Writing Journal Articles Focus On Structure And Language

Writing Journal Articles Focus On Structure And Language.indd 1Writing Journal Articles Focus On Structure And Language.indd 1 20/2/2020 10:33:58 AM20/2/2020 10:33:58 AM


Azni Zain AhmadHajibah Osman


© UiTM Press, UiTM 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, storedin any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise; without prior permission in writing from the Director of UiTM Press, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.E-mail: [email protected]

UiTM Press is a member ofMALAYSIAN SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING COUNCIL

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Azni Zain AhmadWriting Journal Article : Focus on Structure and Language /Azni Zain Ahmad, Hajibah Osman.ISBN 978-967-363-624-21. Academic writing.2. Dissertations, Academic.3. Government publications--Malaysia.I. Hajibah Osman.II. Title.808.066378

Cover design : Siti Suhaini MazlanTypesetting : Siti Maheran Mohd Faudzi

Printed in Malaysia by: UiTM Printing Centre Faculty of Art & Design Universiti Teknologi MARA 40450, Shah Alam Selangor


List of Tables viiList of Figures ixPreface xiAcknowledgement xiii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1Publishing in a Journal 1Ethics in Publishing 5Choosing the Right Type of Journal 9Features of a Journal Article 11Contents of a Journal Article 12Structure of a Journal Article 13Writing the Title 18Authors and Affiliations 20Writing the Abstract 22Selecting Keywords 27Summary 29 CHAPTER TWO: MAIN BODY OF JOURNAL 31 ARTICLES Writing the Introduction 31Writing the Method 42Writing the Results/Findings 54Writing the Discussion 62Writing the Conclusion 67

Contents


vi

Writing the Acknowledgement 71Writing the References 73Summary 75

CHAPTER THREE: LANGUAGE IN JOURNAL 77 ARTICLES Verbs and Tenses 77Subject-verb Agreement 94Modal Auxiliaries 95Articles 97Passive Sentences 98Citation Practices 100Concluding Remarks 102

References 103Appendix 111Index 127Credits 131


Table 1: Examples of Referencing and Citation Styles 7

Table 2: Differences between a Thesis and a Journal Article 12

Table 3: Tenses in Sections of Journal Articles 78

List of Tables



Figure 1: Diagrammatic Representation of the IMRD Structure 15

Figure 2: Recommended Sequence of the Writing Process 16

List of Figures



It is quite common for novice and experienced researchers alike to discover that their papers or manuscripts get rejected by academic journal publishers when submitted for the first time or otherwise. As researchers and academics, it can be heart-breaking to see months or years of hard work go down the drain for minor reasons. This book is therefore written to help writers hone their skills to plan and put their outcomes of research and thoughts on paper. The ability to produce well-written articles is a major asset to any researcher and thus becomes the main purpose of this book.

Writing Journal Articles is a guideline on how to write good articles for academic journals especially in top international journals under the Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 categories. Although the requirements such as format, structure and style differ from journal to journal and by discipline, there are certain generic rules that need to be applied. This book will be useful especially to those who wish to write for a journal that is different from the ones they are accustomed to, or for those venturing into multi disciplines which is a growing trend. The contents of the book include discussions on the general structure as well as the possible modifications to the structure, suggestions on the desired contents and very importantly, explain the preferred style of language used when writing an article for academic journals.

The impact of writing an article that gets published and cited is the ultimate goal of any writer or researcher. After reviewing hundreds of manuscripts and facilitating many workshops for various faculties in the university, we discovered that there is a need to publish a book on academic writing for journal publication due to the common errors made by the

Preface


xii

writers. This book is the culmination of the experience gained from both activities. We, the authors of this book, hope that the readers shall gain useful knowledge and insights as well as the required skills to achieve the noble objective of disseminating their discoveries and advancement of knowledge in their respective field or discipline. It is also hoped that readers will enjoy the benefits of writing as much as we did.


This book evolved from the modules we developed to conduct workshops in writing journal articles for publication under the patronage of the Institute of Quality and Knowledge Advancement (InQKA) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). We would like to first of all record our sincere appreciation to the Assistant Vice Chancellor of InQKA, Professor Dr. Hjh Roziah Mohd Janor for giving us the opportunity. Our appreciation also goes to Dr. Norniza Anuar, Dr. Amirul Abdul Rashid as well as the rest of the staff in the University Ranking Unit, InQKA for all the support rendered to us.

We also take this opportunity to thank our fellow Resident Reviewers, Professor Dr. Azemi Samsuri and Associate Professor Dr. Halila Jasmani for their contribution while developing the modules.

