Science Dissertation and Thesis Writing for International Students

Scientific writing is – understandably - a major source of stress for international students studying for science Master’s and PhD degrees in the United States. The pressures of didactic coursework, teaching and/or research assistantships, and productivity expectations are challenging for all students.

The need to learn, teach, and write in a non-native language, even if a student has high English proficiency, often adds an additional layer of anxiety to an already demanding time.

Below, we walk through five critical pieces of advice surrounding scientific writing among non-native English speaking graduate students in the United States.

1) Know that you are not alone.

 Scientific writing is difficult for all students and is especially challenging for non-native English speakers. 

Consider this:

            A Google search for “scientific writing” yields nearly 1 billion results.

            An Amazon search for books on Scientific Writing yields over 5,000 books.

Searches on Reddit and Research Gate reveal thread after thread of students asking for ways to improve their academic and scientific writing.

“Struggling with Scientific Writing...Any good books/articles to suggest? (Reddit)”

“How can non-English speaking researchers improve their writing skills for better communication with the scientific community? (Research Gate)”

While the journey of a graduate student can feel isolating at times, your challenges are not unique. Non-native English speakers often face similar roadblocks to improving their scientific writing. With dedication, perseverance, and the right resources, you can dramatically improve not only your scientific writing but your productivity and confidence in your ability to succeed in the academic environment. 

(2)  Understand that investing in your scientific writing now can change your career trajectory in the future.

Writing skills matter not only for productivity but also for future career opportunities.

Zerbe and Berdanier (2020), who surveyed engineering graduate students in the United States, found that international students (most of whom were not native English speakers) reported significantly lower writing self-efficacy than domestic students. Low writing self-efficacy, in turn, was linked to a likelihood of pursuing a narrower set of future careers after graduate school. Said another way: students who aren’t confident in their writing appear to ignore entire career trajectories available to them. 

Students who lack self-confidence in their scientific writing are less likely to continue in research careers within or outside of academia (Cameron et al. 2015).

One trainee interviewed Cameron et al. (2014) specifically mentioned that she is reconsidering her career path based on her scientific communication skills, noting:

“[I] was considering a faculty position; reconsidering academia now based on thoughts of my ability in scientific communication. (bilingual female; interview) [emphasis added]”

At the same time, faculty often express disappointment that their trainees fail to appreciate the substantial role that scientific writing will play in their current and future career development, saying (Cameron et al. 2014):

[Trainees have a] “Lack of appreciation [of the importance of] scientific writing to their career.”

 “Publication record has a huge impact on their career, but they may feel we are torturing students.”

 Improving your scientific writing is an investment not only in your work as a graduate student but also in your future career. As you improve your writing – and your confidence – you may find yourself considering career paths that you previously wrote off as unlikely to suit your strengths!

(3)  Avoid focusing too much on vocabulary concerns.

While vocabulary is certainly an important element of successful scientific writing, many international students focus on their anxieties surrounding their English vocabulary while downplaying the importance of grammar and organization in scientific writing.

This pattern has been observed in several surveys of international students at US-based graduate programs. We repeatedly see that students emphasize their concerns about inadequate English vocabularies (Cennetkuşu 2017) and ascribe high importance to articulating a large vocabulary (Huang 2010).

One international student interviewed by Ravichandran et al. (2017) described this concern, 

 “What worries me most is to use the right words. Like the right vocabulary for a situation.”

However, when faculty advisors are surveyed, they more commonly express concerns in their international students’ abilities to use proper grammar and present ideas clearly than use expansive vocabulary (Cennetkuşu 2017).

For example, graduate instructors surveyed by Huang (2010) rated demonstrating a “command of standard written English, including grammar, phrasing, effective sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation” as more important than demonstrating a wide vocabulary.

While it is important to continue to expand your general and field-specific English vocabulary during graduate school, try to avoid focusing so much on vocabulary that you lose sight of the critical role that organization and grammar play in successful scientific writing.

(4) Don’t underestimate the challenges of applying English grammar learned in a classroom setting to scientific writing.

Most international graduate students in the United States received formal training in English grammar during their secondary or post-secondary education. However, they find applying their classroom knowledge of grammar to their scientific writing to be a challenge. Classroom presentations of grammar can leave you lost in the details without a sense of how to apply an understanding of English grammar to improve or edit your writing.

Ravichandran et al. (2017) interviewed international graduate students in the US about the English language challenges they face. Many students had received English grammar instruction before moving to the United States but struggled to apply it, especially in written English. 

“I know lots of the rules of the grammar, but how we learn though, we just memorize them from the textbook, fill in the blanks, then when we speak, we even didn’t know we speak right or wrong, nobody actually corrected us.” 

“my sentences are not right grammatically…”

The difficulty here is clear: classroom grammar is full of rules, exceptions, and jargon. Take, for instance, an area where many English as a second language researchers struggle: commas.

A traditional grammar lesson on commas may include:

• A discussion of gerands, participles, and infinitives.
• In the discussion of participles, you’ll be introduced to the concepts of modifiers, objects, and complements.
• When being introduced to infinitives, you’ll learn that infinitives can function as direct objects or adjectives and be given a list of verbs that take infinitives with and without actors.
• A gerund will be presented as something that may function as a subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of a preposition.

 Put briefly, don’t assume that high marks in a classroom English grammar course will easily or automatically transfer to grammatically correct scientific writing. Look for resources that allow you to practice with targeted examples of English grammar as applied to scientific writing.  

(5) Don’t assume your faculty mentor alone can solve your writing challenges.

Faculty mentors are the most obvious source of assistance in improving your scientific writing, as faculty are well acquainted with the challenges of scientific writing faced by non-native English speakers. Faculty members interviewed by Trice (2003) about challenges among their international students most commonly mentioned functioning English as a stumbling block.

Unfortunately, many professors simply lack the time to provide consistent, in-depth feedback designed to improve the grammar, organization, and style of their students’ writing. Students emphasized this in interviews reported by Ravichandran et al. (2017), noting:

 “I never actually got that specific feedback. Even like, ‘please recheck this sentence grammatically or please rethink this point one more time’…it was just overall feedback.”

These sentiments were echoed by students interviewed by Cameron et al. (2014), who stated:

“[H]e gives feedback on writing--not grammar and wording--more on content and what to include in grant proposals.”

 “When I ask my mentor for feedback on my writing, I do not get a straight answer.”

From the faculty perspective, the time required to provide in-depth, iterative, individualized writing feedback is simply too much to balance with the competing demands on their time.

Faculty interviewed by Cameron et al. (2014) noted that thorough reviews simply take too long and that faculty often need to simply take over the writing rather than provide substantive feedback.

Other faculty members may be confident in guiding students through the organization of scientific writing but feel ill-equipped to provide concrete, specific advice on improving grammar and making writing more precise and concise.

Ultimately, students should ownership of their scientific writing education and seek out feedback and resources accordingly.

We developed the Scientific Writing Academy to teach you practical, efficient ways to improve your writing using real-life examples while connecting you with a community of other students working towards the same goals of increased confidence and productivity. Check out the Scientific Writing Academy for free resources and information about courses and our growing community of scientific researchers.