Section outline

  • Course Overview

    This course equips you with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to write and organize a strong journal article, meeting all the requirements of a publisher. It explores working with co-authors, where authors share their experiences and give advice on how to effectively work with a team of authors. It also provides guidance on how to maximize the discoverability of articles through channels such as social media and search engines.

    Learning Outcomes

    This course will help you to:

    1. Understand the importance of structuring and formatting a journal article to meet expectations of the relevant journal
    2. Use these as a blueprint to clarify your thinking, articulate your research, and present your article correctly 
    3. Identify and apply effective strategies and resources to ensure your research is articulated clearly within the article  
    4. Make further use of these strategies to increase your chances of getting published 
    5. Identify key strategies to increase article discoverability and apply these to maximize the visibility of your article


    From time to time, we will refer to SAGE’s own specific publishing practices so that we can give you the most specific and practical guidance possible. However, these processes will likely be applicable to other journal publishers. If in doubt, always check their guidelines.

    • Pre-Course Self Assessment

      Before you dive into this course, spend a few moments reflecting on your familiarity with the topic and your current level of skills confidence. 

      You will then re-visit the same questions in our Post-Course Self Assessment and reflect on how the course has helped you develop in confidence and grow your skills.

      • Video Transcripts

        You can access all video transcripts here. 

      • Module One: Structuring Your Article

        This module will help you to:

        1. Understand the importance of structuring and formatting your journal article according to your publisher’s guidelines
        2. Apply these guidelines to ensure your article successfully progresses through the publication process 
        3. Use these suggestions as an outline to clarify your thinking, articulate your research, and present your article in the best light

      • Module Two: Tips for Writing

        This module will help you to:

        1. Identify relevant resources and apply effective strategies to improve your article and increase your chances of getting published 

      • Module Three: Defining Authorship

        This module will help you to:

        1. Compare the responsibilities of different author roles  in order  to effectively organize the writing of your article
        2. Successfully  manage the publication process with your author  team

      • Module Four: Increasing Discoverability of Your Article

        This module will help you to:

        1. Identify key strategies to increase your article’s discoverability
        2. Apply these to maximize the visibility of your article

      • Post-Course Self Assessment

        Now you’ve completed the course, spend a few moments reflecting on where your familiarity with the topics and your confidence skills le vels are at now. 

        Has the course helped you develop new skills and grow your confidence?

        You'll need to complete the Post-Course Self Assessment in order to download your certificate. If you didn't do the Pre-Course Self Assessment before starting the course, please go to the top of the page and reflect on your familiarity with the topic and your level of skills confidence before you started the course.

        • Completion: Certificate

          Completing all modules (plus the pre and post-course assessments) will unlock the course certificate, which you can then download here. Your course certificate will only be made available once you have completed all these sections.

          If you have difficulty accessing your certificate, please contact the Sage support team at: onlinesupport@sagepub.co.uk. You can also check out this FAQ page which may be helpful.

          • Give Feedback About This Course

            Did you enjoy the course? Please take two minutes to share your feedback. We use learner feedback in future course updates and developments to provide an excellent learning experience.

          • Accessibility

            We have high standards of accessibility on Sage Campus and as of May/June 2024 all activities within this course are keyboard and screen reader compatible. For more details on accessibility standards, please see the Sage Campus Accessibility Guide.

            For those using assistive technology, please note that within this course:

            • Tab components: JAWS and NVDA behave slightly differently. For NVDA to keep reading, it is best to exit focus mode and go back to browse mode. 
            • Matching: JAWS does not read out question label on dropdown focus.