Muskingum News

Associate Professor of Political Science Richard Arnold provided Muskingum students with hands-on editing experience for his latest book, Russia and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.  The students were enrolled in a special class on the 2018 World Cup taught by Dr. Arnold.

Chapters of the book had been submitted to Dr. Arnold by multiple international authors with perspectives on the event. The students reviewed the chapters, offered their insights on the content, and suggested argumentative changes as well as spelling and grammar changes to strengthen the writing. The students also wrote paragraphs for the book’s introduction, and they are acknowledged in the publication.

“Involving students in the editing process is great preparation for future employment or graduate school,” said Dr. Arnold. “It demystifies the publishing process for them, and I like the opportunity for students to reverse roles where they are offering criticism and feedback to scholars.  With this book, they were interacting with faculty authors from all over the globe. It is a great example of how I can provide them with the hands-on ‘Muskingum Experience’ in my classroom.”  

“I was especially pleased that students from outside of the social sciences were involved in the project,” Dr. Arnold noted. “We had insight into the chapters from a wide range of disciplines.”
    
“One student reviewed a chapter I wrote and offered such insightful commentary that I wrote something completely different than my original draft question," he said. "By being part of this process, the students were able to see that what they read in their textbooks is a very revised version of original work, that final products often require a lot of polishing, and that constructive criticism is how we all improve.”