From Potential to Publication: Manuscript Writing Workshop

What is it?

Afraid of the blank page? Want to write a solid, interesting article, but don’t know where to start? This 8-week manuscript writing workshop will help you write an article that is clear, concise, and compelling. At the end of the course, you will have a fully written article and the opportunity for review with an editor. The course draws upon narrative writing to help in communicating your scientific story to the audience—and making your ideas stick in their minds. Each week you will meet with a group of your peers for an hour-long interactive session that covers different aspects of journal articles. In between sessions, you will draft different portions of your article and solicit feedback from others in your group. You can communicate with group members through our Slack group and build connections from around the country. Following the eight weekly sessions, you will schedule time to have your manuscript edited by me followed by a one-on-one consultation.

Week 1

Introduction to narrative structure

Learn the secret to making ideas stick in your reader’s head and what scientific articles have in common with fiction (hint: it’s all about the story)

Week 2

Storyboarding

Find out the best way to order your results

Week 3

Going Beyond Grammar

Good writing is not just about grammar, but also about how you put your sentences together. Find out how to make the most of a short paragraph

Week 4

Presenting your data

Learn how to make effective figures and graphs

Week 5

Picking a journal

Determining which journal you will target for submission matters more than just for references, it matters for writing your discussion and your introduction

Week 6

Framing the problem and discussion the results

Now that you have the journal, you know how to frame your problem. The scope matters.

Week 7

Introducing your story

Start your article out on the right foot... by writing this part next-to-last.

Week 8

Titles and Abstracts

Learn how to effectively bring readers to your article and help them find out information they need

Break

During this time participants will write finish writing their articles and solicit feedback from colleagues and mentors. Once a participant has a satisfactory article, they will schedule time on my calendar for review. Following receipt of the critique, the participant can schedule a meeting with me to go over their critique and answer any questions.