Writing for Publication: OT6026 Occupational Therapy Project 4

Writing for Publication: OT6026 Occupational Therapy Project 4
Íde O’Sullivan, Lawrence Cleary Regional Writing Centre

Regional Writing Centre
Workshop outline Writing for publication Getting started: Motivation and time management Key consideration: The writing process The rhetorical situation Academic writing style Structuring your paper Strategies to develop writing: Peer review Regional Writing Centre

Reflection Why write for publication? Implications of publishing/not publishing? Misconceptions about writing and publication Common problems among new writers New writers’ worries/fears Difficulties associated with writing Through writing we develop our thinking/clarify our thoughts Boardmann (2007) Common problems among new writers: Writing too much about the problem Overstating the problem Overworking the critique of other authors Losing focus Putting too many ideas in one piece of work Regional Writing Centre

New writers’ errors (Murray 2005:4)
“Writing too much about ‘the problem’” “Overstating the problem and claiming too much for their solution” “Overstating the critique of others’ work” “Not saying what they mean, losing focus through indirect writing” “Putting too many ideas in one paper” What do the reviewers say? Dealing with the reviewers’ comments? Respond to the editor. Your intention / deadlines / what you will deal with / anything beyond the scope. Regional Writing Centre

Difficulties associated with writing
Anxiety and fear of writing Lack of confidence and motivation Cracking the codes of academic writing Getting started Lack of guidance, practice and feedback Misconceptions of writing Good writing skills are innate X Think first, then write X The writing process is recursive Regional Writing Centre

The process Decide on the writing project Choose a target journal Get information about the journal Mission/vision of the journal Identify categories of submission Identify key subject areas Analyse the journal Select a sample paper from the target journal Follow the guidelines for authors Regional Writing Centre

The journal “The British Journal of Occupational Therapy (BJOT) is the official journal of the College of Occupational Therapists. Its purpose is to publish contributions of papers relevant to theory, practice, research, education and management in occupational therapy.” “Vision: A monthly journal presenting high quality international research and practice related papers that informs the knowledge and evidence base of occupational therapy and is easily accessible through online searches.” British Journal of Occupational Therapy February 2008, 71(2): 77 Regional Writing Centre

Types of publications Scholarly Papers Short Reports Research Articles/Papers Practice Analysis/Evaluations Critical Reviews Case Histories/Reviews Opinion Pieces Editorials Letters to Editor Book Reviews Guest Editorials Regional Writing Centre

Analysing the journal Cracking the codes Analysing the genre/text and modelling Identify important criteria that will make your writing more effective Ask yourself the following questions: How is the paper structured? How is the contribution articulated? What level of context is provided? What level of detail is used? How long are the different sections? Regional Writing Centre

Analysing the journal What organisational features/patterns are in evidence? How are arguments and counterarguments presented and structured? What types of evidence are important? What stylistic features are prominent? Is the text cohesive? How does the author achieve such cohesion? What kind(s) of persuasive devises does the author employ? Voice? Regional Writing Centre

Guidelines for authors
Categories of submission Preparation of the manuscript Copyright Ethics Layout Presentation Submission of the manuscript The review process Editorial process Editorial decisions Regional Writing Centre

Getting Started Writing and Keeping Going
Dealing with fatigue, boredom and lack of momentum What motivates/demotivates you when it comes to a writing task? Fears and anxieties?

It is not too late Take stock of where you are now Outline your research project Make plans based on the time that is left Organise your time accordingly Get writing Keep writing Get a writing buddy Allow time for revision and to put it all together Let family and friends know Be selfish with your time Regional Writing Centre

Where am I? What writing have you done and what writing do you need to do in order to complete your paper on time? Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes. Write in sentences. Do not edit or censor your writing. Private writing -- no one will read it. Discuss what you have written in pairs. Freewriting – Getting started What impact did the previous exercise have on you? How might this type of writing activity be useful? Regional Writing Centre

