Writing for Publication 1 ‘Take
Home’ Workshop Pack
Tamzin J. Batteson
The Institute for Interprofessional Education & Faculty
Development
A ‘cookbook’ Approach
The aim of this ‘take home’ workshop is to facilitate faculty, staff and
students in applying the material covered in writing for publication 1. It
has been created to provide writing exercises, techniques and strategies
to assist in the process that have been developed using a cookbook
approach. This includes breakdown of ‘ingredients” and ‘instructions’.
The Workshop Cookbook
According to Kolb (1984) Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) posits that experience
plays a central role in the learning process. ELT derives from Dewey’s model of learning
and the Lewinian learning model. Dewey’s model integrates “experience and concepts,
observations, and action” (Kolb, 1984, p.21), by which Dewey (and Kolb) meant that
experiential learning is a process that includes experience, perception, cognition and
action (Andresen, Boud & Cohen, 2001).
Understanding processes such as decision making, cognitive shortcuts and functional
fixedness is helpful when dealing with writing and the processes of one’s own mind.
Especially in stressful affect laden busy contexts we often are unaware of why we act or
decide to act in the way that we do. Methodologies such as verbal protocol analysis
(freewriting) and metacognition and by their very nature elicit reflection and reflection
enables expertise (and practise of course). Metacognition is “knowledge about the nature
of people as cognizers, about the nature of different cognitive tasks, and about possible
strategies that can be applied to the solution of different tasks” (Flavell 1999, p. 21).
Verbal Protocols allows individuals to become aware of this (Fonteyn, Kuipers & Grobe,
1993). Verbal protocol and freewriting are very similar techniques.
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Freewriting: A good way to start, think of it as ‘stretching’
your mind

There is no correct way to do this, however, there are different techniques, think
of them as your toolbox:

Begin with a blank computer or journal and a timepiece. The purpose of
freewriting is to generate words, articulate your stream of consciousness. Do not
correct what you write or agonize over the content.

Set a time for yourself, try five or ten minutes, any longer may not be productive
as this is your warm up.

Write or type about anything that comes to your mind, and do not stop until the
time is up.

Review what you have written. Are there concepts or words that you like?
Focused Free Writing

Follows the same process but is topic specific

State the topic at the top of a blank screen or piece of paper

Set a time limit and begin free writing. This time, write down things that
seemed to be related to the topic. Do not worry about order of ideas or
grammatical correctness.

When the time is up, look over what you have written and take ideas and
concepts you can use later

Practice putting freewriting into outline form. If you were to use the ideas in
a paper, what points would you make first? Second?
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Freewriting Journal Exercise 1
Ingredients
A mobile phone/watch
Pen/paper/fingers/keyboard
Your brain………………………………………….
Instructions
Write down a topic underneath this paragraph. It can be a one-word topic (metacognition) or a brief statement (meta-cognitions role in mental imagery). Set your
phone/watch for five minutes and whatever your preferred method, begin to write.
Write as quickly as you can without stopping, you cannot stop, and if you cannot think of
something to write, then write that you cannot think of anything to write, but you will
soon. Think of this as a technique to become acquainted with your inner-voice and
cognitive processes. We all work differently and it is important to recognise your own
safe environment.
Don’t stop, or worry about punctuation or the direction that your thoughts take you.
Most importantly make NO JUDGEMENTS and turn of your inner critic.
TOPIC_______________________
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Freewriting Journal Exercise 2
Ingredients
A mobile phone/watch
Pen/paper/fingers/keyboard
The Five Paragraph Outline Worksheet
Your brain………………………………………….
Instructions
Using the funnel and freewriting techniques write focused points underneath each subheading.
Introduction Paragraph - No more than two sentences
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Main point #1- No more than one sentence.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Main point #2 - No more than one sentence.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Main point #3 - No more than one sentence.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5
Body Paragraph #1
Topic sentence (Same as main point #1, limits paragraph to ONE idea and must directly
support research question)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Transition (Connects to the next paragraph in a complex manner using a connecting
sentence)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
6
Body Paragraph #2
Topic sentence (Same as main point #2, limits paragraph to ONE idea and must directly
support research question)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Transition (Connects to the next paragraph in a complex manner using a connecting
sentence)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
7
Body Paragraph #3
Topic sentence (Same as main point #3, limits paragraph to ONE idea and must directly
support research question)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Evidence (Justified from previous literature)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Transition (Connects to the next paragraph in a complex manner using a connecting
sentence)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Conclusion paragraph
Very brief review of ideas. Sum it up in no more than two sentences.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Importance of the topic during its time (Must use specific examples to illustrate the
importance)___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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NOTES
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