Presentation on behalf of the JALT Writers' Peer Support Group

1. Academic Writing:
Cultivating Success in the
Publishing Process
Paul Beaufait & David Ockert
JALT Writers' Peer Support Group
@ Tokyo Keizai University, 2015.12.05
https://goo.gl/rdB89d

2. Except as noted otherwise, this work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Please attribute to Paul Beaufait, David Ockert, and the Writers' Peer Support Group.

3. Today's
presenters

4. Paul Beaufait
Associate Professor
Prefectural University of
Kumamoto
Art, French, TESL & CALL
Teacher & learner development
Tech.-based distributed learning
Education for a Digital World
Education for a Digital World 2.0
ICT Coordinator for the PSG

5. David Ockert
Lecturer
Toyo University, Tokyo
Writing, academic writing, &
research
Effects of classroom technology on:
motivation, motives,
confidence, anxiety, willingness to
communicate, communicative
language & task-based language
teaching

6. Schedule for today
13:00 Registration
13:15 Part 1: Introduction to
The Writers' Peer Support
Group (PSG)
13:45 Questions & answers
14:00 Intermission
14:15 Part 2: Preparation of
submissions and strategies
for beyond
15:00 Discussion
15:15 Part 3: Workshop
16:00 End

7. Part 1:
Introduction to
the JALT Writers'
Peer Support
Group

8. In this part:
● What the PSG is,
● Who it helps & how,
● How to submit papers, &
● How to become a peer-reader.

9. What the PSG is

10. What the PSG is (1)
JALT Publications affiliated,
geographically distributed,
professionally engaged
teachers and writers
keen to help others

11. What the PSG is (2)
● An independent partner of JALT Publications:
○ http://jalt-publications.org/psg

12. What the PSG is (3)
● A nation-wide team:
○ Volunteer coordinators & peer-readers–
■ Meet the PSGers (https://goo.gl/DY1tqZ),
○ From various chapters & SIGs from B to V–
■ PSG data collection (https://goo.gl/lw25ZV):
...

13. ● Teachers and writers,
themselves, "who
understand the ... [trials
and tribulations] of
publishing."
(Edwards & Lucovich, 2015)
What the PSG is (4)

14. Who the PSG helps

15. Who the PSG helps
● "Writers of all skill levels & with a variety of publishing
experience, from none to very well-represented:
○ The majority of writers are new to publishing;
○ The majority of papers are still 'diamonds-in-the-
rough.'"
(Edwards & Lucovich, 2015 [emphasis added])

16. What the PSG does

17. The PSG Mission...
● "... [is to] collaboratively assist writers to develop their
manuscripts to a (hopefully) publishable level."
(Writers' Peer Support Group, ¶1, http://jalt-publications.org/psg)

18. What we do (1)
● Offer 2nd & 3rd person readership (sometimes more)
○ "... [to] help you organize your writing…. [We also]
provide feedback on areas that can use more
development, more research or possibly less
information."
(Writers' Peer Support Group, What We Do–
Reading for Content, Clarity and Organization, ¶1,
http://jalt-publications.org/psg)

19. What we do (2)
● Read with a sympathetic eye;
● Help writers develop clear foci and theses;
● Give suggestions as to overall organization;
● Provide feedback on areas that can use more research,
development or clarity;
● Point out areas that may be over-developed; &
● Encourage [perseverance]!
(Edwards & Lucovich, 2015)

20. What we don't do:
● Undertake blind reviews,
● Accept or reject papers for publication, or
● Proofread for general grammar and writing errors.
(Edwards & Lucovich, 2015)

21. Collaborative practices
15 years ago the PSG began implementing ...
" ... collaborative practices ... similar to, yet less structured
than schemes for 'cooperative development' advocated by
Edge (1992 & 2002), and yet more structured than 'co-
mentoring' in reflective writing praxis à la Bolton (2005, p.
71)."
(Beaufait, 2015, p. 46)

22. How it works

23. Workflow overview (Beaufait et al., 2014)

24. How to submit a
paper
● JALT Publications:
○ Writers' PSG–
■ Submitting a
paper for review
http://jalt-publications.org/psg

25. What happens next?

26. …
I’ve done a first reading, and have
begun to have a feel for where you
want to take readers of your paper. I’d
like to wait till tomorrow before having
another go at it. In the meantime,
perhaps you could enhance my
recollection of your main concerns or
questions about the paper.
Points of departure
One, as I recall, was what you might be
able [to] trim. Another may have been
its appeal to or appropriacy for (a)
particular audience(s). Anything to
provide a bit of [extra] traction when I
hit to ground tomorrow?
(PB, pers. correspondence, Nov. 11, 2015)

