This document contains information from a workshop on academic writing. It includes questions that were asked of workshop participants about their writing habits and resources. The document discusses challenges to writing like lack of time and isolation. It provides suggestions for overcoming obstacles like using writing logs and commitment contracts. Publishing trends showing growth in ebooks are presented. Networks and social media are encouraged for participating in scholarly conversations. Various writing and authoring tools are introduced.
Nicola Mining Inc. Corporate Presentation May 2024
Managing an Academic Career
1. Joe Moxley
Professor of English | Director of Composition
University of South Florida
http://joemoxley.org
2. 1. Besides a style or documentation manual, what writing resources
do you own or regularly consult?
2. When was the last writing course you took? What did you learn
about writing in the course?
3. Do you tend to write scholarly material (check one of the following)
a. Once a day, every day, for at least one hour.
b. Two or three times a week, or three hours a week.
c. Once a week, usually on weekends
d. Christmas break and other holidays
e. Rarely
4. What questions and issues about writing or publishing would you
like me to address in today’s workshop? In other words, what do you
want to get out of today’s session?
4. Online/Free
Publish, Don’t Perish
Writing Commons
Networking on the Network
Books
Writing Without Teachers
Advice for New Faculty Members
Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace
5. Identify and overcome the obstacles you
face as a writer…
Kickstart “momo”
To prioritize research projects and achieve
your scholarly goals try process writing, a
writing log, a commitment contract, a
document planner, new writing
tools/spaces, and a career research
planner…
6. For practical reasons…
Understand/recall material
better
Improve teaching
Improve career options
and earn money (e.g.,
grants, textbooks,
commercial articles)
Tenure/Promotion/Career
Advancement
Write to Discover
For personal and imaginative
reasons…
‣For pleasure or to gratify "the
need”
need”
‣Join the academic community,
"the invisible college.“
‣To imagine characters, ideas,
places, concepts that are beyond
your immediate reach
‣To advance knowledge
7. DeAngelo’s study of 22,500 faculty revealed that among
faculty at four-year institutions, sixteen percent of
professors spend zero hours per week on scholarship and
writing and forty-eight percent spend 4 hours or fewer
(DeAngelo, et al. 2009; 30).
Additionally, thirty percent have not published a manuscript
in the last two years (DeAngelo, et al. 2009; 36).
DeAngelo, L., S. Hurtado, J. H. Pryor, K.R. Kelly, J. L. Santos and W. S. Korn. 2009. The American college teacher: National norms for
the 2007-2008 HERI faculty survey. Los Angeles: UCLA Higher Education Research Institute.
8. A study of 18 Australian university economics departments
found the average academic published less than one peer-
reviewed journal article every two years, and one-quarter had
not published over a five-year period (Harris, 1990).
The largest study in this area involved a survey of 890
Australian academics in 18 tertiary institutions and included
those from the humanities, commerce, science, health
science and engineering disciplines (Ramsden, 1994). During
the five-year study period, publication rates were low and
variable. A high proportion of publications were contributed
by a small number of staff; conversely, 20% of academics
published nothing over the period.
Source: McGrail, Rickard, Jones, Publish or perish: a systematic review of interventions to increase
academic publication rates
9. There's too much academic writing—and much of what’s
written is written poorly.
Writing is Aversive. As academics, we need large chunks of
time to write. Binge writing is preferable to freewriting or
writing regularly even if it leads to manic depressive
behaviors
Voice. Academic authors should eschew the first
person….they should avoid revealing personal experiences in
their writing.
Isolation. Writing should be a lonely craft conducted by
introverts. Writers work best sitting alone at their desks.
They should look into their souls and discover their personal
voice as opposed to responding to market considerations
10. The peer-review process is fair and objective.
After examining “402 reviews of 153 papers submitted
to 12 editors of American Psychological Association
journals” Douglas Fiske and Louis Fogg concluded “ In
the typical case, two reviews of the same paper had no
critical point in common.”
It seemed that reviewers did not overtly disagree on
particular points; instead, they wrote about different
topics, each making points that were appropriate and
accurate. As a consequence, their recommendations
about editorial decisions showed hardly any
agreement” (591).
12. Double-entry Exercise: Fold
a piece of paper lengthwise
in half. On left hand side,
identify obstacles to writing;
on the right hand side,
identify solutions …
What obstacles do you
face in your efforts to
achieve your academic
writing goals?
What can you do to
overcome the obstacles you
face as an academic author?
Sisyphus
13. Source: pittiglian2005, flickr
‣ Contextual
Constraints
‣ Believing vs.
