Writing Process, The

Audience, Outlet, and Format

When beginning the writing process, it helps to organize the process by starting with a few questions such as who is the audience and what is the purpose? A term paper written for a professor has a different audience than a research article written for journal reviewers or a thesis or dissertation written for a committee. Likewise, writing for an academic audience is different than writing for a lay audience such as professional organizations or news media.

While determining the audience for a course paper is easy, often a research-based manuscript has a few potential venues. For example, a researcher looking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal usually has a handful of journals to choose from and therefore must determine which journal is the best fit. Here are a few criteria a researcher considers when determining a good journal for submitting a manuscript: (a) Has this journal published this topic before? (b) Has this journal published articles using the same methodology? (c) What are the goals of the manuscript? Is the manuscript theoretical or applied? Is it a meta-analysis or review of the literature? (d) What types of articles have been published in the most recent issues? (e) Where did the authors cited in the manuscript publish their research? (f) What is the acceptance rate and/or impact factor of this journal? (g) Is this journal considered rigorous enough to be able to count toward your institution’s research and promotion process?

[Page 1895]After considering the audience and outlet, researchers must also consider how they will write up their research. A researcher has certain guidelines to consider, and these guidelines vary depending on audience or outlet. For example, a manuscript written for a peer-reviewed journal article typically has to follow certain regulations for formats and citations. Communication research journals typically call for American Psychological Association (APA) style but journals vary on manuscript length and the outline or format of the paper. For example, some journals are stricter in calling for the use of typical manuscript sections (i.e., introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion, and conclusion), whereas other journals allow researchers more flexibility.

In addition to determining and adhering to a journal or other outlet’s requirements or style guide (e.g., APA), other elements of good writing include style, voice, verb tense and choice, transitions, and citations and attributions. The next sections explain these elements in more detail.

Style

An effective writing style contains many elements. Perhaps the most important stylistic tip is to write as simply and concisely as possible. Many novice writers think that a more formal paper (and in turn, its author) sounds more intelligent based on how overindulgent the author’s use of vocabulary may be. Instead, remember this rule: The more complex the topic, the simpler the writing needs to be. In other words, research can be complicated enough; writing style should provide clarity, not obfuscate.

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