English Scientific Writing

Aims

The goals of this course are to introduce upper level undergraduate students to scientific English writing and to provide them with a foundation in scientific English presentation skills.  In this course the students will learn about basic elements of English grammar and style.  They will then learn about the basic steps to follow when writing a scientific manuscript, and about the process of publishing a paper in a scientific journal.  The students will then practice writing a scientific title and abstract in English.  This exercise will be followed by lectures on how to prepare a poster, how to prepare giving a talk, and how to prepare an essay for graduate school.  Combined, these lectures and the opportunity to practice English writing will provide students with a foundation in scientific English communication skills.

Syllabus

Lecture 1: Basic English Style

Lectures 2-5: Writing an Abstract

Lecture 6: Writing a Title

Lectures 7-8: Editing a Title and Abstract

Lecture 9: Making Figures

Lecture 10: Writing an Introduction and References

Lecture 11: Writing Methods

Lecture 12: Writing Results

Lecture 13: Writing a Discussion

Lectures 14-15: Submitting a Scientific Paper and the Review Process

Lecture 16: Writing a Grant

Lecture 17: Writing a Graduate School Essay

Lecture 18: Writing a Graduate School Essay and E-mails to Join Labs for Summer Rotations or Thesis

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, students will have:

·         learnt the necessary concepts to successfully write each part of a scientific manuscript;

·         learnt and will have practiced using the necessary tools to write a Title and Abstract;

·         conceptual knowledge about submitting a manuscript for publication;

·         the necessary knowledge to write Personal Statements for graduate program applications; and

·         the ability to express themselves clearly and directly as they engage in English scientific writing.