Academic Tools

Please find below a list of resources for WoW Trainees. Please also refer to the WoW Links webpage, and the WoW Courses and Workshops webpage for information.

Dissertation & Thesis Preparation (UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies) Resources to assist with thesis preparation and checking, including a sample thesis.

UBC Style Guide UBC recommends following the guidelines set out in current editions of The Canadian Press Stylebook (CP) or the Chicago Manual of Style (CM). For spelling, we adhere to The Canadian Oxford Dictionary.  the UBC Style Guide highlights common errors and lists exceptions, preferences, or UBC-specific conventions not covered by these reference books.

Twitter for Academia
A fun link suggested by TQ discussing the uses of Twitter in academia.

Arguing to Learn in Science: The Role of Collaborative, Critical Discourse
Jonathan Osborne, Science Vol 328:463-466 (23 April 2010), www.sciencemag.org
Argument and debate are common in science, yet they are virtually absent from science education. Recent research shows, however, that opportunities for students to engage in collaborative discourse and argumentation offer a means of enhancing student conceptual understanding and students’ skills and capabilities with scientific reasoning.

How to Give a Good Talk
Uri Alon, Molecular Cell 36:165-167 (2009), Elsevier Inc
We depend on talks to communicate our work, and we spend much of our time as audience members in talks. However, few scientists are taught the well-established principles of giving good talks. Here, the author describes how to prepare, present, and answer questions in a scientific talk. We will see how a talk prepared with a single premise and delivered with good eye contact is clear and enjoyable.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
This document provides an overview of a 2009 WoW workshop presentation with useful links to online resources on the topics.

Biorenewable Café – The Biorenewables Café is an informal monthly meeting in Vancouver where ‘green energy’ enthusiasts get together over coffee and beer to discuss the most recent policies, research, innovations and achievements surrounding the biorenewables sector.