27. Repartée (1)

28. Repartée (2)

29. Repartée (3)

30. Repartée (4)

31. Repartée (5)

32. Repartée (6)

33. Repartée (7)

34. Thank you for your patience. I've had a second go
at your paper. I hope that you will find my
remarks, suggestions and follow-ups on your
replies informative if not of immediate practical
value. Though I haven't detected any large-scale
economies of words to make, it might be possible to
whittle away at some of the journal entries, or to
use just one in places where you now have two.
What you have is a context-rich, detailed,
analytical and reflective, first-person account of
your learning in Thailand. I think you should
Peer-reader's penultimate remarks
keep it much as it is. As we discussed last Fri.,
radical reductions likely would detract from that,
and might cause friction with editors (and
previous reviewers).
With regard to our exchanges about your paper,
I'd like to ask not only for your feedback on my
feedback, but also for permission to extract gems
for possible use in presentations or publications
about peer-readership. Thank you in advance for
your consideration.
(personal correspondence, Nov. 12, 2015)

35. …
We went through most of this verbally
yesterday, but my original intention was to
write a short paper (about 10 pages)
describing briefly how I had studied Thai
and summarizing some of the conclusions I
had drawn. I was intending to follow that
up with a longer paper (perhaps something
like the current one, but probably with even
more detail) where interested readers could
find out more.
Writer's recap. (1)
The comment from the official referee that
the paper was easy to read initially made
me think that my original plan was a sound
one and that I should try to implement it by
shortening the current paper drastically.
However, a discussion with you, as well as a
later email of yours, convinced me that
things have moved on and that the current
paper is what it is, already reviewed and
close to being ready for publication, and
that it would not be appropriate to
introduce drastic changes.

36. As a gakubu kiyou [faculty working
papers] paper, I anticipate that it will be
noticed initially by immediate colleagues. A
few of them will probably be interested in
the detailed contents, and for most it will
have served its purpose if they notice that I
am active in research. I'm hoping that some
students will be interested in the content,
and I'd like to make reasonable efforts to
make it readable by them (and would have
liked to make it shorter for the same reason,
although that bridge has sailed).
Writer's recap. (2)
...
Your comments and suggested edits have
already been very valuable. If you were
planning to do any more, some ideas on
aspects to expand in possible future papers
on the same and related themes would be
welcome.
(personal correspondence, Nov 13, 2015)

37. A couple of other ideas have dawned on me
since yesterday. One was recalling work Tim
Murphey had been doing with language
learner histories ten or more years ago, e.g.:
https://www.academia.
edu/1540564/Knowing_our_students_through_language
_learning_histories
You might be able to find other (and more
recent) work like that to underpin or
validate your history section [as] an
awareness-raising and motivational
strategy, as well as as a lens for viewing the
rest of your paper.
Peer-reader's follow-up remarks
The second thought relates to that sort of
focused development of your learning
history. If you were to spin that history
section off into a separate paper, it could: a)
explore critical incident analyses, and b)
provide a relatively accessible model (and
length target) for advanced student writers.
… [T]he two [papers] in turn might serve as
parts of a foundation for exploring
relatively uncharted waters of middle-aged
(and later) language learning.
(personal correspondence, Nov. 13, 2015)

38. Wanted: Peer-readers!

39. Resumé building opportunity
If you would like to join the PSG team as a peer-reader, we want you!
● No experience necessary–on the job training!
● Leading to bigger and better (volunteer) opportunities
○ within the larger JALT community!
Contact a coordinator in person or via the JALT Publications contact page:
● http://jalt-publications.org/contact
(Edwards & Lucovich, 2015)

40. A beginners' guide
For a basic, step-by-step approach to peer-readership,
please see:
● Edwards, Beaufait, & Muller (2013)
○ Providing constructive feedback
■ Slides 22-25
https://goo.gl/f9B5ep

41. How to become a
Peer-Reader
● Contact the PSG today!
http://jalt-publications.org/contact

42. Q&A

43. Part 2:
Preparation of
submissions and
strategies for
beyond

44. Producing a manuscript for
publication in a peer-reviewed journal
(Ockert, 2015)

45. Part 3: Workshop

46. Sharing, reflections &
suggestions

47. Focusing on participants' ...
● Areas of interest;
● Research activities;
● Current publication:
○ Plans,
○ Projects, or
○ Prospects;
● Ready-made:
○ Proposals,
○ Work in progress, or
○ Finished pieces; &
● Related professional
concerns.

