Herbert Percy Toop Memorial Prize in Scientific Writing

This award provides support to graduate students who are Canadian citizens, born and educated in Canada, and are working in the areas of agriculture, engineering, biology, geology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, or other physical sciences. Focus is on writing style, grammar, and the presentation of concepts in clear and concise language. Also considered is the introduction, summary, conclusions, and the overall structure and organization of the whole. Nominations must be submitted by the Department Head.

Departments wishing to nominate a student must submit the following:

• A letter from the chair of the student’s department describing the reasons for the nomination and include why the dissertation constitutes excellence in the use of the English language in scientific writing. Assurance must be given that the thesis was written by the student independently, that it is free of grammar and other errors, that the references were cited properly and arranged properly, that tables and figures were well designed and did not need major revision, that references were carefully selected, and that there is clarity in expression and explanation
• A letter from the External Examiner that covers the topics found in the Nomination Letter Guidelines
• One page maximum from the nominee describing their research in lay terms and the achievements or contributions of their research
• The abstract and the table of contents from the successfully defended thesis
• The nominee’s up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV)