Published, but didn’t make the Top-Tier journal? You may be suffering from confirmation bias

When I offered my academic writing workshop last week, the most interesting thing for me was the signup list – the majority were PhD students.

It was surprising because in 15 years as an academic editor, the majority of my clients, by far, have been assistant and associate professors / lecturers and senior lecturers, i.e., early to mid-career researchers. They sought an editor because they clearly needed help with their writing.  

So why weren’t they signing up for the workshop? Why didn’t they want to learn how to write? Why were the PhD students self-selecting as those who needed writing assistance and not the researchers who normally paid me to fix deep problems with their work?

One thing came to mind: confirmation bias.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

The main reason researchers were not signing up was because they didn’t believe they needed to attend a writing workshop. “Learn how to write? Moi? Didn’t I publish a 200-page dissertation that took me three years to write? Plus, I’ve been presenting at conferences, working with co-authors, writing grant proposals and securing grants, and, best of all, publishing in academic journals!

And surely, if I am a published author, and if I have already suffered a trial by fire (a.k.a. the PhD), there is no need for me to pay for a writing seminar? I’ve got it covered, thanks.”

This reasoning is based on confirmation bias. “The fact that I am publishing confirms that I am a good writer, which means writing workshops are not for me.”

But ask yourself this: Are you publishing in top-tier journals? Have you tried, but just can’t seem to make it? And have you considered that the problem may not simply be your research, but your writing?

WRITING FOR A TOP-TIER JOURNAL

Top-tier journals have a reputation to maintain. They have unspoken and unwritten rules about what they consider a fit with their journal’s brand. Research area is one. Writing style and structure is another.

 So if you find that you’re not hitting your goal to publish in a top-tier journal, you may want to consider working on your writing.

But what does “working on your writing” mean? I don’t mean picking good verbs and writing more elegant / accessible sentences (although that doesn’t hurt).

What I mean is working on the structure of your paper. Look at your argument. Is it watertight? Or is it flaccid? Do you have repetitive paragraphs? Tangential arguments? What about the hierarchy of your arguments? The relevance of your points? The flow of ideas? General coherence? And the story? All working the way they’re supposed to?

To borrow from, and completely rephrase, an oft-used philosophical question: “If a researcher writes a paper, and they never publish in a top-tier journal, will the committee for promotion-and-tenure care?”

HELP IS ON THE WAY

There are two paths to acquiring better writing skills.

The first is to figure it out yourself by going through past papers at the top-tier journal you are targeting, analysing their writing to understand what works and what doesn’t, emulating the writing you like, referring to the flood of websites handing out academic writing tips, and slowly making your way to that coveted journal. That’s the “self-taught” method.

The second method is the “get help” method. Ask for help at your university’s academic writing centre. Or hire a writing coach for highly personalised feedback and structured work on your writing. Or lastly, attend a workshop/seminar on academic writing.

HOW TO BEAT THE SYSTEM

Instead of bearing the expenses for coaching and for workshops, look to your personal research budgets, or your departmental budgets. Departments often set aside budgets for the specific purposes of learning and training for employees. With some luck, there will be enough in the kitty to fund your writing adventures!

To sum it up, don’t be a victim of confirmation bias. Reach for the stars – get some help.