Thirteen Steps to Writing a Better Professional Article for Colleagues  Debra Crouch

1. MOVE OUT OF YOUR ‘COMFORT ZONE’

• Look at writing as a professional and personal exercise. Do yourself the favour of allowing yourself to ‘get fit’ professionally, acquire a new skill, and expand your ‘mindset’. Regard writing as an opportunity to reflect intensively on your personal/professional experiences, to stimulate your thinking, to focus your thoughts, and to build up your professional ‘muscle’. This ‘training’ process is always positive, in that the mental exercise often leads the writer to a new perspective, a fresh approach to life and work, and maybe even a journey down an unexpected and different track.

• Accept your responsibility to the rest of the ‘team’. A collegial approach to your profession, i.e., sharing ideas and contributing to the debate, will assist your colleagues to expand their ideas, and to choose solutions from a wider range of options.

• If writing one article is a big challenge for you, decide how often you will ‘run that race’ for your ‘team’. A commitment to write once or twice a year is probably realistic for most busy professionals. One hundred people writing one article, just once a year, is far better than five over-burdened people writing many articles, more frequently.

• Don’t put off the decision to write an article until you have an ‘earth shattering’ topic which will change the world overnight – this type of perfectionism is often just a form of procrastination. What may seem ordinary to you may contain the seed of a good idea for others. Just one idea from your article may help to start off an important improvement in another school or education system.

2. GO INTO TRAINING, IF YOU’RE NOT FIT.

• To be a good writer, you need to be a good reader. Immerse yourself regularly in the culture of words and ideas, by reading a diverse range of books and magazines. Deliberately make time to do this by pruning other less important activities out of your life. Trying to write without regularly reading is like wanting to be a footballer but never watching the game.

• Seek help and support from an expert ‘trainer’. Ask a journalist, a writer, or a principal colleague who already writes successfully, to be your mentor.

• Buy the necessary equipment. There are many books available on developing writing skills. Buy yourself a good dictionary, a thesaurus, a style guide and maybe even a book of useful quotations. There are also some helpful web sites, some of which offer online courses in developing writing skills.

• If you’re intimidated by trialing your ‘first time’ writing skills amongst colleagues, why not start off with a few articles for your own local newspaper or school newsletter? If you can, tap into the local journalist’s knowledge of writing and see what you can learn about improving your style. Letters to a friend are another way to get back into writing if you haven’t done it for a while.

• Select an easier style of article first, if you’re not confident about launching directly into an article for colleagues about a professional idea or development. For a start, try a descriptive article about a straightforward event, e.g., describing the school sports day, a staff member’s retirement, or the professional background of a new staff member. Move onto more complex articles when you are more confident.

• If you haven’t written for professional colleagues before, why not ‘test the waters’ and gain experience with a very short piece, such as a ‘Letter to the Editor’.

3. ESTABLISH YOUR STRENGTHS.

• This is the really hard part, the part which forces you to use your reflective and analytical ‘muscle’. In order to find a topic, you must look deep within your own professional experience. The challenge is to sift and sort through all your daily events and experiences as a principal, to find an idea, a program an issue or a trend that you personally feel strongly or passionately about. Martin Amis recognised a deep desire for change as the basis of a writer’s motivation when he wrote, ‘Most writers need a wound, either physical or spiritual’.

• A strong topic is therefore likely to derive from a feeling that :

a. there is a better way of solving a problem; b. that you’d like to share details of a successful program with colleagues; c. that there is a better way of looking at the problem/issue; d. that there is a problem with ……; e. that …… needs to change if we’re going to be able to …… f. that we need a fresh approach to ……; g. that we should try ……; h. that other principals could learn from my experience with ……; i. that …… is the wrong way to ……; j. that ….. would improve if ……

Keep yourself continually ‘switched on’, and tuned in, to issues and developments affecting your profession. Talk meaningfully and reflectively with colleagues, and actively seek out their ideas, opinions and perspectives. It’s more likely you’ll find a strong writing topic this way, than by sitting down to think for just one hour on a Sunday morning.

Don’t ‘play it safe’ by sticking only to ‘politically correct’ or fashionable topics. Alerting colleagues to an unexplored area of interest is a valuable professional contribution.

4. FIND THE TIME.

• Don’t put off writing until you’re ‘totally inspired’ – this is another form of procrastination. Deliberately make time for writing by pruning another less important activity out of your life.

