Jump-Start Your Academic Writing: Simple Digital Tools to Grow and Maintain Your

Writing Habit

Margarita Huerta, The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Jennifer Travis, Lone Star College – North Harris

Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA)

June 2015

Why Writing is Your Profession

!   Writing productivity is critical for academics at all levels, from graduate students who must write their theses to faculty who must publish articles, books, and grants to earn promotion and tenure.

!   Your ideas and research do not “exist” if they are not published.

The Problem with Academic Writing Productivity

!   About 50% of doctoral students do not complete their degrees (Cassuto, 2013).

!   Only a small percentage of faculty publish most of the research in their fields (Cole, 1981; Green, Bellin, Baskind, 2002; Teodorescu, 2000).

!  Why is this?

The Psychology of Academic Writing & Writers

Academic Writers Often Have High Writing Anxiety

!  Anxiety - “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure” (American Psychological Association, 2014 p. 1).

!  Writing anxiety - the manifestation of this emotion when a person is confronted with the task of writing.

Writing Anxiety Example

!   “I had what my physician calls a panic attack…I felt like I was having a heart attack. The first thing I did when I felt my heart pounding was to reassure myself that I would not try to write. That’s why I haven’t written anything for [pause] years” (Boice, 1990, p. 25).

Academic Writers Might Have Low Self-Efficacy

!   Self-efficacy – One’s belief in his/her ability to perform a given activity in a given situational circumstance (Bandura, 1997).

!   Writing self-efficacy - one’s belief in his/her capability to write in a given situation.

!   In a specific circumstance, people with higher self-efficacy invest more effort in learning and applying skills — and therefore perform at higher levels — than people with low self-efficacy, especially if the situation is demanding, uncertain and holds a possibility of failure (Bandura, 1982; 1997).

!   (Sounds like academic writing!)

Low Self-Efficacy Examples

!   “I’d rather not think about [writing], because whenever I do, I think about how difficult it is for me” (Boice, 1990, p. 22).

!   “When I started graduate school…my first quarter was tough… I began to suspect that everyone but me knew how to organize their time, do their research, and write successful papers” (Belcher, 2009, p. 186).

Tools to Combat Writing Anxiety and Low Self-Efficacy

!  We want to: 1.  Minimize writing anxiety 2.  Maximize self-efficacy

Create a Personal Online Blog

Why Blogs Help Your Academic Writing •  Gets the writing flowing. •  Low-stress/not high stakes.

•  Immediately “published results” = motivation.

•  Sense of “completion”.

•  Can help with self-reflection/metacognition of your own academic processes (including writing!).

Our Blogs

! http://phdpudding.blogspot.com (Maggie)

! http://writinguphill.com (Jennifer)

Use a Stopwatch When You Write

How a Stopwatch Can Reduce Writing Anxiety •  Great for starting and

doing a task you do not want to do (i.e., are anxious to do)!

•  Builds motivation.

•  You can do more in 5 minutes than in zero minutes.

•  Gives sense of time.

Online Stopwatch Sites

Everyone: http://www.online-stopwatch.com Mac Users: http://www.dejal.com/timeout/

Try it: Spend ___ minutes writing on/about your writing project.

Pomodoro Method •  Write for 25 minutes, then

take 5-minute break.

•  Modify the ratio to work for you (e.g., 35:10 or 30:5)

•  Find an app to time it for you.

•  4 pomos at 25:5 ratio => 2 hours of writing!

•  4 pomos at 35:10 ratio => 3 hours of writing!

Set-Up and Use a Writing Log with Microsoft Excel

Multiple Benefits of Logging •  Getting to know yourself

as a writer.

•  Physical record of your accomplishments.

•  Personal accountability.

•  Habit formation/tracking •  Analyze and improve your

writing habit. •  Double benefit: Also

reduces writing anxiety!

TOTAL WRITING TIME (hours) 31.3333

Color KeyPublicationsGrantsFor/OthersTeachingConferencesPersonal/BlogJob/stuffLearning

DATE BEGIN END WRITING TIME

(min)

WHERE

4/1/2015 11:00/AM 11:50/AM 50 College/Station

4/2/2015 2:25/PM 2:43/PM 18 College/Station

4/4/2015 12:00/PM 2:00/PM 120 Round/Rock

4/5/2015 2:40/PM 3:40/PM 60 Airplane

3:45/PM 4:00/PM 15 Airplane

4:20/PM 4:25/PM 5 Airplane

10:00/AM 12:00/PM 120 Starbucks

8:30/PM 8:50/PM 20 Home

4/8/2015 1:00/PM 2:30/PM 90 Office

2:30/PM 4:30/PM 120 Office

5:00/PM 6:30/PM 90 Office

4/9/2015 12:10/PM 12:50/PM 40 Autonation/Honda

1:55/PM 2:40/PM 45 Home

3:00/PM 3:30/PM 30 Home

3:45/PM 5:45/PM 120 Home

4/12/2015 7:30/PM 8:00/PM 30 Home

4:40/PM 5:45/PM 65 Home

Writing Log Examples

!   Jennifer

!   Maggie

ManicTime

!   Tracks time spent on applications and documents

!   Eye-opening!

!   http://manictime.com

ManicTime

FocusWriter

!   Eliminate distractions from your desktop

!   Set daily word or time goals. (Yes, it tracks streaks.)

!   Minimal editing capability (copy, paste)

!   Keeps you honest!

!   Free, but you can leave a tip.

!   www.focuswriter.com

FocusWriter Screenshot

!   What other tools do you use?

Build Accountability In a small-sample intervention for procrastinators, •  Faculty committing to write daily in short

sessions, and log their writing time: Wrote 4 times as many pages as comparison group.

•  Faculty committing to write daily, log their time, and meet biweekly with the researcher for prodding and log-sharing: Wrote 9 times as many pages as comparison group.

Source: Boice, 1989

Accountability Ideas •  Email •  Social Media

Groups

Writing Group of Friends/Colleagues

•  Write together on Skype or in person

•  Use the Pomodoro method and chat during breaks

•  Use social media to arrange writing meetings

Example - Skype Writing Group

Recap (Really, all of these tools go “hand-in hand”)

Tools to Minimize Writing Anxiety and Maximize Self-efficacy •  Create an Online Blog •  Use a Stopwatch •  Use the Pomodoro Method •  Set up and Use a Writing Log •  Build Accountability

References !   “Anxiety” (2014). American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/

!   Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122-147.

!   Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

! Boice, R. (1989). Procrastination, busyness, and bingeing. Behavioral Research and Therapy, 27(6), 605-611.

! Boice, R. (1990). Professors as Writers: A self-help guide to productive writing. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

! Cassuto, L. (2013). Ph.D. attrition: How much is too much? The Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/article/PhD-Attrition-How-Much-Is/140045/

!   Cole, J. R. (1981). Women in science. American Scientist, 69(4), 385-391.

!   Green, R. G., Bellin, M. H., & Baskind, F. R. (2002). Results of the doctoral faculty publication project: Journal article productivity and its correlates in the 1990s. Journal of Social Work Education, 38(1), 135-152.

!   Teodorescu, D. (2000). Correlates of faculty publication productivity: A cross-national analysis. Higher Education, 39(2), 201-222.

Thank You! Questions?

margarita.huerta@unlv.edu jennifer.travis@lonestar.edu