The OITE has planned a variety of writing workshops for current trainees. Please read all three descriptions below and plan to attend the workshop(s) that will best meet your needs.

We all know the importance of good writing to a scientific career. This new three-hour workshop is for any NIH trainee who wants to improve his/her writing at the most basic level. The examples-based workshop will feature:

• A hands-on review of grammar, punctuation, and word usage (including, for example, subject-verb agreement, active vs. passive voice, split infinitives, agreement of pronoun and antecedent, commas, semicolons, colons, and more exotic punctuation).
• Tips on writing and editing the perfect e-mail correspondence.
• Advice on organizing, writing, and editing coherent short documents such as cover letters, personal statements, and abstracts.

Individuals planning to attend should purchase the recommended course text, CliffsQuickReview Writing: Grammar, Usage, and Style (~ $9.99) in advance from the FAES Bookstore.

Please register in advance.

Registration for this workshop will open soon. Please watch the OITE Web site and your OITE electronic mailing list for announcements.

Beginning in January 2009, a new 4-week course entitled "Basic Science Writing" will replace "Written Communication Skills." The new format will enable trainees to focus more attention on their basic writing skills. This course, which will also be taught by Maggie Meitzler, will be offered monthly. It will cover the topics listed above. Participants should expect 8 to 10 hours of out-of-class homework each week.

Watch this space for registration information.

The approach used by Gopen is based on a single idea: to improve your writing, learn how readers go about their reading. Readers know where to look for what. Learning what readers do allows a writer to control what readers learn. Dr. Gopen's workshops have changed participants' writing habits permanently, often resulting in improved grant writing success. This workshop is appropriate for anyone in the NIH community who has an interest in writing effectively. Registrants must be able to commit two days to this workshop, as the second session builds upon the first.

Here is what Dr. Gopen has to say about his presentations:

In the working world, the writer is usually the expert (however momentarily), writing for an audience that has a need to know something. We call that rhetorical act "communication." No one cares how hard the writer tried or how much progress has been made since the last effort. In the professional world, the important person, where prose is concerned, is not the writer, but rather the reader. The bottom line question where writing quality is concerned is simple: Did the reader actually get delivery of that which the writer intended to send? If the answer is yes, the writing was adequate; if the answer is no, the writing was inadequate.

View the Videocast of Day 1 (HHS Only) [RAM, Total running time, 6:34:05]
View the Videocast of Day 2 (HHS Only) [RAM, Total running time, 5:57:34]

This 5-week course is for postdocs and graduate students who, by the start of the class, will have sufficient data to publish a scientific paper. It will be presented by Maggie Meitzler, a professional writer and teacher who also has extensive experience as a scientific editor. It offers students the opportunity to:

• Write a rough draft of a scientific paper, focusing on the two hardest sections to write — the introduction and the discussion.
• Learn how to construct figures and tables.
• Discuss the all-important abstract and the submission cover letter.
• Understand the publishing process.
• Learn why manuscripts get accepted/rejected.
• Decide how to choose a journal.
• Discuss the future of printed journals in a paperless age.

Each session of the class is limited to 25 participants. Students will be members of in-class review groups giving feedback to their colleagues. The instructor will provide individual in-class writing guidance. She will also review weekly writing assignments and provide written feedback. Students interested in taking this class must commit to 8-10 hours per week to writing/editing outside of the classroom. Attendance and active participation at all 5 course sessions is required in order to receive the certificate of completion at the end of the workshop.

Please register in advance.

Beginning in January 2009, "Writing and Publishing a Scientific Paper" will become a 4-week course that will be offered monthly. The content will be unchanged. Sessions will be offered in Bethesda in January, April, May, June, and July; in Baltimore in February; and in Frederick in March. If interest warrants, the April session will be Videocast to trainees at RML and NIEHS. Courses will eventually be scheduled for all months of the year except August and December.

Watch this space for registration information.

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Page last revised on September 15, 2008 (sva)