Benjamin Schmeiser is Professor of Spanish at Illinois State University. He is an award-winning educator with over thirty years of experience teaching Spanish at the university level. His research concentrates primarily on Spanish linguistics. He has published in, and served as an invited reviewer for, premier journals, conferences, and publishers. In addition, he has either taught, conducted field work, presented and/or published his research in the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Thailand.

He is the author of Las variedades del mundohispano: Introducción a la dialectologíaespañola and the accompanying website, www.lasvariedadesdelmundohispano.com. Follow him @lasvariedades1 on Twitter/X and Instagram.

Reflections on Academic Writing: From Dissertation to Book (and Everything In Between)

Dr. Benjamin Schmeiser, Professor of Spanish
Illinois State University, USA

This talk explores academic writing and discusses the many common types of publications.In what follows, I discuss different writing styles, how to adapt, and offer pointers to help you become a better writer; an additional benefit is that you will become more familiar with the U.S. system, should that be relevant to you.

First, I briefly discuss the process of writing a thesis (often a requirement at the Master’s level)and a dissertation (often a requirement of completing a PhD). I discuss how to research ideas, challenges, and how to stay mentally focused during a time in which a student is under a lot of stress and deadlines.

Next, I discuss book chapters and conference proceedings. For book chapters, I include discussion on, among other things, the ability to adapt to the editor’s demands, the publisher, as well as their deadlines. For conference proceedings, I discuss the distinction of peer-reviewed reviews, as well as the different style sheets and expectations the editors may have.

I then discuss the challenges of writing a book. Last year, I published a book on the different varieties (or “dialects”) of the Spanish-speaking world. Writing a book is a testament of will and requires resolve and self-discipline, especially in a world with so many distractions. In this section, I discuss four general aspects of writing a book to consider as you improve your writing.

First, your schedule and routine. How you schedule your time is crucial to your success. Whether you are a night owl or a morning person, have family commitments, you commute, or have other responsibilities will have to be juggled as you find a pattern for writing. Some writers have a fixed schedule, while others prefer to write when fully inspired. Here I talk about the type of schedule you should consider keeping, given that ultimately, the best schedule is the one that produces the best results.

Second, your environment. It is important to know yourself in this regard, as you can easily get distracted or feel unmotivated. We will consider working at home, at a coffee shop, at work, etc. as well as whether to listen to music (and what type), among other things.

Third, other aspects of the book-writing process. You will need to be your own editor, copy editor, and to a certain extent, production editor. You will also need to be your own administrative assistant (e.g. secretary) and possibly, website developer. In this section, I talk about areas you will need to consider as they can take up a lot of time and are often underestimated.

Fourth, the mental factor. So much about doing something arduous is believing in yourself, which must come from having good habits. Stress, worry, Imposter Syndrome, and more can be huge hurdles to overcome. I will talk about each point, as well as give advice on how to fight through this challenging part.

In short, we learn so much about our subject matter, yet not enough time is dedicated to learning about the writing process itself. In this talk, I hope you leave with a better understanding and gain some tips to help you improve.