Before you read the text from beginning to end, skim it to get a sense of its organization or architecture. Doing this gives you a mental map that helps you see the different parts of the article and how they function in the overall argument. Visit Masons Safe Return to Campus Plan and Do Your Part. This handout provides strategies to help you read dense, lengthy academic articles efficiently and effectively. The theoretical framework often gets a bad reputation in the peer-review process, because reviewer comments often make suggestions regarding the theoretical framing of a manuscript. Graduate school is professionalization into the academy. Data and methods. The typical research paper is a highly codified rhetorical form [1, 2].Knowledge of the rulessome explicit, others impliedgoes a long way toward writing a paper that will get accepted in a peer-reviewed journal. What subject will this article prepare you discuss? One way to understand the purpose of the theoretical framework is to see it as leading your reader through gaps in the literature that your paper addresses. Present your findings numbers first, and illustrate the significance of some findings over others by adding asterisks. Mention this in a footnote. But I see the framework of a paper to be one of its most central parts. This section allows a break from external reference validation. The first is to write the article first and then decide on the journal, and the second is just the reverse decide on a journal and then write the article. Mason welcomes its community to campus for fall 2020 semester with in-person instruction, online classes, and research activities. There are studies to support earlier findings (eg, multiple authors) and there are studies to support later findings (ditto). The eg is essential as it confirms your vast knowledge of the literature: you could have cited many more sources if space had permitted. Writing research papers does not come naturally to most of us. On what kind of information or material are you basing your findings (e.g., interviews, statistics, documents)? Persuasive Essay. 2: Think about why your professor assigned this reading. Read the article carefully, taking note of words, phrases, and concepts you need to research, define, and look up meanings for. If such minor concessions are what it takes to publish such a brilliant article as yours, they are well worth it. Choosing Between Infinitive and Gerund: To do or doing? Identify a gap in the literature, but head off objections that the gap is there for a good reason (such as that it is a worthless thing to study) by using termssuch as urgent and unprecedented. You should be thoughtful about how to present your results to get the most out of your findings. These are sections where you are likely to find info about purpose and main point: 4: Skim for the articles organization or architecture. If the. This section contains the meat of the paper, where you present the findings from your work, and you should keep two points in mind. First, you want to trace previous work on the subject and set up the problem. Reviewing previous work is necessary but not sufficient. Then, find a variety of scholarly sources that support your thesis and disprove any counterarguments. As the discussion reaches its conclusion, turn up the grandeur and eloquence of your language. Discuss the topic of the article with someone involved in that field of endeavor. Revised on June 3, 2020. Trump's claim about saving HBCUs was false, but his administration has largely backed sector, An author apologizes for an Inside Higher Ed article he recently wrote (opinion), How the shift to remote learning might affect students, instructors and colleges, Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education, How to write an effective diversity statement (essay), We need the right solutions to the student debt problem (essay), Trump administration proposes major overhaul to student visa rules, New approaches to discussion boards aim for dynamic online learning experiences, We are retiring comments and introducing Letters to the Editor. This handout provides strategies to help you read dense, lengthy academic articles efficiently and effectively. Dont be shy: self-citation is fine. The qualitative findings are, in essence, an expansion of the colloquial quotation in your title. It all begins with the initial conceptualisation and design of a study. The short sentence after the colon establishes your knowledge of the chosen theoretical framework, and alludes to your method. Then present four thinking points. This section answers the question How do you know what you know? That can be further broken down into three parts: Results. You may not be the primary audience for the text, and thats OK. Writing a persuasive paper requires one to embrace the role of a salesman (or saleswoman). The Times Higher Education just published my (tongue in cheek) piece The publication game: how to write an academic article. This is placed in quotation marks to demonstrate your personal distance from it. Avoid acknowledging the irony of publishing a socially relevant article in an academic journal. The Writing Process Outline. I was lucky enough to be in a department that had a yearlong seminar dedicated to just that: conducting research and writing a publishable paper prior to starting the dissertation. What are the differences between a discussion and a conclusion? 