Getting started Where and when do you write? Why are you not writing? “I don’t feel ready to write.” Writers’ block Getting unstuck Writing to prompts/freewriting (write anything) Set writing goals Write regularly Integrate writing into your thinking Break it down into a manageable process Weekly timetable – Map your time – Be realistic! – Develop a regular pattern! Dealing with issues of time “Binge” and “snack” writing (Murray, 2005) Do I need a big block of time to write productively? “Short bursts of productive writing” (Murray and Moore, 2006:17) Regional Writing Centre

Outlining (Murray 2006) Title and draft introduction Level 1 outlining Main headings Level 2 outlining Sub-headings Level 3 outlining Decide on content Define your writing tasks Ordering your ideas Aligning your outline with your summary Set goals for writing Checks coherence of your argument Imposes appropriate word limits Decide on content Write your outline in sentences: The aim of this section is………” Set word limit for sections and sub-sections “Defining writing tasks first may make it easier to find time slots for them” (Murray). Regional Writing Centre

‘Writing in layers’ (Murray 2006:125-27)
Outline the structure: write your section heading for the research paper. Write a sentence or two on the contents of each section. List out sub-headings for each section. Write an introductory paragraph for each section. At the top of each section, write the word count requirement, draft number and date. Define your writing tasks Ordering your ideas Aligning your outline with your summary Set goals for writing Checks coherence of your argument Imposes appropriate word limits Decide on content Write your outline in sentences: The aim of this section is………” Set word limit for sections and sub-sections “Defining writing tasks first may make it easier to find time slots for them” (Murray). Regional Writing Centre

Writing a ‘page 98 paper’ My research question is … Researchers who have looked at this subject are … They argue that … Debate centres on the issue of … There is work to be done on … My research is closest to that of X in that … My contribution will be … (Murray 2006:104) Early: to establish direction/focus Associate your project with the literature Distinguish your project from the literature Build on research question/hypothesis Focus reading/thinking Manageable writing task: 325 words To develop thinking about your thesis thesis? Late: to focus thinking as you draft conclusion and revise your introduction (Murray, 2006: 105) Regional Writing Centre

Key Considerations

Key stages in the process
Pre-writing Drafting Revision Editing and Proofreading One way to divide up the stages that one goes through is as presented here. A Reiterative Process Understanding the essay question and the instructions is one part of the planning process: What are some other tasks performed in this stage? ...In the Drafting stage? ...in the Revision stage? Brainstorming Mind maps Research Reading/note-taking – the importance of referencing properly Researching to find the truth, not just someone who agrees with you. Planning and organising your essay Getting started Structuring your essays (paragraphing) Developing an argument The importance of evidence/theories/data Drafting and redrafting your essay Editing and proofreading your essay Simple plan – introduction, middle, end Regional Writing Centre

The rhetorical situation
Occasion Topic Audience Purpose Writer NB: Joining the conversation Occasion: Time / Space restrictions. How much time, how many words, in what form? Audience: Expectations: stylistic conventions, formatting issues, academic rigor? Discourse community. Topic: What do I already know; what do I need to know? How do I discover? Purpose: Express my feelings, inform, persuade? Academic persuasion. Writer: What are my strengths and weaknesses? What is my experience with academic writing? What strategies have I developed? What criteria do I use to self-evaluate how well I am doing? Are my strategies working? What emotional response do I have to assigned writing tasks? Regional Writing Centre 21

Organising principles
Research question Thesis Hypothesis Regional Writing Centre 22

Stylistic differences that mark academic writing
Complexity Formality Objectivity Accuracy Precision Explicitness Hedging Responsibility (Gillet 2008) Differences that mark academic writing. Regional Writing Centre 23

Structuring your paper
Keep in mind the assignment question, any questions you need to answer in order to answer the assignment question, and the instruction word as you plan your essay. From beginning to end, the point of order is the initial question, claim or hypothesis. Do not “write down all you know about…”

