Academic Manuscript Revision Workshop
Revising your own writing is a critical skill for academic success, but often receives little systematic attention in STEM fields. This workshop targets participants without formal training in academic writing—the unfortunate norm in most STEM programs—combining a variety of sources (books, articles, blogs, and videos) and extensive practical exercises. Participants are expected to bring a complete (but still rough) draft manuscript, that will be systematically revised and overhauled over the course of the workshop. Revision is a cognitively demanding task best accomplished in focused work sessions (1-2 hours each day) separated by breaks to regain the broader perspective required for tailoring your own work to the needs of others; producing a quality polished manuscript is a marathon, not a sprint. Participants should form small groups to provide accountability and feedback for each other, supplementing instructor input. Depending on work intensity, it should take 1 to 2 months to complete the workshop, producing a mature manuscript draft that is ready for full review by co-authors, followed by journal submission soon thereafter.