Dear UC Berkeley Postdocs, Visiting Scholars, Visiting Student Researchers and Graduate Students,

You are invited to a special three-part workshop:

How to Get Published in International Journals: Writing Strategies for Non-native English-speaking Scholars

*PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A THREE-PART WORKSHOP. PARTICIPANTS NEED TO REGISTER SEPARATELY FOR EACH LECTURE.

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 - Monday, February 24 - 6:30-8:30 Stanley Hall RM 106

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 - Wednesday, February 26 - 6:30-8:30 Stanley Hall RM 106

(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 - Monday, March 2 - 6:30-8:30 Stanley Hall RM 106

(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.

REGISTRATION

This workshop is open to all UC Berkeley Graduate Students, Postdocs, Visiting Scholars and Visiting Student Researchers, as well as their spouses and partners. Registration is required for each individual participant.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Natalie Reid, a graduate of UC Berkeley, bases all lectures on her 300-page book, Getting Published in International Journals (NOVA, 2010: Oslo). 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 for details and www.amazon.com for reviews.

How to Get Published in International Journals - Part 1: Natalie Reid