teaching with writing

physical sciences assignments

Informal and formal writing activities can contribute vitally to each part of the investigative processes used in physical science. Informal writing activities like note taking and brainstorming can initiate and expand students' understanding of target material by forcing them to probe presumptions, apply new information to old, and keep track of detailed data. A sequence of formal or finished writing assignments, on the other hand, will give student writers equally valuable opportunities to describe their research methods and findings in a structured and persuasive fashion.

astronomy

• Exploring the Universe, Reflective Essays: a set of 2-page writing assignments that ask introductory-level students to discuss the interaction of humans with their environment on Earth.

chemistry

• Advanced Organic Chemistry Laboratory, Writing Intensive Exercise: a short writing assignment requiring students to write a tutorial to help an imaged audience of students who will take the same class in the future.

geology

• Water and Society, Class Projects / Case Histories: a group project that simulates realistic work conditions requiring a formal research report targeted to Science magazine.
  
  
• Earth Systems, Lab 4-8: Designing Your Own "Earth System" Model: an assignment involving a presentation and report using peer workshops and evaluation.
  
  
• Faces of the Earth, Philosophy Behind Term Papers: an explanation of what is important in a term paper and a recommended structure for the assignment.

physical sciences assignment resources

• Physical Science Writing Assignments: a compendium of materials for teaching college-level science courses, including sample assignments for chemistry, biology, and astronomy.

• Ecology Writing Assignments: a collection of materials for teaching in Ecology, including many formal and informal writing assignments.
  

• Scientific Writing Presentations: a series of PowerPoint presentations on the elements of scientific writing created by Michael Alley, from the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, and Computer Engineering faculty at Virginia Tech.
  
  
  • Introduction to Scientific Writing
    
    
  • Formatting a Document in Scientific Writing
    
    
  • Avoiding Common Errors of Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage
    
    
  • Language in Scientific Writing
    
    
  • Structure in Scientific Writing
    
    
  • Editing for Managers, Scientists, and Engineers
    
    
  • Being Concise
    
    
  • Illustration: The Meshing of Words with Images
    
    
  • Making Scientific Presentations
    
    
  • Proposals in Scientific Writing
    
    
• Writing in Physics: Student Laboratory Reports: a PDF presentation that includes lab report criteria and example grading rubrics.
  
  
• CourseLib: a service provided by University of Minnesota librarians that enables instructors to build and post customized, course-specific research pages.

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