF THE WORKBOOK Nothing quite like this workbook exists.Most books on scholarly writing give advice based on the experiences of only the author,a few scholars directly in the author's field,or the author's undergraduates.This work- book is not the product of one person's experience or thought.It was not written over just a semester or a year.This version is the product of ten years of repeated experimentation with hundreds of scholarly writers.I have revised it again and again,based on the dozens of courses in which I have used this workbook to teach graduate students at UCLA and faculty members around the world.It is also based on what I learned managing a peer-reviewed journal for ten years.Every time I taught the workbook,I have asked its users how it was working for them and what would improve it.Every year,I kept in close contact with my course participants as they submitted journal articles,underwent peer review,and got pub- lished.I learned more and more about what actually succeeds in the peer review process,not what is theorized to succeed.On the basis of these par- ticipants'experiences,I wrote and rewrote this workbook to be the most helpful it could be.I will continue to do so and am always interested in xi
-l!I Introduction Usinf1 This Workbook GOALS OF THE WORKBOOK The primary goals of this workbook are to aid you in revising a classroom essay, conference paper, unpublished article, chapter, or thesis and sending it to the editor of a suitable academic journal. That is, the goals are active and pragmatic. The workbook provides the instruction, exercises, structure, and deadlines needed to do an effective revision. It will help you to develop the habits of productivity that lead to confidence, the kind of confidence that it takes to send out into the world a journal article that you have written. By aiding you in taking your paper from classroom or conference quality to journal article quality, it also helps you to overcome anxiety about academic publishing. HISTORY OF THE WORKBOOK Nothing quite like this workbook exists. Most books on scholarly writing give advice based on the experiences of only the author, a few scholars directly in the author's field, or the author's undergraduates. This workbook is not the product of one person's experience or thought. It was not written over just a semester or a year. This version is the product of ten years of repeated experimentation with hundreds of scholarly writers. I have revised it again and again, based on the dozens of courses in which I have used this workbook to teach graduate students at UCLA and faculty members around the world. It is also based on what I learned managing a peer-reviewed journal for ten years. Every time I taught the workbook, I have asked its users how it was working for them and what would improve it. Every year, I kept in close contact with my course participants as they submitted journal articles, underwent peer review, and got published. I learned more and more about what actually succeeds in the peer review process, not what is theorized to succeed. On the basis of these participants' experiences, I wrote and rewrote this workbook to be the most helpful it could be. I will continue to do so and am always interested in xi
xii INTRODUCTION ▣ hearing from readers about how it worked for them.Very few books on scholarly writing have undergone the fire of testing among hundreds of scholars across a wide range of disciplines.This one has. PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORKBOOK Most instruction books are prescriptive,setting up an ideal process and encour- aging you to aspire to it.I don't believe in the ivory tower approach.My aim is to help graduate students and junior faculty understand the rules of the aca- demic publishing game so that they can flourish,not perish.Thus,this work- book is based on what works.I don't tell you to write eight hours a day;that doesn't work.I don't advise you to read everything in your field;you can't.I don't describe how to write perfect papers;no one does.Publication,not per- fection,is the goal here,so it is based on what students told me they actually did and what they were willing to do.This workbook is not intended for academic purists,but for those in the academic trenches who sometimes grow discour- aged and who fear that they are the only ones who haven't figured it all out. As a result,the workbook details shortcuts and even a few tricks.And it always tells the truth,however upsetting.Some journal editors don't like statements that publishing in certain types of journals will not serve you well when it comes to hiring,tenure,and promotion.Some professors don't like statements that pre-tenure scholars should prioritize certain types of articles and research.But,I state these truths anyway.The workbook's advice on query letters and argument regularly inspires debate and yet con- tinues to help students achieve academic publishing success.I may not agree with the relentless professionalization of scholarly publishing,but I do believe everyone should know the rules and have a chance to succeed. Over the history of writing this workbook and teaching my courses, I've noticed that a preponderance of my students were women,people of color,non-Americans,and/or first-generation academics.I would repeat- edly hear from my students:"No one ever told me this"or"I had no idea!" This workbook has been responsible for helping many on the margins- racially,economically,internationally,and theoretically-to feel more con- fident and to frame their fascinating work in ways that would be acceptable to mainstream journals.That's why several people have said I should call this an"underground"guide to entering the profession,since it demystifies EuroAmerican academic conventions.My hope is that enabling more scholars from the periphery to publish in scholarly journals will improve(and radicalize)scholarship for the better. PEDAGOGY OF THE WORKBOOK Most books on academic writing assume that the most difficult part of writing is arriving at good ideas.This may be difficult for undergraduates, but it is not for graduate students or junior faculty.In my writing workshops
