14 DESIGNING YOUR PLAN FOR WRITING 回 much the journal editor may agree with you.You must do more than declare that some institution is not working,that some particular artwork is problematic,or that some social condition is egregious.In the social sci- ences,you must have proof.Without proof,you are simply writing a news- paper editorial.So,if you've written a classroom essay stating that Latinas face many obstacles in graduating from college or that welfare is destroy- ing the fabric of American society,you must have evidence other than your own casual observations and experiences.Both can be extremely helpful to you in designing a study to test your hypothesis,but without a study,you have no proof.In the humanities,you must have something more interest- ing to say than pointing out blatant racist or sexist statements in a famous text.To get published,you are going to have to make more developed arguments about how the text is working.For instance,you can sometimes get published by arguing against the common wisdom and asserting that a text widely thought to be racist is actually more open,or that a praised text is covertly sexist.Just be aware that simple readings will not get you into peer-reviewed journals. General:Too similar.When you are starting out,this is not such an issue, but don't pick a paper to work on that is very similar to something else you have published.If the paper has different data(whether experimental or tex- tual)or a different argument(or hypothesis),then it is probably fine,but if it shares both with a previous publication of yours,select something else. General:Master's or undergraduate thesis.It is a great idea to revise your thesis for publication.Be warned,though,most students struggle with the massive amount of cutting that is required.Most theses need to be cut by two-thirds to be viable.Of the students I know who have been suc- cessful in turning a thesis into a publication,most of them read through the thesis,opened up a brand new empty electronic file,and typed up what they remembered.It may seem counter intuitive,but they found that start- ing over took less time than cutting.Just taking out a sentence here or there is not going to do the job.Starting from scratch sounds scary,but the stu- dents I know who did this found that much of the paper flowed for them, once they escaped the strictures of the fifty-to seventy-page draft.If you can do this,master's theses tend to do quite well in the peer review process,as they have a richness that impresses reviewers. General:Dissertation chapter.Revising a dissertation chapter is a standard route to publication.The challenge for most,however,is that you must both shorten and lengthen the chapter.You must shorten because chapters are often twice the length of journal articles;but you must lengthen because the article must stand alone,unlike the chapter,and needs additional information.When cutting,be ruthless;when adding,be judicious.Readers often need less background information than authors assume they do,and peer reviewers easily ask for more if they need it.See below for additional information on what types of chapters to chose
14 DESIGNING YOUR - ,_, PLAN FOR WRITING .!J much the journal editor may agree with you. You must do more than declare that some institution is not working, that some particular artwork is problematic, or that some social condition is egregious. In the social sciences, you must have proof. Without proof, you are simply writing a newspaper editorial. So, if you've written a classroom essay stating that Latinas face many obstacles in graduating from college or that welfare is destroying the fabric of American society, you must have evidence other than your own casual observations and experiences. Both can be extremely helpful to you in designing a study to test your hypothesis, but without a study, you have no proof. In the humanities, you must have something more interesting to say than pointing out blatant racist or sexist statements in a famous text. To get published, you are going to have to make more developed arguments about how the text is working. For instance, you can sometimes get published by arguing against the common wisdom and asserting that a text widely thought to be racist is actually more open, or that a praised text is covertly sexist. Just be aware that simple readings will not get you into peer-reviewed journals. General: Too similar. When you are starting out, this is not such an issue, but don't pick a paper to work on that is very similar to something else you have published. If the paper has different data (whether experimental or textual) or a different argument (or hypothesis), then it is probably fine, but if it shares both with a previous publication of yours, select something else. General: Master's or undergraduate thesis. It is a great idea to revise your thesis for publication. Be warned, though, most students struggle with the massive amount of cutting that is required. Most theses need to be cut by two-thirds to be viable. Of the students I know who have been successful in turning a thesis into a publication, most of them read through the thesis, opened up a brand new empty electronic file, and typed up what they remembered. It may seem counter intuitive, but they found that starting over took less time than cutting. Just taking out a sentence here or there is not going to do the job. Starting from scratch sounds scary, but the students I know who did this found that much of the paper flowed for them, once they escaped the strictures of the fifty- to seventy-page draft. If you can do this, master's theses tend to do quite well in the peer review process, as they have a richness that impresses reviewers. General: Dissertation chapter. Revising a dissertation chapter is a standard route to publication. The challenge for most, however, is that you must both shorten and lengthen the chapter. You must shorten because chapters are often twice the length of journal articles; but you must lengthen because the article must stand alone, unlike the chapter, and needs additional information. When cutting, be ruthless; when adding, be judicious. Readers often need less background information than authors assume they do, and peer reviewers easily ask for more if they need it. See below for additional information on what types of chapters to chose
