Writing the Conceptual Article: A Practical Guide

The conceptual article can make a valuable contribution to the scholarly conversation but presents its own special challenges compared to the traditional article that reports empirical findings or interpretive analysis with a familiar organizational structure. This article provides a guide to this task, organized around the process of concept explication—the development of theoretical concepts with careful attention to the interplay between their definition and measurement. From ideation to the final writing stage, one must carefully specify how these concepts are connected together in a broader theoretical argument. Examples of this kind of conceptual work are drawn from the field of journalism studies and communication to guide writers in moving beyond an essay that summarizes literature to an article that makes an original contribution, writing in such a way that the key argument is communicated effectively.