• If you have a deadline, don’t leave writing your article until the last moment. Unless you’re an experienced journalist, you’ll find it difficult to complete a quality professional article in one session. Inevitably, you’ll be disappointed with the product, and know you could have done better. Start early, set yourself realistic daily and weekly goals, and you will eventually get there.

• Find a quiet place to write, where you won’t be disturbed. Preferably, write when you are alone, or behind a closed door. Ask others not to disturb you. If necessary, put up a sign.

• Don’t leave writing until the end of the day, when your mind is tired. While a little performance anxiety is fine, don’t write when you’re over-pressured. Do write when your mind is fresh, even if this means getting out of bed an hour early in the morning, for the time it takes to complete the writing assignment.

5. 'WORK OUT’ YOUR IDEAS.

With the topic clearly in mind, take time to collect all of the ideas, anecdotes, stories and statements you think you may include in your article. Jot down everything that comes to mind, including material you suspect you may throw out later. Write them down as rough notes only.

If you have time, take a few days to brainstorm, jotting down ideas and anecdotes, whenever and wherever they occur to you.

Take a rest and let all the ideas percolate. This may take a few hours, or even a few days. You will know when you’re ready because you’ll be ‘bursting’ to get started.

6. FOCUS ON YOUR GOAL.

• Spend as much time as you need thinking about your major statement, i.e., what is the main idea or point you are trying to communicate to colleagues. Discuss the idea with colleagues to clarify your thoughts.

• One useful strategy at this stage is to ‘nutshell’ your idea and tell it to someone in three or four sentences. If you have difficulty doing this, it’s likely that you’re still unclear about your major statement, and may need to do some more thinking before you proceed further.

• When you’re ready, write the article’s title first. This will force you to think even more clearly about exactly what it is you want to say.

7. STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Always design the structure of your article first. Just as if you were building a house, think about, and create, your article’s basic structural design before you start to write. A basic structural design underlies most kinds of writing. The writer will, in part, follow this design, in part deviate from it, according to his or her needs, and the unexpected events that accompany the act of composition.

• Strong organisation will help both you and your reader. For you, the writer, it offers guidance and direction as you explore your ideas. If you know how your emerging ideas fit into an overall plan, you can move forward more confidently than if you simply keep spinning out words without knowing where they might lead. Effective organisation also helps readers see how the various parts of your article relate to each other, and to your ‘major statement’ or point. If readers sense that you’re firmly in control, and that you know where you’re going, they’ll be more likely to come along with you.

Paragraphs: The building blocks

• The building block of a piece of writing is the paragraph. This may be of any length; a few short sentences or a passage of great duration. A paragraph can be likened to a container: it holds a set of ideas which are logically grouped together because they represent a distinct topic, or make a distinct point. Ideally, each paragraph should have enough material in it to logically ‘stand alone’; it should represent one step further towards the conclusion of the article. Sometimes, however, to avoid large and visually formidable blocks of print, it is better to break long paragraphs into two sections.

Summary paragraphs

• Think of your article as a ‘journey’, and your major statement or ‘point’ as a ‘destination’. The ‘place’ you want your readers to ‘go’ is to a complete understanding of your major statement or point, i.e., the article’s main idea. Therefore, write your ‘summary paragraph’ first. Ideally, this should re-emphasise your ‘major statement’ or restate the point you wish to make, and put forward some type of concluding statement or recommendation. Take time to craft the ‘summary paragraph’ as carefully as you can. This very important strategy will help you to keep ‘on track’ as you write the article.

Spend some time on the summary paragraph’s ‘concluding sentence’. This should be short and intellectually sharp. Its intention is to pierce the reader’s mind with an idea they may ponder, or a statement they may appreciate, for some time. Writing a good ‘concluding sentence’ is an art form, which takes creativity and persistence.

Opening paragraphs

• Next, write your opening paragraphs. These must capture readers’ attention and make them want to read further. Draw on your most interesting, intense or amusing statement or anecdote, one which directly or indirectly ‘leads’ readers towards your ‘major statement’, or the point you wish to make. Opening paragraphs should ‘tell’ readers’ where they are ‘going’. If this isn’t happening, start again and persist until everyone (including you, the writer) is sure of the direction.

• Opening paragraphs must also provide the reader with some ‘context’ as to why you’re writing the article at all, and why you’re writing it now. If you’re writing for overseas colleagues, you may need to describe some basic details about your education system, and the historical background from which your article is coming.

Middle paragraphs

Now that you know your beginning and end points, you should view all the other paragraphs in the article as ‘signposts’. The purpose of middle paragraphs is to direct and lead the reader’s thoughts to the final ‘destination’.

