Essential Writing Tools for Building a Scholarly Foundation in Higher Education

Introduction Immediately following the doctoral defense, the newly-affirmed, "Dr." Rearick, exclaimed, "Thank goodness, the dissertation is done. That has been enough writing to last me a lifetime!" Little did she know that eight months later she would accept a tenure-track position in an institution of higher education which necessitated a change of attitude about the art of writing. In actuality, the day she defended was the day that the professional responsibility of researching, writing, and contributing to the educational field had truly begun. Writing for publication can be intimidating. Newly-hired, tenure-track university professors may have experienced similar situations to that of Dr. Rearick. After a successful doctoral defense, an initial and brief period of relief is followed by the startling realization that the researching and writing frenzy is just beginning. Anxiety, apprehension, or primal fear may spread through one's soul when thinking about the daunting task of writing. Knowing that publishing in refereed journals is usually necessary for successful careers in higher education can be overwhelming. However, just as knowledgeable contractors understand how tools work and use the appropriate ones for various building tasks; scholarly writers must understand the required tools for high-quality intellectual writing and use those tools on a daily basis to add important, scholarly written material to their professional fields of study. This article is written to provide the essential writing tools for building a successful scholarly foundation in higher education. Authors' Tools for Writing Projects Design a personal writing blueprint: Identify your passion and start writing! Sometimes the hardest part about writing is selecting a topic and getting started. So, just sit down and begin writing. Write about topics that interest and motivate you, rather than searching for trends of the moment (Huff, 1999; Jalongo, 2002). When one writes about matters of professional and personal importance, the message can be made clearly and emphatically. Make your writing passion a "hot topic." When selecting a writing topic, consider these three factors: one's formal education, work experience, and personal and professional interests. Jalongo (2002) suggested that a triple Venn diagram be drawn to assist a writer in analyzing one's writing strengths. Consider, "What topic is at the intersection of your education, work, and interests?" (p. 24). Another technique used to design one's writing blueprint is to review the substance of conference presentations. In preparing conference proposals and presentations, recently-published information is usually gathered and distributed. Conference presenters give a great deal of thought to particular topics. So, after a session is delivered, consider the audience's comments and questions. Use presented conference materials and audience's comments and questions to begin drafting an article for publication. This approach is effective in motivating one to begin the writing process. Writers may hesitate to begin the writing process because they hold negative attitudes about writing or they perceive themselves as poor writers. Some people simply don't like to write because it is difficult for them (McConnell, 1999). A "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" scenario develops. "Do they dislike writing because it is difficult for them, or is writing difficult for them because they dislike it?" (McConnell, 1999, pg. 74). The more one writes the greater the possibility exists for becoming a better writer. The task of writing is obviously more difficult for some than for others, as people vary in writing skill abilities (Jalongo, 2002). But, take comfort in knowing that "there are relatively few 'natural writers' in the world, and what is often referred to as a 'talent' for writing is usually a level of skill that has emerged as a result of hard work" (McConnell, 1990, p. …