Martial artist's guide to research writing

research writing

1. John Blake University of Aizu, Japan A Martial Artist’s Guide to Research Writing 1

2. Resume Judo Boxing Karate Jujitsu Thai boxing Wing Chun Escrima / Arnis Sanda Silat 2 Essay writing, Business writing, Academic writing, Research writing

3. 1 Dichotomy (1 of 13) Styles of martial arts Grappling arts Striking arts 3 Ground and pound Qualitative research Quantitative research Typical reviewer comments – add stats! – Add quotes!

4. 2 Mastery 4 Yasuhiro Yamashita, 山下泰裕 1984 Olympic Open Gold Medalist E1 + E2  C1 Appropriate reasoning Sound trumps cogent Varpio , L. (2018). Using rhetorical appeals to credibility, logic, and emotions to increase your persuasiveness. Perspectives on medical education, 7, 207-210. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”. – Bruce Lee

5. 3 Fighting within the rules Rules Tapping out No head punches No leg locks 5 Illegal grip in judo Conforming to generic expectations while journeying to centre of a discourse community, e.g. Avoiding rhetorical questions, And, etc. Bhatia, V. K. (1994). Generic integrity in professional discourse.  Text and talk in professional contexts , (6), 61-76.

6. 4 See a target, hit Kyokushinkai Karate competition Thai boxers fighting difficult rules 6 Joe Tierney Phil Nurse Targeting your writing style to a new audience takes time.

7. 5 Out-of-body experience Tunnel vision Opening up All white Realization Standing! 7 Rejected Dejected Acceptance – unfair, but…

8. 6 Climb the ladder Targeting an appropriate rank 8 Journals Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 - Top 10% - Top 1% e.g. Applied linguistics 20 articles p.a.

9. 7 Any advantage Unexpected advantages Taping fingers Tailored gi Peanut butter sandwiches 9 Submit to Journal XXX Cite to curry favour with reviewers Cite previous articles to increase journal impact factor

10. 8 Protect oneself Left guard Bladed Chin down Right fist to chin Right elbow to ribs 10 Khaosai Galaxy Protect one’s writing from the reviewers Ensure strong chain of evidence to support claims Anticipate and defend from counter-arguments

11. 9 Plan 11 Expect rejection Build resilience (Chan et al., 2021) Chan, H., Mazzucchelli , T. G., & Rees, C. S. (2021). The battle-hardened academic: an exploration of the resilience of university academics in the face of ongoing criticism and rejection of their research. Higher Education Research & Development, 40(3 ), 446-460.

12. 10 Knock yourself out Waking up on the floor bump checkers 12 Knocked out by a review – Stunning review – Nightmare review – Pitbull reviewer ( Walbot , 2009) (click again) Walbot , V. (2009). Are we training pit bulls to review our manuscripts?.  Journal of Biology ,  8 , 1-3.

13. 11 Routines and rituals Training routine Cardio Stretching Combinations Sparring ICE 13 Writing routine – Environment (desk and computer) – Steps (plan, draft, revision, elaboration, etc.)

14. 12 Adrenaline Fight or flight Adrenalin release Butterflies in stomach The shakes! 14 Optimal stress (for me!) – Working to tight deadline – Missing the deadline – Saved by extension!

15. 13 Maximizing your learning Opportunities Win  Loss  15 Submit to get feedback for next submission – high to lower (Cronin & McKenzie, 1992) – high to different high – low to higher Cronin, B., & McKenzie, G. (1992). The trajectory of rejection. Journal of documentation, 48(3), 310-317.

16. 16 Questions? Comments?