Learning to write a scientific manuscript is one of the most important and rewarding scientific training experiences, yet most young scientists only embark on this experience relatively late in graduate school after gathering sufficient data in the lab. Familiarity with the process of writing a scientific manuscript and receiving peer reviews often leads to a more focused and driven experimental approach as well as a better understanding of the scientific literature. To jump-start this training, we developed a protocol for teaching manuscript writing and reviewing in a course, appropriate for new graduate or upper-level undergraduate students in biology. First, students are provided a cartoon data set. Students are instructed to use their creativity to convert evidence into argument and then to integrate their interpretations into a manuscript, including a mechanistic model figure. After student manuscripts are submitted, manuscripts are redacted and distributed to classmates for peer review. We present our cartoon data sets (based on animal development and interbacterial competition), homework instructions, and grading rubrics as a new resource for the scientific community. We also describe methods for developing new data sets so that instructors can adapt this activity to other disciplines. Our data-driven manuscript writing exercise as well as the formative and summative assessments resulting from the peer review process enable students to practice scientific skills and concepts. In addition, students practice scientific communication, arguing from evidence, developing and testing hypotheses, the unique conventions of scientific writing, and the joys of scientific story telling.

Primary Image: Manuscript 101 Workflow Schema. In this series of structured activities, students transform cartoon data sets into manuscripts that then undergo peer review.