Doubting
‣ Commitment
Contracts
‣ Networking
‣ New Authoring
Tools
‣ New Publishing
Alternatives
15. Think rhetorically.
Understand criteria for
tenure and promotion
decisions
What counts as research
and scholarship?
What expectations guide
the salary, tenure, and
promotion decisions?
16. The activity requires a high level of discipline-related
expertise.
The activity breaks new ground, is innovative.
The activity can be replicated or elaborated.
The work and its results can be documented.
The work and its results can be peer-reviewed.
The activity has significance or impact.
(Source: Diamond and Adam, qtd. In Diamond 17)
17. Scholarship of Discovery
Scholarship of Application
Scholarship of Teaching
Scholarship of Service
(Grant Writing)
(Remediations)
18. Write for Yourself. Persevere. Follow your
passion.
Source:
http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail
_to_have_a_great_career.html
22. Coauthor and co-edit projects. Consider editing an anthology
of original essays. Create a disciplinary Website or Blog
Volunteer your services as a consulting reader for the journals
academic book publishers, and granting agencies in your
discipline.
Have your research proposals and research designs critiqued
by established scholars before conducting a study.
Use the peer-review process to solicit tough criticisms.
23. Total Number of New Book Titles and
Editions:
◦ 2002: 247,777
◦ 2003: 266,322
◦ 2004: 285,523
◦ 2005: 282,500
◦ 2006: 396,352
◦ 2007: 407,646
◦ 2008:561,580
◦ 2009: 1,335,475
◦ 2010: 4,134,519
25. Boice (1989)
Note: The “father” of commitment contracts in the context is Bob Boice, who
wrote numerous books and articles on the topic. Also see Moxley’s Publish,
Don’t Perish
Manuscript pages written
or revised per year
Controls
Experimentals I
(30 min/day)
26. In one report, Boice (1989) reported that 100% of the faculty
who used commitment contracts finished manuscripts in
contrast to the 15% who completed projects without
commitment contracts.
McGrail et.al’s meta analysis of 17 studies compared pre- and
post- data for faculty-based writing programs (monthly
meetings; writing courses; individual coaching). Each of these
studies had between5 and 60 participants each. Most of the
faculty writing programs doubled the productivity of the writers
(and in some instances the perceived quality) of the writing.
An ongoing study by Tara Gray has found her workshops triple
faculty members’ writing productivity.
Sources:
◦ McGrail, R. M., Rickard, C. M., & Jones, R. (2006). Publish or perish: A systematic review of interventions
to increase academic publication rates. Higher Education Research and Development, 25(1), 19-35.
Publish & Flourish: How does this scholarly writing program affect writing quality and scholarly
productivity? Tara Gray, Laura Madson, A. Jane Birch.
27. Log time spent researching and writing
“I started keeping a more detailed chart which also
showed how many pages I had written by the end of
every working day. I am not sure why I started keeping
such records. I suspect that it was because as a
freelance writer entirely on my own, without employer
or deadline, I wanted to create disciplines for myself,
ones that were quilt-making when ignored. A chart on
the wall served me as such a discipline, its figures
scolding me or encouraging me.”
- Irving Wallace
28. Stop writing at reasonable intervals
“Timely stopping is more difficult and important than starting.
Without the skill of stopping on time, writers cannot become
productive workers who enjoy writing. Why? If they cannot break
the momentum of busily, urgently doing things that hold them in
a trance-like state, writers cannot being (or end) writing sessions
on time. And if they cannot stop writing when they have done
enough for the day, before diminishing returns set in, they make
writing aversive and more difficult to resume on the next
scheduled occasion.”
- Robert Boice
29. JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Begin draft
Sample Text
Sample Text
Sample Text
On Time!
31. Play an active role on listservs
Join communities such as the COS (Community
of Science)
Subscribe to news aggregators such as
http://www.scoop.it or Google Alerts.
Explore ways new digital tools, such as social
bookmarking or social books, can help you
track and participate in conversations
32. 1. Choose someone you wish to approach and read their
work with some care;
2. Make sure that your article cites their work in some
substantial way (in addition to all your other citations);
3. Mail the person a copy of your article;
4. Include a low-key, one-page cover letter that says
something intelligent about their work. If your work
and theirs could be seen to overlap, include a concise
statement of the relationship you see between them.
The tone of this letter counts. Project ordinary, calm
self-confidence.