思 WEEK 1:15 DAILY TASKS General:Unwritten dissertation.If you are in your first years of grad- uate school and you have a paper that you think is going to be the basis of your dissertation,or an important chapter in your dissertation,you might want to think twice about revising it for publication now.The reason is that your ideas may change radically as you write the dissertation and then you may wish you had waited to publish on the topic.If you really want to work on a prospective dissertation chapter for publication now,do not let my advice here stop you.If you are wondering,however,whether to choose future dissertation research or something that will not appear in your dissertation,I recommend the latter.Likewise,if you think you will be writing your dissertation on a particular author/place/culture and you have one paper about that author/place/culture that contains your disser- tation argument and another paper on that author/place/culture that does not,pick the latter paper for revision. General:Not in English.This workbook aids you in revising an Eng- lish-language article.If you are planning to revise and submit an article in a language other than English,be aware that non-English-language journals often have quite different standards for publication than English-language ones.Therefore,you may have to extrapolate quite a bit from this work- book.If,however,you plan to revise in that other language but translate the completed article into English,the workbook can help.A perennial debate in my international workshops is whether nonnative speakers of English are best off drafting articles in their own language,and then later translat- ing them into English,or whether they should start drafting articles from the very beginning in English.Some authors insist that they find it better to draft in their own language and then translate the article into English.They like the smoothness and logical flow this drafting process enables,although they find they spend some time rooting out the syntax and structure of the original language when doing the translation.Others say that it is easier to be analytical or argumentative in English than in other languages,so it is better to start from the beginning in English.These are some of the trade- offs that you must weigh before deciding how to proceed with an article that is not in English. General.Too introductory or descriptive.To get published,your paper will have to go beyond introducing an object or practice,or merely summarizing the research about an object or practice.Some students have papers describing a particular geography,agricultural technique,painting style,literary movement,and so on.Without an argument,theoretical approach,or a study,such a piece of writing is more suited to an encyclo- pedia than a journal. Humanities:Narrow close readings.As an undergraduate in litera- ture,doing a close reading of a single literary text can gain you admiration and an A.Among peer-reviewed journals,it is likely to gain you a dis- missal.Journal editors want to see something more than an unpacking of
General: Unwritten dissertation. If you are in your first years of graduate school and you have a paper that you think is going to be the basis of your dissertation, or an important chapter in your dissertation, you might want to think twice about revising it for publication now. The reason is that your ideas may change radically as you write the dissertation and then you may wish you had waited to publish on the topic. If you really want to work on a prospective dissertation chapter for publication now, do not let my advice here stop you. If you are wondering, however, whether to choose future dissertation research or something that will not appear in your dissertation, I recommend the latter. Likewise, if you think you will be writing your dissertation on a particular author I place I culture and you have one paper about that author /place/ culture that contains your dissertation argument and another paper on that author /place/ culture that does not, pick the latter paper for revision. General: Not in English. This workbook aids you in revising an English-language article. If you are plarming to revise and submit an article in a language other than English, be aware that non-English-language journals often have quite different standards for publication than English-language ones. Therefore, you may have to extrapolate quite a bit from this workbook. If, however, you plan to revise in that other language but translate the completed article into English, the workbook can help. A perennial debate in my international workshops is whether nonnative speakers of English are best off drafting articles in their own language, and then later translating them into English, or whether they should start drafting articles from the very beginning in English. Some authors insist that they find it better to draft in their own language and then translate the article into English. They like the smoothness and logical flow this drafting process enables, although they find they spend some time rooting out the syntax and structure of the original language when doing the translation. Others