The course in Scientific writing is taught by Prof. Mihai Emilian Popa and it is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students of School of Geoscience and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University in Chengdu, Sichuan. It is structured for a better and easier communication in Geology, in the following directions:
1. in learning activities, as students communicate with their professors in a written manner using essays and other manuscripts,
2. in scientific research, as students prepare their manuscripts for various theses and for published works, such as research articles in Geology.

Structure of the course
- Scientific communication: writing science in universities for learning and for research;
- The nature of a science written work;
- Originality of a science written work;
- Manuscripts and (published) papers;
- Types of scientific papers;
- The structure of scientific manuscripts;
- Citations and reference lists;
- Styles in scientific writing: a brief introduction;
- The standard format of a manuscript in Geology;
- Ethics in scientific writing: avoiding plagiarism and other misconducts in Geology;
- The long way from manuscripts to published papers.

Fundamental questions of the course
- What is a manuscript and what is a published paper?
- What is the structure of a manuscript?
- Which is the best way in writing scientific ideas in Geology?
- Which are the usual mistakes students and researchers do in writing scientific ideas and results?
- Why do we need to publish our research results?
- How manuscripts get published and become articles and books?

References
Garfield, E., 2006. The history and meaning of the Journal impact factor. JAMA 295, 90-93.
McCormack, J., 2014. Brief. Make a bigger impact by saying less, Wiley.
Pinker, S., 2014. The sense of style. London: Penguin Books.
Strunk, W., 2011. The elements of style The Elements of Style Press.