In the Classroom
Teaching and Applying Chemistry-Specific Writing Skills Using a Simple, Adaptable Exercise Marin S. Robinson* Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011; *
[email protected] Fredricka L. Stoller, Brad Horn, and William Grabe Department of English, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011
For decades, chemistry educators have striven to incorporate writing into the chemistry curriculum by targeting, for example, laboratory courses (1–4), lecture courses (5–9), and undergraduate research and capstone experiences (10, 11). Efforts have also been made to incorporate writing across the chemistry curriculum (3, 12–14) and, in a few instances, to develop writing-dedicated chemistry courses (10, 15–17). A proliferation of activities, assignments, and writing guides has resulted from these efforts. Some of these initiatives promote writing as a tool for learning chemistry or developing critical thinking skills (18, 19). Others target writing skills per se and offer guidance to students preparing professional publications, such as journal articles or research proposals (20–22). In this paper, we offer an additional tool for promoting chemistry-specific writing skills. We present a novel, easy-to-use, and easy-to-grade task, designed to increase students’ knowledge of common writing practices in chemistry and improve students’ ability to write for a chemistry audience. The task specifically targets a subset of skills needed by advanced chemistry students (upper-division level and beyond) before they write their first journal article or journal-quality paper. These skills, summarized in Table 1, focus on three essential components of writing: audience and purpose, writing conventions, and grammar and mechanics. Skills that correspond to these components were selected based on results from
a writing test taken by more than 300 chemistry majors at 16 colleges and universities nationwide between 2004 and 2006 (23, 24). Students taking this test generally performed well in skills related to grammar and mechanics (average score = 80%) yet struggled with skills related to audience and purpose (40%) and writing conventions (45%). To address students’ needs, we created a writing exercise that targeted these weaknesses. We present the activity below, explain our suggested answers, and conclude with a few recommendations for ways to use the activity in chemistry classrooms. The Writing Exercise The exercise comprises 12 items (10 passages, a table, and a figure) presumably written for chemistry journal articles. To contextualize the items, we have organized them by the section of the journal article in which they would appear (Introduction, Experimental, Results, and Discussion). Students are asked to read each excerpt and do one of the following:
1. Revise it, to make it more suitable for a journal article
2. Reject it entirely, if the content is inappropriate
3. Indicate that it is “OK as is”
A student version of the 12-item exercise, without answers, is included in the online supplement. An instructor version of
Table 1. Elements of Writing and Related Skills Addressed in This Exercise Component
Corresponding Skills for Drafting a Well-Written Chemistry Paper or Article
Audience and purpose
Avoiding command language (e.g., “Stir the solution.”) Avoiding informal and imprecise words (e.g., “to see”, “very”) and ordinal words (e.g., “first”, “next”) Hedging (e.g., the data suggest rather than the data prove) Including appropriate details when describing instrumentation Omitting lists of common equipment Writing concisely
Writing conventions
Abbreviating units correctly Avoiding bulleted lists Formatting figures and tables correctly Including a space between numbers and units (e.g., 10 mg) Referring to figures correctly in the text Reporting “zero” concentrations appropriately Selecting conventional verb tense (past, present, future) and voice (active or passive) Using ACS-endorsed numerical formats for citations Using leading zeroes with numbers less than 1 (e.g., 0.5) Using lowercase for chemical names Using “we” appropriately
Grammar and mechanics
Using colons correctly before a series; Using commas correctly in a series Using correct subject–verb number agreement (e.g., the correct verb form with the word “data”) Using parallel language in a series
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 86 No. 1 January 2009 • Journal of Chemical Education
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In the Classroom
the task, with suggested answers, is presented in Tables 2–4. We have opted to include hints in the task to focus students’ attention on relevant aspects of the excerpt and guide them toward the desired response. These hints may be omitted when classroom discussion renders them redundant. Some students, particularly those with little to no experience in chemistry writ-
ing, may also find it helpful to have a copy of Table 1 with them as they complete the exercise. The answers, described in detail below, are in line with The ACS Style Guide (25) and many (but not all) ACS journals. The exercise can easily be adapted to adhere to other journal or disciplinary practices and preferences; it can also be modified to target other student writing problems.
