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    Back to Writing in the Sciences

    Learner Reviews & Feedback for Writing in the Sciences by Stanford University

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    4.9
    stars
    9,335 ratings

    About the Course

    This course teaches scientists to become more effective writers, using practical examples and exercises. Topics include: principles of good
    writing, tricks for writing faster and with less anxiety, the format of a scientific manuscript, peer review, grant writing, ethical issues in scientific
    publication, and writing for general audiences.
    ...

    Top reviews

    AA

    Jan 11, 2023

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    The best course I attain in Coursera. I struggled a lot to write my first manuscript and it took a lot of time. This course is beneficial for all scientific students. I highly recommended this course.

    SO

    Jun 22, 2019

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    Great course. Learned so much that will help me be a better writer and editor, not only in the sciences, but in other areas. A fantastic professor, clear thinking, speaking, writing. an inspiration.

    Filter by:

    226 - 250 of 3,014 Reviews for Writing in the Sciences

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    By Amita P

    •

    Oct 3, 2022

    This was one of the best course I have taken in the last few years. Even though I have already turned in my PhD thesis and manuscripts, I wish I had known all of this information when I first started my academic career. I had no idea that scientific writing could be made simple and enjoyable. I'll most certainly let the juniors at my university know about this course. I advise everyone who wants to begin their graduate studies to take this course.

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    By Devesh D

    •

    Oct 14, 2021

    "Writing in the Sciences" was one of the best courses that I have taken. The instructor is knowledgeable and the perfect person to teach this material. Through this course, I learned about the science of writing well, and the importance of being clear and simple in my writing. I have a learned a lot from this course about effective writing and plan to apply this learning in my future manuscripts. Again - thanks for offering this incredible course!

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    By 张凯旋

    •

    Oct 27, 2022

    This course is very useful for me. About 2 years ago, I started this course because of the recommenfation of friend. There are many effective skills on writing, which helped me publish my essays on magazine and finish my graduation thesis. Though I got master in engineering from Sichuan University, but I learned from Stanford. So proud of me.I hope this course could be studied by more people from the world, baccuse the knowledge has no borders。

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    By Josh T

    •

    Jul 12, 2020

    I can't recommend this course highly enough. I recently started a new role as a Science Writer so this course was highly relevant for me. Dr. Kristin Sainani manages to cover a wide range of topics related to scientific writing--from the writing process itself, to drafting a manuscript or grant application, to writing for a lay audience--using clear and interesting examples. I'll be referring to my notes from this course for many years to come.

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    By Stephanie E

    •

    Jun 22, 2019

    This course is one of the most helpful and engaging classes I have taken ever. Professor Sainani is a very enthusiastic and clear instructor, and you can feel her positive energy and attitude towards teaching through the screen. Not only has this course helped in writing in the sciences, but I believe it has taught me tools to improve my writing in general. I much appreciate this course, and I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to take it.

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    By Angela P

    •

    Jul 4, 2018

    This course was amazing. It’s everything I forgot from my 5 th English teacher to my MSN papers. loved that it was self paced, I got behind and was able to switch classes with ease. I made a book with all the power points to to reference. I now know how to fix the passive verb that outlook loved to highlight in my writing. Teacher was superb. Only thing I would have done different is to have fewer guess speakers, I found it a little boring .

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    By Nataliia S

    •

    May 15, 2022

    I really liked the course. Clear presentation of basic and advanced skills, very helpful tips. I really liked the modules devoted to interviews, presentations of science in the media. I would definitely recommend this course to my colleagues and students. My only regret is that I'm not a medic) and, unfortunately, I wasn't able to fully enjoy the additional videos, as they provided practical examples of editing specialized medical texts.

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    By Verónica H C - P

    •

    Jun 10, 2021

    I’d like to especially thank Professor Kristin Sainani for the course “Writing in the sciences” and Coursera for giving people the opportunity to globally access this kind of education. The course exceeded all my expectations; it’s such a clear, engaging and compelling course that provides several skills and useful tools in medical writing, editing of manuscripts, and science communication, among many others. I fully recommend taking it.

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    By Yogini D

    •

    Oct 8, 2020

    The course sets a foundation to write science well. Dr. Kristin - the course mentor- does an incredible job at igniting minds of writers. She shares, based on her experiences, valuable and highly useful tips to start off writing well. She has been utmost honest in accepting the hard part of writing- even for professionals and that kind of gives a hope and assurance to the beginners. Thank you for this insightful and highly useful course.

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    By Kangshu L

    •

    Feb 25, 2023

    I think that I learn a lot through this course. Before this, I thought scientific writing is supposed to be full of jargon and hard to read. Professor Kristin Sainani taught me how to write a nice scientific essay being accurate and understandable at the same time, and also told me how to communicate with other researchers and the public. I believe this experience will help me greatly in my following scientific journey. Thanks a lot!

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    By Parvathi N

    •

    Apr 11, 2021

    This was such an amazing course! I really loved how the instructor kept the classes very engaging with her sense of humor and her passion for the subject is very visible. I love how she used really relevant examples to explain a lot of the concepts. I got a chance to contemplate on my writing skills throughout this entire course and I will apply all of the skills I have obtained during this course to all of my future writing projects.

