Scientific Writing

We know that one of the primary goals for you as a postdoctoral fellow is to publish.  Your published papers are critical to building your reputation and securing valuable funding.  We hope that the following resources may assist you in sharpening your scientific writing skills.  (Contact lindsay.meyers@vanderbilt.edu if you know of additional links that may be helpful)

Vanderbilt Resources

ASPIRE Module– In this module, experts from the Vanderbilt Writing Studio will teach scientists to become more effective writers. Sessions will focus on understanding reader expectations, foundational principles of argumentative structure, and writing cohesive paragraphs and sentences. The practical strategies taught in this module can be applied to all types of documents, from grant applications to peer-reviewed manuscripts.  Taught once each semester.

Manuscript Development – Provided by VICTR, “Studios” are a series of structured, dynamic sessions bringing together relevant research experts in a particular methodology to focus on a specific stage of research. These sessions are intended to enhance research quality, foster advances in clinical practice and improvements in patient health, increase publications, and generate new hypotheses. A studio consists of 2-6 experienced faculty selected to participate in a guidance session based on specific areas of research and needs identified by the investigator.

Vanderbilt Writing Studio – Meet individually with trained consultants to talk about any writing project or concern. Our services are free and confidential for any member of Vanderbilt’s scholarly community.

Self-paced Scientific Writing Training  – This series of 14 lessons and exercises was developed at Vanderbilt. This course covers the structure of manuscripts and proposals, tips for making writing more efficient, and revision techniques to improve organization, logical flow, and sentence structure.

Other Helpful Resources

Council of Science Editors – CSE is a dynamic community of editorial professionals dedicated to the responsible and effective communication of science.

Gunning Fog Index – This is a tool that calculates readability.

Free online grammar handbook:  http://www.grammarly.com/handbook/