Look at the list of ideas and anecdotes you collected while brainstorming, and work out which ones could be made into paragraphs (mini-sections) which convince readers of the truth or value of your ‘major statement’, or the purpose of your article. If they don’t do this, then don’t include them - no matter how brilliant or interesting they may be. Cross out the ideas which don’t fit.

• You will find that some ideas and/or anecdotes can be clustered together in one paragraph, to make a point or a ‘unit of thought’. Others are strong or intense enough to become a paragraph in themselves. Each paragraph should have a ‘central idea’, which should ‘stand-alone’ and make sense, even when separated out from the rest of the article.

• Write brief middle paragraph headings, in rough note form, for your own benefit. Put the paragraphs in a tentative sequential order, keeping in mind that this might change as you work through the article. Look back over your brainstorming notes and work out which anecdotes and ideas ‘fit’ under each of the paragraph headings. Remember to delete the ‘note-form headings’ as you progressively work through your article.

• When you think you have enough middle paragraphs to form a convincing argument, a comprehensive description, or an interesting discussion, start writing in earnest, from the opening paragraphs onward.

8. COACHING TIPS FOR THE WRITING PROCESS

If possible, use a wordprocessor. The ability to quickly cut, copy and paste will allow you to quickly change the order of sentences within paragraphs, and the order of the paragraphs themselves. A wordprocessor is an excellent tool for improving the flow of ideas through your article.

With your rough paragraph headings in mind, write the actual paragraph beginnings carefully. As a rule, begin each paragraph with an ‘umbrella’ sentence that suggests the paragraph’s topic, or which will serve to ‘hold together’ the details that follow. This ‘umbrella sentence’ may occur after a brief transition sentence that helps the reader logically move from the previous paragraph.

Always seek clarity. Essentially, writing is an act of communication, with meaning flowing from the writer to the reader. The most important goal of any piece of writing is for the reader to understand exactly what the writer means, and what point he or she is trying to make. Lack of clarity is the biggest obstacle to the flow of meaning. If sentences, and paragraphs, just don’t make sense, then they need to be ‘pulled apart’ and rewritten.

Avoid the over-use use of qualifiers. These are words which dilute the impact of what you are basically saying: for example, ‘we should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one and we are pretty sure to violate it to some extent now and then’. Use qualifying words like, ‘rather’, ‘very’, etc., only when dilution is absolutely necessary and intentional.

Do not over-write. Rich ornate prose, with too many intense or over-sweet phrases, is hard for the reader to mentally digest (for example, ‘the conference presenter’s voice poured over the audience like golden honey from a pot, and there was a warm glow of appreciation, and the occasional hum of agreement, for his mellow vintage wisdom’.). Use this form of writing sparingly, and only when appropriate.

Do not over-state your point, or over-use superlatives (for example, ‘everyone knows that all principals in all countries are so totally dedicated to their work they have no time at all for any other interests or commitments’. Over-statement is a common fault, where writers become so over-enthusiastic about making their point that they make huge sweeping statements, or questionable generalisations. Readers are bound to query these, and their respect for the writer diminishes. Worse, they may also lose confidence in the writer’s judgement and doubt all other statements in the article.

Be positive and definite. Avoid tame, colourless, hesitating, noncommittal language. For instance, ‘He usually came late’, is better than ‘He was not very often on time’.

Exclamations. Do not attempt to emphasise simple statements by using a mark of exclamation. For instance, ‘It was a wonderful performance’, not ‘It was a wonderful performance!’ Exclamation marks should be reserved for use after true exclamations or commands, e.g., ‘What a wonderful performance!’

Hyphens. When two or more words are combined to form a compound adjective, a hyphen is usually required. For example, ‘He entered his racing car in the round-the-continent race.’ However, remember that popular language is always evolving and that two words often joined by a hyphen often evolve into one new word, e.g., ‘electronic mail’ became ‘e-mail’, and then became ‘email’.

Avoid fancy words, especially where they distract from meaning. All words have a place in our language, but some are better than others for particular purposes. When writing, it’s a good idea to choose words which are commonly used, and are ‘easy on the ear’. Readers are trying to understand your point, and to comprehend the meaning of your article. Don’t interrupt their flow of thought with rarely used or antiquated words, where an everyday word would have been just as meaningful. For instance, use ‘beautiful’, not ‘beauteous’.

