This document provides an overview of the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (JAAL) for potential authors and readers. It outlines the journal's vision to connect various stakeholders through theory, research and practice pieces on adolescent and adult literacy. Feature articles should focus on connections between different literacies, 21st century skills, teacher advocacy, teaching diverse learners, and disciplinary literacies. Successful submissions will be 5,000-6,000 words with required sidebars. The review process aims to provide an initial decision within 10 weeks. Other special features include cover art, discussion forums, and short literacy perspective pieces. Readers are encouraged to get involved by submitting articles, art, or joining online discussions.

1. Writing for JAAL
Emily N. Skinner&
Margaret C. Hagood
Co-Editors
College of Charleston

2. Session Overview
• Introductions
• Vision for 2012-2016
• Description of features
• Review process
• Questions?

3. Vision
• Connections and conversations of various stakeholders:
teachers, adolescent and adult
learners, researchers, teacher educators, media
specialists/librarians, policy makers
• Inclusion of readers of the journal in both consumption
and production of texts
• Balance of theory, research, and practice
• Driven by expanded definition of text and of
multifaceted view of literacy, including
reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and
designing

4. Seeking submissions that attend to:
• Connections among six literacies—
reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and designing—grounded in
multidisciplinary topics and inquiries both responsive to school standards
and relevant to students’ lives.
• 21st century learning that merge Web 1.0 and 2.0 features (and moving
into Web 3.0) and connect local and global literacies
• Producing literacies- writing/designing
• Teacher advocacy through negotiations of state standards, testing
culture, and technology issues
• Teaching diverse groups of students
• Disciplinary literacies
• Qualitative and/or quantitative research

5. Feature Articles
• Criteria: High-quality research into practice manuscripts that make a
significant contribution to advancing and integrating theory and practice
in adolescent and adult literacy
• Format: Research study
Teacher action research
Conceptual piece
• Tone:Accessibleand engaging
• Length:5,000 to 6,000 words,including citations, required Take
Action! And More to Explore sidebars, and reference list
Encourage inclusion of charts, tables, figures, photographs, video clips
Recommendation: Choose a modelJAAL article and set up your work similarly

6. Required Feature Article Sidebars
Take Action
• Short (270 words)sidebar that accompanies JAAL feature articles and lists
author’sideas teachers might implement in their classrooms.
• Clear and concise, including content area examples
More to Explore
• Sidebar listing 3-4 texts (encourage both print and non-print texts
[videos, websites, applications, etc.]) that readers can go to to learn more
about the subject matter of your piece.
These features must be included in initial submission before they will be sent
out for review.

7. Manuscript Review Process
• Acceptance determined by the 3 reviewers’ recommendations and editorial
evaluation based on originality, significance, scholarship, clearly
articulated relationship between theory and practice, audience
appeal, organization, and writing style appropriateness for JAAL audience.
The acceptance rate has been 16–20%.
• Initial decision (accept with minor revisions, revise and resubmit, reject)
provided within ten weeks of submission.
• Revise and resubmit decisionshave a very good chance of proceeding
towards publication if recommendations are addressed.
• Early View Publication: Feature articles will be published online as soon as
they are processedand can be cited at that time.
• Podcasts of feature articles posted when ejournal becomes available.
• Publication date of accepted manuscripts is currently slated for upcoming
volume year (2013-2014).

8. Other Special Features
• Cover art
• Meeting of the Minds
• Literacy Lenses

9. Cover Art
• Adolescent and adult representations of adolescent and adult
literacies in action.
• Answers the question, How are literacies enacted in the lives of
adolescents and adults and what do they look like?
• Welcome photographs, paintings, illustrations, word clouds, and
digital art.
• Adhere to appropriate releases.
• Include no content copyrighted by a third party.
• Submit in digital format.

10. Cover Art Examples
―The Good Stuff
Found Therein‖
James F. Wolgom
―Documenting the
Occupy Movement‖
Elizabeth Beier
―Fretboard to
heaven‖
Patrick Benner

11. Meeting of the Minds
• Highlights discussion
around journal's content
and current literacy issues
• "Like" JAAL on FB and
join the conversation

12. Literacy Lenses
• Essays by middle school and high school teachers, media
specialists, librarians, literacy coaches, curriculum
specialists, administrators, pre-service teachers, teacher
educators, and by adolescent and adult learners.
• Highlight authors’ perspectives of teaching and/or learning with
literacies to inspire reader reflection of the literacy issues
• Non-academic writing (written in first person without citations or
references included).
• Approximately 500 words
• One-year, online-only subscription to any IRA journal for either
yourself or a colleague if selected.

13. Get involved!
• Write a feature article
• Write a piece for Literacy Lenses or work with students
and have them submit first person pieces
•Submit cover art
• Like the JAAL Facebook page and join in the
conversation with other JAAL readers
• Offer to be a guest reviewer

14. Contact Information
Emily Skinner skinnere@cofc.edu
Margaret Hagood hagoodm@cofc.edu
Meg Manuel (Administrative Assistant)
Manuelmk@cofc.edu
Shannon Fortner sfortner@reading.org