Application deadline

PhD students and students at the Student Research Program at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway apply by registering for class in Studentweb by 15 June.

Application deadline for external applicants: 1 June. Application code 9304 in SøknadsWeb.

Type of course

Admission requirements

In order to apply for this course you must be registered as a PhD student or a be enrolled at a Student Research Programme (forskerlinje) at a university. Valid documentation is a statement from your institution that you are a registered student this academic year (this may be a Screen shot from your page in StudentWeb if you are enrolled at a Norwegian university).

The course has a capacity of 20 students. If there are less than 5 applicants the course will be cancelled.

If there are more applicants than available spaces, PhD and "forskerlinje" students at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway will be given priority.

Recommended prequisites: The student should have started writing the first paper of the PhD-thesis.

Course content

• Academic Writing traditions
• The scientific language
• A journal editor's view on submitted manuscripts
• Structure: constraints, organization and emphasis
• Publish or perish? Publication Ethics
• Pentagon Model of academic writing
• Language: being clear, concise, and correct
• Reference lists and how to cite properly
• How to write a review paper - tips for your home assignment
• Writers' block: what is it and how can it be overcome?

Objectives of the course

Knowledge and understanding

On successful completion of the course, the student should:

• know the structure of a scientific manuscript
• know the key criteria for good manuscripts
• be able to critically judge which parts of their scientific work to include in the manuscripts and how to evaluate their own writing against external criteria

Skills and abilities

On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• communicate and disseminate scientific results from health research efficiently in writing
• master scientific writing for different target groups
• master practical tasks on how to overcome writers block
• respond to editors comments and rewrite manuscripts
• critically read and evaluate scientific articles within health sciences

Judgement and approach

On successful completion of the course, the student should:

• Demonstrate insight into the review process and the craft of scientific writing focusing on health sciences

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

The course will include didactic teaching including lectures and power-point presentations, small and large group-working and interactive discussions and feedback sessions. There will be a mixture of teacher-led and student-led activities throughout each day of the course.

Students are expected to take an active and dynamic part in all coursework. Individual reading towards knowledge assimilation will also be a requirement, and pre-coursework in the form of submitting an abstract before the course and providing feedback to other students is also compulsory.

Assessment

The course days on campus correpsond to 1 ECTS. The home exam constitutes the remaining part of the course credit. The days on campus are compulsory (80% attendance required).

The home exam is a written, individual assignment (in the form of a review paper) of 2,000-3,000 words on a self-chosen topic. The topic should ideally be related to the student’s PhD-thesis. Language: English. The home exam is due one month after the course days on campus.

Grading scale: passed/not passed. If a student receives not passed, a re-examinaton is provided. The time for reexamination is determined by UiT.

Recommended reading/syllabus