33. “The people who live in
the intersection of social
worlds, are at higher risk
of having good ideas”
Burt, 2005, p. 90
Source: Anderson, Terry. “Living, Learning, and
Researching in a Networked World”
Source: dan jazzia, Social Network-vector illustration, flickr
34. Different types of information and knowledge perspectives
Different ways of viewing the world or a specific problem
interpretation
Different ways of categorizing a problem or partitioning
perspectives
Heuristics yielding different ways of generating solutions to
problems
Predictive Models-different ways of inferring causes and
effects (Fisher, L. 2009)
Source: Anderson, Terry. “Living, Learning, and Researching in a Networked World”
35. For a thorough review
of composing
processes, please see
the discussion of
“believing” and
“doubting” at Writing
Commons
36. “The positive force is the surprise of
discovery. Writers are born at the moment
they write what they do not expect…They are
hooked because the act of writing that, in the
past, had revealed their ignorance, now
reveals that they know more than they had
thought they knew.”
-Donald Murray
42. Total Trade Total Overall: $503.5M in Jan 2012;
$396.0M in Jan 2011; +27.1% increase
Total Adult Trade: $323.0M in Jan 2012; $277.4M in
Jan 2011; +16.4% increase
Total Children/YA: $128.2M in Jan 2012; $71.0M in
Jan 2011; +80.5% increase
Total Religious: $52.4M in Jan 2012; $47.7M in Jan
2011; +9.9%
Source: AAAP, http://ebookreader.com/news/american-publishing-
industry-goes-up-january-2012-aap-stats/
43. Peter Suber
Jay David Bolter
Howard Rheingold
Chris Anson
Yockai Benkler
Martin Weller
Danah Boyd
Richard Miller
Alex Reid
Julian Dibbell
Nicholas Negroponte
Mark Wiesner
Kathleen Mckinney
Stuart Selber
Matt Barton
Cheryl Ball
Bill Gates
Dennis Baron
Cory Doctorow
Content (More Links...)
44. Informal Self Networked Self
Comprehensive
Self
Teaching Self Uncontainable self
•Broadcast style
•Fixed
presentation
•Focus on
achievements
and expertise
•Framed through
the institution
•Narrowcast
•Interactive
•Professional
•Extra-
institutional
•Multi-platform
•Narrowcast
•Interactive
•Professional
and private
blurred
•Extra-
institutional
•Multi-platform
•Targeted
•Interactive and
collaborative
•Professional
•Inter/Intra/Extr
a/-institutional
•Uncontrolled
•Unmonitored
•Multi-platform
Soruce: Barbour, K., & Marshall D. (2012). The academic online: Constructing persona through the World
Wide Web. First Monday, 17(9).
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3969/3292
45. On a personal level,
When will you write? How many hours/words per day? (Be reasonable!)
What new writing processes will you explore?
What will be your commitment contract?
What scholarly conversations interest you? What journals, books, websites will you review? When?
Identify new tools/communities to explore. What new tools would you like to explore this year?
What tools do you need?
What communities will you join, even if just lurking?
How will you network—more than you have in the past?
What new media will you try?
How will you put yourself on the spot?
Possible Project(s):
On a community level,
What disciplinary or professional organizations might you join?
Would it be helpful to get an e-coach (e.g, : http://www.academicladder.com/ [$70/month])
What could EPCC do to facilitate a culture for writers/researchers?
Whom can you collaborate with?
46. Decide on a publisher—better yet, a list of five to ten
possible publishers—before writing the report or
conducting the research.
Determine each journal’s ranking. Is it a refereed,
first-tier or second-tier journal?
Be reasonable. Submit documents to appropriate
places. While in general it makes sense to submit to
the most distinguished journal or publisher, you may
first need to develop a batting average.
If appropriate, query, e-mail, or talk to the editor
before submitting the essay.
47. Don’t accept everything you hear. Ignore the
cranks. Like bad drivers, there are too many
cranks for you to police.
Be your own worst critic. No one will take
your work as seriously as you do.
Don’t try to critique your work at the last
minute.
48. Don’t take criticism personally.
Focus on the positive.
Don’t waste your energies writing to editors
and telling them why they were fools to
reject your ideas.
Instead, place your energies into moving
forward. Either immediately revise the
manuscript or send it back out for
consideration elsewhere.
49. Don’t try to critique your work at the last minute. This is
impossible.
When writing, don’t worry about criticism.
When you submit something, be sure it’s as good as you can
make it, or, at the very least, that it won’t embarrass you.
Get to know the editors who decide whether or not to publish
your work. Call the editor if you are unsure about a reviewer’s
comments.
