STUDENT WRITING
Writing in Technical Fields

Teach students how to organize science papers by providing them with examples and analysis.

1. Provide students with a published example of science writing.
   
   
   1. Ask students to comment on its organization. Emphasize the divisions and subdivisions in the paper (e.g., in the Methods section, there are sections that address the study site, the statistical analyses used, the sample methods, etc).
      
      
   
   
   2. Ask students to comment on its clarity of writing, paying particular attention to:
      
      • The precision of the language
      • The thoroughness and detail
      • The formatting and appropriate use of references and citations
      • The effectiveness of tables, graphs, and figures
        
        
   3. Provide students with a written analysis of the organization of the paper, paying special attention to the Results and Discussion sections. You may want to discuss how information was effectively (or ineffectively) communicated in the figures, tables, or graphs. Emphasize that the discussion section should place the study in the larger context of what we know and evaluate the data. It should answer questions the author proposed in the beginning.
      
      
   4. Have small groups of students choose a short journal article to evaluate. Ask them to critique the paper for organization and clarity. These assignments could be turned in for a grade.
      
      
2. Use this same model for peer editing when the students write their first lab reports.
   
   
3. Provide students with a guideline for writing and grammar.
   
   
4. Always review the effectiveness of your assignment design as the students are doing it and afterwards. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the assignment you’ve designed? What will make it clearer and more beneficial for students next time around?