Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Slide #1: Introduce the Webinar
Slide #2: Introduce the Presenter
Slide #3: Webinar Objectives
Slide #4: Identify Publishable Arguments
First, let’s talk about how to identify publishable arguments within your body of research.
Slide #5: Take Stock of Your Research
As a first step toward identifying publishable arguments, I suggest you pause and take
stock of your research. This exercise is especially helpful for people who are at the
beginning of the process. Maybe you’ve finished a dissertation and know that you have to
pull articles out of it. But if you’re still close to the dissertation, you may feel like you’re
in the middle of a forest. You're walking among dense trees. And it's very hard to see the
shape of the forest or what paths you might make through it. So, I suggest this exercise:
Try creating a list of these key aspects of your work:
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Topics of inquiry
Methodologies used
Key findings
Gaps identified
Implications for the field
Questions raised
Areas that have sparked interest
You can start now, but this is really an exercise that deserves at least an hour of your
time; so continue it after the webinar. Think of it as a kind of inventory of your research.
Pay special attention to areas that have sparked interest or controversy among readers of
your work. Of course, these are all things you already know, but getting them all down in
one place can help you see relationships and begin to form an argument.
Slide #6: Make a Concept Map of Your Argument
After taking stock of your research, you might consider making a concept map of the
parts of your argument. Concept maps provide a way to visualize the following things:
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
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How do the parts relate to each other?
What is most significant?
What may be tangential?
What presentation order makes the most sense?
The following example of a concept map depicts the essential aspects of developing and
submitting a journal article.
Slide #7: Concept Map for Journal Article Development
I'm more of an auditory learner than a visual learner. So I wanted to challenge myself and
try out a concept map and made one for this webinar. This concept map describes the
process of journal article development. And if you're not sure what your contribution is or
how to narrow your topic, creating this kind of map can be a way of thinking through the
complicated relations among the central ideas of your work. Making a concept map may
also help you see the best order for tackling certain tasks.
We’ll return at different junctures during this webinar to look again at this concept map,
but briefly notice what it suggests about how to move from evidence to argument.
As you can see, the blue boxes on the top row deal with the most preliminary stage,
evaluating your research. The arrows indicate questions to use when evaluating your data.
Notice also how every arrow in this top section points to the question of why this may
matter to readers. Then, as you move through the blue boxes, you'll see an arrow leading
from the blue area to the green. Your next task is to craft your article's central claim. And
you can see how that connects to the later tasks highlighted in yellow. We’ll look more
closely at the various sections of this map as we move though this webinar, but that’s
enough of an overview for now.
Slide #8: Resource for Concept Mapping
By the way, if you’d like to learn more about how to make a concept map, check out the
online resource that helped me make this one.
Slide #9: Catch Up On Recent Work in Your Field
To tackle the preliminary steps of identifying a publishing argument in your own
research, you may need to refresh your picture of how your topic relates to recent work in
your field.
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Review abstracts of recent publications
Participate in conferences and digital forums
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Slide #10: Analyze Abstracts
Once you've isolated key abstracts, I challenge you to read them in a new way. As
researchers, we tend to read abstracts like hungry teenagers raiding the fridge. We’re
taking a quick look for what will feed our curiosity, what may help us make our
argument. But, as someone seeking to publish an article, I encourage you to look more
closely at how abstracts are written.
How do the authors convey the boundaries of their claim?
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Do they investigate a subset of larger problem?
Do they identify a new question or inherent problem in the field?
Do they fill a gap in the published literature?
Slide #11: Sample Abstract
Let’s examine an example of a well-done abstract. Here’s the citation information for this
actual abstract.
Slide #12: Excerpt from Kimeldorf’s Abstract
I’m not going to read this abstract out loud now, but please look it over on your screen.
You can read it more carefully later. My purpose is to pull out the key sentences the
author uses to convey his argument. These steps or “moves” are exactly what you must
do to shape your evidence into a publishable article. Pay attention in the next few slides
to sentences, I highlight from the abstract that the author uses to accomplish these key
steps. Notice how the author:
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defines the boundaries of the topic
conveys how it relates to the larger field
asserts the central claim
suggests why this topic and findings matter (Pause and read out loud).
Slide #13: Defines the Boundaries of the Topic
(Read the highlighted section). This short passage defines the boundaries of the topic.
Slide #14: Conveys How It Relates to the Larger Field
(Gloss over the highlighted section). Here, notice that the author conveys how this
argument relates to the larger field.
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Slide #15: Asserts the Central Claim
(Take a moment to read this highlighted section yourself). It asserts the article’s central
claim.
