On August 10th, 2024, the MoRa Academic Writing Club held its lead off online meeting from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM via Zoom. This event was initiated and organized by the Master of English Language Study Program, UIN Salatiga and Himpunan Mahasiswa Pascasarjana TBI (Tadris Bahasa Inggris) UIN Salatiga, along with the collaborating institutions such as, UIN Sumatra Utara Medan and UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung. The main goal of this meeting was to assist master students in overcoming academic writing challenges and to facilitate collaboration among lead authors and co-authors. This online community was initiated by Mrs. Rr. Dewi Wahyu Mustikasari, Ph.D., with her two collogues coming from the collaborating institutions, Mr. Maslathif Dwi Purnomo, M.Hum., Ph.D. and Mrs. Imani Anugrah, M.Pd., Ph.D.
The event began with opening remarks by Mrs. Rr. Dewi Wahyu Mustikasari, Ph.D., the Team Leader of the MoRa Academic Writing Club, who provided an overview of the club’s objectives and the day’s agenda. The core of the meeting featured a presentation by Mr. Faizal Risdianto, S.S., M.Hum., Managing Editor of the REGISTER Journal, a Sinta 2 journal. His presentation focused on critical considerations before submitting an academic article. Mr. Faizal emphasized the importance of aligning an article with the journal’s focus and scope, adhering to author guidelines and templates, and ensuring the article’s novelty, addressing research gaps, theoretical contributions, and flow of publications. He highlighted the need for high-quality articles with deep insights and detailed descriptions of phenomena as well as with well-researched references from reputable sources within the last 5-10 years. Additionally, Mr. Faizal introduced tools such as Connected Papers and Elicit.com for finding relevant studies and cautioned about the use of AI in writing, noting that significant AI-generated content might lead to article rejection by journals.
Following the presentation, a Q&A session addressed four questions. The first question, posed by a lecturer from UIN Sumatra Utara Medan, inquired about the typical review time for articles at the REGISTER Journal. Mr. Faizal responded that it usually takes 2-4 weeks, with minor mistakes potentially being processed and major issues leading to rejection. The second question, asked by Mrs. Dewi, queried whether this review period was standard for SINTA 2 indexed journals. Mr. Faizal confirmed that it is standard, though the acceptance rate is highly competitive at 10-15%. The third question sought information about the number of issues published annually by the REGISTER Journal, which is two issues, published in June and December. The final question addressed the ethical way to withdraw a paper after 2-3 months of no updates from the journal. Mr. Faizal recommended checking the journal’s review duration policy before submission and sending a formal withdrawal request if necessary.
After the discussion session completed, the meeting continued with team plotting, where participants from the three collaborating universities were organized into groups with lead authors and co-authors. Initial discussions focused on reviewing and editing their papers. The meeting concluded with closing remarks, including feedback from participants such as Mr. Maslathif Dwi Purnomo, M.Hum., Ph.D., from UIN Sumatra Utara Medan, who praised the club’s support for enhancing writing productivity and achieving publication in SINTA accredited journals. Plans for the next interactive and insightful session were made, scheduled for August 13th, 2024, to ensure ongoing support and progress in academic writing for all members.