Structure Preliminaries Main Text End Matter The materials included in each section are usually set by the particular college or department to whom the report is submitted. For FYP students who are submitting to the Languages and Cultural Studies Department, the material to be contained in each part is assigned by the College of Humanities and can be found in the Final Year Project Booklet for the Class of The only difference between the printed version and that posted online ( is that the printed version requires students to include an Option title on the cover page. Regional Writing Centre

The manuscript Introduction Literature review Method Results/Findings Analysis/Discussion Conclusions Key findings What the study has added How is this contribution articulated? Regional Writing Centre

The introduction In academic writing, an introduction, or opening, has four purposes: To introduce the topic of the essay To indicate the context of the conversation through background information To give some indication of the overall plan of the paper To catch the reader’s attention, usually by convincing the reader of its relevance. This idea of ‘context’ and ‘relevance’ is important. Too often a student tries to foist some inappropriate idea of relevance onto the reader. If a student is well versed in the discourse of her area of study, then she’ll know what is relevant to these readers. And to say something is relevant because it is important is just begging the question. Too often students use logical fallacies to foist relevance onto a reader. Advice: get involved in the discussion. Regional Writing Centre

In brief…. The introduction should be funnel shaped Begin with broad statements. Make these statements more and more specific as the writer narrows the scope of the topic and comes to the problem. Be sure that the question, hypothesis or claim is one that can be handled in a report of the length specified. This question, hypothesis or claim is your thesis statement. Regional Writing Centre

Methodology and research design
In the methodology section, two main issues are addressed: The methods used to gather data The methods used to analyse the data How were your results obtained and how did you came to the conclusions put forth? The reader needs to get the complete picture of what you have done in order to obtain your results and arrive at your conclusions. In your Research Proposal Sample, you have Section C, Research Design and Data Collection Plan (450 words), and D, Proposed Analysis and Presentation Techniques (ca. 100 words). The Research Design section, C, asks What research method will I use and why? And wants you to explain your procedure, identifying any practical issues. It asks that you give details of your proposed sample and how you are going to access it. The section on the proposed analysis, section D, asks simply how you plan to analyze the data once you have it and how you intend to present your findings. Regional Writing Centre

Methodology and research design
Justification Why and how did you choose the targeted population/sample? Why did you choose the particular method? Is the methodology appropriate to your field of study? Is the methodology appropriate to the objectives of the study? What did you do? Why did you do it? What happened? Research notes/diary Audience Voice Tense Regional Writing Centre

Results and discussion
The results section must not only present the results; it must make the results meaningful for the reader. The discussion should not simply provide more detail about the results; it should interpret and explain the results. Methods of organising the results and discussion. Regional Writing Centre

Results Organising the results Readability Accessibility (graphs, tables) Use of appendices for raw data Making the results meaningful Explanation Simplification Trends Significant results Relationships/correlations The method of organisation of the results and discussion will depend on the quantity and type of results. Regional Writing Centre

Discussion Organising the discussion Summarise the main results in order to remind the reader of your key findings. Put the results of the research into context. Support the validity of the results by referring to similar results. Explain the differences between your findings and that of previous researchers. Can you explain the unexpected results? Explain the results Compare with research that emerged in the literature review but do not repeat the literature review. Regional Writing Centre

Conclusion To what extend have the aims of the study been achieved? How has your primary and secondary research helped answer the research question posed? Have your hypotheses been proved/disproved/partially proved? Did the study raise any further questions? Any recommendations for future research? Questions addressed in the conclusion Make the case for your contribution Here you must foreground your own research (Murray, 2006) Regional Writing Centre

Elements of a good conclusion
A conclusion should: Remind the reader of the main points of your argument Bring ‘closure to the interpretation of the data’ (Leedy 2001:291) Be clear Be logical Be credible ‘Whatever kind of conclusion you decide on, it should not introduce new topics, apologize for any real or perceived failings in the paper, or merely stop or trail off. Make sure your paper has a clear sense of closure’. (Ebert et al. 1997:129) Regional Writing Centre