Slide #16: Suggests Why This Topic and Findings Matter
Last, but not least, check out this highlighted section. It suggests why these findings
matter. We learn this topic has received little research attention. Furthermore, the era has
similarities to our own and the article’s conclusion addresses current challenges. Each of
those facts underscores why readers likely will be interested.
Slide #17: Practice Shifting Your Perspective
So, that’s an overview of how an abstract works. This exercise of analyzing what makes a
great abstract can help you see the questions you have to answer to shape your own
evidence into a publishable argument. The next step toward that goal is to practice
shifting your perspective on your work from researcher to reader and from researcher to
journal editor.
To write and place successful articles, you need to be able to see it as a reader might.
What does that reader need to know to in order to see why your argument matters, for
instance? Also, it's absolutely vital that you shift perspective to consider the needs of
editors. Read the mission statements of journals closely. Which topics or questions in
your work fit best with the missions of particular journals? I can't stress that enough. So
many editors tell me that they read tons of submissions that don't even fit within the
scope of their journal, either because the author uses a methodology the journal is not
interested in, or because the topic lies outside their field of interest.
Slide #18: Talk Through Questions With a Coach or Colleague
Another way to get a new perspective on your work is to talk about it:
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Find a reader to give feedback on your ideas and ask questions to further your
thinking on the subject
Consider readers inside and outside your subfield
Once you’ve done all of this, you’ll probably be ready to move on to the next stage,
defining your argument’s contribution to the field.
Slide #19: Define the Contribution
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Slide #20: Be Clear
“Scholars should open up as much as they can: data, tools, processes, results, and even
paths not taken. Don’t be scared of being wrong; be scared of obscuring your message.
And be terrified of saying nothing.” Jon Orwant, PhD from MIT and Google
Engineering Manager
Orwant’s warning addresses a common problem. Afraid of potential criticism, authors
sometimes write so generally and vaguely that the relevance of their work is hard to see.
Slide #21: Convey Your Claim’s Relevance to the Field
“Saying something” means explaining how the central claim of your article relates to
established ideas and debates in your field.
Let’s look again at that concept map about steps in the process of writing an article.
Slide #22: A Concept Map for Journal Article Development
Part of your argument’s contribution may take the form of information represented in the
2nd row of blue boxes. Are you answering a question in the literature or offering new
information, a discovery? Are you bringing a fresh approach to an old problem? These
are two examples of how you can define what your work is contributing that was not
known before.
Slide #23: Common Types of Contribution
There are several common types of contributions:
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Does your central claim challenge an accepted idea?
Does it answer an unsolved question?
Does it present a discovery or finding?
Does it argue for the necessity of a new set of questions?
Slide #24: Exercise to Articulate the Contribution
Let’s pause for a moment and do a quick exercise. I invite you to jot down how you
might define your own work's contribution. Free write for a minute. That means just
letting your pen move across the paper or your fingers across the keyboard without
stopping. You don't have to show this to anybody. And, if naming the actual
contributions feels hard, try naming some questions about the contribution your work
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
might make to the field. What might it add? Who might be interested? What questions
are your audience likely to have? (Pause for a minute to allow people to free write).
Slide #25: Anticipate Your Audience
Of course, part of understanding your argument’s contribution involves being able to
imagine it from the perspective of your eventual readers.
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What specific subsets of researchers are most likely to be interested in this
argument?
How much context or review of earlier studies will readers need to understand
why your claim matters?
Slide #26: Take Your Argument for a Test Drive
The best way to get information about how audiences are likely to react to your work is
actually share it with them. As you develop your argument, take it out for a test drive
with different groups:
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Participate in conferences and other forums.
Pay attention to questions from colleagues.
Look for patterns of questions related to particular disciplines or subfields.
This step can help prepare you for the next stage of developing your article.
Slide #27: Select Appropriate Journals for Submission
Slide #28: Get to Know the Journals You Are Targeting
“I am constantly surprised by the numbers of papers submitted to our journal that are
completely outside of our scope. . . . (and) regret the lost productivity such submissions
cost authors and journal staff.”
Cynthia Dunbar, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Society of Hematology
Slide #29: A Concept Map for Journal Article Development
Now, let’s look again at our old friend, the concept map for developing an article. Notice
the yellow section on the right-hand side.
Slide #30: Evaluate Potential Journals
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Consider these questions as you evaluate journals to find a good match for your work:
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Is your paper the type published by the journal (research paper, data report, or
review)?
Does it fit the journal’s mission?
Is it likely to interest the journal’s primary audience?
Does its quality or innovation match the status of the journal?
Slide #31: Practical Considerations
And, of course, you have to consider practical questions too.
