Academic Writing - Effective Strategies for Publishing in English
Target group:
International PhD-students of the GGG with good command of spoken English, PhD-students of partner organisations if free places are available
Schedule:
24.06. - 26.06.2015
(9:00 - 17:00)
Place:
Historische Sternwarte (Tagungszentrum) / Historical Observatory (Conference Centre), Geismar Landstr. 11
Großer Seminarraum
Available seats: 16
Course language: English
Lecturer: Frank Lauterbach
Seminar objectives:
Being able to write well is often the basis for successfully pursuing a professional academic career. Yet, while writing in English is an integral part of academic life, many researchers are unsure about what is considered "good writing", what makes a paper written in English successful, or how the writing and publication process can best be managed.
This workshop addresses such questions to gain a deeper understanding of how you can communicate your research most effectively to your readers. The workshop consists of two main parts: in the first, more general part, we will both analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a broad range of writing samples and discuss and practice important strategies for writing English sentences, paragraphs, and texts that meet the expectations of readers, reviewers, and editors alike. In the second, more practice-oriented part, we will take your own work in progress as a point of departure to analyze what works well and what doesn't work so well in writing a research paper. By the end of the workshop, you will be aware of the fundamental criteria for good academic writing in English and, therefore, be able to prepare your own texts more easily and reflectively for publication as well as overcome potential obstacles or anxieties during the writing process.
Conditions of participation:
To participate in this course, you need a reasonable knowledge of English (at least a solid B1 level; preferably B2 or higher) and especially a good ability to communicate quite fluently in English.
To make this workshop as useful and as effective as possible for you, it is also advisable that you have, at least, started working on a paper of your own. You do not need to have a finished version yet, but you should have already drafted some parts of the paper so that we can discuss your own writing samples in the course. While the course will concentrate on introductions and abstracts as the most important, yet most difficult parts of a research paper, other sections of the paper or any individual problems or issues you might have can be discussed as well. For this to work, you need to email the instructor your draft of a paper (or just your introduction and/or your abstract) at least ten days before the beginning of the course - preferably as a Word-file. The appropriate sections for discussion will then be distributed accordingly.
Credits: 2 Credits
Demands: To be eligible, you need to mail the instructor
(1) a draft of a paper you are working on (preferably an introduction or an abstract of a research paper) before the course (by at the latest June 14, 2015, mail address will be provided after registration) and
(2) a written reflection of how the course in general and the discussion of your work in particular have helped you rethink your writing and, more specifically, improve your paper draft (by July 27, 2015).
Application:
Application starts 16.02.2015
Application only via: ggg.kursanmeldung@uni-goettingen.de
Further information: Dr. Kristin Schröder, Phone: +551 39-20449
This course is organized by the Göttingen Graduate School of Social Sciences (GGG).
This course is sponsered by the "Stipendien- und Betreuungsprogramm (Stibet)" of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
