This online course uses a task-based learning approach to teach scientific writing skills to science and engineering graduate students. The course lectures will be delivered using ZOOM and recorded. Students will participate in groupwork activity online with other students. The tasks covered in the course consist of writing e-mail messages, conference abstracts, business letters, editing, writing papers for publication, copyrights and writing ethics.
The learning outcomes of this course is primarily geared for non-native English language speaking energy course and GEDES doctoral students to learn technical English writing skills for academic communications.
✔ Applicable | How instructors' work experience benefits the course |
---|---|
The instructor worked in industry in Japan for 14 years as a researchers and developed his technical communication ability based on his work experience developing materials, processing, intellectual property (patents) and reliability technology for semiconductor memories. |
Academic writing, scientific publishing, technical commmunications
Specialist skills | Intercultural skills | ✔ Communication skills | ✔ Critical thinking skills | Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
This class will use ZOOM video lecture to present academic writing topics and students will do homework and participate in group work to demonstrate their knowledge regarding academic writing.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Course introduction, self-introduction, syllabus, course questionnaire and Canvas LMS | course outline, communication |
Class 2 | Academic strategic publishing, impact factors, conference presentations, literature search | publishing in academia, impact factors, how to search literature |
Class 3 | Academic publishing and communication, peer review, rubrics, assessment, | academic publishing models, peer-review, |
Class 4 | Written personal communications: letters and email messages | writing letters and emails |
Class 5 | Journal paper guide to authors, academic blogging, self-publishing, predatory publishing, online tools, | journal guide to authors, academic blogging, digital resources, predatory publishing, online tools |
Class 6 | Plagiarism, publishing ethics, retractions, and case studies of academic misconduct and copyrights (thesis) | academic publishing ethics and what is misconduct |
Class 7 | Writing a resume (online-linkedin), biosketch or CV and cover letter for internship, abstract writing (peer-review) | workshop and symposium oral and poster abstract writing, peer-review |
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class. They should do so by referring by refering to the course material.
Materials for this course will be provided by the instructor online using the Canvas course learning management system (LMS).
1. "Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students", Stephen Bailey, Routledge, 3rd ed. 2011.
2. "Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded", Joshua Schimel, Oxford University Press, 2011.
3. "Science Research Writing: A Guide for Non-Native Speakers of English", Hilary Glasman-Deal, Imperial College Press, 2009.
4. "The Craft of Research (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)"
Booth, Wayne C., University of Chicago Press, 3rd ed., 2008.
5. "A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers", Kate L. Turabian, 8th Ed., University of Chicago Press, 2013.
6. Academic and Business Writing, edX MOOC from UC Berkeley,
https://www.edx.org/course/academic-business-writing-uc-berkeleyx-colwri2-3x#.VRSvXVr6lRo
Course Grade Assessment: participation in group work, written assignments, and quizzes. Late homework will be accepted after the submission deadline but assessed after taking into account a 30% point reduction or late submission penalty.
Touch typing (typing without looking at your fingers on the keyboard) is an important skill that is needed for this class and for your career as researcher/academic, since all assignments are submitted online. English conversation ability and writing are essential for this course.
This class is taught for Energy Course, GEDES, and ACEEES Doctoral Students primarily. The course will use ZOOM lectures, online materials including videos and a Canvas online learning management system to manage the course contents and for homework submission. Students who are preparing to submit a paper to a journal for publication or present their results at an international conference will benefit the most from enrolling in this class.