Academic principles Maintaining academic principles Ethics Referencing Honesty Objectivity Hedge. Distinguish between absolutes and probabilities. Absolutes are 100% certain. Probabilities are less than 100% certain. Be responsible. Provide traceable evidence and justifications for any claims you make or any opinions you have formed as a result of your research. Claims are qualified. Regional Writing Centre

Flow Logical method of development Effective transition signals Good signposting Consistent point of view Conciseness (careful word choice) Clarity of expression Paragraph structure Unity Coherence Clarity of expression Avoid repetition of words Avoid repetition of ideas Delete redundant words Be direct: avoid using too many words Avoid ambiguity Avoid unclear pronoun reference Choose strong active verbs Use parallel constructions Regional Writing Centre

Paragraph structure What is a paragraph? Series of sentences Coherent (introduction, middle, end) Common theme Every sentence in a paragraph develops one topic or idea. Paragraphs signal the logically organised progression of ideas. The flow of information should be organised around themes and comments. The main idea in one paragraph should flow logically into the next. Shifts in the argument or changes in direction should be accurately signalled using appropriate adverbials, conjunctions, and prepositions. Paragraphing Use vs non-use Coherent vs incoherent Cohesive vs incohesive Unified vs Disjointed Regional Writing Centre

Paragraph structure Just as an essay is guided by a thesis statement, a paragraph is organised around its topic sentence. A topic sentence informs the reader of the topic to be discussed. A topic sentence contains controlling ideas which limit the scope of the discussion to ideas that are manageable in a paragraph. An example would be: ‘Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics’ (Oshima and Hogue, 1999: 17). The topic is ‘gold’. The unnamed ‘important characteristics’ control the scope of the paragraph. Only these two characteristics will be talked about in this paragraph. Controlling ideas must be able to be spoken of in a single paragraph. If a writer thinks that she needs more than a paragraph to talk about either one of these characteristics, then she should reframe the controlling idea in her topic sentence. Regional Writing Centre

Paragraph structure: Supporting sentences
The sentences that follow expand upon the topic, using controlling ideas to limit the discussion. The main idea is supported by Evidence in the form of facts, statistics, theoretical probabilities, reputable, educated opinions, Illustrations in the form of examples and extended examples, and Argumentation based on the evidence presented. Qualifying statements indicate the limitations of the support or argument. Regional Writing Centre

Paragraph structure: Concluding sentences
Not every paragraph needs a concluding sentence. Concluding sentences can either comment on the information in the text, or They can paraphrase the topic sentence. Regional Writing Centre

Paragraph structure: Unity
Paragraphs should be unified. ‘Unity means that only one main idea is discussed in a paragraph. The main idea is stated in the topic sentence, and then each and every supporting sentence develops that idea’ (Oshima and Hogue 1999:18). Basically, ‘unity’ demands that digressions are kept to a minimum. ‘Coherence’ addresses a lot of issues, but the instructor can think of her own experiences with some of the papers she’s received. The biggest offence is usually pronoun references that haven’t any recognisable antecedent. What the hell is that? Good practices that aid in text coherence are: repetition of key nouns. Nouns are referential. Repetition can be boring, but that’s where a good thesaurus comes in. Use of consistent pronouns. Students should be aware that person or number shifts are confusing. They shouldn’t be changing ‘from you to he or she (change of person), or from he to they (change of number)’ (Oshima and Hogue, 1999: 42). Lastly, good use of transition signals (next slide) makes for an easier read. Regional Writing Centre

Paragraph structure: Coherence
Coherence means that your paragraph is easy to read and understand because your supporting sentences are in some kind of logical order your ideas are connected by the use of appropriate transition signals your pronoun references clearly point to the intended antecedent and is consistent you have repeated or substituted key nouns (Oshima and Hogue 2006:22) Show the connections and relationships between arguments so that sentences flow smoothly. Logical and smooth movement from one sentence to the next. Regional Writing Centre

