Our Reflections on Writing for Publication

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• Use real examples. This may seem selfevident,but we have received manuscriptsin which authors developed atheory and then made up examples ofhow that theory might play out in aclassroom. Reviewers rejected thosemanuscripts and either asked theauthor to write a theoretical essay or,more commonly, to implement thattheory in a classroom and then write anarticle using actual examples of howthe theory played out.• Include the struggles and tensions.By the time an author writes about aparticular engagement, the initialstruggles and tensions have beenworked out. Also, the author is intenton “selling” the power of that engagementand so focuses on the successfulresponses of students. Including thestruggles and tensions increases thecredibility of a manuscript and thepossibility of readers trying out thatengagement because it seems morewithin their reach and not just a“superteacher” story.Authors developed their key pointsand examples in various waysacross manuscripts, but all found aclear way to organize the article’sfocal ideas. One common mistakewas using a chronology to structurea manuscript, essentially creatingan adult version of children’s bedto-bedpersonal narratives in theform of “first we did this, then wedid that.” Foss (2002) successfullyorganized her manuscript in achronology by choosing criticalmoments along that pathwayinstead of relating each step, thusinviting readers to see how criticalliteracy unfolded in her classroom.Each section reflected a major tensionthat emerged within thebroader frame of critical literacyand privilege, allowing her toreflect on the kids’ responses to theinstructional engagements withinthat frame. She provided examplesof their responses, always connectingthem to that broader frame, andallowing readers to follow her decisionmaking as a teacher. Theexamples within a particular criticalmoment established the tension,which then allowed her to indicatehow she and the students respondedto that tension.A common way to organize keypoints is by categories that emergedfrom the data, especially if themanuscript is drawn from a study.Nickel (2001) analyzed her data todevelop categories related to thereasons why certain writing conferencesfaltered with particularchildren. Each section was labeledwith a category (e.g., When theChild Needs More Time). Withinthat section, she first defined thecategory, provided a range ofexamples, and discussed herinterpretations of those examples todevelop an understanding of thatkey point. This use of categories canalso organize findings from a casestudy of an individual child, such asLong (2004), who structured herpiece around the ways in which herdaughter responded to readingdecodable text in a new language(e.g., She Was Embarrassed), or toorganize the findings of differentcase studies around the same set ofcategories (Yau & Jimenez, 2003).Some of the other structures wepublished include organizing aroundarguments and counterarguments(Ford, 2001), moving continuouslybetween a transcript as it unfoldsand reflections on each transcriptsegment (Ballenger, 2004), and presentingindividual voices/storieswithin the same article (Donnelly,Morgan, DeFord, Files, Long, Mills,Stevens, & Styslinger, 2005; Henson& Gilles, 2003).Conclude by Connecting Readersto a Broader FrameThe weakest part of most manuscriptswas the conclusion. Often a manuscriptjust suddenly ended or theauthor provided a quick summaryrestating the main points in severalgeneral statements. We know thatwhen authors are trying to make submissiondeadlines, they sometimes runout of steam and dash off a few concludinglines before sending off amanuscript. Conclusions force authorsto step out of the actual experienceand say “So what? This was a greatexperience but, besides entertainingthe readers with an engaging story,what does this story offer to readers inWe know that when authors are trying to makesubmission deadlines, they sometimes run out ofsteam and dash off a few concluding lines beforesending off a manuscript.terms of theoretical or practicalinsights? What are the implicationsfor me and for other educators beyondthis experience?” This kind of thinkingis difficult and often requires timeaway from the draft.The conclusion is not a summary,but a reflection in which authorsremove themselves from the experienceand think about theimplications for theory and practice,both for themselves and others.Although many conclusions weretoo short and just restated the mainpoints, another common pitfall wasto discuss all of the possible implicationsof the work. Classroom-basedwork is always complex, offering539Writing for Language Arts
