Scientific Writing for Publication - Online

Target Audience

This course is intended for early and mid-career researchers and biologists.

Summary and Objectives:

Scientific writing and publishing are essential to advancing knowledge and practice in all fields, but prospective authors face substantial challenges. When training and resources are available, authors can overcome barriers, such as lack of understanding about scientific writing and the publishing process and the importance of effective data sharing and management. The goal of this course is to improve the quality of the participants' publication output to grow their impact in the field, equip them with the skills and knowledge to support their career and professional development, and offer the confidence needed to aim higher with their next journal submissions. This online class has been developed and will be delivered by current PhD-qualified editors from the _Nature_ Portfolio. The _Nature_ Portfolio is part of Springer Nature, a leading academic and educational publisher. The portfolio's flagship publication is _Nature_, a weekly multidisciplinary journal first published in 1869. To date, over 50,000 researchers from over 180 countries have benefited from this training.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand what top-tier journal editors look for in a manuscript.
• Create engaging and brief titles and abstracts, which will allow for amplified discoverability of your journal article.
• Structure each part of the journal article to facilitate clear writing.
• Design clear and informative figures and tables.
• Understand submission procedures, how to make a case to editors, and tips and best practices on structuring and writing a good cover letter. 
• Follow the editorial process post peer review, what happens after a paper is accepted, and an overview of the rejection process.

As part of the course, each participant may have a 10-minute one-on-one session abstract review session with a Nature Portfolio journal editor at a fixed time during the course. In the session, the editor will provide each participant with personalized advice on how to structure structure
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Learn more about structure abstracts and improve their scientific writing. Editors will be available to each participant for follow-up questions.

Special Requirements: 

To receive the one-on-one session abstract review session, you will need to submit your abstract 10 weeks prior to the class date. Expect approximately 1 hour of reading homework each day to prepare for the next day's class.

Competency Addressed: 

Scientific (Technical) Credibility - Basic, Writing - Intermediate, Written Communication - Intermediate, Technical Credibility - Basic, Communicating Science - Intermediate