I start my workshop on scientific grant writing by asking audience if they think a grant proposal should be more like a magazine or a newspaper. What do you think? The attendees are usually split about 50/50 on this one. The ones that pick B want to pack in as much information as possible, but…
Phew, Marie Curie postdoc fellowship applications were finally submitted almost two weeks ago now, and I just now feel like I am catching my breath! I had more applications to work on this year than ever before, so a lot of the repeating patterns really stood out…which means I get to tell you guys my…
The “so what” test can be a powerful tool for making your scientific writing concise and ensuring that it is interesting to your reader. Effective writing and editing in the sciences requires concise and convincing language. There are lots of tips out there for how to do this, ranging from the use of passive versus…
Grant deadlines are approaching, and this season, I’m proposing a shift in thinking about proposal writing. For our next grant, lets’s remove all the shoulds and musts we think exist in application writing, like “I need to include all of my preliminary data”, “I should include all of the relevant literature so they can see…
It comes at the end of the writing process when many scientists want to feel like they are done, but English language editing is no trivial last step! I feel your pain – you are so close and yet so far! The work has been done, and you have a manuscript that tells your story as…
If you were to be granted three wishes, lets be honest, one of them would likely revolve around a manuscript on your desk. Is the angle eluding you? The reviewers don’t seem to appreciate your work? Maybe a graduate student sent you a draft three months ago and is now on your case, but you…