WHAT ARE MY EXPECTATIONS AS AN AUTHOR?
Final manuscripts for publication are expected to be 3500 to 6000 words in length (approximately 15-25 pages). Before submitting a proposal, please understand that, if accepted, you are committing to compose a scholarly essay of this scope.
All authors will need to submit a proposal in the Fall semester to be considered for acceptance into the journal. Generally, Re:Search accepts anywhere from 5-10 articles into the journal per year. If you submit a proposal, you may also act as a peer reviewer for other proposals.
If accepted, your revised project will undergo a second peer review process prior to the publication in May. We are not seeking to reduce the number of submissions we have already accepted—reviews will ensure that your project adheres to the journal’s Aims and Scope. The Executive Board reserves the right to make a final decision on the acceptance or rejection of a submission. You are expected to give serious consideration to the revisions recommended by the Executive Board on your proposal. We encourage you to review those recommendations with your Faculty Mentor. You will need to email Revision Plans to Re:Search shortly after acceptance, at the beginning of the winter break. Your response will discuss any changes to your project based on the editors’ comments and your Faculty Mentor’s advice. You may also include questions about your project.
Revision Plans should include a brief (less than 300 word) explanation of the work you plan to do for the following:
o Content: adjust scope/number and time span/genres of primary texts; check appropriateness of theoretical framework to your argument; definition of terms
o Works Cited: check engagement with critics/related literature review; identify the best available critical edition for primary texts with your Faculty Mentor; check MLA form to prepare for copyediting in advance (consult the MLA handbook 7th edition, your mentor, library staff, or the Writers Workshop)
Authors are expected to attend workshops (around 2-3 workshops of authors’ collective choice) in the Spring semester to hone their work and keep on schedule. A preliminary draft will be due mid-Spring semester to ensure that Authors are on track to complete their papers. Most authors begin writing over the winter break to comfortably accommodate the publication timeline.
During the Spring semester, we expect, but do not require, that several of our authors will present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Proposals for presentations are due at the beginning of the Spring semester. Presentations may be made individually or in panel form.
You will be expected to verify that your final manuscript submission is your own original work and is not plagiarized from any other source. You are accountable for all plagiarism charges and Re:Search will not be held responsible for student plagiarism. See research.illinois.edu/training/integrity.cfm. The Executive Board reserves the right to fact check and copy edit submissions, which may include minor cuts for length.
Authors will receive a hard copy of the journal at the Re:Search Publication Launch Party at the end of Spring Semester. Authors may request additional copies of the journal for family and friends. The journal is also published on the Online Journal System through the University of Illinois Library.
WHAT ARE MY EXPECTATIONS AS A FACULTY MENTOR?
Authors and mentors are welcome to meet as many times throughout the semester as they see fit, but will be required to meet at least twice during the Spring semester. Meetings can take place in-person, over the telephone, through Skype/Google Hangouts, or whatever other form of communication allows authors to consult with the faculty mentor in more depth than simply email alone.
Mentorship alone does not accrue course credit or honors credit for the student. Grades are not given unless the student is enrolled in ENGL 391 and completing an honors thesis for the department.
Goals of Mentorship
o To encourage undergraduate research on campus
o To foster a professional and collaborative relationship between the undergraduate student and the faculty mentor
o To share faculty expertise as undergraduates work through conception, revision, and polishing of an article fit for publication
o To enable dialogue about revision, to reconcile feedback from peers and faculty, and to improve the work substantially before the author’s final submission is accepted
Recommended format to meetings
o First meeting (February): Student will email a rough draft to the Faculty Mentor prior to the first meeting, allowing sufficient time for the Mentor to read it thoroughly (a week in advance is recommended). Mentor should provide written commentary on the argument (hard copy or electronic), suggesting improvements in style, pointing out weaknesses in the logic or evidence, and/or referring the student to additional scholarship useful to the further development of the paper.
o Second meeting (early April): Student will submit a revised draft of their paper after copy editing to the Faculty Mentor (a week in advance is recommended). As this meeting will take place closer to publication, and will focus on citations and close editing to prepare the student for final submissions.