Abstract
The writing activities involved in research are not fully articulated in discussions of academic work. In this context, academics say they have to disengage from other tasks in order to write, which raises fundamental questions about the place of writing in academic work. A study designed to find out more about this disengagement showed that it involved acts of engagement with writing. Reconceptualizing disengagement from other tasks as engagement with writing repositions writing as part of academic work. This is critical for new and emerging researchers: it provides concepts to underpin practices that will enable them regularly to write. This article provides a model for physical, social and cognitive engagement with writing and explores how it can be put into practice. Implications for academics and those responsible for developing research capacity are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded by Strathclyde University. Dr. Mary Newton was the researcher who developed, distributed and helped to analyse questionnaires. I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Skerratt at the Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh for providing feedback on early drafts of the model for engaging with writing.
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Appendix: Questionnaire
Appendix: Questionnaire
Engagement with academic writing/disengagement from other tasks
Recent research has suggested that the ability to disengage from other tasks and engage with academic writing is a characteristic of successful academic writers. We are trying to find out what a range of academics understand by the term disengagement, how they go about this and if they think they are successful.
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Are you an emerging writer or an established writer?
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Could you explain what you understand by the term ‘disengagement from other tasks in order to engage with academic writing’?
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In what way would you go about disengaging from other tasks in order to engage with academic writing?
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How successful do you feel you have been up until now in disengaging from other tasks in order to engage with academic writing?
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What form of support would be useful in helping you to disengage from other tasks and engage with academic writing?
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Murray, R. ‘It’s not a hobby’: reconceptualizing the place of writing in academic work. High Educ 66, 79–91 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9591-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9591-7