Online – Effective Writing

Target group

The workshop targets doctoral candidates who struggle with the process of maximizing and/or completing a scientific publication.

Course format

Participants will receive approximately 5 hours of video material before the first online meeting. This video material will inform you of the exercises we will address for two 2.5-hour online meetings. You must also submit a writing example (max 500-words) that will be revised by the trainer. You will also send this writing example to two other participants for a chance to practice receiving feedback and editing your peer’s work.

Content

Knowing the format and required language of a paper is not enough to accurately get your message across. This workshop will focus on refining the scope and impact of your papers. “Effective Writing” means maximizing the communicative effect of your written words. This course will weigh heavily on how to optimize papers for scientific publication, but will be immediately applicable to all writing you do, including: writing formal or informal emails, grant applications, etc.

During this workshop participants will do exercises that help them to synthesize complex issues and to present them in a concise manner. An example of such an exercise is the “Elevator Test”. Can you describe your project or paper within a 30 second elevator ride? Furthermore, you will be given time to address any specific concerns you have in your own writing examples and will get feedback from other participants and from the trainer himself.

Objectives

This course will teach fundamental aspects of written style. You will learn how to strategize the process of constructing a scientific paper and learn to follow through to the final stages of publication. Besides the act of writing, you will learn about motivational aspects necessary to become a disciplined writer.

Methods

Writing style fundamentals, group and individual feedback exercises, structuring and written execution, trainer feedback on your own written work.