Make the most of the Scientific Writing and Publishing course

If your institution or lab subscribes to Nature Masterclasses, you have access to the online course in Scientific Writing and Publishing. How you decide to use the course will depend on your individual learning style and the time you have available. 

The course is broken into three parts and 15 modules. Rather than working through the course in order, you may prefer to jump to the modules that relate to where you are in the publishing process. 

Thinking about where you are in this process and what you’d like to achieve, use the guide below to dip in and out of the modules that are relevant to you:

If you are about to write your paper

Visit Part 1: Writing a Research Paper to learn:

• what editors look for in a great paper
• how to write clearly, write a great title and abstract, and structure your paper
• how to manage and present your data

If you are about to submit your paper

Visit Part 2: Publishing a Research Paper to learn:

• authorship and sharing authorship in a collaboration
• how to select a journal for publication and submit your article
• how to navigate the editorial process, including how to write cover letters, the peer review process, as well as the different editorial decisions and how to appeal them
• ethical considerations, such as duplicate submission
• how to measure the impact of your published article
• how to avoid plagiarism and miscitation

If you have published one or multiple papers

Visit Part 3: Writing and Publishing a Review Paper to learn:

• how to write and publish review articles