How to write a scientific paper

English is the main language for the publication of scientific articles. The aim of this course is to improve participants’ English and to identify the main functions of the various sections of a scientific paper in order to increase the chances that their papers are accepted for publication. The course is taught by a native English speaker, who has a PhD from Copenhagen University.
PhD students will earn 2.5 ECTS points for successfully completing the course.

Course structure:

The course is comprised of 6 in-class teaching modules of 2 1/2 hours. Each time, a specific aspect of scientific writing will be presented, after which participants will work through specially prepared exercises in groups.

Each class focuses on a specific section of a typical IMRAD scientific paper. Participants will work together in groups to identify the functions of each section and what authors should do in each.

During the course, 4 assignments must be submitted. The first 3 involve writing an introduction, methods and result section of a paper based on what has been learnt in the respective lessons. Students are welcome to work on a current paper. For each of these assignments, the students receive confidential feedback from their fellow course participants. The final assignment – to write a discussion section – is sent to the course tutor, who provides detailed feedback on the language and structure.

PhD students who attend at least 5 of the 6 classes, submit all the written tasks and participate actively in class by giving written feedback and comments to fellow students will earn 2.5 ECTS points.

Course description:

Course aims

· To help participants improve their written academic English

· To identify what to do in the various sections of a typical IMRAD scientific paper

· To help the participants develop a work-in-progress scientific paper.

To achieve the first aim, the course focuses on some of the typical areas that cause problems for non-native writers. Furthermore, participants will identify the features of good academic writing, so that they are able to reproduce them when writing English. Participants will also be introduced to the Paramedic Method, which they can use to edit their texts.

For the second aim, time is devoted during each class to analysing a section of a scientific paper (Introduction, methods, etc.) to identify its functions and what authors should/should not do in each. We also focus on broader issues relevant to scientific publishing such as authorship, misconduct, and how to respond to reviewers’ comments.

For the third aim, 4 assignments which correspond to the main sections of an IMRAD paper must be submitted. Course participants peer review each other’s sections for the first 3 assignments (introduction, methods, and results), while the course teacher provides feedback on the fourth assignment (discussion). The assignments are designed to support the participants’ paper writing process and represent an opportunity to use the content of the classes and the constructive feedback received to develop an in-progress scientific paper. Course participants are not expected to complete a scientific paper by the end of the course. Even though you may not have started writing a paper yet, it is still possible to enrol on the course.

Course content

· Introduction to the IMRAD structure for scientific papers

· Identify the functions of a typical Introduction section

· Identify the functions of a typical Methods section

· Identify the functions of a typical Results section

· Identify the functions of a typical Discussion section

· How to write an Abstract and a good title

· What is good academic writing style?

· Readability statistics in Word

· The Paramedic Method for editing texts

· An overview of the main punctuation rules in English, especially commas

· Subject/verb agreement

· Parallelism

· Hedging and how to write cautiously

· Using linking words to increase text cohesion and enhance readability

· The passive – when to use the passive in academic writing. How to form the passive.

Team options:

Team 1:	Module 1: 15 September Module 2: 22 September Module 3: 6 October Module 4: 20 October Module 5: 3 November Module 6: 17 November From 9-11.30 DTU Lyngby Campus
Team 2:	Module 1: 15 September Module 2: 22 September Module 3: 6 October Module 4: 20 October Module 5: 3 November Module 6: 17 November From 12.30-15.00 DTU Lyngby Campus
Team 3:	Module 1: 17 September Module 2: 24 September Module 3: 8 October Module 4: 22 October Module 5: 5 November Module 6: 19 November From 9-11.30 DTU Lyngby Campus
Team 4:	Module 1: 17 September Module 2: 24 September Module 3: 8 October Module 4: 22 October Module 5: 5 November Module 6: 19 November From 12.30 -15.00 DTU Lyngby Campus
Team 5	Module 1: 18 September Module 2: 25 September Module 3: 9 October Module 4: 23 October Module 5: 6 November Module 6: 20 November From 13.00 -15.30 DTU Lyngby Campus
Team 6 – Online	Module 1: 29 September Module 2: 13 October Module 3: 27 October Module 4: 10 November Module 5: 24 November Module 6: 8 December From 9-11.30
Team 7 – Online	Module 1: 14 April Module 2: 28 April Module 3: 12 May Module 4: 26 May Module 5: 9 June Module 6: 16 June From 12.30-15.00