Xii INTRODUCTION -(i) hearing from readers about how it worked for them. Very few books on scholarly writing have undergone the fire of testing among hundreds of scholars across a wide range of disciplines. This one has. PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORKBOOK Most instruction books are prescriptive, setting up an ideal process and encouraging you to aspire to it. I don't believe in the ivory tower approach. My aim is to help graduate students and junior faculty understand the rules of the academic publishing game so that they can flourish, not perish. Thus, this workbook is based on what works. I don't tell you to write eight hours a day; that doesn't work. I don't advise you to read everything in your field; you can't. I don't describe how to write perfect papers; no one does. Publication, not perfection, is the goal here, so it is based on what students told me they actually did and what they were willing to do. This workbook is not intended for academic purists, but for those in the academic trenches who sometimes grow discouraged and who fear that they are the only ones who haven't figured it all out. As a result, the workbook details shortcuts and even a few tricks. And it always tells the truth, however upsetting. Some journal editors don't like statements that publishing in certain types of journals will not serve you well when it comes to hiring, tenure, and promotion. Some professors don't like statements that pre-tenure scholars should prioritize certain types of articles and research. But, I state these truths anyway. The workbook's advice on query letters and argument regularly inspires debate and yet continues to help students achieve academic publishing success. I may not agree with the relentless professionalization of scholarly publishing, but I do believe everyone should know the rules and have a chance to succeed. Over the history of writing this workbook and teaching my courses, I've noticed that a preponderance of my students were women, people of color, non-Americans, and/ or first-generation academics. I would repeatedly hear from my students: "No one ever told me this" or "I had no idea!" This workbook has been responsible for helping many on the marginsracially, economically, internationally, and theoretically-to feel more confident and to frame their fascinating work in ways that would be acceptable to mainstream journals. That's why several people have said I should call this an "underground" guide to entering the profession, since it demystifies EuroAmerican academic conventions. My hope is that enabling more scholars from the periphery to publish in scholarly journals will improve (and radicalize) scholarship for the better. PEDAGOGY OF THE WORKBOOK Most books on academic writing assume that the most difficult part of writing is arriving at good ideas. This may be difficult for undergraduates, but it is not for graduate students or junior faculty. In my writing workshops
回 INTRODUCTION Xijj good ideas abound.The real problem is how many good ideas languish in unfinished,unpublished articles.What most graduate students and junior faculty need is a way to make publishable the research they have already conducted,or written up in graduate school,or taught.They know that their classroom essays,conference papers,dissertation chapters,or rejected arti- cles are not ready for journals,but they don't know how to improve them. Thus,in my workshops,I focused on guiding students through a revision of something they had already written,an exercise many graduate students claimed never to have done before.I firmly believe that revision is the heart of good writing and that many scholars are unpublished not because they have bad ideas,but because they have never learned how to improve their drafts.This workbook focuses on revision as a key to publication. If you think you have no draft to revise for publication,read the Week 1 section for Day 2 titled "Selecting a Paper for Revision."You may find that you do have something to revise.It doesn't matter if the draft is poor or little more than an outline,the workbook will still aid you in revising such, although you will need to allot more time for writing.You may think it is bet- ter to start from scratch,but my students have found that revising their drafts was more effective.Once they learned to diagnose and correct their erroneous tendencies in a draft,they wrote their next article from scratch much more easily.They learned more from revising their work than drafting it.If you are in the social sciences and really don't have a suitable draft,you