Academic writing (for PhD candidates and research master’s students)

PhD-1 offers you a general introduction to scientific writing. As such, it is open both to PhD candidates and to Research Master’s students from across the university. Given that broad audience, all assignments and example texts have been selected accordingly. In this course, you will write your own texts, review literature, improve texts, practise advanced grammar, and learn to identify typical features in published articles. You will also have the opportunity to submit work to your tutor and receive comprehensive feedback on what you have written. At the same time, you will also have repeated opportunities to give feedback to fellow participants and receive feedback from them on your writing submissions. 

When participating on this course, you should ideally be able to submit two pages of written work each week. It is advisable, therefore, either to have written something just before starting the course, or at least to be in a position to submit pieces of work as the course progresses. By submitting and sharing your work on a regular basis, you will be able to discover more about your writing style and be able to maximise your learning experience.

After you have finished the course, you will know how to:

• structure your ideas to write clearer sentences and more cohesive paragraphs

• use an academic writing style characterised by precise, concise, and formal language

• report on previous research and assess its importance

• write more persuasively and with nuance

• expand your range of vocabulary and grammatical structures

• identify common mistakes in your own writing

• feel more confident about writing in English

Tutor: Gabriel Campbell

This is an online course.

For available times and registration please see the timetable and registration form

Please register using our online registration form. Course code is: PhD-1.
Use status 'UM PhD candidate' if you are a PhD candidate of the UM.

In PhD-2 Biomed, you will learn how to write an empirical research article containing an Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion section (IMRAD). This course was developed for PhD candidates who have completed PhD-1 or who have previously published an article(s). It is ideal for people writing an article in one of the following disciplines:

• Biomedical sciences, including laboratory research fields in cardiology, immunology, genetics
• Hard science areas of psychology such as neuropsychology and psychopharmacology

The course specifically focuses on aspects of rhetoric and meaning. You will become more aware of differences in the structure and organisation of research papers. You will also learn how to use concise and nuanced language; you will also become better at expressing yourself and choosing the words that reflect what you wish to say. 

You should be able to submit two pages of written work each week. It is advisable either to have written before starting the course, or at least be in a position to submit work as the course progresses. By submitting work regularly, you will discover more about your writing style and maximise your learning experience.   

Required materials

Glasman-Deal, H. (Second Edition 2020). Science Research Writing for Non-native speakers of English. London: Imperial College Press (available at the Randwijck Study Store)  ISBN 9781786347848         

For available times and registration please see the timetable and registration form

This is an online course.

Registration

Course code: PhD-2.
Please register using our online registration form.

Use status 'UM PhD candidate' if you are a PhD candidate of the UM.

In PhD-2 Health, you will learn how to write an empirical research article containing an Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion section (IMRAD). This course was developed for PhD candidates who have completed PhD-1 or who have previously published an article(s). It is ideal for people writing an article in one of the following disciplines:

• Social science areas of psychology, including psychology, work psychology and social psychology
• Health sciences, including fields such as health economics, health education, epidemiology, but also general practice and patient care

The course specifically focuses on aspects of rhetoric and meaning. You will become more aware of differences in the structure and organisation of research papers. You will also learn how to use concise and nuanced language; you will also become better at expressing yourself and choosing the words that reflect what you wish to say. 

You should be able to submit two pages of written work each week. It is advisable either to have written before starting the course, or at least be in a position to submit work as the course progresses. By submitting work regularly, you will discover more about your writing style and maximise your learning experience.   

Required materials

Glasman-Deal, H. (Second Edition 2020). Science Research Writing for Non-native speakers of English. London: Imperial College Press (available at the Randwijck Study Store) ISBN 9781786347848

For available times and registration please see the timetable and registration form

This is an online course.

Registration

Course code: PhD-2.
Please register using our online registration form. 

Use status 'UM PhD candidate' if you are a PhD candidate of the UM.

PhD-1 is available to Research Master’s students and PhD candidates at Maastricht University and from other universities. Our two PhD-2 courses are open to Maastricht University scientific PhD candidates and to scientific PhD candidates at other universities. 

Certificate

At the end of the course you will receive a certificate, providing you have attended at least 6 out of the 8 sessions and submitted at least 5 of the writing assignments.