Analysis and discussion of research papers, especially within the student’s own research field, with a focus on rhetorical strategies, the common practice of the research field, and structure and language.

Short written assignments, such as a project proposal or similar text type with relevance to the research career

Work on own drafts for a forthcoming scientific publication

Discussion of other course participants’ drafts, and reflection on the peer review process

Exercises in scientific English, for instance regarding sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary.

After passing the course, the student should be able to:

• adapt the content and structure of scientific research papers according to audience and purpose, and justify their choices
• apply rhetorical strategies typical for research papers in STEM fields, especially in their own discipline
• apply effective writing strategies in order to compose clear and precise text in English
• critically review and suggest changes to scientific texts written by others, considering e.g. audience, purpose, structure and language, and use others' feedback to improve their own text

in order to

• produce scientific research papers in STEM in English for publication in relevant journals.

The course consists of 10 class meetings of 2 or 3 hours. A major part of each meeting is devoted to group discussions and group work, for which you are expected to prepare by reading the course literature and studying the structure and language of texts in your own field. The discussions focus on, among other things:

• how typical papers in your discipline are written. 
• possible solutions to tasks on e.g. sentence and paragraph structure. 
• feedback on drafts of a paper underway.

In between meetings, you will prepare feedback on drafts from your peer reviewing team. The peer review will take place either in class or outside of class (students set up their own Zoom meeting or equivalent).

After the peer reviews, students write short peer review reports.

In the first half of the course, students write a one-page Grant Proposal Abstract with the purpose of practicing the principles of clear, effective scientific writing.

The course also contains Canvas quizzes (self-study) on grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.

An important part of Writing Scientific Articles is the peer review of your own work. For this to run smoothly, it is important that you have an article underway during the course. If you are at the beginning of your doctoral studies and won’t be writing an article this term, please get in touch with us.

Course books (required):

Swales, John. M., and Christine B. Feak (2012) Academic Writing for Graduate Students, 3rd ed. Ann Arbor: Michigan.

Glasman-Deal, Hilary (2020) Science Research Writing for Native and Non-native Speakers of English. 2nd ed. London: World Scientific Publishing Ltd.

Note: Glasman-Deal's book is available as an e-book at KTHB, albeit on a license that only allows three simultaneous users. Therefore, students are encouraged to download the chapters on Methods, Results and Discussion beforehand. 

Additional readings and tasks are made available on Canvas.

Recommended literature:

The KTH Guide to Scientific Writing, compiled by the course teachers

Hofmann, Angelika H. (2020) Scientific Writing and Communication. Papers, Proposals, and Presentations, 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Caplan, Nigel A. (2019) Grammar Choices for Graduate and Professional Writers, 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Rau, Gerald. (2020) Writing for Engineering and Science Students. Staking your Claim. London: Routledge (E-book, KTHB)

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

P, F

• INL1 - Written assignment, 5.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Requirements for passing the course

During the course:

• Completion of assigned tasks for preparation, and active participation in at least 75% of the course meetings
• Completion of peer reviews in small groups and brief reports from these sessions
• Completion of a written assignment, Mobility Grant Proposal, in three versions

After the course: 

• Individual tutorial with the teacher on a full research paper of your own, at any point in the coming few years
• A short written commentary on your article and your writing process

You are responsible for contacting the teacher or course convenor when you have a finished manuscript and are ready to book an appointment for the final tutorial. 

75% attendance requirement, and all written assignments passed.

75% attendance is required to pass the course. Students who miss one or more classes have the opportunity to take the class on another day of the week, or in a coming semester.

Students will be given their 5 credits within a couple of weeks of their final tutorial, provided all requirements have been fulfilled.

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

Course material

The course book Academic Writing for Graduate Students (Swales and Feak) will be gradually replaced by other, more recent material. Therefore, even though Swales and Feak is still the required text for everyone, teachers will direct students to other sources and students are encouraged to use what they find relevant.

Grammar and punctuation quizzes

Moving the more basic language tasks to Quizzes will free up class time for interesting discussions on grammar and punctuation choices and how grammar and punctuation can be used to change the meaning of a sentence. Also, most KTH doctoral students have an advanced level of English when they come to the course, which reduces the need for bringing up e.g. subject-verb agreement and prepositions in class.

Example texts and course material

In the coming few years, we are aiming to update the course with more recent, authentic examples from various KTH disciplines. We are also interested in exploring how students use - and should use - generative AI to help them with their writing.