540Writing for Language Artsmultiple possibilities for discussion,so the key to an effectiveconclusion is being selective aboutwhich implications to discuss. Thisdecision is most effective when it’sbased on a connection to the centralfocus that was established in theintroduction. Ask yourself, too,which implications are most likely tochallenge readers and offer newinsights.Within these broader issues, thereare many possible ways to handlethe conclusion:• Reflect on the implications for yourown teaching. Nickel (2001)concludes by stating, “Here is what Ilearned that now guides my writingconferences with kids.”• Reflect on the connections tocurrent issues in the field. Long(2004) concludes her case study byindicating that her study and findingsare not new, but are worth sharingbecause they inform the current politicalcontext that is affecting manyteachers.• Reflect on the larger theoreticalframe. Many articles conclude by takingthe reader back to the larger theoreticalframe established in theintroduction and indicating how thefindings inform that frame. Jenningswith O’Keefe (2004) returns to Freireand his notion of a humanizing pedagogywhile Rowe, Fitch, and Bass(2003) return to their frame ofchildren’s literacy learning processesand the role of imagination, writing,and reflection.• Raise further questions that need tobe addressed. Inquiry often raisesmany more questions than it answers,so some articles end with reflectionson the tensions and the new questionsthat have arisen, such as whenDamico (2005) wonders about girls’perspectives on poetry in his articleabout two boys who changed theirview of poetry as “sappy.”• Reflect on changes in students andin the classroom. Some authors usedthe conclusion to reflect on what lateroccurred in students’ thinking and inthe classroom as a result of the experiencediscussed in the article. Laman(2006) and Frank, Arroyo, and Land(2004) reflect on the continuing journeysof the teacher and students asthey built on the specific literacyevents discussed in the articles.• Reflect on patterns across cases. Particularlywhen an article has involvedpresenting different voices (Novinger& Compton-Lilly, 2005) or differentcase studies (Yau & Jimenez, 2003),the conclusion involves a reflection onthe patterns and themes that cutacross the voices and case studies.Structure an Article aroundan Alternative FormatWe regularly published articles inthe journal that contradict much ofthe advice that we just provided; inthose cases, the authors had developedan alternative format toorganize their manuscript and communicatetheir ideas. We welcomedalternative formats because we feltthat a greater variety of articleswould increase reader interest in thejournal, but we also struggled withknowing how to respond to theseformats. The first lesson we learnedwas that we needed to determinewhether or not the format actuallyhad a point. In other words, did theformat fit the meaning of the pieceor was the author just trying to beunique? The other major lesson wasthat once a format has beenselected, the author had to remaintrue to the voice of that format. Forinstance, once Dressel (2004) choseto write a letter to her young granddaughterabout her wishes for herfuture experiences as a writer inschool, she had to remain true toaddressing her granddaughter andnot an academic audience.The range of formats and genres thatcould be used is endless, but theones we worked with include:• a letter to a specific audience of children,parents, etc. (Dressel, 2004;Hunter, 2006)• a photo essay (Bowden, 2005)• short stories and fables (Traw, 2002;Power, 2003)• reflective memoir (Bomer, 2005)• personal narrative (Lacznyski, 2006)• a symposium with speakers and sessions(Albers & Cowan, 2006)• poetry (Johnson, 2003)We sometimes received manuscripts rife withwordiness and copyediting problems where itwas clear that the author had not taken thetime to revisit and reshape.REVISITING AND RESHAPINGTHE MANUSCRIPTWe know from our own writing thatour first concern is figuring outwhat we have to say and finding astructure for organizing those ideas.Once we have a strong draft, ourattention turns to issues of conventionand editing before submittingthe manuscript. As editors, we sometimesreceived manuscripts rife withwordiness and copyediting problemswhere it was clear that the authorhad not taken the time to revisit andLanguage Arts, Vol. 83 No. 6, July 2006
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Our Reflections on Writing for Publication

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