Having difficulty formulating your title? Or wondering how to translate that important term?

In addition to the courses organized by the Graduate School, you can contact Maria for personal advice on writing, phrasing, terminology issues, etc. Or sometimes it can be useful to talk through the structure of an article with someone unfamiliar with your research – a short coaching interview may help you to see the broader picture, or to iron out recurring issues with your writing.

Are you aware of your own writing strengths and weaknesses? Are your texts clear?

This short course focuses on the communicative aspects of writing about your research: how to ensure that you make your writing as easy as possible for the reader to follow and understand. This will considerably improve your chances of publishing in top journals.

There will be some in-class exercises, and participants receive detailed individual feedback on a short sample of their own writing. Focus areas include:  

•    clarity and readability
•    paragraph unity and coherence 
•    punctuation
•    use of tenses   

The emphasis varies depending on participants' individual needs. The course is specifically concerned with writing at the paragraph and sentence level, and does not address questions of overall structure.

The final session of the three is devoted to an aspect of academic writing that can sometimes prove problematic (even for native speakers of English): word order. Where do I put ‘only’? Can I start a sentence with ‘also’? It is also possible to take this session separately. 

Academic and Transferable Skills
The course consists of three 2-hour sessions, with a total workload of 15 hours. The course can be classified as either Academic or Transferable Skills.
 

Would you like help with writing the introduction to a research article?

All’s well that ends well, they say… but for a journal article the beginning is perhaps even more important. A clearly structured, pleasantly written, cogent introduction will attract readers and highlight the relevance of your research. It will increase the chances of your article being published and making an impact. But many researchers find it the hardest part of the article to write. 

In this hands-on course, we analyse introductions to research articles from the participants’ own fields, paying special attention to the structure, paragraphing, and transitions, but also to accessibility and style. At the same time, each participant works on an introduction of their own, which they craft and draft as they go along, with input from their fellow course members in different social science fields. After the first three sessions of analysing and designing, participants write up their draft introduction and submit it for feedback (from a peer and the instructor). The course concludes with an individual tutorial to discuss the feedback and any further questions or tips.

The course is primarily intended for researchers in the 2nd or 3rd year of their PhD programme and is free for members of the FSW Graduate School.
 

Academic and Transferable Skills

The course consists of 3 2-hour sessions and a 30-minute tutorial. The total workload is 25 hours. The course can be classified as either Academic or Transferable Skills.

Can you tell me about your research in a nutshell? In a simple and engaging way?

This is an important skill for researchers, both for societal outreach and for obtaining funding. The main focus in this short course is on the content and structure of a very short talk/lightning presentation, but the skills learned here can also be applied to longer presentations and/or to the lay talk for your PhD defence. At the second session, each participant gives a talk about their own research and receives extensive feedback from their peers and the instructor.

Participants are required to attend both sessions.

Academic and Transferable Skills
The course consists of two 2-hour sessions, with a total workload of 8 hours. It can be classified as either Academic or Transferable Skills.

What does an academic cv look like? How do you write a cover letter?

Academic life is not all research and teaching – to get your research article published, or to get an academic job in the first place, there are many requests, applications, and other kinds of writing involved. You email journal editors; you are asked to ‘write a profile of yourself’ for your Institute’s web page; you need an English curriculum vitae, and so on.  

This kind of writing is essentially different from what is required when you write an article. These texts are much shorter, for one thing, and in the case of cvs and web texts often require a sort of telegram style which in English may be quite different from what you would do in other languages.  

In this course we will discuss how to write a well-organized CV, and will give some tips for writing effective cover letters and formal emails – for instance to that important professor, asking for an internship. We will also pay attention to cultural conventions in academic contexts in English-speaking countries, such as the correct use of academic titles.   

Participants must attend both sessions. 

The preparation involves writing and/or revising your own academic cv and composing a formal email or application, on which you will receive feedback. Further study material is provided.  

Academic and Transferable Skills
The course consists of two 2-hour sessions, with a total workload of 8 hours. It can be classified as either Academic or Transferable Skills.

Do you find conferences rewarding? Are you good at networking?

Attending a conference is a great way for PhD candidates to expand their research horizons and network… but can also be rather daunting. How can you talk to that important professor? And what if you don’t know anybody at the reception? 

The focus of this course is on discussing your own experiences of scientific conferences. In an informal setting, we will discuss various aspects of attending a conference, from applying for grants to conference behaviour (chairing a session, networking, etc.). The session is not about how to present a paper. Rather it offers you an effective platform for exchanging tips to help you get the most out of the conferences you attend.

Academic and Transferable Skills
The course consists of a single 2-hour session and can be classified as either Academic or Transferable Skills.

3 sessions, max. 8 participants per course
The course is free of charge for PhD candidates and RM students from all Institutes of FSW. PhDs from the ASCL or ICLON (or other faculties/institutes of Leiden University) pay a fee of €100, which will sometimes be met by the Institute. Please check with your supervisor.
Course 1: 21, 28 November; 5 December 2024, 13:15-15:00 hrs
Course 2: 7, 9, 10 January 2025, 13:15-15:00 hrs
Course 3: 30 January; 6, 13 February 2025, 09:15-11:00 hrs
Course 4: 11, 18, 25 March 2025, 11:15-13:00 hrs
Registration form

2 sessions, max. 6 participants 
The course is free of charge for PhD candidates from all Institutes of FSW. PhDs from other faculties/institutes of Leiden University pay a fee of €50.
Dates: 16 & 23 January 2025, 11:15-13:00 hrs
Registration form

The course is free of charge for PhD candidates from all Institutes of FSW.
3 sessions + individual tutorial, max. 12 participants 
Dates: 1, 8, 15 April & 13 May 2025, 11:15-13:00 hrs
Registration form

2 sessions, max. 8 participants
The course is free of charge for PhD candidates from all Institutes of FSW.
Dates for academic year 2024-2025 tba
 

1 session, max. 8 participants
The course is free of charge for PhD candidates from all Institutes of FSW.
Dates for academic year 2024-2025 tba