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.

SkillNovice levelIntermediate levelAdvanced level
Source citationAvoiding 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 sourcesAppropriately citing sources
Data representationCreating graphs, figures, or tables that have all the essential elements: captions, labels, and axesChoosing the best representation for conveying dataAppropriately following the rules of data representation
Composition and writing basicsAppropriate 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. 

SkillNovice levelIntermediate levelAdvanced level
Data representationIncluding 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 literatureRecognizing 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 sourcesCalling on the best sources and making bridges between your work and earlier work
Awareness of audience and genreRecognizing that the audience shapes the style, tone, and conventions of communicationSelecting 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 arcRecognizing 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. 

SkillNovice levelIntermediate levelAdvanced level
Reading and evaluating the scientific literatureTypically, 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, outliningTypically, 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
RevisingProofreading 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
MetacognitiveUnderstanding 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