PATHWAYS TO PUBLICATION: "THE WRITER'S TASK FORCE MODEL"

This session will describe the Writer's Task Force approach to scientific writing and publication in the behavioral sciences. The Writer's Task Force is an annual writing seminar conducted since 1993 in the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry. In the seminar postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and other interested persons work collaboratively to prepare, critique, and revise papers before they are submitted for publication. In the past 5 years a total of 26 papers reviewed in the seminar were subsequently published. In the course of reviewing papers seminar participants consider the full range of writing topics including planning the paper, displaying data and tables, framing the research question, and preparing introduction and discussion sections. Common writing issues include determining authorship, working effectively with collaborators, selecting the appropriate journal, and preparing revisions and editor response letters. Through visiting speakers, the seminar also illuminates the role and concerns of journal editors and reviewers in the publication process. While the Writer's Task Force model may not be suited to every setting, lessons learned in the course of teaching this seminar will be helpful to many beginning and intermediate level writers.