might want to consult Anne Sigismund Huff's new book Designing Research for Publication (in which she addresses disciplinary fields of inquiry,scholarly conversations,and the evolution of research projects),Nicholas Walliman's Your Research Project:A Step-by-Step Guide for the First-Time Researcher,or Catherine Marshall and Gretchen B.Rossman's Designing Qualitative Research. Alternately,you can use this workbook to draft an article by reading the text, taking notes on what makes for a good article,and then starting.But,the workbook works best for those reworking a draft for publication. Most books on academic writing are also excessively concerned with style Half their pages are devoted to improving word choice and syntax.In my experience,this was the least of students'problems.The writing research sup- ported my own observation that what most students need is a better grasp of the macro aspects of writing-argument,structure,and summarizing-not the micro aspects.Thus,this workbook is devoted to "deep revision,"the changes that make the biggest difference to an article's quality and thus success. I designed this workbook to help you build both skills and self-assurance. If you have neither,one,or both-welcome. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS This workbook is designed to be written in.Go ahead and scribble (unless this is a library book,in which case,don't!).You may also access some of the sheets at my website,www.wendybelcher.com,so that you keep the workbook "clean
Ii)- INTRODUCTION Xiii good ideas abound. The real problem is how many good ideas languish in unfinished, unpublished articles. What most graduate students and junior faculty need is a way to make publishable the research they have already conducted, or written up in graduate school, or taught. They know that their classroom essays, conference papers, dissertation chapters, or rejected articles are not ready for journals, but they don't know how to improve them. Thus, in my workshops, I focused on guiding students through a revision of something they had already written, an exercise many graduate students claimed never to have done before. I firmly believe that revision is the heart of good writing and that many scholars are unpublished not because they have bad ideas, but because they have never learned how to improve their drafts. This workbook focuses on revision as a key to publication. If you think you have no draft to revise for publication, read the Week 1 section for Day 2 titled "Selecting a Paper for Revision." You may find that you do have something to revise. It doesn't matter if the draft is poor or little more than an outline, the workbook will still aid you in revising such, although you will need to allot more time for writing. You may think it is better to start from scratch, but my students have found that revising their drafts was more effective. Once they learned to diagnose and correct their erroneous tendencies in a draft, they wrote their next article from scratch much more easily. They learned more from revising their work than drafting it. If you are in the social sciences and really don't have a suitable draft, you might want to consult Anne Sigismund Huff's new book Designing Research for Publication (in which she addresses disciplinary fields of inquiry, scholarly conversations, and the evolution of research projects), Nicholas Walliman's Your Research Project: A Step-by-Step Guide for the First-Time Researcher, or Catherine Marshall and Gretchen B. Rossman's Designing Qualitative Research. Alternately, you can use this workbook to draft an article by reading the text, taking notes on what makes for a good article, and then starting. But, the workbook works best for those reworking a draft for publication. Most books on academic writing are also excessively concerned with style. Half their pages are devoted to improving word choice and syntax. In my experience, this was the least of students' problems. The writing research supported my own observation that what most students need is a better grasp of the macro aspects of writing-argument, structure, and summarizing-not the micro aspects. Thus, this workbook is devoted to "deep revision," the changes that make the biggest difference to an article's quality and thus success. I designed this workbook to help you build both skills and self-assurance. If you have neither, one, or both-welcome. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS This workbook is designed to be written in. Go ahead and scribble (unless this is a library book, in which case, don't!). You may also access some of the sheets at my website, www.wendybelcher.com, so that you keep the workbook "clean
