2005 Core Curriculum Conference

The AMWA Mid-Atlantic Chapter hosted its 2005 Core Curriculum Conference on Saturday, June 4, 2005, at the Residence Inn by Marriott, Alexandria-Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. Two core workshops and two advance workshops were offered. The morning core workshop included Basic Grammar I (G) [112] with Flo Witte, MA, ELS, as Instructor. This new course, originally part of Basic Grammar & Usage, focused entirely on parts of speech and their use in the sentence. Types of nouns and pronouns, verb tense, pronouns and case, phrases and clauses (with special emphasis on verbals and on noun, adjective, and adverb clauses), and the types of sentences were some of the primary topics that the course covered. Information in this course is, in essence, basic to every other AMWA course. Even if you have already taken Basic Grammar & Usage for credit, this course is offered for credit as well.

The afternoon core workshop offered was Writing and Editing NIH Grants (EW/FL) [225], with Karen Klein as Instructor. This lecture and group discussion provided a thorough framework for both new and experienced biomedical editors to make the grant-preparation process less harried. NIH applications were the topic of this workshop. Writing and editing exercises to craft key portions of an application and samples of “winners” that were funded were included. Private (e.g., foundation) proposals were not addressed in this workshop.

Two advanced workshops were also offered. The morning session included Advanced Data Presentation: Tables, Graphs, and Charts (ADV) [701] with Howard M. Smith as Instructor. This course emphasized group participation in exploring the solutions to graphic problems submitted by participants. Other means of portraying information, such as flow charts and box and whisker plots, were discussed. There was no prerequisite for this course.

The afternoon workshop included Rhetorical Grammar (ADV) [720], with Flo Witte, MA, ELS, as Instructor. Building on knowledge gained from other AMWA workshops, participants in this workshop examined the effects on readers of writers’ and editors’ choices about sentence structure and word order—that is, the rhetorical effects of grammar. Using examples from medical and scientific writing, participants focused on the “contracts” that they establish with their readers and the results of their successes or failures in fulfilling these contracts. The prerequisites for this course were Basic Grammar I or Advanced Grammar, and Sentence Structure and Patterns.