This letter has probably found you conflicted over whether or not you want to take this course. Writing for the Sciences is more than just an English class. Not only will it teach you the genre conventions, structures, and purposes of multiple genres of scientific writing, but it will teach you how to empathize and connect with a large variety of people through your writing as well. The course consists of a lot of writing and research, and there are no labs or original reports despite the name of the course. It is more about the presentation of science in media than writing for a science class. The course is pretty open-ended, so you’ll find yourself improving your creativity and self-reliance skills. In this final project, you’ll find numerous details about the course itself and the content contained. The rest of this letter will now answer some common questions I have received about this course:
In what ways have my perceptions on what writing is and does evolved this semester?
Before this class, I only associated scientific writing with lab reports. Seriously, I thought the whole course woud just be writing lab reports! But, the actual use of it covered in the course is far more important. We learned how, not only can writing be used to bring important lessons to communities of people, but it can heal those communities and bring them closer together. The harm of Issues that specifically harm marginilized communities, such as environmental racism, pandemics, and more, can be greatly reduced through the means of writing. I now know scientific writing can be a powerful tool to communicate, heal, and guide people through sensitive subjects.
How do the audience and purpose impact the content of text?
The audience and purpose largely influences the emotional and argumentative content of a text. The needs of a lower-income community are far different then the needs of a high-income community, so the content of the text adjusts to be more sensitive to their needs. For example, if I was reporting on the smog output of factory farming for people in the Bronx, my content would contain research from that community and my ethos would appeal to them before anybody else.
Was there a challenge in writing across genres and addressing specific audiences?
Absolutely, but it’s worth it. I felt challenged knowing how to connect to certain audiences that I have never met, talked to, or been near. However, learning how to put myself in others shoes is a great skill both in and outside of writing, as empathy is one of the most important things to have as a human.
Discuss how, as a class, we explored and analyzed, through reading and writing, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations. How did we do this?
An example of a conversation between two students on a project discussion board.
As shown in the above image, we were able to not only manage our own projects but check up on the progress of others as well. By having to leave comments on other people’s posts (in this specific case, why the student picked a certain topic of discussion), we also have to look into other students’ writing as they appeal to their topic. The best way to learn is to apply your knowledge to other things, and being able to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding rhetorical elements and purpose makes the need for rhetorical situations and specific genres clear and more universal for every student.
Review your letter of introduction from the first week of class and see if your responses from questions 7 & 9 have changed since taking the course. Explain.
My answer has not changed- I still believe a powerful, passionate, and effective speaker is nothing without empathy. This course has reinforced how important understanding other peoples’ situations is because if a speaker were to not accurately put themselves in their audience’s shoes, it would become obvious immediately and their point would be lost.
In conclusion, I hope these questions and clarifications removed some confusion from how you view this class. If you intend to take it, I hope you embrace the compassion it allows you to properly grasp, and I hope you use your ability to connect to people for good. The world needs it!
Sincerely,
Jesse Zalk
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