Leigh McDowell graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Melbourne, Australia in 1997, and moved to Japan in 1998 to pursue a career in teaching English as a second language. He holds masters degrees from both Temple University and Macquarie University. He has worked at NAIST since 2010, where he is currently an associate professor. His research focuses on English for research publication purposes with an interest in the role grammar errors play in research writing.

The use of English as a lingua franca in science has enabled the communication of research on a global scale; however, the high level of accuracy demanded in English for academic publication can present significant challenges to researchers, especially those for who English is an additional language.

This seminar aims to help participants to better deal with the issue of accuracy and specifically grammar errors in research writing. Participants will be guided through the top-ten most frequent grammar errors in research writing and given exercises to help them identify and correct those errors.

The seminar is aimed at all NAIST researchers, both faculty and students, who are actively using English to publish research in international journals.

Participants are asked to bring to the seminar a sample of their own research writing for exercises during the seminar; for example, a page or two (digital or paper) from a research article that you are currently or recently working on would be ideal.