Use your ‘ear’ as a guide. Sometimes, there’s no fixed rule and your ear will tell you which word or expression ‘doesn’t work’ or ‘doesn’t fit’ in that place, or whether extra or different words are needed. For instance, ‘He knew he could do it’ is preferable to, ‘He knew that he could do it’. However, in some cases, the ‘that’ is needed: for instance, ‘He felt that his big feet, which were calloused, made him look unattractive’. Here, writers who read frequently themselves will be at a big advantage in that they are always immersed in the culture of words, and will be able to ‘hear’ what sounds wrong and ‘instinctively know’ how it would be better expressed.

Use metaphors and figures of speech sparingly. Use metaphors only where they enhance meaning. Use comparisons sparingly: readers can’t be expected to continually compare everything with something else: it is too mentally exhausting. Especially, don’t use a mixture of metaphors (for example, ‘his voice poured over the audience like honey, and they surfed the waves of his powerful new ideas.’

Use short-cuts sparingly. Acronyms which haven’t been spelled out in full early in the article disrupt the flow of meaning, and interrupt the reader, who must answer the puzzle of just what the capital letters mean before he or she can move on. Excessive lists of points also disrupt the reader’s flow of thought. Over-use of both of these ‘short-cuts’ defeats their intended purpose: they waste the reader’s time instead of conserving it.

Don’t straightjacket yourself in the concept of ‘traditional, therefore correct’. Remember that language is a ‘live’ and continually evolving cultural form. It is continually shifting, changing and receiving new strengths from a thousand tributaries, and losing old forms in the backwaters of time. It has many accents, many dialects, and many local features. English, in particular, has many diverse forms, all of which are equally culturally valid. Don’t be afraid to use new or local words and expressions, so long as they can be understood by most of your intended readers, and add impact to your piece. Similarly, don’t be afraid to challenge old grammatical conventions if you believe they now detract from the meaning and flow of your article. If in doubt about what to leave in, and what to leave out, the twin rules of ‘what sounds pleasing to the ear’ and ‘clarity of meaning’ should always inform your decision.

Be accurate where it matters. Don’t lose your readers’ respect by incorrectly spelling place names, titles and people’s names. Don’t guess important dates. If in doubt, and you don’t want to bother checking out the exact facts (as you should), leave the material out altogether.

Reveal yourself and your own opinions. However, do this subtly in the background, through content and style, rather than by continual reference to ‘I’.

Use real life anecdotal experiences to illustrate your points. Be humble and acknowledge that the reader is likely to have some knowledge and experience of the subject. Don’t present yourself as the ‘expert’ who has done it all, who knows it all, and is always successful. It’s more credible and useful to be honest, and to reveal yourself as an ever-learning professional who is grappling with a new idea or program; sometimes failing and sometimes successful.

Don’t excessively quote academics, or other experts, in an attempt to ‘prove’ your point – useful research should be mentioned only when it’s highly relevant, provides necessary background, and clearly supports your ‘major statement’.

Use original quotes from the work of others use sparingly, and only when they are particularly striking and add great impact to your article. Remember to distance yourself from the ‘imported’ statement by using quotation marks, which alert readers to the fact that the words are not your own.

If it’s possible, don’t name people or schools in sensitive or vulnerable situations. Publicity may cause unintended damage.

If your article is to be published on the Internet, remember that it will be accessible to all browsers – this includes parents, the mentally disturbed and the criminal (e.g., the Unibomber). Personal details, such as place of residence, for instance, may be better left out.

Although statements of fact are safe (e.g., ‘Mr X has been charged with …’) never ‘opinion comment’ on situations currently before the courts, or pending a legal decision. If you are simply reporting on such a situation, always use the word, ‘alleged’.

Though you might seek to model your writing on an admired writer whose work you can learn from, don’t exactly imitate the writing style of other people. Write in a way that’s natural for you, and your personality, keeping your audience in mind. If you’re writing for an international audience, keep your language clear and simple, and free of local jargon that won’t be readily understood by the majority of your intended readers.

Never use capitalisation for added effect, e.g., ‘It was REALLY important.’ Use bold type sparingly, for additional emphasis only when extra or different words or phrases can’t achieve the same effect.

Link your paragraphs carefully, to maintain a natural flow of ideas. This may involve rearranging details within the paragraph, to create a sequence of ideas.

Vary the length of sentences in each paragraph, with shorter sentences always being preferable. If sentences are too long, break them into shorter units. However, too many short sentences can result in a jerky style. Try to achieve a comfortable balance.

