AJI Advanced Support for Academic Writing in English

The Institute started its preparation for a new journal in English in June 2018. In order to strengthen this preparation, the Institute also introduced a new program, called "AJI Advanced Support for Academic Writing in English", which aims at supporting the prospective contributors of papers to the journal, by helping them to develop their capabilities to write academic works.

Since the Institute calls for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research, all researchers within the university, regardless of their specialties in natural or social sciences or humanities, are most welcome to submit their papers.

Since this is a part of the preparation for academic periodicals, the schedule for programs of "AJI Advanced Support for Academic Writing in English" are coordinated with the 'calls for papers' by AJI Journal and Asia-Japan Research Academic Bulletin.

When non-native speakers of English write their works in English, they usually get help from companies specialized in grammatical checking. However, our program is not concerned only with grammatical correctness. We understand that vast majority of scientists in the world are not native-born English speakers. With this in mind, we teach the clear and logical presentation of quality scientific works to an interdisciplinary, international spectrum of both native and non-native speakers of English. Through our orientation, workshops, and individual tutorial sessions, we aim to help all participants to develop their writing capabilities and enable them to present their research in truly global contexts.

In our program, whenever Japanese language is helpful it is used to ensure complete understanding, and we also discuss in Japanese in our individual tutorial sessions.

Professor Anthony Brewer, Director of the Support Program, is a specialist in English language and highly experienced editor for professional writing. He has been supporting writing in English for more than 30 years, not only for business and media purposes, but also for scientists in their academic research works. He has been helping academicians in Kyoto University, University of Osaka, Doshisha University, Meiji University, and other institutions in Japan.

Dr. Ammar Khashan, the program’s coordinator since its inception, also provides guidance on papers with Professor Brewer. Drawing on his extensive experience of teaching at university level in English to international students, and his advanced academic Japanese, Dr. Khashan offers bilingual tutorial support. He particularly assists Japanese participants with clear explanations in Japanese, supplementing Professor Brewer's guidance on English expression and composition across diverse fields, including politics, economics, and international relations.

Participants in the last year's program have commented, "I appreciated the helpful and considerate advice greatly," "My paper was modified and improved many, many times, and it was really helpful," "I could feel my progress in writing English, and it made me confident," and the like. These positive remarks encouraged us greatly.

This program is designed for those who are serious about improving their academic writing and completing a quality paper by the end of this December.

What distinguishes this Program and makes it unique Beyond What AI Can Do

Recently, many researchers have started relying on AI tools to support their writing. While these tools may help you in a superficial grammar by checking or suggesting alternative ways of saying things, they cannot provide what our program is designed to offer: Total academic guidance, strategic advice on presenting your research to a global audience, and long-term mentoring to ensure you complete a publishable paper even if you did not start yet (as long as you have the data for your reserch).

Therefore, our program does not simply “proofread” your paper. Instead, it is built around a step-by-step structure that helps you:

1. To learn how to craft a strong, or a more sophisticated, academic argument in English,
2. To make your paper accessible writing for international readers,
3. To understand the expectations of global readers,
4. And to receive continuous feedback to improve not just your English, but the clarity, coherence, and persuasiveness of your ideas.

Even if you haven’t started writing yet, our timeline and tutoring system will guide you from the very beginning of the writing process until the final draft by December and make sure that your paper is ready for submission to AJI Journal or Asia-Japan Research Bulletin.

So, unlike AI, which offers generic suggestions without knowing who you are, this program helps you, as a Ritsumeikan researcher, to make meaningful academic progress through human interaction, personalized feedback according to your field, and mentorship grounded in decades of scholarly editing and publishing experience.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Please see the 2025 program.
The first guidance will be held on July 7, 2025. After that, we will have individual sessions with the aim of contributing to the next volume of the  Journal of the Asia-Japan Research Institute of Ritsumeikan University (Vol.8) or the Asia-Japan Research Academic Bulletin (Vol.7). As this year we conduct each session online, it is easier for each participant from each campus to join in this program.