upgrading assignments for publication

Upgrading articles for publication | Eddy White | September 13th, 2002

Hello Raymond,

I had planned to get back to you earlier regarding your question, but its been a hectic week. In any case, you were wondering about a module which has something about rewriting/upgrading an assignment for publication, and Colin was indeed right that this is included in the new SLA module in Unit 4, "Discourse Perspectives." You may wonder what this has to do with second language acquistion (I did), and as far as I remember it especially focused on the acquisition of new genres as a form of advanced SLA. There are two possible assignment topics, and alternative 2 is "Writing for Publication."

"To complete this assignment you need to have written a text- normally a previous assignment- which you would like to adapt and submit to a TESOL journal for publication. ... Your submission portfolio consisting of your original text, your final text as submitted to a journal of your choice, and your analytical commentary on the changes you made to your text."

I completed this alternative in February after deciding to take a shot at getting a MET paper on error correction, which got an A- mark, into publishable shape. Sue Wright then sent me a set of materials to analyze and revise the text and she was very helpful throughout the whole process. In fact, if I remember correctly, I was the first person to chose this option. I revised the original paper and submitted it with my journal (which may be handwritten) explaining what changes I made or not and why. I enjoyed the whole process and learned a lot from it and was pleased with another A- grade. However, the revised paper I submitted to the JALT Journal for publication didn't fare so well, and the reviewer proceeded to dismantle my arguments and point out the gaping holes is my research, and deservedly so. The reviewer suggested a resubmission with major revisions, but at that point I had begun my dissertation and had other fish to fry. I must admit wondering, after reading the quite negative critique of my paper, how it originally received an A- in the first place, but the answer lies in S.Wharton's unit of the SLA module and the differences in writing an assignment and writing for publication. Yet as mentioned, I'm glad I went through the whole business, and its sure to help in my next shot at publication. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the option to anyone on the course and the whole SLA module in general. As for the course overall, like Andy, I also hope to finish it by the end of the year which would make it just under 3 years. Mind you, I did opt for doing all three exams for the linguistic modules.

Eddy

Re: Upgrading assignments | Raymond Sheehan | September 14, 2005

Hi, Eddy:

Thank you (et al!) for a very useful reply to one of my three questions! Apart from telling me where to follow up on the information I'm looking for, you raised some very interesting issues when you described the process you went through. In fact, there might be a very interesting research question here: how do CPs make the transition from becoming successful CPs to successful writers for a different kind of academic audience? What changes did they consciously make? Did they, in fact, rework an old assignment...or go straight for something new?

Sadly, I'm not going to be able to do the SLA module as I've already completed my single module. So, does the LSU have equivalent materials for rewriting available to non-SLA candidates, upon request?

Re/JALT's feedback: was it really so negative...or was it constructive criticism? The fact that they invited resubmission after revision would suggest that you had indeed found a worthy research area, and I suppose the process of having one' arguments 'dismantled' to be reconstructed in a rewrite might be a very common (and helpful) process in the academic publishing world! It's also great to learn that an organisation such as JALT is willing to take the time to read intensively and offer detailed feedback, rather than just send a standard rejection slip. Has anybody else on the list something to share about dealing with publications, along these lines?

Thanks again, Eddy.

Raymond
UAE

Developing assignments | Sue Wharton | September 16th, 2002

Hello all,

I've been interested to see a couple of comments about this on the list. I'm the tutor responsible for unit 4 of the SLA unit, and the writer of the materials which are sent out as to guide the assignment-to-article task.

I am more than willing to make these available to anyone who wants to develop an assignment or another text (e.g., a conference presentation?) for publication, whether or not they are doing the SLA module. What I'll ask in return is that you are wiling to keep in touch with me on them, and give me some feedback.

Writing articles is, of course, a time consuming business and not necessarily the best thing to do when one is up to ones eyes with a job and MSc work. But if and when people feel that it IS the right time for them to direct their energies this way, please do get in touch and I will send materials along.

Best wishes to all,

Sue

 

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