Transitions Programme
Workshop 1
Isobel Pastor-Bristow
i.pastor-bristow@ucl.ac.uk
© Isobel Pastor-Bristow 2007
WRITING IS
DIFFICULT
Aim & Outline
To help you feel more confident about
your ability to produce a well written and
structured piece of work.
• Writing for Science
• Structure
 Next workshop – Argument & Planning
Writing
• What kinds of writing have you done in the
last few weeks?
• What makes these types of writing
different?
– Audience
– Purpose
– Register
Register
• Isobel says that to write a good essay, you
must always try to think about how to write
things well, then you’ll have a great essay
after all your hard work.
• In order to produce a good essay it may
be necessary to consider ways in which
the written word can be used to best
effect.
Scientific Register
• We have found a cure for baldness
• I have looked at work on the peripheral
nervous system at length
• I observed the cells so that I knew the
time at which they divided
• Lots of people have said that there isn’t a
better method for seeing neurons than
Golgi
Outline
Writing for Science
• Structure
Styles of Essay Question
• “Describe/explain”
• “Discuss”
• “Compare and contrast”
• Open, for example, “The Sympathetic
Nervous System”.
Structure
•
•
•
•
•
Essay
Introduction
Body – explanation
and possibly
argument
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Experiment Report
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
Introduction - essay
Compare Events that Follow Initiation of an
Action Potential in a Neuron and in a Muscle
Action potentials are electrochemical signals that
travel along excitable membranes. Neurons carry
action potentials throughout the nervous system to
effector organs. Muscles are effector organs and
their cell membranes receive action potentials and
allows them to be translated into a contraction.
This essay will outline the physiology of an action
potential in a neuron and a muscle following its
initiation Differences in this physiology will be
examined, as will the similarities which exist.
Introduction - report
Hodgkin & Huxley Simulation Practical
The aim of this practical was to use the computer
simulation of Hodgkin and Huxley’s voltage clamp
experiments to gain an understanding of the
behaviour of voltage gated sodium and potassium
channels and the ways in which they contribute to
the action potential.
Discussions
• It is likely that the difference in reaction
times between the two groups of children
is caused by slower overall processing in
younger children.
– Report.
• The literature presented here suggests
that it is possible that BDNF could
contribute to neuronal degeneration. The
following model is proposed.
– Essay.
Conclusions
• In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that the
nucleolus may well have three discernible
domains in mouse striatal cells. However, this
needs to be confirmed in other areas of the
brain.
– Report
• In conclusion, a comparison of the ways in
which action potentials are initiated and carried
along neurons and muscle cells demonstrates
that, at an ionic level, the processes are
identical.
– Essay
Body Text
• Each paragraph can take the form of a
scientific study
– Point
– Method (i.e. reference)
– Results
– Conclusion – theirs and yours
• This is then linked to the next point
What aids and what hinders
the essay writing process?
Sweets may be essential to the essay writing process.
Cadbury et al., 2005 compared the academic output of a
group of students with access to chocolate and those
who were deprived of it while writing an assignment.
Their results showed a statistically significant difference in
marks obtained by the two groups; those who had
sweets received an average of 110% while those without
dropped out of university with an average of 3%.
The authors concluded that students should eat sweets or
they will fail.
This research was, however, fundamentally flawed as it
was funded and conducted by a sweet manufacturer.
More reliable sources of information have been produced…
Now write your own
paragraph
Point
Methods
Results
Their conclusion
Your conclusion
Link
It may be appropriate to use
figures
•
•
•
•
Results from studies
Diagrams of a process/anatomy
Chemical reactions or equations
Diagram to illustrate an apparatus
Make sure they are well labelled and
annotated.
• Figure 1.8 – Coronal
image showing
activation of the
superior parietal
cortex during animate
contingent conditions.
(Taken from
Blakemore et al.
2003, Cerebral Cortex
13 p841)
Report Methods & Results
Students were given individual writing spaces
consisting of a room containing a desk,
computer, chair and any reading material
required. The chocolate group had a serving
hatch in their rooms through which a selection
of sweets was displayed. As a control, the
deprived group had a serving hatch through
which pictures of sweets were displayed.
Students with access to chocolate gained
considerably higher grades than those without
as graph 3.4 illustrates.
Citing
• Citing does not mean that you are copying. It
demonstrates an understanding for how a piece
of information was found to be true.
• Each statement that you make on the basis of
someone else’s work, should be appropriately
attributed.
• The more sophisticated a piece of writing, the
more original the source of the information
should be.
Examples of Citing
• The hip bone is confirmed to be connected to
the thigh bone (Funny Bones, 1989).
• The cytoskeletal network acts like the strong
bars within a scaffolding (Alberts et al., 1998)
• Slavic-Smith (2006) postulated three
classifications for nucleoli in neurons
• In 2007, Pastor-Bristow claimed to have helped
all first years to improve their essays
• It was shown in 2006 by Take That, that a
successful comeback tour was possible [1].
Bibliograhpy
• Alberts, Bray, Johnson, Lewis, Raff,
Roberts & Walter. Essential Cell Biology,
1st Edition, Garland, 1998
• Dickson, B (2002) Molecular Mechanisms
of Axon Guidance. Science 298 19591964
• [1] www.bbc.co.uk/news
Outline
Writing for Science
Structure
Summary
• Don’t worry if you find writing difficult.
• Think about what each section needs to
say – depends on what you are writing.
• Don’t forget diagrams and references.
• Enjoy your finished masterpiece and feel
proud of yourself!