Resource of the Week #177: A MOOC Starting Tuesday

Hello again. This week’s resource is a massive open online course (MOOC) titled Writing in the Sciences. The course starts this Tuesday (September 2), and it ends October 26. Anyone interested can register.

This course will last 8 weeks. The first 4 weeks will deal with effective writing in general. Thus, this part of the course can aid both researchers in the sciences and those in other fields. The second 4 weeks will focus specifically on scientific writing.

The course will include video lectures, quizzes, and editing exercises. Students also will write 2 short papers and edit each other’s work.  According to the course description, students should expect to spend about 4 to 8 hours per week.

Students scoring at least 60% will pass the course and receive a Statement of Accomplishment. Students scoring at least 90% will receive a Statement of Accomplishment with distinction.

The course is from Stanford University, in the United States. The instructor, Kristin Sainani, has an MS in statistics, a PhD in epidemiology, and a certificate in science writing. She has won teaching awards.

This MOOC has been offered before, and I have heard good things about it. More information is available on the course website.

Until next post—

Barbara