When: 23-27 March 2026
Where: Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen
Credit: 2 ECTS
Lecturer: Dallas Murphy
Target group : PhD students who already have a draft paper before the workshop
Maximum number of participants: 12
Application deadline: 20 February 2026
Course description:
Only the science matters in science papers. Often, however, good science is damaged by its unclear presentation in writing. Clarity is the science writer’s sole stylistic obligation. But without a cogent, carefully constructed literary structure, there can be no clarity; clarity is in structure. We will, therefore offer techniques and means of attaining structure that can be applied to the present paper, the next paper, and the next.
Format
— We can accommodate a maximum of 12 students.
— Each participant should submit a draft of their paper one week before the workshop begins (at the very least, the abstract, introduction and conclusion must be ready).
— As a group, we will rigorously examine the abstracts, introductions, and conclusions for each paper, asking, first, are they clear? We will address three papers per day, leaving Friday open for rewrites.
— Working together as a group, we will help improve the paper at hand. But that alone is not enough. We will use the papers as a starting point to establish the foundations of a practical writing process—of thinking like a writer about science writing—that will produce better papers, but also alleviate some of the stress most students feel about writing.
— Different faculty scientists will participate in each session to help students clarify the science itself.
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Dallas Murphy is a professional writer, author of nine books, a mix of fiction and nonfiction, and two plays. He conducts science-writing workshops at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, University of Hamburg, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, University of Miami, and the Geophysical Institute at University of Bergen.