About The WACademic 

The WACademic is a peer-reviewed blog based at Purdue University Global. Authored by faculty and staff for an audience of faculty, staff, and leadership, the blog promotes Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing Across the Globe as catalysts for meaningful change in academic institutions and disciplines. Blog contributions represent a range of applied and theoretical approaches: preliminary reports on original research, investigations of effective and creative teaching strategies, first-hand reports from the classroom, scholarly articles, thought-provoking commentaries, incisive literature, and book reviews on hot topics in the WAC field. Contributors seek to advance the art and practice of writing instruction in a context of student success, to share best practices and tools that enhance student learning, and to spark productive dialogue in the vibrant community for Writing Across the Curriculum.

Thank you for considering The WACademic. We welcome submissions that adhere to the following guidelines:

Any of the following text types will be considered: 

• Reports on original research
• Investigations of effective and creative teaching strategies
• Short scholarly articles
• Commentaries
• Narrative observations from teaching experience
• Pre-proposals
• Pilot studies
• Literature reviews
• Book reviews
• Briefs
• Précis
• Advocacy for new research
• Preliminary exploration of research questions
• Sequels
• Feel free to contact the editors about any genre not represented here.

Manuscripts should:

• Adhere to a range of 750-1200 words (not including references).
• Represent previously unpublished (original or substantively new) work.
• Follow APA 7th edition professional guidelines for formatting and documentation.
• Include an approximately 100-word mini-abstract (not part of the word count).
• Include a brief biographical note of no more than 50 words (also not part of the word count).
• Use double-spacing and 11-point Arial or 12-point Times New Roman font (however, please note that the font will be changed for final publication).
• Avoid footnotes or endnotes (aside from the References list).
• Follow accessibility guidelines.
• Use figures (e.g. images, charts, and line art) only when these add significant value. Such graphics should be included in the manuscript for initial review and also submitted as separate files in uncompressed JPG format at 300 dpi or higher. Be sure to include acknowledgments and permissions for images created by others. For accessibility, provide both a caption and descriptive alternative text for each visual. Tables can be included solely as marked-up text in the main manuscript file. Follow APA 7th edition formatting guidelines for figures.
• Use and cite at least two recent peer-reviewed sources from the last five years.
• Limit the total number of references to essential sources.
• The title should not exceed 65 characters (including spaces).

Please remember:

• For this blog, avoid submission of social-media texts, your own creative writing, purely personal or ideological narratives. Any pop-culture content should clearly relate to rhetoric or teaching.
• If presenting the results of original quantitative research, explain the scope, relevance, and statistical significance of your data set.
• Include appropriate disclaimers on any potential conflicts of interest or commitment.
• All submissions should adhere to the public-facing Purdue Global AI Writing policy.
• Follow ethical research guidelines. Adhere to the guidelines of the PG Institutional Review Board (IRB) or those of the institution where the research was conducted for any research data collected from human subjects, including students and other faculty or staff. Include statements of compliance and/or IRB approvals where applicable.
• Follow FERPA regulations in the treatment of any student data or information.
• Do not include personally identifiable information (PII) aside from your own name in any submission.
• Fact-check your own work before submission.

If you have any questions, please contact the editors at: thewacademic@gmail.com