Demystifying Academic Writing: Reflections on Emotions, Know-How and Academic Identity

Cameron, Jenny; Nairn, Karen; Higgins, Jane

doi:10.1080/03098260902734943

Cited by 103 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The transition into an academic role has been identified as challenging even for experienced scholars, with individuals doubting their credibility and competence (Boyd and Harris, 2010). This experience has been echoed by writers who fear being exposed as 'frauds', with feelings of perfectionism and shame towards their writing (Grant and Knowles, 2000) many academics and research students experience writing-related struggles (Caffarella and Barnett, 2000;Cameron et al, 2009) with reported concerns of having their inadequacies exposed in their published writing. These anxieties are often compounded in applied disciplines where individuals are accomplished exponents of their craft but often less confident about their academic scholarship.…”

Section: Background/literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased confidence is a commonly cited outcome of writing interventions as they encourage feelings of greater capability and growing identity as a writer. Cameron et al (2009), Grant (2006 and Moore (2003) all refer to growth in participants' self-belief as writers. Writing therefore, may become less daunting and the mystery surrounding writing for publication diminished, via a collaborative, 'enclosed' facilitative event (Aitchison and Lee, 2006).…”

Section: Background/literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The essential sociality of writing is a fundamental concept inherent within groups (Grant and Knowles, 2000;Moore, 2003). Writing workshops or retreats are generally conceived as a collaborative venture in order to mitigate some of the challenges faced by novice academic writers (Cameron et al, 2009). Increased confidence is a commonly cited outcome of writing interventions as they encourage feelings of greater capability and growing identity as a writer.…”

Section: Background/literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Developing a culture of publication: a joint enterprise writing retreat

Garside

Bailey

Tyas

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

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Purpose: Many students irrespective of level of study produce excellent course work which, if given support and encouragement could clearly be of a publishable standard. Academic staff are expected to produce quality publications meeting peer review standards although they may be relatively novice authors. All are engaged in some aspects of academic writing practices but not as frequently involved in co-production of publications emanating from student work. This activity is still at the margins of much of the student experience. Design/methodology: Mindful of these issues, we designed and offered a writing programme including a writing retreat. This brought together undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of applied disciplines (health and art, design and architecture) and their supervisors with the aim of co-producing publications and participating in a community of scholarly practice. The project was delivered over nine months. It involved four days 'compulsory' attendance and included a preparatory workshop, a two day off campus writing retreat and a dissemination event. Student and supervisors applied to participate as a team. Kirkpatrick's (2006) four-stage classic model: reaction, learning, changes in behaviour and real world results was used as a framework for the educational evaluation. Key findings organised thematically were: Supervisor-supervisee relationships; space and time; building confidence enabling successful writing and publication. Originality/Value: This paper will provide an overview of the design, content and approaches used for successful delivery of this innovative project. It will draw on examples that illustrate the different types of joint enterprise that emerged, illuminate experiences of co-production and co-authorship along with recommendations for future ventures.

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Section: Background/literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background/literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background/literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing a culture of publication: a joint enterprise writing retreat

Garside

Bailey

Tyas

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

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show abstract

“…Simply discovering that all candidates experience difficulties and self-doubt during candidature seems to have alleviated some of our anxiety; as Cameron, Nairn and Higgins (2009) and Wellington (2010) remind us, these are common but often unspoken emotional concerns for many PhD students. The understanding that 'others in the same situation are struggling with the same problems as I do' can also be crucial for developing confidence as an early career academic.…”

Section: Struggling With Self-doubtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity in collaborative research communities: a multicultural, multidisciplinary thesis writing group in public health

Guerin

Xafis

Doda

et al. 2013

Studies in Continuing Education

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Writing groups for doctoral students are generally agreed to provide valuable learning spaces for PhD candidates. Here an academic developer and the seven members of a writing group formed in a Discipline of Public Health provide an account of their experiences of collaborating in a multicultural, multidisciplinary thesis writing group. We consider the benefits of belonging to such a group for PhD students who are operating in a research climate in which disciplinary boundaries are blurring and where an increasing number of doctoral projects are interdisciplinary in nature; in which both academic staff and students come from enormously diverse cultural and language backgrounds; and in which teamwork, networking and collaboration are prized but not always proactively facilitated. We argue that doctoral writing groups comprising students from diverse cultural and disciplinary backgrounds can be of significant value for postgraduates who wish to collaborate on their own academic development to improve their research writing and communication skills; at the same time, such collaborative work effectively builds an inclusive, dynamic research community.

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“…Bosanquet and Cahir [67] show how this is particularly relevant to doctoral students who are developing their identities as writers and scholars. Emotions surface because of the "intensely personal relationship with the self during the writing process" [68] (p. 272). Feelings of self-doubt, anxiety and dread are often experienced by doctoral students.…”

Section: Emotional Tensionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic Publishing: Making the Implicit Explicit

Badenhorst

2016

Publications

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For doctoral students, publishing in peer-reviewed journals is a task many face with anxiety and trepidation. The world of publishing, from choosing a journal, negotiating with editors and navigating reviewers' responses is a bewildering place. Looking in from the outside, it seems that successful and productive academic writers have knowledge that is inaccessible to novice scholars. While there is a growing literature on writing for scholarly publication, many of these publications promote writing and publishing as a straightforward activity that anyone can achieve if they follow the rules. We argue that the specific and situated contexts in which academic writers negotiate publishing practices is more complicated and messy. In this paper, we attempt to make explicit our publishing processes to highlight the complex nature of publishing. We use autoethnographic narratives to provide discussion points and insights into the challenges of publishing peer reviewed articles. One narrative is by a doctoral student at the beginning of her publishing career, who expresses her desires, concerns and anxieties about writing for publication. The other narrative focuses on the publishing practices of a more experienced academic writer. Both are international scholars working in the Canadian context. The purpose of this paper is to explore academic publishing through the juxtaposition of these two narratives to make explicit some of the more implicit processes. Four themes emerge from these narratives. To publish successfully, academic writers need: (1) to be discourse analysts; (2) to have a critical competence; (3) to have writing fluency; and (4) to be emotionally intelligent.

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Demystifying Academic Writing: Reflections on Emotions, Know-How and Academic Identity

Cited by 103 publications

References 15 publications

Developing a culture of publication: a joint enterprise writing retreat

Developing a culture of publication: a joint enterprise writing retreat

Diversity in collaborative research communities: a multicultural, multidisciplinary thesis writing group in public health

Academic Publishing: Making the Implicit Explicit

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