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What is the typical turnaround time for articles at the journal?
Are there costs associated with publishing in the journal and does my university
underwrite such costs?
What is the journal’s impact factor?
Slide #32: Measure a Journal’s Impact
Finally, you should be aware of the status or prestige of the journals you are considering
submitting to. How is the journal’s impact factor important to your career goals?
Especially in the social sciences and STEM fields, prestige is associated with the
journal’s impact. A journal’s “Impact Factor” (IF) reflects the number of citations of that
journal in other publications. Estimates of impact are published each June in the Journal
Citation Report by Thomas Reuters Corporation.
Slide #33: Be Aware of the h index
The h index is named for its developer, Jorge Hirsch. Whereas, the impact being
measured by the IF shines a spotlight on the interest of readers in that journal, the h
index, by contrast, shines a spotlight on the interest of readers in a particular author’s
work. It’s simply another way to represent the impact of work.
Slide #34: Revise to Increase Your Chance for Peer Review
Now, how can you increase the chances of your manuscript making it through the first
gate and being sent out for peer review? Revise carefully before submitting it.
Slide #35: A Concept Map for Journal Article Development
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Let’s look at the concept map again. As you think about how to revise to increase your
chance of making it to peer review, consider how the information represented mostly on
the left side of this map will work with the information represented mostly on the right
side of this map. A way to make this process more concrete is to analyze several recent
issues of a journal you are considering.
Slide #36: Analyze Recent Issues of the Journal
Though it takes time to look closely at several issues of a journal and think critically
about how your article compares to recently published work there, this task can greatly
improve your chances of submitting to a truly appropriate journal.
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Check the fit between recently published articles and your work’s subject, scope,
and methodology
Find out who is on the journal’s editorial board and identify how the backgrounds
and perspectives of editorial board members relate your approach to your topic
Slide #37: Follow the Journal’s “Instructions to Authors”
Don’t neglect what may seem like minor details. Ensure that you are able to answer these
questions:
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Does your article meet requirements for length, number of figures, and style of
presentation?
Are your citations and references accurate?
Do you include DOIs (or Digital Object Identifiers) for digital publications? For
more information on DOIs, visit http://www.crossref.org
Slide #38: Craft an Effective Cover Letter
And, it pays to take the time to craft an effective cover letter:
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Aim for 1 to 1-1/2 pages (roughly three to five paragraphs).
Provide the title of your paper and the names and addresses of all authors.
Highlight the aspects of your work most relevant to that journal.
To make your submission stand out:
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Include a brief summary of the argument, highlighting its significance
Consider including contextual information about the origins of your paper.
Consider offering some theoretical background for the argument.
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
Slide #39: Address Peer Review
Be aware that different journals handle peer review a little differently.
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Some journals invite authors to suggest potential peer reviewers to contact or to
avoid.
Offer such information only if you feel confident in its accuracy.
Slide #40: Webinar Tasks: Suggested Next Steps
Of course, you have to tailor your next steps to where you are in the process of
developing your own draft. But, those of you who now have a solid draft and are ready to
finalize it for submission should consider taking these steps.
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Review papers that may serve as models
Identify journals likely to be good fits
Assess if you need to do further research
Get feedback on your presentation of ideas
Slide #41: An Academic Writing Coach Can Help You
For me, one of the most satisfying things about coaching is the individualized nature of
the work. I, and other ACW coaches, tailor each session to our author’s specific needs
and goals. Here’s an example, for instance, of an exercise several of my clients have
found beneficial. I ask them to share with me an article they admire from a journal they
are considering. Together, we analyze how that model article is written and how they can
adapt the way they present their argument so that it clearly fits the expectations of that
journal. Working with a coach can also help you:
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Think through tough questions about shaping your argument
Develop and polish your writing
Craft an effective cover letter
Prepare for and respond to peer review suggestions
Slide #42: Request a Free 30-Minute Consultation
If you think coaching may be right for you but have questions, you are welcome to
request a free consultation to discuss your writing goals and how coaching sessions can
be designed to help you achieve them
Slide #43: Find Out About Other ACW Webinars
Writing A Journal Article: How to Move from Evidence to Argument
The information in this webinar about journal article writing is just one aspect of the
many ways ACW supports diverse academics in achieving their career goals. Explore our
other free ACW webinars and blog series on topics ranging from writing book proposals
and dissertation literature reviews, to developing an academic brand, or overcoming “The
Imposter Syndrome,” among other topics.
Slide #44: Resources
To read more about how to develop a successful article, I recommend these three books,
which informed some of the suggestions in this presentation.
Slide #45: Questions
Slide #46: Thank You!