Introduction

Throughout the writing for the sciences course, I was introduced to many different types of styles of writing. Writing in the sciences is definitely a genre of it’s own, I came to realize that science writers have to write their content meticulously in order to make sure that their target audience is able to comprehend the material. I also came to see that the audience plays a huge role in writing, especially when it comes to writing in the sciences. I have acquired some useful skills which I can use in order to improve my writing and have it be appropriate for a science based topic.

All throughout class, I have been able to explore a wide variety of genres and rhetorical situations. I was exposed to different styles of writing and new elements in writing such as abstracts for research papers, informative review papers and position papers. These types of essays challenged me to alter my writing styles and be able to provide the reader with a unique experience for each type of paper.

I completed many drafts for the assignments that were assigned for this class, and I was able to see that with each draft I wrote, my writing got better each time. The strategy that I used was to look at the structure of my writing and break it down piece by piece and analyze the purpose of each paragraph and see whether it satisfies the requirements of the assignment. The reading aspect of this course was something that I needed to work on a lot in order to improve, some of the content that was read in class required fully understanding what the author was trying to say. So my strategy was to read slowly and understand key points of the reading that related to the the reading’s main idea. Collaborating and revising my work has definitely helped me see errors that I haven’t been able to find myself, I found it to be really helpful when someone reads your work and points out what areas need improvement. The in class peer reviews were very beneficial because my partner would point out things that needed more clarity and detail, and so I would be able to go back to editing my essay so that it becomes easier to comprehend. Editing my work helps me fine tune my writing, which allows both me and my audience to be able to understand the content.

My writing goals were to connect with my audience as much as possible and be able to tweak my writing so that it may please whomever audience I write to. For example, in my research paper, I made sure that I explained all musical jargon in order to ensure that my audience is able to understand my main point, which was about how music affects the brain. My research paper was heavy on experiments that involve complex methods and equipment, so I broke down all the key points of these experiments and presented my audience with a simplified summary. I even included some visual imagery to help the reader have a general idea of the topic. For example, I included a picture of a brain which was drawn entirely from music notes in my research paper. I picked this image because I believe that it is a perfect interpretation of my research topic, which was the effect of music on the brain. For my position paper I  picked an image of an infant that was surrounded by multiple copies of itself. I picked this image because I believe that it represents the cloning process in a crude but simple manner, which makes it easier for the reader to understand what they are going to expect in the paper.

All of my work was written in a format that is capable of addressing a wide variety of audiences. I made sure that I satisfied both primary and secondary audiences. When it comes to secondary audiences, there needs to be a lot of detail included in the essay that gives a clear constant explanation of the subject being discussed. I find writing for primary audiences a bit easier because the audience already has some knowledge about the subject being discussed, so I don’t have to explain any basic concepts to them, as opposed to a secondary audience. And in certain circumstances where I had to satisfy only one type of audience, I focused on specifically altering my writing to make sure that my reader will be satisfied. For example, when I wrote the informative review paper, my main goal was to inform a secondary audience.

I used the CCNY online database in order to find all the necessary documents that I needed for writing my papers. I included in text citations of all the sources I used for all my papers. And all the sources I used were cited in a reference page at the bottom of all my papers, which makes it easier for the reader to locate the original sources. If I needed any outside sources, I made sure to look up any sources that correlates to the topic of my assignment. For example, I used a Great Falls Tribune article on how musicians have better functioning brains in order to support my hypothesis in my research paper. I did not look that much into the credibility of the science articles, I assumed that the studies conducted and research presented in the papers I read were provided by experts on the field. I will definitely look into searching for more credible sources of any future papers that I write.

In the position paper, I stated that cloning will have a positive effect on the world, and so to defend my position, I used various sources that also gave evidence on how cloning is beneficial to the world. I made sure to provide a valid argument for the position I was taking, which was “studying the process of cloning will enable us to dwell into the core mechanics of the human genome and would therefore allow us to discover convenient methods of cloning in the future.” I made sure to include counterarguments in the paper so that I would have a solid paper that discusses both sides of an argument. For example, in my position paper I made sure to address the fact that people believe cloning will take away one’s identity and unique characteristics, which was a counterargument to my hypothesis which expressed that cloning is beneficial.

I would say that I have achieved most of the course learning outcomes, there are some areas that I still need improvement on and I will make sure to look into theses areas and determine how to improve upon them. The strategies and skills that I learned in this class will be used to improve my writing and will help me become a more experienced writer in the future.