Perfecting academic writing, facing fraud: Science’s top personal essays of this year

From ScienceMag:

“I hated writing growing up,” Rachel Yang lamented in an essay she wrote for Science Careers this year. “It felt like navigating a chaotic jungle, where creative types swung easily among the tangled vines, while I clung petrified on a low-hanging limb, unsure where to reach next.”

It’s a struggle that was clearly on many readers’ minds this year, given the popularity of Yang’s essay and others we published about academic writing and publishing. Some focused on the craft, including the back and forth with co-authors that is inherent to so much academic publishing. Others reflected on the content, asking whether it is OK to take risks in grant proposals or write papers about experiments that didn’t work.

As part of our Working Life section, a weekly series that explores lessons scientists learn as they pursue their careers, we also published essays about scientific fraud, moving internationally, mentoring, and more. Here are the most read ones from the past year, to offer some inspiration and reflection as we head into the new year.

I hated writing—until I learned there’s a science to it

Writing is a process of “trial and error,” Yang argues.

Amid my Ph.D. struggles I learned I am neurodivergent—and found ways to thrive

Charlotte Goeyers has embraced her neurodivergent brain—and all that comes with it.

When a postdoc in my lab committed fraud, I had to face my own culpability

“I had been duped,” Rosalind Coleman writes.

I struggled after moving internationally for a postdoc. Here’s how my family and I coped

Open communication and new experiences helped Adrian Beckert out of a rut.

When I left academia, I had to embrace starting over

“It was humbling and exciting, all at once,” Ashley Ruba writes.

I thought I could conquer academic writing on my own—until I learned better

As a postdoc, Yaowu Zhang realized that in the realm of academic writing, scientists are “all perpetual learners, forever refining our craft.”

To make it through my Ph.D., I had to escape ‘grad student guilt’

Will Hart writes about how he rewired his brain.

How I made a place for myself in academia—by focusing on my writing

For Violeta Rodriguez, scientific publications were key for boosting her confidence.

How I lost and found my scientific creativity

After reflecting on his career, Jeffrey McDonnell identifies when he was his most scientifically creative self.

To write successful scientific grant proposals, I had to learn to take risks

“I didn’t want to write a proposal tailored to avoiding criticism,” Allison Boboltz writes.

Other notable essays

As women in academia, having children can feel impossible. Talking about it makes us feel less alone

How I turned seemingly ‘failed’ experiments into a successful Ph.D.

When my lab members started to leave, I felt like a failure as a mentor

How asking my Ph.D. adviser for areas to improve transformed my career outlook

Amid the stress of academia, I missed signs I had bipolar disorder

Read More