Warwick writing workshop

Overview

Writing is a cornerstone academic practice. In all academic disciplines, good research is ultimately good writing. This workshop is designed to guide participants through the steps of producing a scientific article. It is designed for professional, academic writers, specifically postgraduate and PDRAs working on topics aligned to bioscience. It will be most beneficial for participants whose research has already been conducted and who are ready to write or revise previous writing for publication.

Contact

Erin Gorsich:

Approach

The workshop will blend practical, writing and editing focused workshops with seminars discussing background topics. The workshops will provide peer support and feedback at each stage of the writing process. For example, participants will be expected to bring drafts of their writing for peer review. The workshop topics will progress weekly along sections of the paper to provide structure and artificial deadlines. Example workshop topics include ‘the sell’, figures, introduction and methods. For detailed information on the workshop and background topics, please see the course structure, below.

By attending this course, you will have access to one-on-one writing feedback from a writing coach. These additional support sessions will provide you feedback on your overall writing style beyond the scientific details, allowing you to focus on tone and grammar.

You will also help create a scientific writing community at Warwick. We aim to provide a friendly source of accountability to keep you motivated and on track while you learn how to write early and often in a productive, sustainable way.

Useful Links

Authorship

How to assign authorship (Weltzin et al. 2006)

Data Management

British Ecological Society's data repository list

Structure

12-Jan. GLT2. Background: Introductions, workshop structure

Resources. Weekly writing schedule, Paper plan template

Preparation for next week.

(1) Discuss with your supervisor that you taking this course. Have a preliminary discussion about what questions your paper address, what results it will include, and who the other co-authors will be. Schedule their feedback either after each workshop week or regularly throughout the course as desired.

(2) Plan your writing schedule for the term by filling out the weekly writing schedule (above or electronically).

(2) Identify 3-5 papers similar to your own and note the journals in which they are published. Assess the quality of the papers in terms of the importance of the questions addressed and novelty.

19-Jan. MRI. Background: Authorship, target journals, explanation of ‘the sell’

Authorship Resources. Galindo-Leal 1996. Explicit Authorship; Weltzin et al. 2006. Authorship in Ecology

Who is an author? Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals; ESA Code of Ethics (Publication section); PNAS authorship guidelines

Choosing a target journal. Journal List; BES's Getting Published Guide; Warwick Library's resource.

Preparation for next week.

(1) Choose a target journal.

(2) Fill in the paper plan template. Be prepared to verbally pitch the paper to your peers.

(3) Read about how to critique research.

26-Jan. MRI. Workshop: Paper pitches and target journal 2-Feb. MRI. Workshop: Abstract and figure set. 9-Feb. BSR2. Background: Predatory journals, publication fees, how to include collaborators?

Authorship Resources.

- Lists of non-predatory journals: Journal Citation Reports (accessed through Web of Science); Directory of Open Access Journals.

- Lists of journals accused of predatory practice: Beall's List and Beall et al. 2012

- Scientific articles: Grundniewicz et al. 2019; Bohannon et al. 2013; Sorokowski et al. 2017

Publication Fees.

- UKRI have introduced an open access policy for all peer reviewed research articles arsing from their funding. You can get your open access publication fees covered by the University. This Warwick Library resource contains links to check if your journal fees will be covered.

16-Feb. MRI. Workshop: Introductions 23-Feb. BSR2. Workshop: Methods 2-March. Cancelled 9-March. MRI. Workshop: Results 16-March. MRI. Workshop: Discussion 23-March. MRI. Workshop: Cover letters

Cover letter resources.

- Warwick branded letterhead.

- Examples: Harrington et al. Appl. Env. Micro; Harrison et al. Microbiology.; Sheikh et al. Nature Comms; Ntoukakis et al. PLoS Pathogens; Smith et al., Nature; Gorsich et al. PNAS;

Things to include in your cover letter.

- Your manuscript’s title and the name of the journal you are submitting to.

- A brief description of the research you are reporting in your paper, why it is important, and why you think the readers of the journal would be interested in it. The focus here should be on importance and originality rather than summary.

- A statement that your paper has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by another journal. A confirmation that you have no competing interests to disclose.

30-March. MRI. Background: Reproducible work, journal-specific formatting, style guide TBD. Wrap-up and feedback for future workshops

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Overview

Contact

Approach

Useful Links

Course Logistics

Additional Writing Resources

Style Guides

Structure