Table 2. Analyzing and Revising Excerpts for the Introduction Section of a Chemistry Article 1
2
Introduction Section Excerpts
Suggested Answer(s)
In their recent article entitled “Preparation of Substituted Tetrazoles”, authors Demko and Sharpless proposed a clever way to prepare substituted tetrazoles in water from nitriles and sodium azide (5).
Substituted tetrazoles have been prepared in water from nitriles and sodium azide (5). —or—
(Hint: Consider conciseness, word choice, citation format)
Demko and Sharpless (5) have prepared substituted tetrazoles in water from nitriles and sodium azide.
Previous purification methods have included: extraction, filtration and distilling.2
Previous purification methods have included extraction, filtration, and distillation.2
(Hint: Consider punctuation, parallelism, citation format)
—or— Previous purification methods have included the following: extraction, filtration, and distillation.2
3
In this work, we will develop a simple and rapid extraction procedure.
In this work, we developed a simple and rapid extraction procedure.
(Hint: Consider verb tense, use of “we”)
Table 3. Analyzing and Revising Excerpts for the Experimental Section of a Chemistry Article
4
Experimental Section Excerpts
Suggested Answer(s)
Equipment needed
Reject
• glass pipettes (10) • flasks (2 Erlenmeyer) • distillation apparatus (Hint: Consider level of detail, bulleted list) 5
Chromatographic Conditions. GC/MS analyses were performed on a Varian 3800 gas chromatograph (Varian, Walnut Creek, CA) equipped with a 1079 split/splitless injector and ion trap spectrometer (Varian Saturn 2000). Analytes were separated on a 25 m × 0.32 mm i.d. column coated with a 0.25 µm film of CPSil-8. The GC oven temperature program was as follows: 90 °C hold 2 min, ramp 20 °C/min to 170 °C, hold 10 min.
OK as is.
(Hint: Consider level of detail, numbers and units, verb tense, voice) 6
We added Benzaldehyde (10.7g, .1mol) to Ethanol (10ml, 25ml, 100ml).
Benzaldehyde (10.7 g, 0.1 mol) was added to ethanol (10, 25, 100 mL).
(Hint: Consider verb tense, voice, capitalization, numbers and units, use of “we”) 7
First, reflux the mixture for 24 h. Next, cool the mixture to room temperature.
The mixture was refluxed for 24 h and cooled to room temperature.
(Hint: Consider use of ordinal language, use of command language, abbreviations, verb tense, voice) 8
To see whether the reaction is under kinetic control, we will increase the reaction temp to 75° C.
To determine whether the reaction was under kinetic control, the temperature was increased to 75 °C.
(Hint: Consider abbreviations, formality, word choice, verb tense, voice, numbers and units)
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Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 86 No. 1 January 2009 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
In the Classroom
Explanation of Suggested Responses to Excerpts Word Choice and Citations Item 1 uses inappropriate language (i.e., “clever”) and is wordy. When citing others’ works, article titles and phrases such as “in their recent work” are unnecessary. Moreover, authors’ names are only rarely mentioned. For conciseness, we encourage students to make the science the subject of the sentence (substituted tetrazoles), rather than the authors. If authors’ names are included, the citation is usually placed immediately after the names. Also, the citation number in parentheses should be italicized and not set in bold type, in accord with The ACS Style Guide (25). Item 1 could be made more challenging by including the names of three authors, to determine whether students know the proper use of et al. in citations. Punctuation Problems Item 2 includes three commonly observed errors in grammar and mechanics. To be correct, (i) a colon should be
used only after a complete sentence (an independent clause); (ii) items in a series should be grammatically parallel; and (iii) a comma should be inserted before “and” in a list of three or more items. In this passage, the citation format is correct. “We” and Verb Tense Examples such as in Item 3 are often found at the end of the Introduction, where authors first introduce the current work. “In this work, we…” is a common way to signal this transition; hence, the use of “we” is correct in this instance. Students suggesting that “we” be removed are also correct (e.g., “In this work, a simple and rapid extraction procedure was developed.”). What is unconventional in this sentence is usage of the future tense. Because the work has already been completed, past tense or present perfect (“developed” or “have developed”) is more appropriate. Equipment Lists Item 4 includes only unnecessary details and should be rejected; chemists do not need to be told about common
Table 4. Analyzing and Revising Excerpts, Tables, and Figures for the Results and Discussion Sections of a Chemistry Article 9
10
Results Section Excerpts
Suggested Answer(s)
As shown in fig. 1, the river water samples contained no Arsenic. (Hint: Consider calling out figure, capitalization, reporting “zero” concentrations)
As shown in Figure 1, the river water samples had arsenic concentrations below the detection limit. —or— Arsenic concentrations in the river water samples were below the detection limit (Figure 1).