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    By Lisa S

    •

    Sep 9, 2020

    Very helpful course with an excellent instructor. This course will help you write scientific manuscripts that aren't so dense no one will read them and helps you understand how to critically evaluate scientific writing. I found the "lay summary" exercise particularly helpful as it is always a challenge in science to communicate with the lay public. Definitely take this course if you will be doing any scientific writing in your career.

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    By Rama W

    •

    Feb 8, 2020

    Superb course. Teaches you everything you need to know from basics of Grammar, style, economy of writing and so much more. Kristin does an excellent job at explaining the way things ought to be, her enthusiasm makes her a great teacher. The interviews also gave great perspective. I audited this course, but I am planning on purchasing it so that I can take it again. I recommend this to anyone in the life sciences. Kudos Stanford !!

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    By Mariem B H

    •

    Jan 26, 2023

    Again, thanks Stanford for making such an excellent course free! Thanks Professor Krisitin! You are so far an excellent Teacher. If only I took this course long time ago.

    I would recommend it to anyone who would like to learn how to write not only in sciences but in our daily life.

    As a non native english, I am planning to repeat many lectures if not all of them. Professor Kristin is just a magician of words! Thanks a lot Professor!

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    By raghul j

    •

    Feb 17, 2024

    I started casually but didn't expect the help and interest it created on the subject of scientific writing. It has synthesized a base in me to develop when writing scientific reports. The instructor explained with a lucid voice of all concepts. Thanks Kristen.The interviews were a professional, molding effort. In India, although such interviews are not common, it gave a holistic approach to scientific presentation. Thanks coursera!

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    By Jessica S

    •

    Apr 20, 2022

    I thought I was a good writer.... now I realize that I have many opportunities to improve. I have recommended this course to colleagues and am incredibly appreciative that it is FREE! The instructor is fabulous and funny and uses varied examples and an array of stories. I have 2 MS degrees but am now pursuing a doctorate and will be better prepared to succeed because of this course- which was humbling and insightful. Thank you!

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    By Rasa V

    •

    Feb 23, 2021

    After this course, I write an article differently - with more consideration about the clutter, punctuation, style, audience. Also, reading is easier as the author clearly defined the structure of the the scientific article. Quizzes, writing tasks and peer reviews strengthened the knowledge.

    The author shared lots of her personal experience, therefore the course was practical. Thank you for making the course useful and enjoyable!

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    By Pamela M I

    •

    Sep 8, 2022

    This is an excellent course for all learners in the sciences, especially ESL and EFL learners. Writing can be daunting; scientific writing is even more so. I have learned so much (Thank you Kristin and team), and I hope I can apply this knowledge when I tutor/coach my students at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

    PS: Maybe one day I will interview you in a live webinar for learning how to write in the sciences ☺️

    Thanks, again!

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    By Bruno V

    •

    Jun 28, 2020

    The course is incredible. Dr Kristin Sainani elegantly guided us throughout the art of writing in sciences. The course is essential for any scientist, independent of the expertise. I had some experience in writing scientific manuscripts, and still, I gained a lot of new practical knowledge about writing. It also inspired me to write more, and hopefully, I will be able to pass this to my students in Brazil. Highly recommend it!

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    By Candice G

    •

    May 8, 2025

    This is a wonderful course for anyone who is interested in science, writing, journalism, or peer review. The instructor is knowledgeable, interesting, and engaging. She begins from the very basics and works her way up to broader subject matter. Even a novice can follow because the instructor is great. I'm a seasoned science editor with 13 years of experience and still found this course to be invaluable. I highly recommend it!

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    By Hiu Y L

    •

    Aug 6, 2021

    I loved how approachable Dr. Sainani is in this course; I feel more comfortable in learning this course since I came from a music background. The course helped me to realize how much my writing skills can be translated into sharing scientific knowledge with lay audience. I appreciate the assignments and optional demo videos - they helped me witness the writing and editing processes unfold. I'm so glad that I took this course!

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    By Vinay S

    •

    Feb 16, 2020

    This was my first MOOC, and I loved it! I am happy to say that this was my third attempt trying to complete the course (due to time restrictions earlier), and I managed to do it this time. The course content is great, and Dr. Sainani definitely is the right person to deliver the talks. I work as an editor of research manuscripts. This course has helped me edit much better now. One word to describe this course: Enlightening!

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    By MD S I

    •

    Jul 12, 2022

    This is an outstanding course by which every prospective researcher will be benefitted from. I have one publication as a first author and another one is under review which was submitted before enrolling on this course. Now, I have a realization that, my manuscript might have been written in a far better way, If I could learn the taught techniques of this course earlier. I wish I could come accross this course earlier !!

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    By Paravee O

    •

    Jan 14, 2021

    An amazing course. Probably one of the best I have ever joined in Coursera. The professor is wonderful at teaching, fun and informative. The course focus more on the medical science, but it offer many tips on scientific writing in general. Also, I now feel more encouraged to write knowing that I'm not the only one struggling with these problems (e.g. passive voice, clustering, tense) haha. Thanks so much for this course.

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    By Andrea S

    •

    Jun 1, 2020

    I really enjoyed this course. It was well structured, detailed, and covered a broad range of topics related to writing in the sciences. I found the peer review homework assignments to be the most helpful assignment type. The module covering writing for the average person was a particularly interesting exercise. It really helped impress upon me the importance of translating your work to make it accessible to more readers.

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