Writing for Academic Publication Course

ICL 7953/8953
Spring Semester 2012
Mondays, 5:30 until 8:30
Dr. Mark Conley
mwconley@memphis.edu

This course is about learning the discourses necessary to succeed professionally with academic writing. Writing is the key means for communicating within and among research communities; it is a lens and a tool for understanding; it is the pathway by which we contribute to the profession and evaluate our work; it is the means by which we ourselves are evaluated. Within this course, we will discuss strategies for entering and finding a place within a research community. Ongoing review of academic writing and engagement in academic writing and are central features of the course As such, the course helps students:
· understand the purposes of educational research, including the benefits and how education is improved through academic writing
· visualize patterns in writing within various genres and journals within educational research · engage in purposeful and successful writing for publication

The course begins with a broad overview of academic writing and research. Within this broad view is the immediate issue of concern for many exiting students, how to position themselves within research communities through vita and cover letter writing.
The course next shifts to understanding writing across the continuum of qualitative, descriptive and quantitative research and how to accept and provide critiques of writing. This involves writing book reviews, commentaries and reviews of studies. Important here is the notion that researchers function in a community and succeeding as a professional requires understanding how to participate constructively in critiques.
The course then moves from critiquing to promoting students’ own agendas through academic writing. This includes writing practioner/practice articles, conference, grant and book proposals and creating lines of research. Finally, the course includes teaching and service-oriented writing, such as course syllabi and programmatic kinds of writing.