Example: (Meei-Fang et al. 2007:471)
People with dementia are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition: they have a decreased ability to understand directions and to express their needs verbally, are easily distracted from eating, prone to become agitated, and may use utensils incorrectly. Inability to feed oneself (eating dependency) is a major risk factor for malnutrition among older people living in long-term care settings (Abbasi & Rudman 1994, Durnbaugh et al. 1996). When people with dementia can no longer take food voluntarily, assistance is required although, as the disease progresses, even taking food with assistance can become difficult and, in some instances, tube-feeding may be required to supply nutrition. This form of feeding can, however, cause distress and anxiety, not only for the person being fed, but also for caregivers (Akerlund & Norberg 1985, Burgener & Shimer 1993). Regional Writing Centre

Reasons for rejecting manuscripts: Brown, Rodger and Brown (2005:88)
Methodology or research design problems Poorly developed idea Poorly written Data interpretation problems Literature review not relevant/comprehensive/up to date Content undocumented Statistical problems Term-paper type article Issues of validity, reliability and trustworthiness not addressed Regional Writing Centre

Poorly referenced Content not important/significant Discussion not based on results/findings Content inaccurate Content not consistent with journal purpose Implications of findings and results on practice not included Submission format guidelines not followed Manuscript too lengthy Key terms and concepts not clearly defined Regional Writing Centre

Aim/purpose of paper not clearly stated Limitations of research study not included/acknowledged Content not current or timely Clinically not applicable Too technical Manuscript submitted concurrently to another journal Subject/topic covered recently Content already scheduled for future Regional Writing Centre

Overview: Reasons for rejecting
Poor writing skills Poor research skills Failure to consider the journal’s audience Failure to follow the journal’s guidelines Before you start establish familiarity with The journal The audience The submission guidelines Regional Writing Centre

Strategies to Develop Writing: Peer Review

Dialogue about writing
Peer-review Generative writing The “writing sandwich” (Murray 2005:85): writing, talking, writing Writing “buddies” (Murray and Moore 2006:102) Writers’ groups Engaging in critiques of one another’s work allows you to become effective critics of your own work. Regional Writing Centre

Writing an abstract Brown’s 8 questions (Murray, 2005: ) Framework to help you draft an abstract Allows you to see the paper as a whole and focus on the main points of the argument Written at an early stage in the writing process, it helps you maintain the main focus as you write the paper. Revise it as you go. Regional Writing Centre

Brown’s 8 questions Who are the intended readers? (3-5 names) What did you do? (50 words) Why did you do it? (50 words) What happened? (50 words) What do the results mean in theory? (50 words) What do the results mean in practice? (50 words) What is the key benefit for readers (25 words) What remains unresolved? (no word limit) Discuss your emerging summary with your partner. Regional Writing Centre

Resources Ebest, S.B., Alred, G., Brusaw, C.T. and Oliu, W.E. (2005) Writing from A to Z: The Easy-to-use Reference Handbook, 5th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre, UL Strunk, W. and White, E.B. (2000) The Elements of Style, 4th ed. New York: Longman. Using English for Academic Purposes The Writer’s Garden cyberlyber.com/writermain.htm The OWL at Purdue The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill /wcweb/handouts/index.html Handout Regional Writing Centre 53

Works cited Brown, T.G., Rodger, S. and Brown, A. (2005) ‘Publication Practices of English Language Occupational Therapy Journals’, British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(2): Elbow, P. (1998) Writing without Teachers (2nd edition). New York: Oxford University Press. Elbow, P. and Belanoff, P. (2003) Being a Writer: A Community of Writers Revisited. New York: McGraw-Hill. Moore, S. and Murphy, M. (2005) How to be a Student: 100 Great Ideas and Practical Hints for Students Everywhere. UK: Open University Press. Murray, R. (2005) Writing for Academic Journals. UK: Open University Press. Murray, R. (2006) How to Write a Thesis (2nd edition). UK: Open University Press. Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006) The Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach. UK: Open University Press. Regional Writing Centre

Writing for Publication: OT6026 Occupational Therapy Project 4

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