Develop a realistic research plan. Update your plan regularly
Archive your efforts and achievements.
50. A writer is not so much someone who
has something to say as he (or she) is
someone who has found a process that
will bring about new things he (or she)
would not have thought of if he (or she)
had not started to say them. --William
Stafford
51. To identify publishable, academic projects, tackle the major journals in your
field—one at a time. Go through the last years ten years of each journal,
and keep notes on the following questions:
1. What major theories are scholars debating
in your discipline?
2. What are the primary research questions in
your discipline?
3. What methodologies are considered
appropriate?
4. What important new research trends can you
identify?
52. 1. Given there’s no one ideal way to
create/compose and given our habitual
ways of communicating may not be most
effective, take some time each day to reflect
on your writing processes. Write in
response to these writing process questions
in your writing journal.
2. Try a different way of researching,
composing, publishing….
53. Found at ScholarsPublish.com:
Introductory Writing: Questionnaire
Writing Calendar-log your research work on a daily basis
Process Writing- respond to these process questions
Career Research Planner- create a research planner
Document Planner- try using a document planner for one
research project
54. Chris Anderson on Peer Production and Video Innovation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnQcCgS7aPQ
"Ten Lessons in Digital Scholarship in Ten Videos" Martin Weller
http://www.slideshare.net/mweller/ten-lessons-in-digital-scholarship
"How (and Why) to Participate in a Tweetchat" Professor Hacker
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/how-and-why-to-participate-in-a-
tweetchat/42380
"Why 15 Minutes?" Professor Hacker
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/why-15-minutes/40196
"Do You Have Something to Write With?" Professor Hacker
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/do-you-have-something-to-write-with/36828
"Learn About Yourself with AskMeEvery.com“
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/learn-about-yourself-with-askmeevery-
com/36382
Hinweis der Redaktion
K, can #1 link to the next slide?
Why Write?
What obstacles do you face as a writer?
How can you support your research and writing goals?
Katelin—do you know how to make the 2nd column to appear after a click? I also couldn’t make the bullets the bule color or arrange the spacing the same. I’d be happier with a more child friendly font for 2nd column
Research suggests that the bulk of scholarship is produced by a relatively small number of scholars: only about 10 to 20 percent of our colleagues appear to be responsible for the bulk of what's published (Jalongo; Boyer; Sykes; Simonton). In "Why Academicians Don't Write," Robert Boice and Ferdinand Jones conclude "The median number of scholarly publications for even the most prolific disciplines like psychology is zero. . . . Most academicians who do write contribute infrequently; as few as 10 percent of writers in specific areas account for over 50 percent of the literature. . ." (568).
K, do you know how to hyperlink within .ppt slides? Would like to jump from these to slides later and then jump back. E.g
Source: Fiske, Donald W. & Louis Fogg. American Psychologist (May 1990): 591-597.
E.G.: “Gifted scholars know what they will write about before writing. They rarely revise, etc.” Because writers should think and then write, they should delay writing until they have completed their research. Once written, the word is final.
10 minutes here…just to freewrite…..on a personal level
Would like a pic of a grandma picking up a car to save a baby
5
Can you animate this so beleiving overtakes doubting?
Can you do a screenshot of http://www.bowker.com/assets/downloads/products/isbn_output_2002-2011.pdf
I’d like to get the first and last columns if possible
What research shows about one group of faculty:
In the year prior to the intervention, these faculty wrote the way they always wrote and 15 percent of them finished manuscripts.
In the year of the intervention, 100 percent finished manuscripts (Boice 1992).
What research shows about one group of faculty:
In the year prior to the intervention, these faculty wrote the way they always wrote and 15 percent of them finished manuscripts.
In the year of the intervention, 100 percent finished manuscripts (Boice 1992).
Kenneth Burke writes:
Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.
The Philosophy of Literary Form 110-111
Be aware of Scholarly Discussions.
Kenneth Burke writes:
Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.
The Philosophy of Literary Form 110-111
Be aware of Scholarly Discussions.
Attend conferences, write book reviews, and get to know leading editors, researchers, and scholars in your field.
Networking cannot substitute for good research, but good research cannot substitute for networking either.
Blog Rolls/Academic.Edu/Twitter: You can't get a job or a grant or any recognition for your accomplishments unless you keep up to date with the people in your community (Agee)
Maybe get a 1940s pic of a woman explaining clearniless Is next to godliness
Blogs
Wikis
Facebook
Twitter
Academia
Linked-in
Content Management Systems
Wordpress
Joomla
Sharepoint
Blogger
