Book Review: Write to the Top! How to Become a Prolific Academic

Abstract

Johnson and Mullen’s (2007) Write to the Top reveals important insights into academic apprenticeship by presenting daily but essential aspects of living, working, and thinking as a university scholar. Discussing 65 distinct topics organized into 11 chapters, this academic guide initiates new scholars into the phenomenology of academic writing, not by presenting formal rules, but rather by helping readers understand the beauty of scholarship and the constraints and liberties of working in higher education. As the authors make crystal clear from the outset, academic writing does not constitute the only aspect of an academic’s life; however, these writing skills are essential to surviving in higher education. Without outstanding writing skills, life in research-oriented universities becomes a nightmare. Once acknowledging their major career goals, newcomers who decide to enter academia must clearly establish their priorities in order to build a solid career. The book does not advise a prospective academic writer to quit other obligations such as family, teaching, service, or athletic practices. According to the authors, these obligations may be put off in the short term, but a prolific author must avoid single-mindedness in order to achieve long term career goals. Yet, progress in academic writing is not guaranteed as a linear progression. As Boice (1990) cautioned in his book Professors as writers: A self-guide to productive writing, the pace in scholarly writing is not something easy to keep; traversing a path from an external decision to internalization is an arduous process, but one essential to fostering substantial contributions in scholarly writing.