Table 1. Product Reaction Yields trial
Table 1. Product Reaction Yields
P
T
yield
1
.2 atm
50 C
25%
2
.5 atm
50 C
60%
3
.7 atm
100 C
80%
4
1 atm
100 C
85%
trial
P (atm)
T (°C)
yield (%)
1
0.2
50
25
2
0.5
50
60
3
0.7
100
80
4
1.0
100
85
(Hint: Consider table formatting, numbers, and units) 11
Figure 1. Effect of time on yield. 100 100
Yield (%)
yield
60
Yield (%)
80 80
60 40
40 20 20 0 0
0
20
40
60
80
0
20
Time (min)
40
60
80
100
Time (min)
100
Figure 1. Effect of time on yield.
(Hint: Consider figure caption, figure formatting)
12
Discussion Section Excerpt
Suggested Answer(s)
The data proves that the mechanism involves a two-step process. (Hint: Consider word choice, verb tense, subject–verb agreement)
The data suggest that the mechanism involves a two-step process. —or— The data are consistent with a two-step mechanism.
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 86 No. 1 January 2009 • Journal of Chemical Education
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In the Classroom
laboratory equipment. Moreover, bulleted lists are not usually appropriate in journal articles, although instructors might point out that bulleted lists are common in posters and research proposals. Parameters and Units in an Experimental Section Item 5 describes operational parameters for GC–MS analyses. The inclusion of operational parameters is a standard part of Experimental sections (although on our writing test, many students left out this information). Such descriptions typically follow subsections on materials and experimental procedures and are often demarcated with a subheading. The passage also illustrates several writing conventions that are correct, such as proper unit symbols, use of past tense and passive voice, and inclusion of vendors in parentheses. Voice and Verb Tense for Reporting Results Item 6 includes errors in the use of voice and “we”. Experimental sections are typically written in passive voice and do not include “we”. Past tense is used correctly for reporting work done in the past. Errors in capitalization and number–unit combinations, however, are present. Chemicals should not be capitalized, a space should be inserted between the numbers and their units, and milliliters should be abbreviated “mL”. There should also be a leading zero before “.1”. The use of parentheses and the inclusion of both mass and moles for benzaldehyde are correct. Audience and Sequence Item 7 includes several audience errors. Imperative verb forms (command language—e.g., “reflux the mixture”) and ordinal words (e.g., “first”, “next”) are both inappropriate for a journal article. To correct these errors, the passage should be rewritten in past tense and passive voice, and the ordinal words should be deleted. Sequencing is inferred from the order in which the steps are presented. The abbreviation for hours is correct, as is the reference to “room temperature”, which is only rarely abbreviated as “rt”. Grammar, Formatting, and Word Choice Item 8 illustrates incorrect uses of future tense, active voice, “we”, “temp”, and spacing with °C. The passage also includes a word-choice error. Casual phrases such as “to see” or “to look into” should be replaced with more formal, precise language (e.g., to determine, to measure, to investigate). Reporting Values Relative to Detection Limits Item 9 includes an inappropriately truncated reference to Figure 1 and the incorrect capitalization of arsenic. The phrase “As shown in Figure 1” is quite common in chemistry writing (20), although it is more concise to place Figure 1 in parentheses. This passage also serves as a reminder that measured concentrations should not be reported as “0” but rather as below the detection limit. It would also be correct to state the actual detection limit. Table Conventions The table in item 10 includes the following common formatting errors: (i) gridlines, rather than the conventional 2–3 horizontal lines, are used; (ii) units are placed (and repeated) within the table rather than stated once, in parentheses, in column headings; (iii) °C is incorrectly abbreviated; (iv) leading 48
zeroes are not included for numbers
