Academic Writing for GSNS/GSLS Supervisors
Academic writing is an essential element of research, yet it remains a common challenge for many master’s and PhD students. Supervisors often find themselves investing significant time and effort in helping students improve their writing, but it can be difficult to assess whether this guidance is truly effective. Are you confident in identifying the root causes of writing struggles, and do you know the best strategies to address them? Supporting students in becoming better writers is not just about editing their drafts – it is about equipping them with the tools to communicate their research clearly and convincingly.
As a supervisor, you might also reflect on your own writing skills. How recently have you taken the opportunity to refine your own ability to write in a concise, engaging, and accessible way? Are you familiar with recent trends in academic writing, and do you aspire to surpass the quality of the average published author?
In the spring of 2025, we are launching new pilot courses designed to support supervisors in teaching and refining academic writing in the natural and life sciences. These courses provide an opportunity to strengthen both your own writing skills and your ability to guide students effectively. In these courses, we will revisit the fundamentals of academic writing and also explore new trends and emerging tools, including the transformative potential of AI, to help you enhance your writing and your students’ learning. Let’s explore together how to make the process of academic writing more efficient, impactful, and rewarding for both you and your students!
Please note that these supervisor courses are not meant for PhD students, but they are open to postdocs, lecturers (UDs), assistant and associate professors, full professors, principal investigators (PIs), and others in similar roles. Supervisors should be associated with the GSLS or GSNS graduate schools.
If you do not currently supervise GSLS or GSNS students but are interested in these courses, please contact us to discuss whether it would be a good fit for you. This may be relevant if you teach master's or PhD courses in the natural or life sciences that involve academic writing or if your primary goal is to improve your own writing. Send your details to coska@uu.nl, and we will explore the possibility of your participation.
Two course variants
We offer two variants of the writing course for supervisors:
- 3-week course: requires a commitment of 12 hours (3 sessions of 2 hours plus 2 hours/week of self-study), for supervisors who primarily want to improve their skills in guiding students' writing. Optional material for extra self-study will be available.
- 8-week course: requires a commitment of 32 hours (4 sessions of 2 hours plus 3 hours/week of self-study), for supervisors who wish to improve their own writing skills in addition to enhancing their ability to guide students. This course includes all the material of the 3-week course.
Self-study takes place in our online course environment in ULearning and will involve weekly self-study tasks that can be completed at any day/time that suits you. This keeps the threshold for taking the course as low as possible. All meetings will be highly interactive, offering plenty of opportunities to learn from your colleagues and instructor.
Dates and times
3-week course
| Group 1 | Group 2 |
Instructor | ||
Meeting location | In person in Buys Ballot Building | Online |
E-learning open | Tuesday 17 March | Thursday 27 March |
Meeting 1 | Tuesday 25 March, 15.00h-17.00h | Thursday 3 April, 9:30-11:30h |
Meeting 2 | Tuesday 1 April, 15.00h-17.00h | Thursday 10 April, 9:30-11:30h |
Meeting 3 | Tuesday 8 April, 15.00h-17.00h | Thursday 17 April, 9:30-11:30h |
8-week course
| Group 3 | Group 4 |
Instructor | ||
Meeting location | In person in Buys Ballot Building | Online |
E-learning open | Thursday March 27 | Thursday 1 May |
Meeting 1 | Thursday 3 April, 15:00-17:00h | Thursday 8 May, 9:30-11:30h |
Meeting 2 | Thursday 17 April, 15:00-17:00h | Thursday 22 May, 9:30-11:30h |
Meeting 3 | Thursday 1 May, 15:00-17:00h | Thursday 5 June, 9:30-11:30h |
Meeting 4 | Thursday 15 May, 15:00-17:00h | Thursday 19 June, 9:30-11:30h |
End of course | Thursday 22 May | Thursday 26 June |
Course topics
The following topics will be covered in each course, with the depth of discussion varying based on the course length. The academic writing topics will provide you with the vocabulary and deeper awareness needed to articulate what makes writing effective. Even if you write well intuitively, this course will help you diagnose why a student’s text isn’t working and offer targeted guidance to improve it.
Academic writing topics
- The writing process: preparation, writing, and editing phases; creating a writing plan
- Structuring your work: frameworks and storylines; paragraph structure; IMRaD sections: introduction, method, results, discussion, abstract (note: if writing in your field does not follow the IMRaD structure, you may focus on topics more relevant to your needs.)
- Clarity and readability: readable sentences; cohesion; academic style; polishing language and grammar
- Emerging tools: using AI in academic writing
Feedback topics
- The student-supervisor relationship
- Supporting students in their writing process
- Diagnosing writing challenges
- Giving effective written feedback
- Giving effective oral feedback
Costs
This course is offered free of charge as part of a pilot program funded by fUSO. In return, we ask for your support in two ways:
- Please support this project by completing a survey at the end of the course, and, if your schedule allows, participating in a focus group (date to be determined).
- If you can no longer attend, please inform us as soon as possible so we can offer your spot to someone else. Late cancellations still incur costs for our instructors and reduce the data we need to advocate for the continuation of this project in the future.