say that it is easier to be analytical or argumentative in English than in other languages, so it is better to start from the beginning in English. These are some of the tradeoffs that you must weigh before deciding how to proceed with an article that is not in English. General. Too introductory or descriptive. To get published, your paper will have to go beyond introducing an object or practice, or merely summarizing the research about an object or practice. Some students have papers describing a particular geography, agricultural technique, painting style, literary movement, and so on. Without an argument, theoretical approach, or a study, such a piece of writing is more suited to an encyclopedia than a journal. Hum~nities: Narrow close readings. As an undergraduate in literature, doing a close reading of a single literary text can gain you admiration and an A. Among peer-reviewed journals, it is likely to gain you a dismissal. Journal editors want to see something more than an unpacking of WEEK 1: 15 DAILY TASKS
16 DESIGNING YOUR PLAN FOR WRITING the various meanings of one text.Single-text journal articles are still published but most journal editors will expect the article to speak to disciplinary debates.If you have a single-text paper,make sure you can take it beyond merely unpacking your text.It helps if you are using the single text as a leaping off point for theorizing about a broader issue,or if the single text is obscure but important. Humanities:Popular text studies.Be wary of picking a paper you have written on one widely discussed text.I know of one journal that used to reject automatically any paper that focused closely on Morrison's extraordinary novel Beloved,because they got dozens every year.It is not easy to know what a popular text is-especially in literary fields that focus on canonical texts-but it is safe to say that any text that is taught in every literature department in the country is in this category. Social Sciences:Reports.Social scientists working for public agencies often have written many reports,whether for funders,internal purposes, or policymakers.While such reports can hold amazing data not available in print,reports are very different beasts than articles.A report is rarely argumentative,something an article needs to be.You will have to do a lot of work to transform a report into an article.If the data in the paper was carefully collected and supports a strong argument,then go ahead and pick it,but be prepared to do much revising. Social Sciences:Literature reviews.Many students would like to try to publish literature reviews from their dissertations or master's theses; that is,long summaries of others'research.I discourage students invest- ing in such essays.Most journals are interested in original research,not in a re-presentation of others'ideas.Editors spot plain literature reviews a mile away and usually send them right back without doing more than skimming them (unless written by a very well-known scholar).If you have read almost everything on a topic for which there is no published lit- erature review,and if you really think you have something original to offer-a new and useful critical take on what has already been written- then proceed,but be sure to ask people in your field first.You also might consider submitting it to a journal as a review essay.This does not"count" as much a journal article,but it is a very good publication to have on your curriculum vitae. Social Sciences:Teaching experiences.At some point in their careers, everyone wants to write an article about their experience of teaching a par- ticular class.Some of these articles are excellent,some are poor.The problem for both is finding a place to publish.Short articles on the topic are perfect for the Chronicle of Higher Education;most peer-reviewed journals won't be inter- ested in publishing such pieces.If you really want to publish such an article, search hard for a journal that has a record of publishing them. Social Sciences:Small sample size.If you have based your paper on a qualitative study with just two subjects,even qualitative journals may
16 DESIGNING YOUR -,.. PLAN FOR WRITING .!I the various meanings of one text. Single-text journal articles are still published but most journal editors will expect the article to speak to disciplinary debates. If you have a single-text paper, make sure you can take it beyond merely unpacking your text. It helps if you are using the single text as a leaping off point for theorizing about a broader issue, or if the single text is obscure but important. Humanities: Popular text studies. Be wary of picking a paper you have written on one widely discussed text. I know of one journal that used to reject automatically any paper that focused closely on Morrison's extraordinary novel Beloved, because they got dozens every year. It is not easy to know what a popular text is-especially in literary fields that focus on canonical texts-but it is safe to say that any text that is taught in every literature department in the country is in this category. Social Sciences: Reports. Social scientists working for public agencies often have written many reports, whether for funders, internal purposes, or policymakers. While such reports can hold amazing data not available in print, reports are very different beasts than articles. A report is rarely argumentative, something an article needs to be. You will have to do a lot of work to transform a report into an article. If the data in the paper was carefully collected and supports a strong argument, then go ahead and pick it, but be prepared to do much revising. Social Sciences: Literature reviews. Many students would like to try to publish literature reviews from their dissertations or