Skip to contentTips on how to write a paper for an academic journal
A. Substance
- 1. Beware of the “straw man” argument
- 2. Never say, “No one has ever looked at this, so I did…”
- 3. Never say, “this is interesting”
- 4. Never talk at the level of methods in your introduction (e.g., variables, measures, factors)
- 5. Do not write papers for academics; better to write for your grandmother
- 6. Introductions are the hardest to write: inverted triangle model: funnel
- 7. Your study should be totally motivated from your introduction
- 8. Avoid using the expression, “Research has found” or “studies have shown” (if you delete this, the sentence sounds much better)
B. Style
- 1. It is a fallacy that you should leave some obvious things wrong or incomplete in the paper so as to give the reviewer/reader something to criticize
- 2. Most people accept or reject a paper in the first 5 pages and then look for evidence in a confirmatory manner
- 3. Use active voice!
- 4. Edit! Edit! Edit! (e.g., cut all phrases such as, “in order to”; cut all boilerplate sentences (e.g., “in today’s society”)
C. Chapter-writing
- 1. Seize most opportunities to write chapters (let profs know you are happy to do most of work/editing/lit review, etc.)
- 2. In general, do not write about details of studies/empirical work
- 3. Develop a framework, model and write around that model
D. Submissions
- 1. Theory or empirical?
- 2. Premier or specialized?
E. Responding to:
- 1. Out and out rejections
- 2. Discouraging revise and resubmits
- 3. Encouraging revise and resubmits
F. Action items for you to take now
- 1. Write down every idea you have in a logbook or journal
- 2. Write every paper with the intention/expectation it will be published
- 3. Ask other people to read and comment upon your work (in return, you should do the same)
- 4. When you ask someone to read/comment or they ask you, ask for the date at which it will be no longer useful for them/you
- 5. Think in terms of always having 1 paper under review at all times
- 6. Think in terms of always working on at least 1 empirical (data) paper and at least one theory/conceptual paper at all times