In the process of collecting materials for the book, we received overwhelming responses from our colleagues in UiTM when we asked for their articles. From the bottom of our heart, a big thank you to Professor Dr. Azemi Samsuri, Professor Dr. Noryati Ahmad, Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohd Zaki Salleh, Professor Ir. Dr. Mohd Nasir Taib, Associate Professor Dr. Halila Jasmani, Dr. Cindy Tan Soo Yun, Sr. Dr. Siti Aekbal Salleh, Dr. Abdul Rahim Ridzwan, Dr. Norhati Ibrahim, Ts. Dr. Julitta Yunus and Dr. Rabiatul Adawiyah Nasir.

Azni Zain Ahmed and Hajibah Osman2020

Acknowledgement



PUBLISHING IN A JOURNAL

Publishing articles in academic journals has become a trend among academics in institutions of higher learning. There are several reasons for this. For many academics it is a mandatory practice as the number of publications is one of the main criteria for advancing in their careers. Some authors write because of their innate passion for research and publishing the results for the benefit of others and the community. Others may feel inclined to be forced into writing and publishing to fulfill the key performance indicators imposed on them by their respective departments or universities.

Whatever the motive for publishing it will definitely affect the quality of the article. The real reason for publishing is to share with the scientific community the advances of knowledge and understanding in all fields. Thus it is always beneficial to bear in mind the following reasons for publishing articles in journals i.e:

• to present new, original results or methods,• to rationalise published results, and• to present a review of the field or to summarise a particular topic.

When the right motive for publishing an article is established by the author, it immediately sets a certain standard of quality.

This chapter introduces the motivation and requirements of writing and publishing a journal article. It touches on the ethics of publishing articles and

Chapter One

Introduction


2

Writing Journal Articles: Focus on Structure and Language

how to avoid plagiarism. The structure for a journal article recommended internationally is also described and the details of how to write for the first section of an article are provided at the end of the chapter.

Definition of a Scientific Journal

First and foremost it is important to understand what a journal is, what it is for and for whom it is published before any writing can be done. Generally, a journal is a periodical publication which contains a selected and peer-reviewed collection of articles published in a volume that serve the purpose of disseminating research findings. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), “scientific journals represent the most vital means for disseminating research findings and are usually specialised for different academic disciplines or sub-disciplines. Often, the research challenges common assumptions and/or the research data presented in the published scientific literature in order to gain a clearer understanding of the facts and findings” (APA, 2019). Journals cover a particular discipline or subject area and contain articles, reviews and editorial content (The University of Queensland, 2019). As such, journals provide good quality research articles (University of Nottingham, 2019).

Definition of a Journal Article

Depending upon the policies of a given journal, articles may include reports of original or new but untested theories, or opinion pieces (APA, 2019).

The definition of a journal article is clear. However, there is confusion when one refers to the usage of the words “paper”, “article” or “manuscript”. Below are their definitions:

• Manuscript: handwritten or typed document in draft form submitted

for review or publication (Eaton, 2017).

• Paper: it is a document (not a book or thesis) that consists of a proposal, report or application and has a specific topic and purpose.


3

Chapter One/ Introduction

• Scientific paper: a written report describing original research, according to a format defined by editorial practice and scientific ethics, interplaying with printing and publishing services (Scidev.net, 2008).

• Journal Article: a written document on a specific topic written by experts for experts. It is reviewed by experts and published in a journal (Simon Fraser University, 2019).

“Paper” and “article” are sometimes used interchangeably. A journal paper/article is written for others to read especially for (i) the author himself/herself in the future, (ii) other researchers and (iii) reviewers (University of Victoria, 2019 & Aceto, 2013). Aceto (2013) emphasises that a scientific article must follow the scientific flow of thought i.e. logic, clarity and precision and the key to scientific writing is clarity.

In summary a “manuscript” is a written paper for pre-publication and an “article” is a written paper that has been published (Eaton, 2017).

Types of Articles

There are several different types of articles as outlined below:

• Empirical: descriptions from observations/data collected/methods/techniques/theories applied; primary source of research

• Case Study: applications of existing methods/models/theories to specific or special situations or places

• Methodology: detailed description of a novel procedure/method/work flow/algorithm, performance analyses

• Theoretical: new principles/concepts and materials/derivation/models/framework

• Review: surveys and summarises the current state of research in a given topic found previously published articles; sometimes referred to as survey articles or literature review of research articles; describes research from secondary sources


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Writing Journal Articles Focus On Structure And Language