/Writing-in-the-Sciences

A Stanford writing course to learn how to write scientific articles in a clear, concise, and effective way

Writing in the Science - Coursera

Writing in the Science - Stanford University.

Taught by Dr. Kristin Sainani

Verified Certificate

Syllabus:

  • Recognize that writing is hard for everyone.
  • Recognize that writing is a skill that you learn through practice.
  • Practice removing clutter from writing.
  • Practice writing clearly and concisely.
  • Distinguish between active and passive verbs.
  • Practice writing with strong, active verbs.
  • Fix sentences where the subject and predicate are too far apart.
  • Correct specific grammar mistakes.
  • Practice using colons, dashes, parentheses, and semi-colons.
  • Recognize the importance of varying sentence structure.
  • Practice writing focused, organized paragraphs.
  • Recognize that it is OK to repeat key words in scientific writing.
  • Fix sentence parallelism.
  • Practice writing clear and concise paragraphs.
  • Describe the steps in the writing process.
  • Recognize the importance of spending sufficient time pre-writing.
  • Recognize that good writing requires extensive revision.
  • Understand how to write the sections of an original scientific manuscript.
  • Critique poorly formatted tables and figures.
  • Practice writing strong Results and Introduction sections.
  • Summarize the elements of a Discussion
  • Identify and avoid plagiarism
  • Understand the peer review process
  • Understand criteria for authorship
  • Recognize common pitfalls for new authors.
  • Recognize predatory journals
  • Understand how to write review articles.
  • Become familiar with the grant-writing process.
  • Understand how to write a strong letter of recommendation.
  • Understand how to write a strong personal essay.
  • Recognize the importance of communicating science with broader audiences.
  • Be prepared to be interviewed by a journalist.
  • Recognize the difference between writing for scientific audiences and writing for lay audiences.
  • Understand the structure of a science news story.
  • Learn tips for how to interview a scientist.