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>>>> VIDEO LECTURE ADDED ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA <<<<
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< IMPORTANT > CLASS PHOTO SEPT 26, 2023
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RGM5928 - Use of Academic English in Scientific Communication for Manuscripts and Oral Presentations - August- September 2023
OBJECTIVE: The development and refinement of the skills of scientific communication in English (both written and oral), through practical exercises and interaction with other students and the faculty.
CO-ORDINATOR: Prof. Jeremy Andrew Squire (squirej@fmrp.usp.br)
Workload:
Total: 60 hours Theoretical: 2 hours Practice: 2 hours Study: 6 hours
Credits: 4
Class Dates: Tuesdays 15th, 22nd, 29th of August, and 5th Sept (no class 12th Sept), 19th Sept, and 26th of Sept 2023, from 2 pm to 6 pm.
Location FMRP-USP - Dept. of Genetics - Auditório Gregor Mendel
Goals:
Development and improvement of scientific communication skills in English (written and oral) through practical exercises and interaction with other students and faculty.
Content:
During classes, the following topics will be covered by theoretical classes and practical exercises, not necessarily in this sequence:
1. Consideration of the goals, objectives and content of this Discipline. The nature of scientific communication. Specific features of communicating research results in English. Definitions of terms, the purpose of the various exercises in the class, and assessment.
2. The general format of the scientific article: history, logic, variations. How to get the most out of reading / “digesting” an article.
3. Preparation and purpose of a short thesis proposal. Its format, style, content and timing. Planning a scientific study or research talk.
4. Write a research proposal (general guidelines). Types of financing: strategic, collaboration, exchange, operational, infrastructure, for congresses, equipment, etc. Style, format, content, sequence, budget justification.
5. Writing a Manuscript: suitability of the journal, what an editor or reviewer is looking for, their responsibilities, and the decision process. Uses and Dangers of Google Translate. Use of ChatGPT and effective paraphrasing. Ethics and plagiarism. How to read manuscript proofs in English. Responding to reviewers' comments. Taking reviewers' criticism positively.
6. Proofreading articles for reviewers according to journal guidelines; general and specific criticism; the value of criticism, and positive suggestions.
7. Writing part of your thesis in English. Planning/style/format options. Drafts and completion, reporting to your supervisor.
8. The general format and importance of the TOEFL text. Online practice tools.
9. Manuscript writing in English. Format, style, writing-order and abstracts.
10. English writing techniques for non-native speakers. Use of Google software and AI to generate template texts and effective paraphrasing.
11. Preparation of an oral presentation in English. How to approach and answer questions.
12. Prepare short lectures and journal clubs. Use of English in PowerPoint slides and presentations.
13. Long oral presentations in English: seminars, lectures, undergraduate and graduate classes.
14. Prepare an abstract of your research project in English.
15. Prepare your curriculum vitae and job application letter in English
16. Give a 10-minute talk about your project to the class group
Bibliography:
Academic Writing a Handbook for International Students 2011 Stephen Bailey 3rd edition (Routledge)
English Communication for Scientists. Nature Publishing Group Education, Cambridge, MA. E-Book 2010 Doumont J-L https://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993.
Writing Scientific Research Articles: Strategy and Steps, 2009 Margaret Cargill & Patrick O'Connor (Wiley-Blackwell)
McGraw-Hill's Concise Guide to Writing Research Papers 2010 Carol Ellison (McGraw-Hill)
Evaluation method:
Students will be evaluated based on their participation in English in all aspects and exercises of the Discipline. A satisfactory classification will depend on the completion of all weekly assignments. Students will be required to present a 10-minute talk about their project to the group and submit the English versions of their CV with a job application letter. In addition, at the end of the course, all students must submit a research proposal about their project in academic English. If their project is not yet developed, students can choose any topic related to the planned research.
Observation:
There are 20 student vacancies for the course – Priority is given to students in the Genetics program. Students must be pursuing a Master's or Doctoral degree in a medical/biology-related topic. All activities and conversations in classes will be conducted in English. Your level of spoken English must be at Intermediate – Advanced level or above. If you have doubts about your English speaking skills and understanding level, contact Dr. Squire (squirej@fmrp.usp.br) to arrange a short conversational test.
Type of subject offering: On-site only.
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Pay special attention to resources marked < IMPORTANT >.
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< IMPORTANT > This is the essential textbook for this course. I will use information from some of these chapters during some of our class lectures.
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English Communication for Scientists is a brief guide on how to communicate more effectively in English, no matter how much previous experience you have. Developed with non-native speakers of English in mind.
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This book is more advanced than Bailey and written for native English speakers. However, it covers many of the topics of interest to us and you may find it helpful to download for the future in-class discussions.
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More advanced textbook describing how to structure your manuscripts
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This is an excellent textbook on Academic Speaking and tips for Conferences and Symposia. These topics are coming up towards the end of the course.
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This site is a great way of checking out the various ways that an English word can be pronounced. The site uses Youtube videos so please listen to the diversity of accents. We will be discussing accent variation in the first class.
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Free online Youtube English classes.
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You can enter an English word and hear how to pronounce it. Try entering the word "WATER" and listen to the difference between the British and the American pronunciation of this word.
