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Writing Services

Please visit the Fellowship and Grant Resources page for information related specifically to writing grants and fellowships.

Elaine SmolockIndividual Support

Request an appointment with our Director of Writing Services and Training Grant Development, Elaine Smolock, for your writing assistance needs.

Services that Elaine provides are available to all SMD PhD and MS graduate students, postbac and summer scholars, and postdoctoral appointees. Make an appointment with Elaine by completing the myHub Service Request Form. Elaine is located in MRB G-9631 and can be reached at (585) 276-7436.

*Please note: Due to COVID-19, Elaine is currently working from home and happy to meet with alumni and trainees through Zoom.

*Elaine is available to provide individual writing assistance on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Scientific Writing Fundamentals and Publication

Writing Services offered (Including, but not limited to)

  • Meet and greet to learn more about services available
  • Abstract
  • Book chapter
  • Dissertation
  • Manuscript/publication prep
  • Poster composition/other presentations
  • Protocol review
  • Progress reports
  • Qualifying and preliminary exam
  • Review article and literature review
  • Rotation report

Fellowships and Grants

  • Fellowship/grant identification
  • Navigating the application process
  • Writing the various application parts

UR Resources

Books from the myHub Lending Library

Check out books from the myHub Lending Library. To check something out, visit Eric Vaughn in MRB G-9627 or email us with your request.

The Craft of Research, 2nd edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
By Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams

Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers
By Mimi Zeiger

How to Write a Thesis
By Umberto Eco

How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper
By Robert A. Day and Barbara Gastel

How to Write, Publish, and Present in the Health Sciences: A Guide for Physicians and Laboratory Researchers
By Thomas A. Lang

Internet, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method
By Don A. Dillman, Jolene D. Smyth, Leah Melani Christian

A Short Guide to Writing About Biology, 5th edition
By Jan A. Pechenik

Successful Scientific Writing: A Step-By-step Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences
By Janice R. Matthews, John M. Bowen, Robert W. Matthews

Writing Science: How to Write Papers that Get Cited and Proposals that Get Funded
By Joshua Schimel

Courses

Scientific Writing: Principles and Practice (IND 414)

IND 414, Scientific Writing: Principles and Practice, is a course for graduate students at all levels, taught by a PhD in English who has extensive experience with scientific writing. All students will work on a single document throughout the semester: a grant proposal, research article, or a portion of a thesis. Students will turn in a series of writing assignments, receive detailed critiques, and complete the document by the end of the course. Classes will include didactics on grant and article writing, and interactive discussion of writing samples that demonstrate common writing problems. Discussions will also include group reviews of student documents in progress.

Recent Seminars and Workshops

Writing About Data
By Dr. Denise A. Kaminski, Department of Medicine

Online Resources

Why Academics Stink at Writing and How to Fix It
From the Chronicle of Higher Education, by Steven Pinker, Michael C. Munger, Helen Sword, Rachel Toor, Theresa MacPhail
Writing in the Sciences
From Coursera, by Stanford University
On Scholarly Writing is used to discuss productivity, craft, and anything else that pertains to the writing life.
From the Chronicle of Higher Education's Vitae
Elsevier Researcher Academy offers free online training and advice for publishing academic research