Basics of academic writing

The goal of this workshop, by Dr Eelko Huizingh (Huizingh Academic Development), is to uncover the essence of successful publishing in peer reviewed academic journals. We move from magic to craft by answering important questions that each would-be academic author faces. What makes a paper interesting and acceptable for academic journals? How to develop the right structure for your paper? How to survive the ‘so what?’ question and ensure that your paper really makes a difference? How to formulate the right promise to your reader and to deliver according to that promise? How to find, quickly read, and review the right literature? And finally: how to manage your own writing process, both on a daily basis and in the next couple of years?

This workshop is a two-day, hands-on and intense experience. The format includes a mix of multiple interactive lectures, polls, individual & group assignments, discussions, and question & answer sessions. As case material we use published articles from the participants own field of research. This ensures that participants will not only understand how to do it in general, but they will see how their own fellow researchers do it in practice.

The workshop includes topics such as what makes a paper interesting and what determines paper quality, analyzing the structure of academic papers, formulating research questions, defining a contribution to literature, providing convincing evidence, understanding the hierarchy of academic journals, and developing a publication plan.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this workshop, participants ...

• can explain how academic papers are evaluated by reviewers and journal editors,
• are able to identify the main elements and structure of academic papers,
• are able to apply an efficient strategy for finding and reading published literature that is useful for their own research project,
• have a clear understanding of how to determine the quality of peer-reviewed academic journals,
• have developed a publication plan for their own research project.

Competences

An important part of preparing for any further professional step is becoming (more) aware of the competences you have developed and/or want to develop. In the current workshop, the following competences from the UHasselt competency overview are actively dealt with:

• academic research competences:
  • publication skills
• interpersonal competences:
  • written communication
• personal effectiveness:
  • self-confidence
• intellectual competences:
  • critical judgment
• task-orientedness:
  • project planning
    
    

For whom?

• PhD students
• 16 places available

When and where?

• September 30 & October 1, 2024 - 9:00-17:00
• The workshop will be organized digitally (MS Teams). If selected to participate, you will receive the necessary details timely.

Registration?

• Register here from May 30 until August 26.
• Please register only if you are sure you can attend both training days, as well as the feedback session. As places are limited, registering does not automatically imply that you will be able to participate. You will be notified by email after the registration deadline has passed.
• Please cancel your registration at least one week in advance in case you cannot make it (cf. cancellation & no-show policy).

Acknowledged as?

• DS BSH: category 'research management & communication skills' - workshop on general research skills
• DS HLS: category 'transferable skills' - compulsory elective course
• DS ST: category 'scientific & generic communication' - course on generic communication