Action Points

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 1) Why publish?

Write a list of five to ten benefits to you of becoming published. Benefits are things that mean something to you.

They might be personal benefits, such as: ‘I would like to see my name in a well respected journal’, or they might be professional benefits such as: ‘Writing an article about my research will expose it to others and might bring me speaking engagements or consultancy work.’ Consider the benefits to your organization, such as how getting an article published will increase your research ratings, or appease your head of department or publicize the good work you have been doing. You might choose career benefits: ‘I need to be able to list some good publications on my CV before I make my next job application’ or any other kind of relevant benefits.

These are your objectives, the end-products of becoming published, the reasons you will make the time to craft your ideas into some well chosen words. Review them now and again, and change or add to them.

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 2) Why not publish?

Note any excuses you used for not turning your ideas into publishable articles. List no more than six and, for each one, note your feelings then think of a counterargument that you really believe, a conclusion about the barriers and the counterargument, and the action you can take to break through any fears you might have.

I can talk about my ideas, but I become stuck when I try to write them down (thought). That makes me feel worried about exposing something I've written

to an audience (feeling). But the restructuring paper I wrote last year at work was very well received, and everything I argued for was accepted

(counterargument). I can express my ideas if I care about something, and think

carefullyabout my audience (conclusion). • I need to start with something I'm really interested in, that will be

of benefit to me, and consider carefully who will be reading it

(action).

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 3) A Sense of Purpose

ACTION POINTS I Write down, in two or three sentences, the purpose of your planned paper. Start with the phrase: ‘The purpose of this paper is to...’. Consider verbs such ‘show’, ‘demonstrate’, ‘present’, ‘synthesize’, ‘explore’, ‘review’, ‘discuss’ and ‘identify’. Make sure you are explicit about what you are trying to do. Then note how you are going to deliver the purpose: ‘... by illustrating with case examples ...’; ‘... by describing the results of an experiment conducted ... ‘; ‘... by reviewing the current literature on ...’ Congratulations! You have just written one of your opening paragraphs! Remember, however, to revisit your purpose statement as you develop your paper to make sure it still promises what you are delivering.

ACTION POINTS II The following exercise will make sure that no one will read your paper and say: ‘So what? Now what?’ Write a paragraph which sets out, clearly and explicitly, what a member of the general public, with no background in your field, would make of your paper. Put yourself in your reader’s place for a moment. Now write another paragraph doing the same for a researcher in your field. You have gained from others by picking up a link of a chain and using it in your research. Make a new link, so the chain can be passed on. Suggest some areas for further research. Remind readers of the limitations and scope of your work

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 4) Targeting Journals

Now it’s time to start some research. Select from your library, or by some other means, between two and four ‘target’ journals for your article. Go through the Notes for Authors and make notes. What is the scope? What is the preferred length? What’s the referencing style? Are there any peculiarities such as ‘every paper should conclude with a list of Action Points’?

Next, examine the journal’s contents. Read some articles. Read the editorials. Note the names on the advisory board and review board, if listed. Is anyone there whose work you know?

Now you have a relationship in preparation. All you have to do is deliver the goods...

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 5) WRITING A SYNOPSIS & AN ABSTRACT

Discipline yourself to restrict your synopsis to a maximum of two pages. Once you have thought through and made notes on the issues above, it will take a very short time to write 1000 words or so. The following headings will guide you:

1. Target readership. 2. Statement of aims.3. Implications. 4. Treatment. 5. Availability. 6. Author(s).

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 5)1. Target readership. (‘The paper is designed

for researchers in the field of applied mathematics who are seeking innovative approaches.’)

2. Statement of aims. (‘The paper focuses on the problem currently faced by researchers and shows how, using a new approach, some of the obstacles are removed,’)

3. Implications. (‘The paper reveals how researchers can use the new technique in the following circumstances to obtain the desired results’)

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 5)

4. Treatment. (‘The paper will be 6000 words long and cover the following sections in this order: introduction, background, evaluative review of relevant literature, method, review of method, findings, analysis, implications, conclusions, references.’

5. Availability. (‘The paper will be ready for delivery to the journal in 3 weeks.’)

6. Author(s). (‘The authors are professor and senior lecturer respectively at the University of West Chicago, whose research has been funded by the Institute of Applied Mathematics. Please see brief biographical details attached.’)

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 5)

WRITING AN ABSTRACT An abstract is a short summary of your article, which

contains all the key points it makes. Abstracts are normally printed at the head of the article they refer to, or all together on an abstracts page.

An abstract’s purpose is to tell browsers, searchers and indexers what a paper contains. It should attract a reader who seeks a particular kind of information or approach. Just as importantly, it should deter a reader who is seeking specific information which is not in your article. The function is, therefore, not to ‘sell’ your article to all and sundry, but to indicate its usefulness to the people who will benefit from reading it. It is, once again, a question of targeting your audience properly and delivering your promise. How can you digest all your discussion into, typically, less than a hundred words? Using the following technique, distilled from professional abstractors, you can do this quickly, easily and informatively, in just three sentences.

ACTION POINTS (Ch. 5)Sentence one: the purpose

The first sentence of your abstract should restate the purpose of the paper. Abstractors say that the abstract should normally start with a verb rather than ‘This paper ...’, which is redundant. Try verbs such as: discusses, argues, suggests, shows, studies, reviews, and so on.

Sentence two: the argument This sentence summarizes the main points of your

argument and the method you used. How did you show, discuss and demonstrate? Select the main points of your argument for inclusion.

Sentence three: the findings The third sentence summarizes what you have found. What

are your main conclusions? What are some of the implications you have revealed?

Infopragmatics Use the ii. ppt called day 3.

ACTION POINTS (Ch.10)