48. References &
resources

49. ● Beaufait, P., Edwards, L.
Hutchinson, B. Lucovich, D., &
Moore, C. (2014). "Navigating the
initial stages of academic
publishing." Miyazaki Municipal
University, Miyazaki, JP. 10 May
2014. Poster presentation. http:
//goo.gl/7DnmUJ
● Beaufait, P. (2015). The JALT
Writers' Peer Support Group: A
celebration of collaboration–15
years on. The Language Teacher,
39(3), 45-47. http://goo.gl/1dGgdx
References: Part 1 (1)

50. ● Edards, L. & Lucovich, D. (2015).
"Peer Support Group Entrées for
Academic Writing." Granship
Convention & Art Center,
Shizuoka, JP. 22 November 2015.
https://goo.gl/DrkUf9
● Edwards, L., Beaufait, P., &
Muller, T. (2013). "Academic
publishing for professional
development." Kobe Convention
Center, Kobe, JP. 23 October
2013. https://goo.gl/f9B5ep
References: Part 1 (2)

51. ● Ockert, D. (2015). "Preparing a
manuscript for publication in a
peer-reviewed journal." Tokyo
Keizai University, Tokyo, JP. 5
Dec. 2015. https://goo.gl/Xg5jZs
References: Part 2

52. Resources: Collective PSG endeavours (1)
Books & more for writers
https://goo.gl/oLGNzk
Venues for publication
https://goo.gl/iJWSgH

53. Resources: Collective PSG endeavours (2)
The Writers’ Workshop
Column
The Language Teacher (TLT)
http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/archive
● Intro. to the column & the PSG
○ TLT 39(3): May/June 2015
● Making a working outline
○ TLT 39(4): July/Aug. 2015
● Developing thesis statements
○ TLT 39(5): Sep./Oct. 2015
● Writing an abstract
○ TLT 39(6): Nov./Dec. 2015
● ...

54. Diigo: JALT Writers'
Peer Support Group
Annotated social (public)
bookmark collection &
discussion venue
https://goo.gl/Tr2kfF

55. Extras

56. Other professional
collaboration & networking
tools & venues

57. Academia.edu
Peer-to-peer feedback
sessions on published or
unpublished papers or
presentations
https://www.academia.edu/s
"Academia.edu is a platform for
academics to share research
papers. The company's mission
is to accelerate the world's
research" (About, ¶1, 2015.11.17).

58. A LinkedIn group
Successful Academic and Scientific Publications in Scholarly Journals
https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=8238430
"An online forum for ... those involved in the many aspects of journal
publication. Members are encouraged to share their knowledge, experience,
advice, questions and links ..." (Group Profile, 2015.04.08).
Example: Transforming a Doctoral Thesis into Publishable Articles I:
Expectations and a Clear Focus (Tetzner, 2015, https://goo.gl/Kyu1mo)

59. Mendeley
"A free reference manager and academic social network
for organizing, writing, collaborating and promoting your
research" (Mendeley homepage, [n.d.]).
https://www.mendeley.com/

60. Abstract

61. Abstract (0)
In this three-part presentation, JALT Writers' Peer Support Group (PSG) members will describe the PSG
and its workings with aspiring academic writers. Then they will outline strategies for subsequent stages
of writing and getting published including submission processes, communicating with editors, and
revising. Paul Beaufait will explain what the PSG is and does. He will cover how the PSG can help writers,
and how to become a peer reader for the PSG. Next, David Ockert will do his best to explain how to
produce a manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The strategies for the various stages of
getting published - including the submission process, communicating with editors, and revising - will be
presented and discussion is welcomed. He will provide advice on academic writing, including: targeting
manuscripts for specific journals, formatting manuscripts for submission, communicating with editors,
handling reviewers' comments, and up to making decisions during the final review at the layout stage.
Real-life examples will be made available as necessary, and audience members are invited to ask
questions for clarification throughout the presentation. For the third part of the session, we be holding a
mini-workshop, to which participants are invited to bring examples of their own work, work in
progress, or proposals to share and examine with the presenters and other participants.

62. Abstract (1)
In this three-part presentation, JALT Writers' Peer Support Group (PSG)
members will describe the PSG and its workings with aspiring academic writers.
Then they will outline strategies for subsequent stages of writing and getting
published including submission processes, communicating with editors, and
revising.
First, Paul Beaufait will explain what the PSG is and does. He will cover how the
PSG can help writers, and how to become a peer reader for the PSG.

63. Abstract (2)
Next, David Ockert will do his best to explain how to produce a manuscript for
submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The strategies for the various stages of
getting published - including the submission process, communicating with
editors, and revising - will be presented and discussion is welcomed.
He will provide advice on academic writing, including: targeting manuscripts for
specific journals, formatting manuscripts for submission, communicating with
editors, handling reviewers' comments, and up to making decisions during the
final review at the layout stage.

64. Abstract (3)
Real-life examples will be made available as necessary, and audience members
are invited to ask questions for clarification throughout the presentation.
For the third part of the session, we'll be holding a mini-workshop, to which
participants are invited to bring examples of their own work, work in progress,
or proposals to share and examine with the presenters and other participants.

65. Academic Writing:
Cultivating Success in the
Publishing Process
Paul Beaufait & David Ockert
JALT Writers' Peer Support Group
@ Tokyo Keizai University, 2015.12.05
https://goo.gl/rdB89d