BENS5035 Scientific writing (3 cr)

The scientific writing course aims to teach the fundamentals of clear scientific writing with an emphasis on efficient and logical presentation and communication. The course focuses on the process of scientific writing aimed at a producing a thesis, using the model of a ‘standard’ scientific manuscript. 

Students taking the class for 3 ETCS will be asked to attend 10 sessions, where there typically will be is a short introductory lecture that is followed by discussion (e.g. of class homework or experiences) and/or short writing and editing exercises. Emphasis is on improvement by constructive and formative feedback from the group (i.e. to engage in peer-review).

Exercises and discussions focus on writing and publishing of scientific articles and reports. 

After completing the course, the student will

• be better equipped to more efficiently plan and complete their writing,
• have improved written and presentation skills,
• have improved collaboration skills, specifically through giving and receiving constructive peer-evaluation,
• have the confidence to critically evaluate the structure and format of scientific articles, and other methods of communication,
• be familiar with the standard structure of a scientific paper and know key principles of effective scientific writing,
• be capable of producing scientific text and presenting research results using appropriately-labelled figures and tables, and
• be familiar with the writing instructions of an MSc thesis and be able to follow them.

Assessment

1. Assignments (70%)

2. Workshop products (15%)

3. Workshop participation (15%)

For the final writing exercise, the grade is based on evidence that the thesis/chapter draft is complete and uses the writing principles discussed in the course; credit is given for evidence of improvement from earlier drafts in response to feedback (and also for the level of feedback given by peers). Hence, the evaluation focuses on the writing process rather than the scientific content per se.