Journals - Rhetoric and Composition
Writing Center Journal (WCJ)
Download
Description
Writing Center Journal (WCJ)
Website: http://www.english.udel.edu/wcj/
Editors: Lauren Fitzgerald and Melissa Ianetta (2010)
Publisher Information:
Writing Center Journal
Rivier College
420 Main St.
Nashua New Hampshire 03060
Keywords/Themes: university writing centers, writing labs, services, administration, writing programs, writing center pedagogy, writing center theories and practices, reviews of writing center related texts.
Description: In print since 1980, Writing Center Journal is a bi-annual peer reviewed publication printed two issues per year. It is an official publication of the International Writing Centers Association and affiliated with the National Council of Teachers of English.
Audience: The audience of the Writing Center Journal is writing program administrators, writing center tutors, writing center volunteers, and writing center employees. The journal states that its audience is wider than those who attend conferences in the field of writing centers, and ask that those who are submitting keep that in mind for manuscripts.
Mission: The Writing Center Journal’s mission is to “publish original research of interest to writing center professionals” and “to forge connections between writing centers and rhetoric and composition studies.”
Articles Published: The Writing Center Journal publishes traditional academic essays including empirical research and theoretical research on a survey of practices, pedagogies, and administration in association with writing center work. The journal also publishes articles that connect writing center theory to best practice, book reviews, responses to previous articles, announcements of interest (or news in the writing center), and letters to the editor. All of these articles relate to writing centers from middle schools to university level. Everything is marketed to the “writing center specialist.”
Submission Guidelines: Manuscripts submitted go through a blind review by two external readers from the fifty-three person reading pool. The website states: “prospective authors should look carefully through previous issues of the journal to get a sense of audience, genre, format, and topics of interest. Whatever topic you choose to research and write about, it is important that you ground your discussion in the current related literature on writing centers and composition studies.” Since May of 2002, WCJ has published 21% of the articles they have received; summing a grand total of thirty-nine approved and published manuscripts. The website assures the reader this is not a 79% rejection rate, but rather a use of “revise and resubmit” options (discussed below).
Submission and Review Process: Submissions should be sent as an e-mail attachment to and should follow all current MLA style guidelines.
Every manuscript has the potential to go through four stages before every publication. The first stage is the submission of the manuscript, in this stage editors read the submission and decide if it should be sent out for blind review. In this blind review the manuscript goes out to two readers from the reader pool. Ideally, one reader is an expert in the particular manuscript topic and the other is a “general” reader of writing center literature. Reviewers then choose one of the four options for each read manuscript:
1. Accept as is
2. Accept with revisions
3. Revise and resubmit
4. Reject overall
With any of these options, other than “accept as is,” reviewers read and comment on the manuscript in a way that would be most helpful to revise for eventual publication in WCJ. Also, upon return of the manuscript, reviewers can choose whether or not to release their names to the author.
Following the blind review, the WCJ issues a response in approximately eight weeks. The response then depends of the manuscript status option as delineated by the reviewers.
Note: the “publish as is” option is not impossible, but the website states it has never happened.
If the manuscript is “accepted with revision” the author receives reviewer and editor comments indicating that it is close to the point of publication. Once the manuscript is sent back, it requires approval of only one reviewer (often one of the original blind reviewers).
If the manuscript is returned with the “revise and resubmit” option, the manuscript shows promise for publication, but not in its current state. The revised and resubmitted manuscript must once again go through the blind review process (ideally with one of the original reviewers).
If the manuscript is “rejected overall” it is considered inappropriate for WCJ and probably never will be. Manuscripts like this rarely make it through the editors at initial submission.
Fourth and finally is the editorial revision and publication stage. If the manuscript makes it through, the editors will be in touch with the authors about bios, minor revisions, formatting issues, and anything else that they need permission to change for the manuscript. The author will receive page proofs of articles that must be proofread carefully in about 7-10 days. Additionally, there is a 6-12 month waiting period between acceptance and publication.
Availability:
WCJ is available through the Ohio University Libraries.
1. To access through the library website:
a. Search through Alice: Writing Center Journal in periodicals
b. Access the electronic source
c. Full text available from Freely Accessible Social Science Journals: 1980 to 2004
Full text available from Education Research Complete: 03/01/2006 to present
Author
Heather McFall (2009), Claudia Auger (Updated 5/31/11)
Date of Upload
5/31/11