master's theses; that is, long summaries of others' research. I discourage students investing in such essays. Most journals are interested in original research, not in a re-presentation of others' ideas. Editors spot plain literature reviews a mile away and usually send them right back without doing more than skimming them (unless written by a very well-known scholar). If you have read almost everything on a topic for which there is no published literature review, and if you really think you have something original to offer-a new and useful critical take on what has already been writtenthen proceed, but be sure to ask people in your field first. You also might consider submitting it to a journal as a review essay. This does not "count" as much a journal article, but it is a very good publication to have on your curriculum vitae. Social Sciences: Teaching experiences. At some point in their careers, everyone wants to write an article about their experience of teaching a particular class. Some of these articles are excellent, some are poor. The problem for both is finding a place to publish. Short articles on the topic are perfect for the Chronicle of Higher Education; most peer-reviewed journals won't be interested in publishing such pieces. If you really want to publish such an article, search hard for a journal that has a record of publishing them. Social Sciences: Small sample size. If you have based your paper on a qualitative study with just two subjects, even qualitative journals may
WEEK 1:17 DAILY TASKS reject it.Most social science fields are so quantitative now that the sample size of even qualitative studies has become an issue.Speaking to others in your field can be helpful in identifying an adequate sample size in your field,but anything under five is probably too small. Social Sciences:No study.In some social science fields,it is perfectly acceptable to theorize and conjecture without a quantitative or qualitative study;in many,it is not acceptable.If you have a paper in which you spec- ulate on the causes of social conditions or the motivations of individuals without a study to back up your speculations,find out if your field is one that accepts such work.A journal will want to see evidence showing that, for instance,racism is the cause of student failure,sexism is preventing male nurses from doing their jobs adequately,or parents would be willing to pay for their children to attend better public schools.You will need interviews with or surveys of such students,nurses,or parents to back up your claims. Prioritizing Among Several Paper Choices If the questions above have brought to mind a good paper,great!I rec- ommend that you revisit that paper and consider reworking it for publica- tion.If several papers rose to mind,and you are unsure which one to pick, you have several options. If a professor has recommended that you think about publishing a paper,you should definitely consider this paper.One professor told me that he had given up recommending publication to students.Although he had several times offered to meet with students to talk about revising their papers and choosing a journal venue,no student had ever taken him up on the offer.I have since heard other professors comment on how rarely stu- dents take advantage of such an offer to help.If you have such an offer, take advantage!Although it can be scary to work this closely with some- one,a more advanced scholar can get you to publication so much more quickly than you could by yourself-by recommending sources,identify- ing debates,and contacting editors. If you are sitting on a revise and resubmit notice,you should definitely consider this article.It always surprises me how many students are sitting on articles that journals have asked them to revise.Many students read revise and resubmit notices as rejections,but they are not.It is better to think of them as an editing stage in the publication process.Even if your article was rejected,you may want to consider it for revision,especially if the reviewers gave you solid recommendations for revision. If none of these situations is the case,you can pick the one that you think requires the least amount of work to get ready for publication,or you can pick the one you feel most excited about working on.For those just embarking on a publication career,it is wise to choose a paper that will pro- vide you with the energy to remain motivated.Keeping all this in mind, use the chart below to identify the paper you will revise.Feel free to talk this over with others first
reject it. Most social science fields are so quantitative now that the sample size of even qualitative studies has become an issue. Speaking to others in your field can be helpful in identifying an adequate sample size in your field, but anything under five is probably too small. Social Sciences: No study. In some social science fields, it is perfectly acceptable to theorize and conjecture without a quantitative or qualitative study; in many, it is not acceptable. If you have a paper in which you speculate on the causes of social conditions or the motivations of individuals without a study to back up your speculations, find out if your field is one that accepts such work. A journal will want to see evidence showing that, for instance, racism is the cause of student failure, sexism is preventing male nurses from doing their jobs adequately, or parents would be willing to pay for their children to attend better public schools. You will need interviews with or surveys of such students, nurses, or parents to back up your claims. Prioritizln[J Amon[J Several Paper Choices If the questions above have brought to mind a good paper, great! I recommend that you revisit that paper and consider reworking it for publication. If