What is Reddit's opinion of Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research?

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I realize this is already too late, but I have some tips for the future. I'm currently working on my PhD in social science, so I've learned some techniques for how you should be thinking about your text from the start. Imagine its like its the warm up to a dinner party. Don't be the guy that's shouting from the stage. Don't be the guy standing in a corner talking with himself either. Instead:

• Realize who your audience is (keep this in mind at all times)
• Know what's being discussed among the audience (read academic papers, read newspaper articles, government reports, text books, watch the news, read magazine articles related to the topic (e.g. teacher union magazines for your topic?))

• Ask yourself the following:

  • Can your data tell a story that will change peoples' minds or inform the debate somehow?
  • Is there a viewpoint (contextual, theoretical, personal, etc.) others have not considered that will change people's minds or inform the debate somehow? Depending on the type of paper you are writing, not all of these will be applicable. Use your discretion.
  • Would someone disagreeing with you be able to attack your argumentation easily? If yes, bolster it, abandon it, or re-think what you really want to say.

• I assume you are from the U.S. If you are, try to avoid being normative. Describe why it NCLB (No child left behind?) does not work, and then in the end perhaps suggest improvement depending on the subject you are studying. Try to separate your opinion from what you observe, and in the end discuss whether or not the goals of the program is likely to be attained considering what you found.

If you keep these bullet points in mind writing academic texts about relevant topics is much, much easier. If you are really interested in the topic, you might want to read a book like this.