You are invited to a special three-part virtual workshop courtesy of VSPA:
Lecture #2: Thursday, March 20 – 6 – 8 PM PST
This three-part lecture series presents specific approaches to help the writer recognize and work with linguistic and organizational cues not readily apparent to the untrained eye. It explains the importance of absolute clarity and Aristotelian argumentation in English academic writing, and discusses the grammatical and stylistic tricks of the trade necessary to achieve publication goals.
Because academic English is a 100% writer-responsible language, the five strategies involve learning to think differently about writing. These strategies are editing for strength, editing for clarity, arguing according to Anglo-American norms, conducting two types of journal analysis, and conducting a meticulous revision of the manuscript.
Writing in English is different from writing in any other language. This critical difference not only places extra demands on scholars whose first language is not English but also makes it harder for these scholars to compete with native speakers of English for limited space in the top professional journals in their fields. These lectures reveal the unwritten rules of English academic rhetoric and discuss them within the context of the unconscious expectations of both readers and writers within the English linguistic community.
LECTURE 1 – Tuesday, March 18 – 6 – 8 PM PST
For researchers/students in all disciplines—STEM, the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
This lecture concentrates on the following:
Brief introduction of the linguistic theory of contrastive rhetoric, and how to edit your own writing for strength—and to keep within the journal’s word limits. Participants will learn what kinds of words to use, what kinds to eliminate, and what stylistic structures work or do not work in English.
LECTURE 2 – Thursday, March 20 – 6 – 8 PM PST
(Primarily for visiting scholars and postdocs in the social sciences and the humanities): This lecture concentrates on two topics. The first is editing for clarity, with a focus on using specific grammatical structures correctly and on choosing the right voice for the paper. The second is organizing and arguing according to Anglo-American norms. Topics include the essential concept of “framing” everything (from paragraphs to the entire paper) and the writing and placement of the critical purpose statement.
LECTURE 3 – Tuesday, March 25- 6 – 8 PM PST
(Primarily for visiting scholars and postdocs in the social sciences and the humanities): This lecture concentrates on the concept and specifics of two forms of journal analysis. The elimination analysis helps scholars choose the best journal not only for content and focus but also for their level of English writing competence. The submission analysis helps scholars maximize their publication chances by learning to organize and write their papers in the style of the chosen journal. This second phase consists of performing both an organizational and a linguistic analysis of the language and structure of articles within that journal. This lecture covers the questions that all academic writers need to ask and the patterns for which they must search during both phases of the analysis. It also covers abstract analysis and the writing of abstracts, as well as offering a checklist for revision.
This opportunity is open to current UC Berkeley Postdocs, Grad Students, Visiting Scholars and Visiting Student Researchers with approved appointments. The workshop Zoom link will be sent to you once your eligibility has been verified.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Natalie Reid, a graduate of UC Berkeley, bases all lectures on her 300-page book, Getting Published in International Journals, Revised Edition (PP Press, 2018: Albuquerque). She has been teaching English writing skills in Europe, Japan, the Pacific, and the U.S. for over 20 years. Since the early 2000s she has been teaching academic writing to, consulting with, and editing papers for European social scientists and other professionals. Many of them have had their papers published in the most prestigious journals in their fields. See www.nataliereid.com (opens in a new tab) for details and www.amazon.com (opens in a new tab) for reviews.
