The ability to succintly communicate topics related to scientific research in writing is paramount to success regardless of one's career. Writing in graduate school is essentially inescapable, as manuscripts, grants, and theses are required to summarize and report one's scientific findings as well as to evaluate a student's success. Abstracts, case studies, and reviews are also common. In addition, it is important to be able to communicate science to audiences outside of your relevant field or perhaps outside of science altogether. Students should continually work on developing their writing skills in order to improve the quality, clarity, and effectiveness of their writing. Here are some resources to help you do just that:
Campus resources:
- The Penn State Graduate Writing Center
- Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science by Dr. Michael Alley
- The Graduate School Grant Writing Workshops
- Apply to take part in the Graduate and Professional Student Association's Dissertation and Thesis Boot Camp - a week-long event held in a quiet section of the library that includes informational workshops on issues related to writing as well as dedicated writing time. For more information on when the bootcamp is each semester, visit the GPSA website.
- For international graduate students and visiting scholars, you can attend weekly English writing tutorial sessions at The Learning Center in 7 Sparks Building on Tuesdays from 1-2pm (visiting scholars) or 2-3pm (graduate students).
Online resources:
- "Publishing Advice for Graduate Students" by Dr. Thom Brooks (2008)
- "Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)" by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center (2012)
- Science Writing Tips - posts from professional science writers via a blog run by the Wellcome Trust
- "Writing Strong Titles for Research Manuscripts" by BioScience Writers (April 1, 2012)
- "10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly" by Michael C. Munger, The Chronicle of Higher Education (September 6, 2010)
- "Academic writing for graduate students: essential tasks and skills" by John M. Swales and Christine B. Feak (2012)
- English Communication for Scientists by Jean-Iuc Doumont, Nature (2010)
- Purdue Online Writing Lab