Make sure each sentence follows clearly and logically from the one before it.

Persist, persist, persist. Expect to be temporarily frustrated, confused or ‘stalled’ as you work to make your article a clear piece of communication. Writing is much more about sorting through a huge and tangled pile of ideas than it is about creating an elegant literary style.

9. JUMP HURDLES.

Overcome ‘Writer’s Block’. This is a common obstacle which stops writers from moving onwards. This ‘paralysis’ is a form of perfectionism which can be worked through. Often ‘Writer’s Block’ is caused by conflicting feelings: we want the writing to be perfect and we want to get it done as quickly as possible. There are several strategies for overcoming this ‘hurdle’.

Make notes. Jot down ideas and phrases as they occur to you. Free yourself from paragraphs and sentences for the moment – use flow charts, arrows, boxes, outlines, and even pictures. Right now, you are worried about getting things down before you forget them.

Free-writing. When you’re not just blocked but ‘stonewalled’ (a more severe form of ‘Writer’s Block’), try free-writing. Sit down for ten minutes and write down everything you can think of about your topic. The object is to write without stopping for the whole ten minutes. If other things occur to you as you write, go ahead and record them, even if they are not directly related to your topic. These distractions may be part of what is keeping you blocked. Free-writing is good for uncovering ideas – it’s a good way to nudge ‘inspiration’. However, the main purpose of free-writing is to get you moving! Most of what you write in those ten minutes will go in the recycling bin, but you’ll be warmed up, and your serious writing should proceed more smoothly.

Controlled procrastination. Have a mental break from trying too hard to work out what’s wrong, what’s missing, or where to go next. Do something else, completely different. ‘Controlled procrastination’ was a strategy used by the writer, Agatha Christie, who found the best way to plot mysteries was to go and do the dishes. Another author, Doris Lessing, also used this technique. In her biography, Walking in the Shade, she describes her use of ‘the business of the physical as a road into concentration’. Lessing described her writing day: ‘Work begins. I do not sit down but wander about the room. I think on my feet, while I wash a cup, tidy drawer, drink a cup of tea, but my mind is not on these activities. I write a sentence …will it stand? But never mind, look at it later, just get on with it, get the flow started. And so it goes on. I walk and I prowl, my hands busy with this and that’. Lessing left her writing often, her mind still subconsciously processing and synthesising ideas, but returned to the task as soon as the next idea ‘arrived’.

10. LOOKING BACK: CAN PERFORMANCE BE IMPROVED?

Put the article away. After you’ve written the first draft, put the article away for a few days. Later, read a hard copy print-out aloud, or to yourself as if you were someone else. Look, especially, for gaps in information (where more must be added) or areas where you struggle to get your meaning across (and rewriting for clarity is needed).

Revise and rewrite. Few writers are so expert that they can produce what they want on the first try. Quite often, the writer will discover, on examining the completed work, that there are serious flaws in the arrangement of the material. Rearrangement or shortening may be necessary. Where this is the case, much time and frustration can be saved by using a wordprocessor. This allows you to cut the article completely apart, if necessary, and to fit the pieces together in a better, more logical, order. Remember, it is no sign of weakness or defeat that your article ends up in need of major surgery. This is a common occurrence in all writing, and is practised by even the best writers.

Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, and a paragraph no unnecessary sentences. This doesn’t mean that all sentences must be short, or that all detail apart from the outline is to be avoided. It does mean that every word should count: and has been used for a precise reason. The key question to ask is: would leaving the word out detract from the meaning of what is being written? There are many common expressions which bombard the reader with needless words, and obstruct the essential meaning of the article. For instance, ‘I was unaware of the fact that…’, instead of ‘I was unaware that…’ or even better, ‘I did not know that…’. Another example of verbosity might be ‘this is a subject that …’ instead of simply ‘this subject’.

Check the internal clarity of each paragraph. Do all the details contribute to the development of its ‘central idea’? Is there enough detail to support the paragraph’s ‘central idea’? On reflection, should some details be moved out into another paragraph, or to a new paragraph? Should some details be deleted altogether?

Check tense consistency. Make sure you haven’t jumped around in different tenses.

Check capitalisation. Have you capitalised names of persons, cities, countries, streets and titles? Don’t creatively capitalise words other than these, e.g., ‘principal’, just for added emphasis or because you think they must be important words.

Check apostrophes. Have you used them correctly to indicate possession? If you’re unsure, consult a grammar book.

