Scientific Writing

Writing in and for science differs from writing taught in school and follows its own rules and conventions. These rules and conventions have to be communicated to students and early-career scientists early on, preferentially within the scientific discipline under study. Term papers, BSc and MSc theses already require the knowledge and the skillful application of these rules and conventions.

Learning Download Scientific Writing step by step (PDF, 16 KB), from text analysis to manuscripts for submission to international journals, requires gaining own writing experiences over time. This is facilitated by several means. Here a list of current and past writing-related activities in BSc and MSc courses (co-)taught by members of the Grassland Sciences group:

• Welternährungssystem (1^st semester, BSc): developing an argumentation using a clear structure (6SA, 6-Sätze-Argumentation).
  
• Ökophysiologie (originally in 4^th semester, BSc): phrasing of research questions, hypotheses testing, logic argumentation, clear positioning towards original research question (in an earlier course: Download Ökophys-Aufgabe (DOC, 30 KB)).
• Wissenschaftliches Schreiben (5^th semester, BSc): introduction to scientific writing (in German). Download the script (in German) for Download Wissenschaftliches Schreiben. (PDF, 589 KB)
• Futterbau (originally in 5^th semester, now 4^th semester B.Sc.): text analysis of published literature using a clear set of questions (see template Download Textanalyse (DOC, 27 KB)).
• Graslandsysteme (6^th semester, BSc): reading scientific papers; identifying and summarizing key messages (Download Textreduktion (PPT, 1.5 MB)); reproducing a scientific text in own words (like an abstract); developing an argumentation using a clear structure (6SA, 6-Sätze-Argumentation), receiving structured feedback on 1^st draft.
  
• Biogeochemistry and Sustainable Management (MSc): in an earlier version of the course, focusing a broad topic to a research question, searching and evaluating literature, writing the first draft, giving feedback to authors (see Download Waser et al. 1992 (PDF, 2.7 MB)), using peer feedback, revising and writing the final version of a scientific report (analogous to the Download Fate of a manuscript (PDF, 13 KB)).
• Global Change Biology (MSc): focusing a broad topic to a research question, searching and evaluating literature, writing an executive summary (see template Download Executive Summary (DOC, 29 KB)).
  
• In an earlier course at Master's level: finding a research question, writing a research proposal (see file Download How to write a proposal (PDF, 1.8 MB)).

More materials about Scientific Writing (e.g. papers, checklists, best examples) as well as learning activities and online tutorials within a writing lab can be found on two moodle platforms (see links to the right for ETH Zurich and PSC students).

The e-learning platforms are also described in the following publications:

• Paschke M, McNamara P, Frischknecht P, Buchmann N (2010) Die onlinebasierten Schreibplattformen „Wissenschaftliches Schreiben, WiSch“ (Bachelorlevel) und "Scientific Writing Practice, SkriPS" (Masterlevel). Vermittlung wissenschaftlicher Schreibkompetenz in der Fachdisziplin. In: Mandel S, Rutishauser M, Seiler Schiedt E (Eds.): E-Learning 2010. Digitale Medien für Lehre und Forschung. Waxmann: Münster. P. 50-60
• Paschke M, McNamara P, Frischknecht P, Buchmann N (2011) Wissenschaftliches Schreiben in den Pflanzenwissenschaften am Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center: Implementierung fachintegrierter, stufenspezifischer Lernziele für das Schreiben vom Bachelor zum Doktorat. Schreiben 1-8