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Section outline

  • Objectives

    This course provides practical training in writing scientific papers (in English) and submitting them to international peer-reviewed journals. The aim is to provide practical tools for producing a coherent, well-structured, illustrated and documented text. The course will be accompanied by practical exercises and computer sessions. The course is taught in English.


    Prerequisites
    This course is specifically designed for PhD students in the natural sciences (EMSTU, MIPTIS and SSBCV graduate schools) who are writing or about to write their first article. We do NOT recommend this course for PhD students in the humanities (S&L and SSTED graduate schools) as some of their criteria for writing a good article are not the same.

    Contents

    This course will address different aspects of scientific writing:

    • The basics of writing a good scientific document: preparing and structuring a document, the criteria for good scientific writing, etc.
    • The different types of documents and what to pay attention to: article, thesis manuscript, funding proposal, etc.
    • A brief reminder about typography, styles, layout, etc. Differences between French and English (emphasis will be placed on English).
    • Literature search and how to organise references. Examples will be given with Zotero and LaTeX.
    • Ethical aspects (fraud, conflicts of interest, funding, etc.)
    • The choice of the journal and what to pay attention to.
    • The submission process, including revision and refereeing.

    Instructors
    Jean-Louis ROUET (UFR Sciences & Techniques), Pascale SOLON (University Library) and Thierry DUDOK de WIT (OSUC).


    Evaluation
    The validation of this course is based on attendance + validation of a practical exercise in which a mini-article will be written and then submitted and evaluated anonymously.

    
    Schedule in 2025
    • Monday 13 January : 10:15-12:15 in room S309  Basics of writing
    • Monday 13 January : 13:30-15:30 in room S309  Basics of writing
    • Monday 20 January : 10:15-12:15 in room E13  LaTeX
    • Monday 20 January : 13:30-15:30 in room E13  Basics of writing
    • Monday 27 January : 10:15-12:15 in room S308  Document search
    • Monday 3 February : 10:15-12:15 in room S308  LaTeX
    • Monday 3 February : 13:30-15:30 in room E13  Open science
    • Monday 10 February : 10:15-12:15 in room E04  AI and ethics
    • Monday 10 February : 13:30-15:30 in room S306  Submission and revision procedures
    • Tuesday 10 June : 13:30-15:30 in room S306  Discussion on the reports and articles

    How to join

    The course will be taught in person only. During some of the sessions we shall use computers, so we invite you to bring your own laptop. Rooms S*** are the Sciences building (S in red, below), and rooms E*** are in the computer sciences building (E in red, below)
    map of campus