Scientific Writing in Context

About

The ability to communicate scientific information well is important if one is to disseminate scientific ideas clearly and accurately.

Scientific communication involves more than just writing. It also involves the ability to read, analyse, understand and critique scientific subject matter clearly, at an appropriate depth and breadth, and with an appropriate style for the intended audience.

The aim of this module is to guide you through writing a scientific research paper, as applied to the physical sciences, for an audience of peers. As a driver for communicating scientific ideas, you will investigate one real physical phenomenon such as Hooke’s law, Torricelli’s law, projectile motion, the behaviour of a pendulum or another suitable phenomenon. Such investigation will be supported by simulations and/or practical experiments.

Even though you will be investigating a real-world scientific phenomenon, it should be noted that this module is a scientific writing module and not a science module. As such, the science and mathematics of the phenomenon to be studied will be trivial to keep the focus of the module on writing.

Week one
Introducing the scientific phenomenon to be studied; understanding and writing hypotheses
On the nature of experimentation; the language of experimental method
On summaries and evaluations
On coherence and cohesion

Week two
Writing paragraphs 1: Simple and complex sentences
Writing paragraphs 2: Topic sentences
Writing paragraphs 3: Paragraph development
Results, analysis and discussion; critical thinking and the language of argumentation

Week three
Literature review
Introductions and conclusion
Macro-organisational aspect of a scientific paper: IMRAD
Tutorial time

Course aim

This module aims to:

- Guide you through writing a scientific research paper, as applied to the physical sciences, for an audience of peers.
- Offer a foundation in how to read and analyse other people’s work to see how complex scientific ideas can be communicated in a clear and well organised manner.
- Develop the skills required to analyse academic papers, to summarise and synthesise sources, and to argue critically about these sources.
- All of this will be done within the context of investigating an actual scientific phenomenon (via simulation and/or experimentation)

Fee info