Written communication is a key research skill, yet the current model of pre- and postdoctoral training in the biomedical sciences lacks consistent formal training in this area, leading to crises of confidence when tackling research writing. A 15-hour non-credit workshop, “Secrets of Successful Scientific Writing,” was developed in collaboration with an experienced instructor of scientific writing. The workshop consisted of six 2.5-hour sessions and was offered six times; a total of 126 trainees attended over these six offerings. Topics included strategies to engage the audience, principles of psychological linguistics to maximize sentence effectiveness, conventions of biomedical journal writing, technical writing and the history of scientific publishing, and two sessions on grant writing. Student confidence in and familiarity with targeted writing skills were assessed by self-evaluation questions administered immediately before and after each session. The workshop was determined to be effective at improving the confidence of participants regarding specific writing skills in the biomedical sciences, with all but two of the measures showing that the workshop had a large effect size. We conclude that a short, structured workshop can help improve the confidence and knowledge of pre- and postdoctoral writers, preparing them to better meet the writing challenges of their professional careers.

中文翻译：

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科学写作研讨会提高了生物医学专业学员对关键写作技能的信心

书面交流是一项关键的研究技能，但是目前生物医学科学领域的博士前和博士后培训模式在这一领域缺乏一致的正规培训，从而导致在处理研究论文时出现信任危机。与一位经验丰富的科学写作导师合作，开发了一个15小时的非学分研讨会“成功的科学写作秘诀”。该讲习班包括六个2.5小时的会议，共举行了六次。总共126名学员参加了这六项培训。主题包括吸引观众的策略，最大限度提高句子效力的心理语言学原理，生物医学期刊写作惯例，技术写作和科学出版历史以及两次赠款写作会议。通过在每次会议之前和之后立即进行自我评估问题来评估学生对目标写作技巧的信心和熟悉程度。确定该讲习班有效地提高了参与者对生物医学科学中特定写作技能的信心，除两项措施外，所有其他措施均表明该讲习班的影响力很大。我们得出的结论是，简短而有条理的研讨会可以帮助提高博士前和博士后作者的信心和知识，为他们做好准备，以更好地应对职业生涯中的写作挑战。确定该讲习班有效地提高了参与者对生物医学科学中特定写作技能的信心，除两项措施外，所有其他措施均表明该讲习班的影响力很大。我们得出的结论是，简短而有条理的研讨会可以帮助提高博士前和博士后作者的信心和知识，为他们做好准备，以更好地应对职业生涯中的写作挑战。确定该讲习班有效地提高了参与者对生物医学科学中特定写作技能的信心，除两项措施外，所有其他措施均表明该讲习班的影响力很大。我们得出的结论是，简短而有条理的研讨会可以帮助提高博士前和博士后作者的信心和知识，为他们做好准备，以更好地应对职业生涯中的写作挑战。