This course is designed to help students revise a seminar paper, Master's report, professional conference paper, or dissertation chapter into a publishable article that they will submit to a peer-reviewed academic journal in Summer 2024. We will demystify the editorial process of academic journals and decode the specialized conventions of the article genre, focusing specifically on the methodological, argumentative, and stylistic moves that successful authors make. Students will develop strategies of "radical revision" to turn their polished essay, report, paper, or chapter into a finely wrought article that makes an identifiable contribution to its field/s. The course will begin with the reading and discussing of materials concerned with the process of turning essays into articles and with students identifying appropriate journals for their essays. Next, students will consult with the professor and work closely in small rotating writing groups as they revise their essays.
This course has a number of aims: to introduce you to the revision and editorial processes; to familiarize you with the journal article genre and publication venues; to make you more comfortable asking for and responding to feedback; and to help you land that valuable first publication. Our goal is for you to establish a productive writing process, learn and make discoveries, and produce the best work possible.
Grading will be based on active contributions to class discussion, timely submission of short writing exercises, and participation in peer workshops.