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Free online classes with mmmEnglish using YouTube
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I find this very helpful to see the context of a word. The software mines translated text from public domain sites (mostly EU government sites).
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Collocations - common word combinations such as 'bright idea' or 'talk freely' - are the essential building blocks of natural-sounding English.
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This is the software we discussed in CLASS 5 (19/9) with Dr David for preparing graphical abstracts
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PDF file Added Sept 4, 2023 (to be discussed in CLASS 4)
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< IMPORTANT > This short article stresses the importance of being able to summarize your research idea in two minutes. I will refer to this article in our first class and it will be helpful for you to read this to understand the purpose of an upcoming homework assignment.
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< IMPORTANT > To be discussed in our first class
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< IMPORTANT > This is an example of a COMPASS outline based on my FAPESP project that I will discuss in CLASS 1 on August 15.
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Julian Rayner from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute provides some useful key points about giving a good talk.
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Deborah Riegel provides some strategies that non-native speakers can utilize when presenting in English.
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Dr. McConnell gives helpful advice on preparing and presenting an effective scientific talk. She reviews the basics of PowerPoint and gives advice on choosing fonts, colors and slide styles. She also recommends ways to structure your talk so the audience stays engaged. She is speaking quite fast in her presentation.
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This article provides excellent tips for answering questions that "buy time" while you formulate the best way to answer the question in English.
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These samples have been generously donated by UCSF students, postdocs, and alumni, in order to offer you ideas about how to present your own skills and experiences.
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Notice how easy it is to see what the student is interested in and relate to the attached c.v.
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This conversation between William and me will help you think about Visa and job applications and the requirements of taking the TOEFL test in 2023.
This topic is the subject of CLASS 2.
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To be discussed in CLASS 4
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To be discussed in CLASS 3
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To be discussed in CLASS 3
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To be discussed in CLASS 3
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This is an example online interview with Camila recorded in 2020. Please try to review this short video as it will help you decide whether you want to have a practice online interview with me later in the course. This voluntary interview option will be discussed in our first class.
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Mateus and Vitor kindly gave permission to share their practice interviews from when they took this course. For students interested in having an interview with me please e-mail me within the next week or so and indicate in your message to me your availabilities in the afternoons of the Sept 4-8 week.
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Tati is a recent doctoral graduate from Genetics here at USP. She visited Dr. Maisa Yoshimoto's lab in 2019 and she discusses how she passed the TOEFL test to get the grant and she talks about other aspects of life in winter in Alberta, Canada. The next interview is with Dr. Yoshimoto.
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Maisa is a Professor at the University of Alberta. Listen to how this Brazilian doctoral student adapted to life as a postdoc in Toronto and then moved onto secure a faculty position. We will discuss this video in class 2 on August 22.
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This video recording was made for the course in 2020. During our conversation, Dr Koti discusses how she made the transition from academic life in India to graduate school in Canada. She has a strong Indian accent. How well are you able to understand her? We will discuss this video in class 2 on August 22.
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Thaliane from Genetics at HC did a clinical observership in Montreal just before the pandemic.
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This conversation with Jennifer will give you a sense of the expectations and practicalities of fitting into a research lab in Toronto. Jennifer has a Canadian accent. Can you detect that? Is she easy to understand? Her practical tips about using the laboratory equipment make sense to you?
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William discussed the personal letter requirement at the beginning of CLASS 4
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This is Thiago's research proposal that he submitted when he took this course. The style and overall structure is the type of research proposal you must submit to me.
< IMPORTANT >
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This is a PDF of powerpoint slides provided by Editage that gives you some general guidelines about authorship policies < N E W >
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< NEW > These suggestions from Maastricht University provide tips about using social media to promote your research findings.
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from jobs.ac.uk <N E W >
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How do researchers use social media to promote their research? This link from Elseveir author services provides some of the common ways you can promote your research via social media.
<N E W >
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A guide to creating effective researcher profiles on social media, with practical tips for using LinkedIn.
<N E W >
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A Short Guide to Understanding Instagram Marketing for Academics Building Their Brand
<N E W >
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This is a PDF about " PREPARING POSTERS FOR CONFERENCES" FROM THE ROYAL PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY < N E W >
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A guide to researchers preparing posters or presentations for scientific conferences. < N E W >
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(This is a PDF file of the PPT slides I showed in Class 1 on Tuesday Aug 15)
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(This is a PDF file of the PPT slides I showed in Class 2 on Tuesday Aug 22)
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(This is a PDF file of the PPT slides I showed in Class 3 on Tuesday Aug 29)
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(This is a PDF file of the PPT slides I showed in Class 4 on Tuesday Sept 05)
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(This is a PDF file of the PPT slides I did not have time to present in Class 5 on Tuesday Sept 19)
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"How to improve the impact of your paper"
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Assignment due dates, resources for social media and posters, and course evaluation form < N E W >
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This recorded lecture from the 2021 course addresses submission letters to the editor, choosing the right journal, dealing with reviewer critiques, response letters, and using editorial services.
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LECTURE 16 was recorded for the RGM5928 online course in 2021. Please try to watch up to Slide 26 (ignore course evaluation part).
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This recorded video provides background to the main web links about using social media in the resources section above.
< N E W >
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