Center for Economic Research & Graduate Education - Economics Institute

Writing Workshops

Academic Writing Workshops for regional researchers and graduate students

Introduction

“Publish or perish.” Academic success depends on communicating one’s expertise, and this is primarily achieved through publishing. The task of getting published is often one of the most difficult for young researchers and academicians, especially when this involves publishing in peer-reviewed journals in a language other than one’s own native tongue.

According to a number of editors and referees for economic journals, there are two major reasons for publications being rejected: “…the failure to make a contribution and the failure to communicate.” (Boonpramote, T. [Fall 2000]. Writing for Economics journals: Elements of success.). Some factors that have been identified include the following:

  • Poor organization
  • Poorly written
  • Inappropriate writing style
  • Failure to connect the results with an economic story

Workshops/Courses

One type of workshop the CERGE-EI Academic Skills Center is offering is customized workshops to improve individual success rates in publishing in English (including in impact factor journals). Helping young researchers to develop this ability would enhance their chances at attaining work or other career opportunities in an international/EU environment, where English is the working language.

Academic Writing for Publication

  • Effective summarizing
  • Critiques
  • Literature Reviews
  • Dissertation and Thesis Writing Skills
  • Abstracts, Introductions and Conclusions
  • Coherence, Cohesion and Paragraph Structure
  • Avoiding Plagiarism and Citation Techniques

In addition, the CERGE-EI Academic Skills Center offers other customized workshops on:

Professional Presentation Skills in an Academic Environment

Student-Centered Teaching Skills

Lecturers

We are highly qualified, native-English speaking faculty who have been involved in instructing and developing research writers from central Europe over the last decade (Click here for biographies.). We are well aware of the common communication/discourse weaknesses that arise among writers from the region and understand how to address them.

Credibility

We have a proven track record of effectiveness in assisting researchers to publish. According to the organization Research Papers in Economics, CERGE-EI and the CNB are leading institutions in terms of publications for 2009. Of the top 30 publishing authors, only 6 are not or have never been associated with CERGE-EI and have never received advice/editing help/instruction from the CERGE-EI Academic Skills Center. In addition, we have successfully and repeatedly presented intensive programs to participants from CEU, ISET, EERC/KSE, CASE and the University of Tartu.

Past Workshops

Contact

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