Planning the article

Your article will contribute something new to the academic discourse in a particular field. To successfully plan your article:

• Choose a journal that will allow you to reach an audience that is interested in your research topic, and that meets your strategic goals (e.g. a high-quality, reputable journal in your discipline). Consult your supervisor or trusted contacts in your field for guidance in choosing a suitable journal.
• Develop your article's content and structure to best meet the needs of your chosen journal and audience.
• Maintain your article's focus on a clear gap or problem in the existing research literature.

In considering how suitable your article is for publication, the journal editors will consider various factors. As a starting point, aim to demonstrate the following qualities in your article:

Clarifying your contribution

An effective journal article makes a distinct contribution to an academic field. Communicating your contribution in clear, concise terms can be a challenging part of the writing process. However, clarifying your ideas early in the process can make it easier to organise the writing:

• If your journal article is based on a larger research project (e.g. your research thesis), conceptualise the article as a discrete argument with smaller scope. Choose a smaller 'slice' of the broader research that will function as a self-contained journal article, with its own smaller argument.
• Whether your journal article is based on an existing project or new research, use the below strategies to clarify and refine your ideas before producing a full draft.

Formulating your title

One way of distilling and synthesising your ideas for a journal article is to consider its title. The process of considering alternate titles encourages “unity, creativity and significance” (Crosby, 1976, p. 387). These are all important aspects in writing a good journal article.

Hartley (2007) offers twelve different types of title, each one emphasising a different way of engaging with readers. Explore the below activity to consider which style of title best represents your contribution to the academic field. This will help narrow your ideas down to the essence of your argument.

Can you think of titles which conform to these styles? Have a go at writing your own title according to the description, then click "Turn" to see an example (all found in business and economics journals).

Creating an abstract

Writing an abstract is another strategy for refining your thoughts. An abstract is a 200-300 word text that provides a short summary or description of the article. Generally, the abstract describes the background, methods, results and conclusions, depending on your discipline. An abstract is also required as part of a published paper; as such, its purpose is to attract the interest and inspire prospective readers.

Authors typically finalise their abstract after writing the full article, so it more accurately reflects the content of the finished article. However, consider drafting an abstract before you start writing the full article. Drafting an abstract first can assist in conceptualising your main argument and creating a structure. There are different types of abstracts which can serve different purposes, including:

A simple way to create an abstract is to answer a series of questions. There are several sets of questions offered in the literature on writing for publication, including Brown’s ‘Eight Questions.’

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