Writing & Editing
Writing and editing your scholarly work occurs throughout the publishing process. You may start writing before looking for a publisher, or you may query a publisher first and then start writing.
There are two main ways to learn about new articles in your field: table of contents (TOC) alerts and search alerts. Most journals allow you to sign up for TOC alerts, which means you will receive an email with the TOC when a new issue is published. Typically you can sign up for these alerts whether the library subscribes to the journal or not. You can also subscribe to search alerts in most search engines, including Google Scholar and EagleSearch.
The Volpe Library has Research Tools available to help with finding and managing sources, including the following:
- RefWorks (citation manager similar to EndNote)
- Connect Google Scholar to the Tennessee Tech Library
- Citation overview with links to various citation styles
You may struggle to find time for scholarly writing. Some people write 15 minutes every day, while others designate one afternoon a week for writing. Many people find it helpful to schedule time for writing and consider themselves "busy" during that time (i.e., do not schedule meetings or other things during that time.)
Before you submit work to a publisher, get feedback from trusted people in your discipline. You don't have to incorporate all of their feedback, but consider it and decide whether to make changes.
The WEST (Writing Excellent Studio @ Tech) is available for writing or editing consultations.