XiV INTRODUCTION Each week you will have five specific daily tasks designed to aid you in accomplishing your goal of submitting your article to a journal in twelve weeks.These tasks encourage limited but daily writing,so that the revision of your article can proceed steadily despite your other responsibilities like teaching,a full-time job,or caring for children.Although some of the week's tasks build on those of the week before,if you find that you need to switch one week with another(for instance,working on your introduction before working on your related literature review),that's fine.In some cases,you may find that you do not need to do a task because you have already done it.But if you come across a task you have not done,make sure you do it. Every task has been carefully designed to move you forward and to assist you in developing the good writing habits that will aid you in writing fur- ther articles.To arrive at the destination of publication,spend time at each station on the journey. Although I wish it were otherwise,this workbook does not work by osmo- sis.You cannot just turn the pages,read the occasional text,and then magically have an article by the time you tum the last page.Reading the workbook is just a fifth of the work you must do to ready an article for a journal.The work- book makes that work easier and more straightforward,but it does not do the work for you.Rather,it provides a structure within which to perform the required tasks.If you read through the workbook just to pick up some tips, you won't learn nearly as much as you will by doing the related tasks.And you probably won't retain much.Doing is learning. If you happen to fall behind on the daily tasks,don't give up or waste time feeling guilty.The times listed for the duration of each task are meant as minimums,each may take quite a bit longer.If you fall behind,just try to have a catch-up session or reset your twelve-week calendar accordingly. I have seen many cases where authors took twenty-four weeks(or months) rather than twelve weeks to send their article to a journal,and got pub- lished just the same.Persevering is the key. There are four types of tasks in this book.In workbook tasks,you read the workbook and do the exercises.In social tasks,you talk about or share your writing with another student or a faculty member,or with a writing partner or writing group.Inw writing tasks,you write some part of your article,like an abstract,or something related to your article,such as a query letter.In planning tasks,you document your plans and track your success in achieving them. USING THE WORKBOOK ACCORDING TO YOUR TEMPERAMENT You can progress through this workbook in several ways.Early on,I observed that many of my students did not want the burden of free choice but wanted to be led,as Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor put it.If you pre- fer a very structured approach,and like the security of detailed instruc- tions,just follow the daily tasks and proceed through the workbook
xiv INTRODUCTION -(i) Each week you will have five specific daily tasks designed to aid you in accomplishing your goal of submitting your article to a journal in twelve weeks. These tasks encourage limited but daily writing, so that the revision of your article can proceed steadily despite your other responsibilities like teaching, a full-time job, or caring for children. Although some of the week's tasks build on those of the week before, if you find that you need to switch one week with another (for instance, working on your introduction before working on your related literature review), that's fine. In some cases, you may find that you do not need to do a task because you have already done it. But if you come across a task you have not done, make sure you do it. Every task has been carefully designed to move you forward and to assist you in developing the good writing habits that will aid you in writing further articles. To arrive at the destination of publication, spend time at each station on the journey. Although I wish it were otherwise, this workbook does not work by osmosis. You cannot just turn the pages, read the occasional text, and then magically have an article by the time you turn the last page. Reading the workbook is just a fifth of the work you must do to ready an article for a journal. The workbook makes that work easier and more straightforward, but it does not do the work for you. Rather, it provides a structure within which to perform the required tasks. If you read through the workbook just to pick up some tips, you won't learn nearly as much as you will by doing the related tasks. And you probably won't retain much. Doing is learning. If you happen to fall behind on the daily tasks, don't give up or waste time feeling guilty. The times listed for the duration of each task are meant as minimums, each may take quite a bit longer. If you fall behind, just try to have a catch-up session or reset your twelve-week calendar accordingly. I have seen many cases where authors took twenty-four weeks (or months) rather than twelve weeks to send their article to a journal, and got published just the same. Persevering is the key. There are four types of tasks in this book. In workbook tasks, you read the workbook and do the exercises. In social tasks, you talk about or share your writing with another student or a faculty member, or with a writing partner or writing group. Inw writing tasks, you write some part of your article, like an abstract, or something related to your article, such as a query letter. In planning tasks, you document your plans and track your success in achieving them. USING THE WORKBOOK ACCORDING TO YOUR TEMPERAMENT You can progress through this workbook in several ways. Early on, I observed that many of my students did not want the burden of free choice but wanted to be led, as Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor put it. If you prefer a very structured approach, and like the security of detailed instructions, just follow the daily tasks and proceed through the workbook