Proofread your article. Never submit work with spelling or grammatical errors. There are two popular ways of doing this. The first is to read the article aloud to yourself, which forces you to look at every little word. The second involves sliding a blank sheet of paper down the page as you read, which allows you to make a detailed line-by-line review of the paper.

Ask someone else to proofread your article. Often, other people will find errors you will be amazed that you missed.

Use helpful technology. Make use of computer spelling checkers, grammar checkers and style analysers. However, remember their advice is not always appropriate (indeed, it is sometimes ridiculous) and needs to be checked each time an ‘error’ is suggested. Spelling suggestions may not be correct in your own country, and also need to be checked individually.

Check to see that you have kept to the word limit. If not, start pruning. If there’s no alternative, or no time, advise the editor that you’re happy for her/him to cut the article to size. However, this may mean that your favourite anecdote or statement may be chopped out – if you feel strongly about ‘special’ content, it’s best to ‘edit for size’ yourself. This way, you have some control (but no guarantee, however, that the ‘special’ section won’t be cut out later).

Seek honest critical feedback from colleagues. Ask them if they can tell you what you are trying to say in the article, i.e, your ‘major statement’.

Keep an open mind. Remember that it’s never too late to start again if you feel you’ve gone ‘off track’, can see a better ‘track’ or an even bigger idea.

11. PASS ON THE ‘BATON’ TO OTHERS.

Ask whether it’s possible to pre-submit your article to the editor for a preliminary comment – this can be a learning experience, although you may feel vulnerable. If a re-write is suggested, don’t let your ego get in the way. Ask the editor for specific guidance about how to improve the article.

Present your article to the publisher according to the exact style requirements requested. Requirements may include double spacing, specific footnoting styles, etc., depending on the publication. They may also include a preference for the method of submission: via paper/post, email, fax, etc.

Ask whether photos should accompany your article. Some editors are usually delighted to receive photos, especially those which add impact to an article. If the photos are precious, reconsider submitting them, or be prepared to ‘chase’ for their return. Some editors prefer to use their own photographer, and will contact you for an appointment.

Submit the article by the deadline, not several hours or days afterwards. If your article is unavoidably late, phone the editor to alert her/him that it will be arriving late. Accept the fact that, in a deadline situation, a late article may not be considered, irrespective of its quality.

Accept and understand the role of an editor in making changes to the piece after you have submitted it. See publication as a ‘relay race’ – once you’ve finished your leg, you pass the baton onto the next runner, someone who’s more suited to running in that particular terrain. Writers cannot run the whole ‘relay race’ of magazine production.

Be prepared to have your article rejected if you stipulate, as you may, that any changes require prior consultation and permission. Most editors do not have the luxury of time for extensive consultation and reworkings with authors.

12. AFTER THE ‘EVENT’.

Wait to be advised whether or not your article has been published. If you’re anxious, ask if there’s a date when the decision will be made.

If you liked the changes made by the editor, say so. If you intend to write for that publication again, take time to develop a positive relationship with the editor, and view contact as a learning opportunity.

Be psychologically prepared for the possible rejection of your article. Congratulate yourself that you risked leaving your ‘comfort zone’, and will try again. Remember that articles are often rejected for a host of reasons other than quality. Sometimes it’s just that an advertisement has come along, or there were too many similar articles and one fitted the space better than yours! Resubmit your article elsewhere, several times.

Be prepared for a range of positive, and possibly negative, comments about your article from colleagues and system administrators. Remember, the purpose of a professional piece is to stimulate debate on ideas and practice, and to improve education, not to maintain harmony or the status quo. Nor is it to provide an opportunity for self-congratulation. Inevitably, some other professionals will disagree with your ‘major statement’. Some will even contact you and may be hostile. Listen to their views, and discuss the topic freely. Even if you don’t win them over to your point of view, be pleased that your article has stimulated debate and thinking on the topic.

13. WIN GOLD!

Writing is a deliberate act of influence, and your published article may form part of a larger or growing ‘ideas movement’ to improve and change education in a significant way. This, after all, is the reason you wrote it.

Congratulate yourself on winning ‘gold’ by making a positive personal contribution to education, and therefore, a small non-violent step towards the improvement of life for all people on this planet. Here, the well-known quote rings true: (‘Beneath the rule of men entirely great,/The pen is mightier than the sword’, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1803-73, in ‘Richelieu’, II, ii)

Copyright ©. This may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from CyberText.

Manager: Ms Debra J. Crouch
Email: debra@cybertext.net.au
www.cybertext.net.au