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This course is a thorough preparation for the writing task of the PhD student. In this course, you learn how to:

1. Identify the strengths and weaknesses in your writing process, optimize your writing strategies, and show personal growth as a writer.
2. Compose a writing plan and create a good overall structure in your scientific texts with an eye for storyline and argumentation.
3. Write in a good academic style using correct English, with special attention for clarity and conciseness.
4. Compose paragraphs with good topic sentences and internal structure, and readable sentences of appropriate length and internal order.
5. Apply the principles of cohesion in your writing to create a text that is perceived as high-standard.
6. Give critical yet constructive feedback on the written work of peers and use this process to improve your own writing.

By working on these, you will gain confidence in writing and eventually become a more successful scientist.

You are trained through weekly e-learning modules on the ULearning platform consisting of theory, examples, short knowledge clips, and interactive exercises. Throughout the course, you will also engage in peer feedback, and receive feedback from your teacher. There will be 4 online meetings (each 1 hour long) in which you can get to know your teachers and peers and engage in discussion.

The course consists of 8 modules, spread over 8 weeks:

1. The writing process and writing strategies
2. Structuring a text by composing a writing plan
3. Paragraphs: key sentences and internal structure
4. Sentence readability and tools for cohesion
5. Academic style and revision techniques
6. Energizing verbs (active/passive, nominalizations) and secrets to concise writing
7. Correct English (punctuation, spelling, and grammar)
8. Solidifying and deepening knowledge and skills  

Please note that from 2026 onward, this course will shift to a 10-week format. The content and overall time investment will not change – only the pacing will.

This course is specially designed for PhD students in the natural and life sciences, and the provided examples will be from natural and life sciences writing. It will, therefore, feel different than general language courses that you may have followed before, and more applicable to your current needs as a scientist.

A Solis-id is required for this course, you will not be able to participate in the E-module without it! Please visit the FAQ for information on how to apply for a Solis-id. This application process can take up to 3 weeks, so make sure your Solis-id is active before the course starts.  And this course has prerequisites, which are listed below.

Prerequisites

You can either be working on a paper already or be ready to write anything (a minimum of 1000 words) about your PhD research, such as a literature overview or a short report of recent results. Usually, this requires that you have started your PhD at least three months ago.

This course teaches how to write an academic text in the natural or life sciences but does not delve deeply into genre-specific details, such as how to write a Results or Method section. This makes this Academic Writing 1 course suitable for any type of paper or proposal and for any field within the natural or life sciences.

Those interested in learning more about writing a scientific paper in the IMRaD structure (Introduction – Methods – Results – Discussion) can proceed with the course Academic Writing 2: Writing a Scientific Paper with Impact after completing this course (course 1 is a prerequisite to course 2). 

Study Load

This course is designed to be flexible but expect to spend a significant amount of time on your writing. On average, it involves 50 hours of self-study (about 6 hours per week) plus 6 hours of group meetings.

Your actual time investment will depend on where you are in your writing process:

• If you already have a draft ready (around 700 words of a section of choice) and work efficiently, you might spend around 4 hours per week reviewing the course materials, revising your draft, and giving peer feedback.
• If you are starting from scratch, work more slowly or thoroughly, or need additional data processing or literature search, you may spend up to 1,5-2 days per week writing and taking part in this course.

Apart from the meetings and occasional mid-week deadlines (usually for peer interactions), you can schedule your work whenever you like. Each week, you’ll receive an email, and you’re expected to complete that week’s content by the end of the week.

Group Size

10 to 12 participants

Number of credits

2.0 EC 

Trainer

This course will be taught by one of the teachers from the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ’s Communication Skills Academy (a joint GSNS/GSLS initiative). These teachers have a strong linguistic background and substantial experience with academic writing in the natural and life sciences.

Course certificate

You will receive a course certificate after completing all 8 learning units and being an active participant on the online platform.

We are happy to offer courses for free to all GSLS PhD candidates. However: free of charge does not mean free of responsibility. Once you have signed up for a course, we expect you to attend. For every late cancellation or no-show we have had to disappoint others who would have liked to attend. This is our policy:

• You may cancel free of charge up to 4 weeks before the start of the course. After this date you can only cancel if you have a GSLS PhD candidate to replace you in the course. Send the name and contact information of your replacement to pcc@uu.nl, at least 2 working days before the start of the course;
• We expect that you actively attend the full course, but at least 80%. It is mandatory to attend the first session. If you are absent the first session you cannot follow the remaining of the course. If the course is an E-learning, you have to complete all modules;
• Not meeting the above requirements means you will be charged a no-show fee (€ 200) We will send the invoice after the course has ended. We are unable to make any exceptions, unless you have a valid reason (i.e., illness or death in the family 1st/2nd degree or partner). Your supervisor has to send an e-mail to pcc@uu.nl indicating the reason.