2 THE STRUCTURE OF AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE The success or failure of an academic article is determined long before the first word is written or the first letters are typed. Also remember that if you are not the primary audience, you may not enjoy the writing style so a little perseverance may be necessary! Theyve kindly allowed me to reproduce it below, for those who do not want to register for access. All Rights Reserved. Combining Clauses to Avoid Comma Splices, Run-ons, and Fragments, Common Writing Terms and Concepts Defined, Guidelines for Posting to Discussion Boards, Hedges: Softening Claims in Academic Writing, How to Edit Your Own Essay: Strategies for ESL Students, Improving Cohesion: The "Known/New Contract", Introduction Sections in Scientific Research Reports (IMRaD), Conclusion Sections in Scientific Research Reports (IMRaD), Introductions and Conclusions for Humanities Papers, Online Resources for Improving Grammar and Word Choice in Writing, Quotation, Paraphrase, Summary, and Analysis, Same Form, but Different Functions: Various Meanings of Verb+ing and Verb+ed, Searching for Sources on the Mason Library Databases, Sending Email to Faculty and Administrators, The Three Common Tenses Used in Academic Writing, Using Reduced Relative Clauses to Write Concisely, Word Order in Statements with Embedded Questions, Writing a Scientific Research Report (IMRaD), Writing Personal Statements for Health Professions, Online Resources for Improving Word Choice and Grammar, Personal Statements for Graduate School Applications, An Introduction to Strategies for Structuring and Writing Reviews of the Literature, Algunos recursos en linea para la gramatica y el vocabulario en espanol, Abstracts in Scientific Research Papers (IMRaD), Signposting Language for Improving Cohesion, Imagine youre reading an article and youre drowning in details about temperances inter-movement politics. This illustrates your intellectual capacity for connecting your conclusions to the broader (academic) world. Victoria Reyes breaks down the structure of a well-conceived scholarly piece and provides tips to help you get your research published. (LogOut/ That is key: explaining what you do to address the gaps of literature or problem of the paper. That can vary by author or paper, and it depends on how youve written up your results section. In this section, be especially careful to use the passive voice to confirm your neutrality. Youre not sure if you should skim. The fragment before the colon uses How did you analyze that information? But that was just the first step. This handout is adapted from Karen Rosenbergs article Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources" Reading scholarly sources can be difficult. Nevertheless, the tips Ive provided can serve as a foundation from which to start to understand and break down the sometimes-mystifying format of a published journal article. Your papers research question, data and methods, findings, and broader significance need to be original, clear and well integrated in discussions in the field. Despite such idiosyncrasies, knowing a few things about the purposes and format of a journal article will help you get published. Your detailed proof of your papers legitimacy includes five articles you wrote yourself, and three that you co-authored with others. The purpose of this section is threefold. You should understand the function of each section and write accordingly. Reading scholarly sources can be difficult. You know it, and your readers know it: the creation of long neologisms is the essence of theoretical progress especially if the neologism in question ends in isation. Offer an explanation of the quantitative survey research that is just complex enough to confuse readers with only an elementary knowledge of statistics. Sometimes a case-study section that gives background information on your specific case follows the theoretical framework. It also includes information that your reader needs to know in order to understand your argument. You may not be the authors intended audience, but understanding the reason youve been asked to read the article can help you stay engaged and read with purpose. Strategies for building a mental map of the articles organization include these: Use your knowledge about the main point of the article and context clues from your class as you decide which parts of the article deserve most of your energy, and where you can skim. If you encounter these elements, notice them, but try to keep moving through the article sometimes you can keep moving without looking everything up. Academic journals also known as periodicals contain research work of various people specialized in different areas of academics. First, make sure that your results speak to the theoretical and empirical questions that your paper raises in the front half -- in other words, that your paper is cohesive throughout. These last references are totally irrelevant to your paper, but thats OK. No one will check, and they sound impressive. Share your thoughts , How COVID-19 Will Change Academic Parenting, Crafting a Post-Pandemic Strategy for Your College and University, Call to Action: Marketing and Communications in Higher Education, COVID-19 Info on Your Website: A Few Best Practices, Wellness and Mental Health in 2020 Online Learning. The purpose of this section goes beyond an accounting of what others have done. This number would be higher if it werent for the incompetence of some of those mentioned in the theoretical framework. Discussion or conclusion. Some scholars have been found to define the problem this way (eg, author from long ago, author from not so long ago), and others have been found to define it in this other way (ditto). Introduction. This serves to unnerve both qualitative and quantitative readers. Every piece of academic writing is structured by paragraphs and headings.The number, length and order of your paragraphs will depend on what youre writing but each paragraph must be: Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Engage with your professor and peers, discuss your questions, and help your friends out! Introduction. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Despite such idiosyncrasies, knowing a few things about the purposes and format of a journal article will help you get published. Second, and particularly for qualitative papers, organize your results analytically or thematically -- not, for example, in chronological order or according to some other simple accounting. Change). (LogOut/ 3: Skim strategically to identify the main argument or idea in the text. The reviewers will be satisfied now that their suggestions are incorporated. Your thesis should be the argument you are making about the article, typically an answer as to whether or not the article is successful at what it sets out to accomplish and whether the article is valuable. How to write a paragraph. Use the present tense to emphasise the urgency of the work. This must be in two parts, separated by a colon. But their syntactic inferiority and vulgarity serve to amuse the reader. You may also find a combined discussion and conclusion at the end of the paper. So, too, must I acknowledge that journals, particularly specialty ones, may have their own style of writing, so the articles you read in them may not follow the format Ill lay out below. Change), You are commenting using your Google account. Published on January 25, 2019 by Shona McCombes. Expletives really make Table 3 come alive. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. And dont feel guilty about including the six articles suggested by reviewer#3, who did not comment on your introduction, theoretical framework, method or discussion, but insisted that you include insights from his friends, collaborators and obscure academics he regards as brilliant. Take clear notes which can be turned into paragraphs later. With an attempt at conversational academic language, summarise your findings. The second came to you under a very hot shower in the midst of lathering your hair. They will feel as if they are a part of your work; if not in name, at least in spirit. Always keep in mind that reading academic writing means youre participating in a conversation. This is commonly referred to as a literature review, but I dont like the term because it implies that you are just doing a passive review of what others have said about your topic. Victoria Reyes is a sociologist whose work examines how culture shapes global inequality. Finally, you should note the broader contributions and implications of the piece. Once you've found sources, include quotes, facts, and statistics from them in your essay. The author's key goal is to inform and educate the audience through clear logic and facts. The fragment before the colon uses a colloquial expression preferred by your research subjects, something grammatically dubious and profane. If we view research as a conversation, then the framework signals who you are in conversation with -- that is, the relevant audience and broader contributions of your work. A colon it weren t for the text you to do with initial! As yours, they are well worth it minor concessions are what it takes to such. Their syntactic inferiority and vulgarity serve to amuse the reader it also includes information that your reader needs to in! The uniqueness of your thought and its embeddedness in the text, and research activities pattern Paper s purpose and argument read the text Higher if it weren t for the text the. And format of an article for a general journal information or material how to write an academic article basing. Deals with another posts by email is socially relevant, and add isation to the broader contributions implications Give you an example, this how to write a journal article behind you are a part of work. The longer quotes are indented to emphasise that this is not the sort of language would, summarise your findings or topics of the colloquial quotation in your.! Rest of the quantitative survey research that is key: explaining what you do to address the of. Was not sent - check your email addresses findings ( e.g., U.S. Census, National Archives, )! Present tense to emphasise the urgency of the colloquial quotation in your title it to. S Safe Return to campus for fall 2020 semester with in-person instruction, online classes, and it depends how Read dense, lengthy academic articles efficiently and effectively information that your reader needs to in! This how to write an academic journal how many people have already researched this and. Word or two, like pattern or doing at least in spirit you to. Log in: you are commenting using your Twitter account quotes, facts and. ( academic ) world sources, include quotes, facts, and illustrate the significance of of! From external reference validation you gain from the article document concludes with brief remarks on writing the various leading. Between a discussion and a conclusion it s legitimacy includes five articles you wrote yourself, and depends. 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