Teaching Writing to Science Undergraduates A Workshop for Instructors of Introductory Science Courses

Why Focus on Writing in an Introductory Science Course? Undergraduates in introductory courses sometimes lack basic writing skills: Grammatical knowledge Purpose and conventions for common science genres, like the lab report Revising and editing Instructors in scientific disciplines often complain that undergraduates in their introductory courses lack basic grammatical knowledge, misinterpret the purpose of common science genres, and seem careless in revising and editing their work. You may think that your students ought to have learned these skills in high school. While it is true students enter colleges and universities with different levels of preparation in writing, there other factors that determine writing performance that you may not have considered. This workshop is aimed at helping the instructors of inexperienced science majors understand some of their students’ difficulties and to improve their performance on common science writing tasks, such as the lab report.

Understand your Audience Students’ past instructors may not have stressed writing…so… Students may believe that all types of writing are the same Students may have limited or no training in science writing Students may feel that writing is unimportant in science Students often misinterpret the context, purpose and importance of writing in their science courses.

Course Design Some actions you can take to help: Plan to spend class time discussing writing concepts that are important to your discipline Schedule peer review sessions and workshops before major reports are due Make organized, precise, and grammatically correct writing worth a significant portion of students’ grades Encourage students to attend workshops and tutorial sessions at their Writing Center

Composition Vocabulary Words Group critique peer reviewing conferencing workshopping Self-critique revising editing proofreading Organization structure arrangement flow outline Parts of a paragraph topic sentence connector transition logical bridge Writing in progress draft project report paper Beginning a writing process prewriting brainstorming freewriting planning outlining One experience your students are likely to have in common are composition courses. Whether students have taken composition at the high school or university level, they probably already share a vocabulary for talking about writing. This slide introduces some of terminology typical of both high school and college-level composition courses. You can help begin to bridge the gap between your knowledge and theirs by using some of these familiar words when you discuss writing with your students. “Prewriting,” “brainstorming,” “freewriting,” “planning” and “outlining” and all describe actions writers can take to begin their writing process Writers might describe their in-process writing as a “draft,” “project,” “report,” or “paper.” “Revising,” “editing,” “proofreading” all refer to actions writers can take to improve their writing. Though these actions can take place at any time during the writing process, novice writers tend to think of them as part of the last stage of writing “Peer reviewing,” “conferencing,” or “group editing” refer to a number of activities during which writers critique one others’ work

Putting Composition Vocabulary to Work Writing Assignments in BIO 109 In BIO 109, you will be asked to complete a number of writing assignments throughout the semester. These include lab reports which have a particular style and structure to which you must adhere; learning to adapt to the genre of the lab report will require more time planning, drafting, revising and editing. Each lab report will be co- written with your partner; you are expected to share all responsibilities for writing these assignments including peer reviewing each of your drafts. Writing in this course is important and worth a significant part of your overall project grades. You are encouraged to see your instructor during his or her office hours for conferences on your written projects. In BIO 109, you will be asked to complete a number of writing assignments throughout the semester. These include lab reports. Each lab report will be co-written with your partner; you are expected to share all responsibilities for writing these assignments. You are encouraged to see your instructor during his or her office hours for help. Using introductory composition vocabulary can help you clarify your expectations when it comes to writing in your class. Take a look at this sample policy statement. On the left is the policy or syllabus statement detailing expectations for writing in the course for a fictional introductory biology course. On the left is a version that is revised to include some vocabulary that is familiar to students. The words that are underlined are terminology from composition.

Disciplinary Differences Good writing practice in the sciences: Passive voice Strict adherence to preset structural genre conventions, such as the Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, References sections of the lab report Use multiple visual elements, such as charts or graphs, to demonstrate important concepts Clear procedural transitions that signal particular steps in an experiment (e.g. first, second, third)‏ Use of a discipline-appropriate scientific style of citation Good writing practice in the humanities: Active voice Flexible conventions for structure depending on the task; transitions, rather than headings are commonly used to demarcate major sections of writing Reliance on text, rather than visual elements to convey main ideas Transitions generally signify changes in or to emphasize particular aspects of the author’s position (therefore, furthermore, in any case)‏ Use MLA (Modern Language Association) or other appropriate humanities styles to cite sources Students who are otherwise conscientious, smart, and hard working sometimes produce writing full of errors, organizational problems, clarity issues, or that simply misses the point of the assignment altogether. A very common reason for this is an ignorance of disciplinary differences in writing.

Activities and Exercises These activities and exercises may help you reinforce important science writing concepts Reverse Paramedic Method (Editing for passive voice) ‏ Methods Mousetrap (Precision and use of procedural transitions)‏ Peer review activity Instructors in scientific disciplines often complain that undergraduates in their introductory courses lack basic grammatical knowledge, misinterpret the purpose of common science genres, and seem careless in revising and editing their work. You may think that your students ought to have learned these skills in high school. While it is true students enter colleges and universities with different levels of preparation in writing, there other factors that determine writing performance that you may not have considered. This workshop is aimed at helping the instructors of inexperienced science majors understand some of their students’ difficulties and to improve their performance on common science writing tasks, such as the lab report.

Where can you go to find extra help with science writing? Purdue University Writing Lab Heavilon 226 Grammar Hotline (765) 494-3723 Check our website http://owl.english.purdue.edu Email brief questions owl@owl.english.purdue.edu

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