Instructor: Gary Ritchison
Office: Moore 237
Office phone: 859-622-1541
E-mail: gary.ritchison@eku.edu

Text: Day, R.A. 2006. How to write & publish a scientific paper, 6th edition. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT.

Lecture notes: click here!

Guidelines for oral presentations: click here!

Guidelines for poster presentations: click here!

Links to useful sites about scientific writing:
 

Resources available from the EKU Library: click here!

Course objectives:

1) To improve your ability to efficiently access the biological literature (particularly in your specific areas of interest)

2) To improve your communication skills (particularly writing skills)

1) Research proposal. This proposal should be based on a data set (unpublished) obtained from me, your advisor, or, perhaps, another faculty member (click here for proposal guidelines & here to see an example of a research proposal; See the Proposal Evaluation Forms)

2) Based on the data set, write a research paper (See 'Instructions to Authors' for research paper format & click here for the Research Paper Evaluation Form), give an oral presentation, & present a poster.

3) Provide a detailed review of one submitted manuscript.

4) Edit 5 short papers or sections of papers (See the Editing Exercise Evaluation Form).

5) Three 50-point exams based on lecture material, handouts, & Day's text (see review questions for Exam 1 & Exam 2).

Grading:

1) Proposal . . . . . . . . . . 100 pts (1st version* - 40 pts; 2nd** - 60 pts)
2) Research paper . . . . . 125 pts (1st version* - 50 pts; 2nd** - 75 pts)
3) Oral presentation . . . . 50 pts
4) Poster presentation . .  50 pts
5) Manuscript review . . . 25 pts
6) Editing exercises . . . .  75 pts
7) Exams . . . . . . . . . . .  150 pts

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   575 pts

*Although my comments on the 1st version of these assignments may be extensive, they should not be considered exhaustive. In other words, the absence of any comments on a particular sentence or paragraph does not mean that you shouldn’t re-evaluate that sentence or paragraph for the final submission. Based on what you learn about writing in this course plus any comments I do make on the 1st version, you should be able to determine if editing or re-writing (or deletion) might improve those parts of the manuscript that I’ve not specifically critiqued. In addition, good writing depends on context. Thus, changes you make in the 1st version may require changes in the final version - even though I may not have made specific comments.

**Please return the 1st version to me when you turn in the 2nd version.

Attendance policy: Attendance is required only for exams, oral presentations, & poster presentations. Those absent with no legitimate reason on the dates of oral presentations will be penalized 5% of their total points at the end of the semester. Please, if possible, see me in advance if you must be absent on dates when attendance is required.

Mid-term grade: If you have any questions about your grade at mid-term, please feel free to stop by my office.

Office hours: I will be in my office daily.

Disability Statement: If you are registered with the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, please make an appointment with the course instructor to discuss any academic accommodations you need. If you need academic accommodations and are not registered with the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, please contact the Office directly either in person on the first floor of the Turley House or by telephone at (859) 622-1500 V/TTY. Upon individual request, this syllabus can be made available in alternative forms.

Tentative Schedule:

August 21 - Introduction to scientific literature & writing; Reading & citing the scientific literature; use of EKU library

August 28 - Scientific Writing & Editing: Basic Guidelines

September 4 - Getting funded: writing proposals 

September 11 - Getting funded: writing proposals

    September 14 - No class but FIRST DRAFT OF PROPOSAL DUE

September 18 - Guidelines for writing a scientific paper I

September 25 - EXAM 1

October 2 - Guidelines for writing a scientific paper II

October 16 - Guidelines for writing a scientific paper III & FINAL VERSION OF PROPOSAL DUE

October 23 - Guidelines for writing a scientific paper IV

October 30 - EXAM 2

November 6 - Guidelines for oral presentations & FIRST VERSION OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE

November 13 - Guidelines for poster presentations

November 20 - EXAM 3

November 27 - Oral presentations 

         November 30 - No class but FINAL VERSION OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE

December 4 - Oral Presentations (see the oral presentation evaluation form) 

December 13 - Poster Presentations (see the poster evaluation form)

Other useful links:

A Dictionary of Units of Measurement

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

The Science of Scientific Writing

Tips for Preparing and Delivering Scientific Talks and Using Visual Aids

Back to Gary Ritchison's Homepage