Interlude: Feedback, Context, and Hijacked Journals
I was recently talking to an author about some feedback they got from a reviewer (yes, it was Reviewer #2). While we were discussing the feedback, the author said that the reviewer "just didn't understand the point I was making."
But the problem was not that the reviewer didn't understand the information. The problem was that the author didn't give the right context for the reviewer to understand the information.
As authors, our responsibility is to give readers the context they need to easily understand the information we want to communicate to them.
That's because context promotes clear communication.
How do you know what context to give?
First, you need to know your audience and meet them where they are so you can anticipate their needs when they read your writing.
Second, you need to be aware of the curse of knowledge so you don't unknowingly and unintentionally assume that readers know what you know.
And third, you need to fill gaps and simplify complex language so you can ensure the context is easy for readers to comprehend.
To help you identify when you need to give more (or less) context, I recommend three strategies.
Get some distance from the writing by building in extra time to step away from the text and come back with fresh eyes.
Ask for feedback from non-specialists who don't have the same expertise—and curse of knowledge—as you.
Partner with a professional editor who can bring a trained pair of eyes to your writing.
What strategies do you have for ensuring readers get the context they need?
Now onto this week's round-up...
💌 Round-up
📆 Upcoming
What to Do When You Have Enough Clients: Career Progression as a Freelancer – AMWA Conference
On October 24, 2024, I'm joining three skilled freelancers for a panel-style discussion on navigating the best career path for you, scaling your business, and evaluating your options to expand your services.
👓 Reading
Hijacked journals are still a threat — here’s what publishers can do about them
"How can researchers, publishers and editors avoid journal hijacking? The first step, says Abalkina, is for journal publishers and editors to take the time to build a strong and secure website. . . smaller journals could register different domain names that redirect to a single URL, to make it more difficult for hijackers to register a convincing fake URL…”
Prevalence of plagiarism in hijacked journals: A text similarity analysis
"…papers from hijacked journals exhibit a significant prevalence of plagiarism. . . hijacked journals compromising data in bibliographic databases (e.g., Scopus) and their lower incidence of compared to other hijacked journals was confirmed. . . papers authored by one or two coauthors exhibit a higher incidence of plagiarism than papers written by three coauthors or more. . . the absence of stringent publication requirements, peer review and plagiarism checks in hijacked journals allows authors to publish texts with a significant amount of plagiarism.”
🎧 Listening
Trevor Noah on the importance of context – ReThinking podcast
During the first 15 minutes of this episode, Trevor Noah and Adam Grant discuss the importance of context: "And so I think context is everything. Without context, we are not actually communicating."
💬 Quotes
“The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.” – Edwin Schlossberg
"Context is to data what water is to a dolphin." – Dan Simmons
✅ Action
The next time you are refining the text in a document, ask yourself if you are giving readers the context they need to understand the information.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
