ANZJFT Web-users' Newsletter

May 2008

Editor: Hugh & Maureen Crago
April 2008

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ANZJFT Web-users’ Newsletter

April 2008

www.anzjft.com

Editors Hugh and Maureen Crago

 

 

 

 

Max’s Tips for Writing a Paper

 

From time to time, Maureen Crago cunningly disguises herself as an archaeologist and intrepidly enters the deeper recesses of The Shed. In the darkness and cobwebs, she patiently unearths the buried fragments of past years, which she meticulously identifies and records in situ before carefully transporting her finds to a kitchen laboratory for more evaluation.

 

On one recent expedition she discovered a barely legible tablet from part of a long forgotten workshop, given at a Sydney conference by her and Hugh Crago, Ron Perry and me.

 

I share her astonishment that such a record was ever made, let alone survived, and with advancing years have no memory of the occasion. Yet she is adamant the chisel marks could only be attributed to me, because of their unruly execution and a tendency in the margins to wearying reminiscence.

 

And she has asked me to translate and modernise the text into an approximation of Contemporary English — which alas, is no longer my first language.

 

Journal Workshop — Some Tips for Writing a Paper

 

1. Just because you think of an idea doesn’t mean everyone else has. What is now obvious to you may be news to a colleague.

 

2. Write down the central idea and keep referring back to it while reading and writing, so you keep to the point. This will also give the work a provisional title and abstract which you can change as your paper develops .

 

3. Do a literature search. Don’t cite literature for its own sake or to appear erudite or clever. ‘Dressing’ isn’t necessary. Literature should be included only if centrally relevant to the text.

 

4. Write simply and directly. Use the first person if you want, especially on the first draft.

 

5. Try to keep the paper short. Editors LOVE short papers — and new contributors!

 

6. It’s very useful to write the paper first in paragraph headings that can later be expanded, to keep focused and to work out the overall structure. This will also help you devise sub-titles for sections and sub-sections.

 

7. Use headings and sub-headings as much as possible:

 

·            to keep the main steps of your argument clear

·            to help give priority to sub-sections and sections

·            to divide work into ‘manageable mouthfuls’ or stages

·            to fill in steps that you need to come back to (and so you don’t forget parts of your argument)

 

8. Compile the references as you write, using the Journal’s style guide on the Inside Back Cover.

 

9. Keep to the conventions of whatever it is you’re trying to write—you don’t have to be ‘academic’.

 

10. Keep it simple. Don’t use ‘buzz words’ or clichés.

 

11. Get any statistics and figures/tables checked for clarity and accuracy.

 

12. Try to keep case illustrations short. Use genograms and diagrams, with brief explanatory captions.

 

13. Write in short direct sentences. If your sentences are full of complexly worded caveats or exceptions, you probably need to write one short sentence followed by another that begins ‘Some possible reservations include …’ Then list them in order.

 

14. Use a dictionary and a reliable spell check on the second draft. You may find a thesaurus helpful.

 

15. Show the draft to friends and colleagues who will give you an honest and thoughtful opinion, with practical advice about how to improve the paper. You don’t have to follow their suggestions, but they can help you clarify what you think you’re doing.

 

16. A short paper is just as good as a long one. Length should be determined by the scope of the topic. If a paper is very long, it often has too much padding or subsidiary discussion, or it would be better presented as a series of shorter papers. You may even have part chapters for a book!

 

17. Lectures and workshop presentations need rewriting to suit the medium of a journal, as you lose some of the immediacy and context of the spoken word.

 

18. It is generally more useful to write in your own words and to back your own judgment, rather than to fit your ideas artificially into someone else’s language or theoretical framework.

 

19. When you are writing, try to imagine someone you are writing to. It is not helpful for that person to be a critical professor, opinionated boss or a leader in your field, at least in the first instance. Choose someone you like, respect and trust who would be genuinely interested in you and your thoughts.

 

20. It is usually easier to overwrite and cut back than to underwrite and extend. Papers that are overly censored in the head usually never reach the page for revision and publication.

 

21. Remember that the printed word looks better than the typed word and the typed word looks better than the written word. No one will ever know about your repeated corrections and uncertainties. And everything will be adjusted at each stage of production. Your material will look TERRIFIC on Publication Day.

 

22. It is highly likely that you will choose too broad or vast a topic. Try to keep the topic very focused, specific and limited, at least until you have more experience of successful writing.

 

Sources of Advice and Help

 

1. Members of Editorial Board and Assessors in your State. Check who they are in a recent issue of the Journal.

 

2. Assessors of your paper — who follow detailed guidelines that stress the need for constructive criticism, and who don’t know the identity of a manuscript’s author.

 

Manuscripts are very rarely published first time round, though it does happen. The purpose of the assessment is not to put you down, but to help ensure you get the best outcome from all your hard work.

 

You will get copies of the assessors’ comments to use in any rewriting. Use their suggestions positively rather than slavishly, as likely reactions from some of the readers, and re-jig the paper to anticipate their concerns.

 

The Journal receives many letters from people thanking the anonymous assessors.

 

Good Luck.

 

Max Cornwell