Teaching Writing to Science Undergraduates

1
Teaching Writing to Science Undergraduates

• A Workshop for Instructors of
• Introductory Science Courses

2
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

3
Understand your Audience

• Students past instructors may not have stressed
  writingso
• 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

4
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

5
Composition Vocabulary Words
6
Putting Composition Vocabulary to Work
7
Disciplinary Differences
8
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

9
Where can you go to find extra help with science
writing?
Purdue University Writing Lab Heavilon
226 Grammar Hotline [phone] Check our
website http//owl.english.purdue.edu Email
brief questions owl_at_owl.english.purdue.edu
10
The End