Professor Lauren Kiefer
English Department
Champlain Valley Hall
Lauren Kiefer | Text and Goals | Poems | Grades | Peter Conrad | Janice Marchut Conrad | Gordon Muir
Randy Moore, Writing to Learn Science
This class has two parallel goals: to increase the effectiveness of your writing about science and to strengthen your grasp of scientific concepts. Following our textbook's lead, I have divided the facets of effective science writing into three categories:
We will be covering these three areas repeatedly throughout the course; however, I will also expect you to use correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and to consult me for help if you have trouble in any of these areas. Sloppy writing (poorly spelled or incorrectly punctuated) automatically discredits the writer, and thus is automatically ineffective.
The course's second goal, strengthening your understanding of scientific concepts, lies
more squarely in your hands, since the paper topics, though always centered around
science, are deliberately broad enough to allow you to choose which concepts you want to
investigate and discuss. Ideally, you will be able to write about the ideas and processes
you are learning in your other classes. But whatever you choose to write about, the act of
writing itself--of organizing your thoughts and making them intelligible to another
person--should strengthen your grasp of the subject.
This page was last updated on 02/05/2004 .
Questions about this site? Please contact Dr. Lauren Kiefer.