{"id":33,"date":"2017-01-16T14:23:21","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T19:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/writing-in-archaeology\/?p=33"},"modified":"2017-01-16T14:23:21","modified_gmt":"2017-01-16T19:23:21","slug":"onward-and-upward-my-writing-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/writing-in-archaeology\/2017\/01\/16\/onward-and-upward-my-writing-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Onward and Upward: My Writing Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m going to open this blog post with a confession: I am already behind in the research and writing process this semester. In this course, I hope to produce a paper for the Society for American Archaeology (SAA)<\/a> conference at the end of March. Given that the conference occurs on the last weekend of March, I should have had a plan in place last semester and all my data analysis should completed. Neither of these tasks are completed. However, in this post I will outline my goals and my plan for achieving them in the limited time remaining.<\/p>\n

My Output: My Private and Public Products for the Winter 2017 Semester<\/em><\/p>\n

In brief, I hope that my final product successfully occupies the intersection between methodology and theory. As it stands, the chemical composition results that I\u2019ve produced are inconsistent with my expectations of anthropogenic impacts. These expectations were founded on existing research aims and suggestions of potential that abound in the field of archaeological geochemistry. I hope to begin this paper with a presentation of ITRAX core scanning<\/a> as a novel method for archaeological soil analysis. My focus will be on situating my method within an archaeological movement towards increased resolution and efficient sampling protocols. I wish to continue by describing the limited evidence for hunter-gatherer occupations that I\u2019ve observed on traditionally identified sites. Referencing data from my study sites in Ontario, I wish to illustrate the minimal evidence that seems to exist for Archaic occupations. By considering questions about residential impacts and mobility, I wish to highlight the impacts of site-centric archaeology and commonplace notions of residential and logistic mobility. I hope this discussion will highlight the ability for scientific methods to contribute to narratives about the past while highlighting my preliminary results.<\/p>\n

As you can see, I only have a rough idea of what my final product will achieve. I intend to produce a series of private and public works over the course of the next few months to develop my ideas.\u00a0 By engaging in an extensive drafting and peer editing process, I will produce more than simply a final product in this course. I will begin by free-writing about my findings as I collect and process them. I hope that allowing myself to write informally and privately before finalizing my results will help address the necessity of writing early despite having incomplete data. By writing something that will not be shared, I hope to become comfortable documenting my\u00a0mistakes, identifying weaknesses, addressing confusion, and celebrating the strengths in my research and writing. \u00a0I also hope to be able to track the evolution of my ideas as I collect resources and results. This type of personal writing still falls within my comfort zone. Many of my fears and anxieties concerning writing stem from the realization that I am writing for other people. I hope to challenge myself by also creating public products that will be read by small groups of peers as I progress towards a final public product. I hope to begin this process with a depiction of my methods.<\/p>\n

I have selected methods as my starting point for public writing because I believe that this section will require significant work prior to becoming clear and concise. I do not wish to spend exorbitant amounts of time depicting my methods. However, I wish to present sufficient information to welcome discussion around potential modifications, applications, and complementary methods. I hope to provide multiple opportunities for my peers to comment and challenge me to create an engaging depiction of methods. After producing this section, I will proceed to integrate my results and discussion in smaller sections that will be circulated for review by select peer editors. I plan on having my drafting process culminate in the production of two full drafts that will be circulated among various editors. I hope the production of these semi-public drafts will encourage me to write consistently and review scrupulously.<\/p>\n

I have some questions concerning the differences between conference papers and published articles. With this being my first conference paper, I\u2019m not sure how to integrate materials such as diagrams and results tables in a clear and engaging manner. In many cases, I recognize that simply reading published papers would make for dull or incomprehensible presentations. I hope to benefit from the knowledge possessed by my peers to identify tangible characteristics that distinguish good conference presentations from forgettable or incomprehensible ones. By producing partial and full drafts early enough to solicit opinions and address feedback, I hope to develop my own voice and play with different structures and strategies for conference presentations. Additionally, as I would like this paper to eventually develop into a publishable article, I would like to identify the different elements that work for in presentations and papers.<\/p>\n

Finally, I hope to have to opportunity to practice my presentation and gain feedback on my presentation skills and organization. Though this is not a writing goal, I think it is important to identify effective ways of communicating in alternate formats. I would also like to begin identifying a personal presentation style that I will be able to refine at future conferences and talks. I am not the biggest fan of public speaking, and I hope to become more comfortable by practicing my presentation in an environment where I can welcome constructive criticism and correct my mistakes. Ideally, this will help me manage my nerves when I finally present my paper.<\/p>\n

My Schedule: Staying Accountable to Deadlines<\/em><\/p>\n

Given the many of goals I hope to accomplish, I have laid out the following schedule:<\/p>\n