Writing Assignment

Course goals

The student is able to:

1. translate a Life Sciences problem into a relevant research question;
2. select the relevant scientific domains;
3. conduct a literature search;
4. critically read scientific papers, and recognize good papers;
5. discuss papers and argue their strong and weak points;
6. summarize literature in his/her own words;
7. discuss the outcomes of his/her own literature survey and link these with scientific theories;
8. formulate suggestions for (hypotheses) for future research;
9. write a review article under limited supervision in a limited amount of time (5 weeks).

Content

Content writing assignment
The format of a writing assignment can be that of a review paper in the relevant research field (literature review) or a NWO/ALW grant application (a research proposal).
SBM students have to write a business proposal.
 
To write a review a significant amount of recent literature is used to create an in-depth discussion, in which the student demonstrates his/her ability to critically evaluate hypotheses and results, presents his/her own views, and draws conclusions that point towards new research opportunities. The assignment should be written in English and contain a summary specifically aimed at informing the general audience about the content (laymen’s summary). A writing assignment consists of several key stages: defining your topic, formulating a hypothesis, drawing up a timetable, literature research and the writing phase. The work is presented orally to the research group.

Entry requirements
Prior approval of the Board of examiners is mandatory