GOALS
Mechanics Goals:
This set of goals focuses on the “nuts and bolts” of writing. We expect that students at the novice level will spend the most time working on these goals, but as students progress through the curriculum, should spend less and less effort here as they acquire advanced status and the mechanics of writing become more innate.
| Skill | Novice level | intermediate level | advanced level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source citation |
Avoiding plagiarism Citing papers in text Avoiding direct quotation Including all essential bibliographic elements Understanding the conventions of citation in Biology (e.g., very little reliance on direct quotation) |
Appropriately citing sources | Appropriately citing sources |
| Data representation | Creating graphs, figures, or tables that have all the essential elements: captions, labels, and axes | Choosing the best representation for conveying data | Appropriately following the rules of data representation |
| Composition and writing basics |
Appropriate grammar, punctuation and spelling; knowing where to seek help on campus Crafting sentences and paragraphs with topic sentences and transitions Knowing whether to use the active or passive voice, the 1st or 3rd person |
Appropriately following the rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling Appropriately structuring paragraphs |
Appropriately following the rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling Appropriately structuring paragraphs |
Rhetoric Goals:
In these goals, we emphasize the craft and strategy of writing. Novice writers will be introduced to these topics, but we expect that more advanced students will spend more time working towards these goals, rather than dealing with “nuts and bolts” issues as in the Mechanics Goals.
| Skill | novice level | intermediate level | advanced level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data representation |
Including graphical/tabular/pictorial data Incorporating written analysis of graphical/tabular/pictorial data in text with reference to figures |
Selecting the appropriate data to support your argument (not ‘cherry-picking’) Striking the right balance between representing data in text and in graphical/tabular/pictorial format |
Effectively using data of a variety of forms to support your thesis and develop your narrative |
| Incorporating the scientific literature |
Recognizing that your work builds on the work of others and therefore must be cited Recognizing the differences between different geners (primary literature, review articles, policy and news) |
Appropriately incorporating diverse sources | Calling on the best sources and making bridges between your work and earlier work |
| Awareness of audience and genre | Recognizing that the audience shapes the style, tone, and conventions of communication |
Selecting right genre for your audience Introducing skills of changing style to suit the genre and the audience |
Refining the skills of aligning audience to genre and style Building a nuanced appreciation of attributes of different audiences |
| Building a narrative arc |
Recognizing that all communication tells a story Making the thesis statement identifiable Recognizing that scientific writing requires precision in word choice Recognizing different parts of scientific communication serve different purpose (methods vs. results) |
Organizing your argument to tell the most compelling story Supporting thesis statement with cogent arguments and appropriate evidence Refining precision of language usage Incorporating different aspects of your argument appropriately in different parts of your writing |
Developing one’s own personal scientific voice to tell a story in a cogent and compelling manner |
Process Goals:
These goals deal with the misperception by novice students that it is possible to write one draft and turn it in the next day. We expect that students will need extensive and explicit training as novices and then continue to work at and develop these skills throughout the curriculum.
| skill | novice level | intermediate level | advanced level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and evaluating the scientific literature |
Typically, students will begin to share in the responsibility to choose scientific literature Refining skills of finding scientific literature (more advanced searches) Refining skills of reading scientific literature: knowing where to look in a paper to find what you need, knowing how to skip sections Introducing skills of evaluating the scientific literature Introducing skills |
Typically, students will begin to share in the responsibility to choose scientific literature Refining skills of finding scientific literature (more advanced searches) Refining skills of reading scientific literature: knowing where to look in a paper to find what you need, knowing how to skip sections Introducing skills of evaluating the scientific literature |
Typically, scientific literature will be chosen by students at this level Mastering skills of finding and reading scientific literature Refining skills of evaluating the scientific literature (e.g. different publications, peer reviewed) Managing personal reference library |
| Develop habits for planning, framing, outlining |
Typically, planning will be set by faculty at this level Get in the habit of creating an outline/flow chart/concept map/story board to plan your writing |
Typically, students will begin to share in the responsibility for planning and budget time appropriately Recognize and utilize the type of planning strategies that work best for you |
Typically, planning will be set by students at this level Capturing what may have been a nonlinear process in a finished linear product that tells a story |
| Revising |
Proofreading for errors Editing for clarity at the sentence and paragraph level Use feedback from both peers and faculty for purposes of revision Recognizing that the act of peer review improves one’s own writing |
Recognizing the need for multiple versions of the paper—knowing there might be alternative ways to tell the story Recognizing that papers often get shorter through revision Hone peer review skills, and hence own revising skills |
Revising without fear of abandoning past versions Independently seek feedback from both peers and faculty for purposes of revision |
| Metacognitive | Understanding that the writing process is an indispensable part of the scientific process Understanding that science doesn’t expand our knowledge until it can be communicated Understanding the impact your communications – content, style and tone – have on the audience | – | – |