Course content

The main objective of the course is to teach PhD candidates and postdoctors in the field of neuroscience and digital biotechnology to improve their writing style and manage the publication process. There will be a particular focus on writing for relevant journals in life sciences. The course will give the participants advice, motivation and practical training, and they will work on their own research paper.

Topics:

• Understanding the writing process
• Planning and editing a paper
• Breaking down the structure of papers to generate writing goals
• Techniques for being an effective writer
• Understanding the stylistic demands of relevant journals

Learning outcome

By the end of the course, participants should be well on the way to producing a draft of their research paper. In addition, they will learn more about the writing and publication process.

Learning methods and activities

The course is organized as a three-day workshop and will be led by Dr. Daniel Soule. The course will conist of plenary lectures and group discussions, as well as indiviudual writing time and one-to-one feedback from the instructor, Dr. Daniel Soule. After the course, participants can send their work to the instructor for additional feedback and follow-up. The course will not be held if there are too few attendees.

Compulsory assignments

• Lectures
• Exercises

Recommended previous knowledge

Participants should have finished all literature searches and data analyses for a scientific paper. It is preferred that they have a draft of their paper that they can work on during the course.

Required previous knowledge

The course is open to all PhD candidates and postdoctors who are members of the Norwegian Research School in Neuroscience (NRSN) or Digital Life Norway Research School. To register for the course you must apply for admission through the website of one of the research schools.The maximum number of participants is 20. Applicants who already have a draft of their manuscript will be given priority.

Course materials

Participants must bring a draft of a paper that they can work on during the course, or other material they can draw on, such as results from literature searches or data analyses. The participants must also bring a copy of an article from the journal they wish to submit to, and their own laptop computer. A comprehensive workbook and a ‘Guide to Academic Punctuation’ will be handed out during the course.

Credit reductions