Writing For Academic Journals
Definition of Academic Journals?
Academic journals also known as periodicals contain research work of various people specialized in different areas of academics. Not every author is eligible for writing in academic journals—only professionals are allowed to share their thoughts, experience and researches with a large community comprised of educationists, professors and students.
The purpose behind academic writing in journals is to augment the knowledge base in general and in specific sense, share information with students and other professionals who belong to the same field or discipline.
Examples of popular journals are Jstor and Google Scholar.
Academic Journals: Categories, Types & List
Categories of Academic Journals
Academic journal writing varies on subject basis. On a broad level, academic journals can be categorized under the following areas:
- Scholarly Journals
- Art journals
- Science Journals
- Medical Sciences
- Social Sciences
- Biological Sciences
- Physical Sciences
- Arts and Education
- Legal Studies
- Research Journals
- Business Journals
Types of Academic Journals
- Free Full Text Journals
- Electronic Journals
- Education Journals
- Online Journals
- College Journals
- University Periodicals
Format and Structure for Academic Journal Writing
Authors
Articles or material for academic journals are authored by experts, professors or noted professionals. Authors are usually clearly affiliated with an academic or research institution and an address is provided for readers to contact the author at his or her institution or academic department.
Audience & Readership
Research papers or articles are targeted for experts, specialists and audience belonging to the same field.
Content Format
Content is targeted, specialized and research based often communicating research findings in a given area on the basis of data analysis or factual analysis.
Outline and Structure
The articles or research papers are written in a structured and systematic order and typically include the following:
- Introduction
- Abstract
- Summary
- Literature Review/Background Analysis
- Methodology
- Results and Analysis
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
Length
Articles and papers are quite elaborative providing an in-depth analysis of the subject matter by providing supportive evidence in the form of research data or subjective analysis.
Peer Review Policy
Articles are reviewed for detailed factual & research accuracy before publication by peer or experts in the field. Editorial board is composed of scholars in the field.
Bibliography
A list of references and resources (primary and secondary) is included at the end of each article, cited in a standardized manner e.g. APA, MLA or Chicago etc.
Images and Illustration
Images and illustrations that support the text are typically provided in the form of tables, statistics diagrams, graphs, maps, or photographs.
Helpful Tips for Academic Journal Writing
You need to follow certain types of formats and guidelines in order to create up to mark articles so that they are liable for publishing.
Language and Tone Guidelines
Relevancy
Whatever you write should be relevant and free of useless or repetitive information. Be careful in the selection of words.
Formal Tone
Keep your tone formal and sentences should be composed from a third party’s perspective.
Avoid the Basics
Keep in mind that the readers of your articles are people from your field so you should presume that they have basic knowledge of what you will be talking about so this eliminates the need of explaining in much detail.
Proofreading Guidelines
Organize Your Text Format
Organize your textual material into various sections so that the article looks systematized and easy to read.
Get Peer Review
It is really important that you go through the technique of peer review policy in which one or more professionals belonging to your field reads and analyzes what you have written and give suggestions for improvement.
Revise and Edit
Once you’re done crafting the article, read it over and over again to remove any mistakes in spellings and punctuation, flaws in concepts and logic and making necessary edits.
