Next Steps

  

Assignment: Next Steps

For this week, you will work on developing a writing process strategy to continue improving your scholarly writing, and you will incorporate your S.M.A.R.T. goals identified in this week’s Discussion. As you work on these last assignments, take time to reflect on all you have accomplished, how much you have supported and encouraged your colleagues, and the rewarding journey ahead.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review      the feedback you received regarding the S.M.A.R.T. goals you identified in      this week’s Discussion.
• Revise      your goals accordingly, based on feedback provided by your Instructor, your      colleagues, and any other relevant source (e.g., other Instructors).
• Review      Learning Resources, and consider how these resources might support your      writing process.

By Saturday January 20, 2018 at 9pm America New/York time, in APA form,

Submit a 2- to 3-paragraph reflection in which you do the following:

1) Describe any strategies you might use for advancing your scholarly writing and why you selected these strategies.

2) Explain the types of resources you will use to support your writing process as you continue your scholarly journey (e.g., Writing Center materials, support groups, professional learning communities, and regular discussions with your doctoral chair).

3) Identify any potential issues you might face and provide strategies on how you might address these issues.

4) Congratulate yourself on at least one skill you have gained/improved upon during your experience in this course.

Required Readings

Walden University Writing Center. (2015i). Walden templates: General templates: APA course paper template (6th ed.). Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

Laureate Education. (2015). [Infographic]. Reflecting on your Writing, Baltimore, MD: Author.

Walden University Academic Skills Center. (2017). SMART goals. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCsuccess/smartgoals

As you review this website, focus on how you might develop your own goals that are S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). 

Skarbakka, K. (2015, January 26). Self-reflection: Getting to know all about your (writing) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/2015/01/reflection.html

Optional Resources

Additional support courses are available as you continue developing your doctoral writing skills. Consider these when creating your SMART goals:

Walden University Academic Skills Center. (2017). ASC courses and workshops. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/ASCcourses

Recommended courses:

CAEX 6200 / 6201: Basic APA Style: Citations and References. Take this course to practice citing and referencing in a supportive environment.

CAEX 6300 / 6301: Reading Techniques for Graduate Study. Take this course to become a more proficient and critical reader of research articles.

CAEX 6100 / 6101: Critical Thinking for Social Change. Take this course to examine your passion for social change through a research perspective.

The Writing Center has lived and recorded webinars on grammar, scholarly writing, and APA style. Consider these when creating your SMART goals:

Walden University Writing Center. (2015). Webinars: Overview & calendar. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/webinars

Running head: SMART GOALS 1

SMART GOALS 2

Writing MY SMART Goals

Student’s Name

Institution

Date

Writing MY SMART Goals

Throughout this writing course, there are many things that I have learned about my writing skills. There are many mistakes that I have never recognized before the course that I can now point out and correct easily. However, this is still a learning experience for me, and I hope to get even better at writing in the future. The following are the goals I plan to achieve, the barriers that might hinder me from achieving the goals, and my plan for overcoming these barriers.

The Goals

The following are the goals that I hope to achieve;

· I will improve my general writing skills through the use of feedback from my instructors and colleagues to correct any mistakes that I might have made to achieve less than 1% error rate in my work by the end of the year.

· I will improve the use of formal tone by reading more academic and formal writing to ensure that there is zero use of biased language contractions, personal pronouns, rhetorical questions, and slang within the next three months.

· I will overcome my writers’ block problem through constant practice so that I can be able to write at least two good formal papers in a week within the next six months.

The goals presented above will help me to improve my scholarly writing significantly within the next one year. The first goal will enable me to improve on my grammatical mistakes and any other issues that prevent me from attaining a 100% lack of error in my work. The second goal will help me to develop scholarly work that is suitable for the formal setting. Lastly, overcoming writers’ block will enable me to be more consistent in writing quality work. Writing is a process and not an automatic event; hence, it can take time to get used to the skill (Zamarripa, 2015; Walden Writing Center, 2015). However, I am willing to work hard to make it easier.

Possible Barriers to Achieving the Goals

One barrier that would stop me from achieving the goals set above is the lack of time to practice my writing. I currently have a busy schedule having to balance between work and education. I also have to set aside some time for recreation to stay active. Therefore, it can be hard to set aside enough time to get to practice the actions that will help me to achieve my goals. Additionally, I think that I lack the right environment to practice and study more about writing so that I can improve my scholarly writing skills. While at home I am easily distracted by my family, and at work, I am distracted by my colleagues. I only have a little time in my day that I can visit a library or a quiet place to get to focus solely on my writing. However, these are barriers that I can find solutions to.

Plans to Deal with the Barriers

To solve the barriers mentioned above, I will have to get the help of the people around me including my family, friends, and colleagues. I will explain my goals to them and why it is important for me to achieve them. If they understand my goals, then they will be able to understand when I have to change the plans we may have to focus on practicing my writing. I will also work hard to change my schedule to allocate at least three hours every week to my writing practice. Once these barriers have been dealt with, then I can easily work on the weaknesses that still hold me back from being the best writer that I can be.

References

Walden University Writing Center. (2015b). Common writing terms: Overview. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/terms/home

Zamarripa, E. (2015). What Are You Writing For? How Your Academic Writing Skills Transfer into the Workplace. Walden writing center. Retrieved 28 November 2017, from http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-are- you-writing- for-how-your.html