Biological Writing and Communication for Research

Catalog description

Each student will pose and address their own research question with support from the scientific research literature. Each student will share their own research findings in written and oral formats, both for scientific and general public audiences. Data to address each student's research question can come from their own undergraduate research or from queries with publicly available data sets. Students should expect to give and receive regular peer feedback on writing assignments relating to their research project and incorporate that feedback from peers and from their teacher in synthesis projects. Synthesis projects, where students are expected to integrate and make revisions to writing from the semester, include a short research manuscript, a research poster and oral presentation, and a blog post geared toward the general public. Weekly workshops paired with readings on scientific theory about writing and communication will help students practice technical science writing in general.