several papers rose to mind, and you are unsure which one to pick, you have several options. If a professor has recommended that you think about publishing a paper, you should definitely consider this paper. One professor told me that he had given up recommending publication to students. Although he had several times offered to meet with students to talk about revising their papers and choosing a journal venue, no student had ever taken him up on the offer. I have since heard other professors comment on how rarely students take advantage of such an offer to help. If you have such an offer, take advantage! Although it can be scary to work this closely with someone, a more advanced scholar can get you to publication so much more quickly than you could by yourself-by recommending sources, identifying debates, and contacting editors. If you are sitting on a revise and resubmit notice, you should definitely consider this article. It always surprises me how many students are sitting on articles that journals have asked them to revise. Many students read revise and resubmit notices as rejections, but they are not. It is better to think of them as an editing stage in the publication process. Even if your article was rejected, you may want to consider it for revision, especially if the reviewers gave you solid recommendations for revision. If none of these situations is the case, you can pick the one that you think requires the least amount of work to get ready for publication, or you can pick the one you feel most excited about working on. For those just embarking on a publication career, it is wise to choose a paper that will provide you with the energy to remain motivated. Keeping all this in mind, use the chart below to identify the paper you will revise. Feel free to talk this over with others first. WEEK 1: 17 DAILY TASKS
18 DESIGNING YOUR PLAN FOR WRITING My Chosen Title Class/Conference Professor/Moderator|Date/Semester Length Day 3:Choosing Your Writing Site Having a customary writing site is part of forming the habit of writing regularly.It is worthwhile to spend a few minutes thinking about which study site has worked best for your writing.Many graduate students have a variety of writing sites,including library stacks,reading rooms,coffee shops,bedrooms,and kitchen tables.(One prolific professor I know could only write while lying on a futon on his left side while using a red pen on a yellow legal pad.Now he can only write in a coffee shop.)Since you will be writing every day(more on this below),will it still be feasible to work at the library,for instance,where you do not have access to your computer? What changes will you make to your writing site to ensure that it is com- fortable,convenient,and nondistracting?Can you use your day-job office when you cannot get to your usual writing spot? If feeling lonely while writing is a problem,you might want to think about writing at a nearby cafe.You could also write in a university com- mon room,but you will have to be firm with friends who want to sit down and chat.If distraction in a busy household is a problem,you might want to buy earphones.If you work at a computer,be sure to have a proper chair and to place your keyboard at the proper height.If you have been thinking about getting an ergonomic chair,I recommend you do it now.It's a great way to reward and encourage your decision to com- plete an article. Some students tell me that they are itinerant writers.Fixing on one writing spot doesn't work because,after working in a space for a week or two,the place becomes tainted for them.As you become a better writer, you may find that this phenomenon fades.Otherwise,notice when a place is no longer working for you,and move on to the next.May you live in a town with many coffee shops!
18 DESIGNING YOUR -'i' PLAN FOR WRITING ~ My Chosen Tltle Class/Conference Professor/Moderator Date/Semester Day 3: Choosinl! Your Writinf! Site Length Having a customary writing site is part of forming the habit of writing regularly. It is worthwhile to spend a few minutes thinking about which study site has worked best for your writing. Many graduate students have a variety of writing sites, including library stacks, reading rooms, coffee shops, bedrooms, and kitchen tables. (One prolific professor I know could only write while lying on a futon on his left side while using a red pen on a yellow legal pad. Now he can only write in a coffee shop.) Since you will be writing every day (more on this below), will it still be feasible to work at the library, for instance, where you do not have access to your computer? What changes will you make to your writing site to ensure that it is comfortable, convenient, and nondistracting? Can you use your day-job office when you cannot get to your usual writing spot? If feeling lonely while writing is a problem, you might want to think about writing at a nearby cafe. You could also write in a university common room, but you will have to be firm with friends who want to sit down and chat. If distraction in a busy household is a problem, you might want to buy earphones. If you work at a computer, be sure to have a proper chair and to place your keyboard at the proper height. If you have been thinking about getting an ergonomic chair, I recommend you do it now. It's a great way to reward and encourage your decision to complete an article. Some students tell me that they are itinerant writers. Fixing on one writing spot doesn't work because, after working in a space for a week or two, the place becomes tainted for them. As you become a better writer, you may find that this phenomenon fades. Otherwise, notice when a place is no longer working for you, and move on to the next. May you live in a town with many coffee shops!