Scientific soft skills workshops: Effective scientific writing

Writing research papers is a challenge for all young scientists, but particularly for non-native English speakers. Moreover, clear, well-structured, concise writing is essential for getting published.

This workshop is not only designed to help young scientists organize and get started with writing, such as deciding where to place information within the structure a scientific paper, but also to optimize their writing in English. We look at key factors essential for clear and concise writing, such as verb forms, tenses and agreement.

To create flow and logic we practice using transitions to add and link information. How to optimally use paragraphs, sentences, and word order to emphasis key points is another important aspect of writing well.

Revision is the secret of all good writing, so we practice integrating all the factors contributing to effective scientific writing by editing texts provided by the participants.

Hands-on participation, feedback and interactive discussion are important aspects of the learning process where the participants apply these skills to their own writing.

Scientific writing workshop topics

Organizing material — to create the optimum story;

Structure of a research paper — what goes where;

Title and Abstract — attracting readers and selling your message;

Purpose of the Introduction and Discussion — avoiding repetition, inventing questions

Presenting and discussing results — logic and positioning key information;

Figures, graphs and tables — optimaly presenting your data

Paragraph structure — to highlight key topics;

Sentence structures — for logic and readability;

Punctuation and word positioning — for clarity and emphasis;

Verbs (tenses, strong, precise, active) — to drive meaningful sentences;

Conjunctions and transitions — to create flow and links;

Editing and revision — to produce clear, concise, well-structured scientific writing

Final goal — getting the words right!

Advanced:

Submitting or re-submitting a paper — cover letters and dealing with editors' and referees' comments

Scientific soft skills workshops: Effective scientific writing

Scientific writing workshop topics

Workshop modules:

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