The National Institute of Statistical Science (NISS) and the American Statistical Association will hold a free writing workshop for junior researchers in August in conjunction with JSM 2010 in Vancouver. The goal of the workshop is to provide instruction in writing journal articles and grant proposals. It is designed for researchers with a recent PhD (in the past three years) in either statistics or biostatistics, and they will receive top priority when registering.

The one-day session is scheduled for Sunday, August 1. At the end of the session, mentors will meet with participants to go over the writing samples they submitted (as described below). The participants will prepare a revision of the critiqued portion of their paper and give it to their mentor by Tuesday evening, August 3. A lunch will be provided on Wednesday, August 4, by which time the participants will receive additional feedback on their revisions. The lunch will also be used to provide general feedback to the participants, mentors, and organizers. Participants must agree to attend both the Sunday session and the Wednesday lunch.

As part of the registration process, participants will be required to provide a recent sample of their writing (manuscript), which will be reviewed by a senior mentor. The sample could be a current draft of an article being submitted for publication, or it could be a grant proposal. (Prior experience suggests that the best results come from submitting an early draft of something that is written solely or primarily by the participant.)

The mentors will be former journal editors and program officers, who will critique a portion of the submitted material. Individual feedback will be provided at the opening session, and participants will be expected to prepare a revision. In addition to the individual feedback, there will be a one-day session of general instruction in effective writing techniques and a follow-up lunch.

Attendance will be limited and will depend on the number of mentors available. Use the online application form available here. Applications are due by June 1, and successful applicants will be notified by June 30. Applications received after June 1 will be considered if space is available.

Funding is anticipated for partial travel support for researchers at U.S. institutions. Current PhD students who are completing their degree before the end of the summer and who will be at U.S. institutions in the fall will also be considered. If space is available, researchers at non-U.S. institutions will be admitted to the workshop, but they will not receive travel support.

For more information contact Keith Crank, ASA research and graduate education manager, at keith@amstat.org.