Academic Writing for International Publication - Public Webinar (Dec 6-8, 2021)

A Workshop Presented by 

The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS)

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

Sponsored by The Henry Luce Foundation

6-10 December 2021

Academics today face great pressure to publish research findings in highly regarded journals. Each year, universities in Indonesia produce many postgraduate theses and dissertations that contain the results of research projects, but only a small proportion of this material gets published in scholarly journals and books, and the impact of material that is published is low. Several reasons explain why. One is that writing a dissertation is vastly different from writing for publication; graduate students learn how to do the first but not necessarily the second. A further challenge arises from the fact that English is not the first language of Indonesian scholars. Other common weaknesses include:

  • Absence of a clearly stated research question;

  • Lack of an argument developed in response to the research question;

  • Failure to identify the central issue when writing the abstract and introduction;

  • Failure to identify a target audience;

  • Insufficient explanation of the significance of the research; 

  • Inclusion of irrelevant material;

  • Excessive detail in the supporting data; and

  • Failure to provide adequate support for the argument.

Given this situation, the need for training in academic writing is an urgent need. This workshop is a joint effort by the Social Science Research Council in New York and the American Institute for Indonesian Studies, with generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation, to provide Indonesian scholars with basic information about publishing in highly ranked English-language academic journals. The goal of the workshop is to help researchers prepare manuscripts that will clear an initial editorial screening. The presentations will:

  • Explain what editors look for when reviewing submissions;

  • Highlight the underlying dynamics or argumentation in a research article so that the presentation is clear and effective; 

  • Increase awareness of linguistic conventions that help convey ideas accurately, clearly and appropriately;

  • Discuss strategies for planning and revising a manuscript.

WORKSHOP FORMAT

The workshop includes three days of webinar presentations on academic writing that is open to the public. The starting point for this workshop is what journal editors look for in reviewing a manuscript submission. The remainder of the workshop concerns how to prepare a paper that will meet the expectations of an editor, and improve your chances of avoiding a desk rejection, in which an editor concludes that an article has no chance of success and does not send it to referees. 24 selected participants will additionally take part in small group sessions and individual discussion sessions.

Recordings of the December 2021 Workshop can be streamed here:

Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoseHoCqJPY&t=1184s

Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A9ELy12aEs&t=11s

Day 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNs9RepMsxg&t=5651s

Donate