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Open access to "Creating a Support Structure for Academic Writing and Publication Support"

Improving Scholarly Writing of Graduate Students and Faculty

By IGI Global on May 18, 2015
Improving Scholarly Writing Of Graduate Students And FacultyContributed by Tonette S. Rocco, Director, and Lori Ann Gionti, Assistant Director, Office of Academic Writing and Publication Support

Writing is considered a threshold skill used in recruitment and selection for hiring and promotion according to members of the Business Roundtable who participated in a survey sponsored by the College Board (2004). A blog hosted by the web page, BestCollegesOnLine.com, boldly claims there is a writing crisis in America, citing studies which illustrate difficulties with the K-12 system, and asserts 26% of college students and 28% of employees who graduated from college produce writing that is deficient.

Writing Centers exist on every college campus to address deficiencies in the academic writing skills of undergraduates. These centers serve a need that is increasing and becoming more complex for several reasons such as entering first year students lacking basic writing and problem solving skills, second language learners struggling with the English language, and teachers who believe writing instruction is not everyone’s responsibility but only the purview of specialists in the English Department. Some of these writing centers are expanding to serve graduate students. Unfortunately from what we’ve seen they use the same techniques with graduate students that they used with undergraduate students. For some graduate students in some programs, this strategy is not adequate.

We believe graduate students should be thinking about publications, research, theses, and dissertations. Graduate students become employees who need to write well and some become academics who are required to publish. As an editor of journals and books, and an experienced reviewer, I (Tonette) know that not all academics are good writers. It is rare to receive an article or chapter that is acceptable in its first draft. There is a need to assist graduate students and faculty with improving their writing and to provide information on the publishing process. Faculty need to publish, but new faculty often have little experience navigating the writing for publication process, setting a writing agenda, and carrying out all of the duties of being a faculty member. Universities lose money when they hire a faculty member who does not earn tenure because of a lack of publications, publishes too much in less respected journals, or produces scholarship that is not respected. We believe the writing process is complex and should be broken down into component parts. Therefore we break down the parts of a manuscript, the publishing process, and the relationship of writing, publishing, and productivity to the tenure and promotion process.

“Creating a Support Structure for Academic Writing and Publication Support: The Rationale and Lessons Learned” which appears in IGI Global’s Handbook of Research on Scholarly Publishing and Research Methods, explores the rationale, services, and processes that guide The Office of Academic Writing and Publication Support located in the College of Education at Florida International University. Valuable insights and “lessons learned” convey the importance and value of academic writing and publishing, thus enhancing the reader’s insights into this complex, yet rewarding, process.

"Creating a Support Structure for Academic Writing and Publication Support: The Rationale and Lessons Learned" is being featured for open access through the month of June. Access the chapter here.

References

The National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges (2004). Writing: A ticket to work…or a ticket out. A survey of business leaders. Berkeley, CA: College Entrance Examination Board Retrieved from www.collegeboard.org/.

Staff Writers (Sunday November 4, 2012) 12 Troubling Signs There’s a Writing Crisis in America. Retrieved from BestCollegesOnline.com


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Some of IGI Global’s other publications discussing writing and publishing in higher education include the following:


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