Topic Brainstorming

The topic I am really thinking about is cloning and whether it should be allowed or stay banned.  I don't know much of the effects of cloning such as the health of the clone or other important aspects such as that, and I currently do not have a stance on cloning.  I am hoping to learn a lot about this topic because I have heard it tossed around multiple times in biology class.  It sounds quite controversial and obviously very interesting.  I do know that the first successful clone was Dolly the sheep and that there are other types of animals that have been cloned.  I would enjoy researching the health of the clones and the success rate of the cloning.  Current cloning events haven't passed through my ear either but I'm sure there is more out there to find that are relatively new. 

Just another thought, organ donation and regulation would be a great topic as well.  This I do have a stance on which is that I believe it should be legal.  This would help save many lives and could benefit so many people.  I don't know much of the negative side of this topic but I feel more good can come from it than bad.

Research Papers Compare and Contrast

To compare the two research papers on quotations and citations, both broke down the topics they were talking about.  They went over how to breakdown either the full paper, or just how to cite a source without following the "rules" of MLA.  They both covered their topics really well and I gained something from both of them. They both ended up having similar source techniques it was just that the outline based paper had more official citations.

Differences in these two medias is that one goes over outlining a paper while the other goes over citations.  It seemed like the one that went over the outline didn't really have much information on citations.  It was better for helping how to organize a research paper.  The video was just all about how to cite a cereal box on your own when not all of the right source resources are available.

Reflection Assignment 1

In the first assignment, I learned how to better understand writing in my field of study.  I've never taken the time to step back and reflect on the nature of writing in biology until this assignment.  I mainly considered writing in biology to be a completely formal area of writing until I learned the different types of informal, or nonacademic writing such as pamphlets at a science museum.  I also learned how to better source things and how to quote pieces from sources and interviews which will be important down the road. 

As I said before, most of my assumptions were that writing in biology were purely formal and that was definitely challenged.  Although, my assumptions for the types of academic writing were almost spot on when discussing the types of paper and styles within those papers.  During my interview is where most of my assumptions were supported and only once was my assumption of nonacademic writing proven otherwise because the interviewee brought up note taking as a nonacademic form of writing.

Challenges of this paper were finding good sources that gave me some good information about the nature of writing and I couldn't really find any amazing sources that provided me with the true information I was looking for, so to overcome that I just worked with what I had.  The paper could have been much stronger with better sources.

Now as a writer I would say that am weak in using the information I have into a more detailed and expressed way.  I could have probably used better vocab as well in order to spice up and enlighten my paper.  Strengths would be that I believe I had a pretty sufficient introduction.  Also I think I did well with the information I was given and I made that the best that I could.

I thought that the group conference was useful to the point where we met with our peers before we set up schedules with our partners.  So basically to me the best way I see fit for us to do papers and conferences are to do one class with a small peer review with our peers and schedule conferences for 15 minutes another day.  That way we can have more time with you and also get another set of eyes on our paper another day.

"Organ Sales Will Save Lives" Analysis

The thesis states that organ donations should be regulated, not banned.  The way the author supports this thesis is by giving the negative side of not regulating the sells of organs, such as the increase of death of people in need of a new organ. Then she addresses the counter argument and what they would be likely to say.  She then uses another argument against the counter argument to shoot it down.  Finally she reinforces the ideas and positive aspects of her thesis.  With this clean sense of organization she is able to get her point across clearly and effectively.

IR First Draft

Andrew Bratcher

Hem Paudel

English 102

1 February 2015

IR First Draft

            Biology is a very interesting and broad topic in which I chosen as my field of study.  Writing in biology can come from writing lab reports to simply writing out a patient’s diagnosis and how to care for them.  My assumption of writing in biology comes from what I have really had to do in the past based on writings in my biology classes.  With my experience, I have had to write reports based on the research that I have found through experimentation and comparison through other scientists or students work, which you current students have probably had much experience in.  Also, the writing mainly seems formal and professional.  I have found great sources that both accept and challenge my assumptions, as well as two interviewees, one being a biology teacher, the other a current grad student going into medical school.  The information from both of the interviews and sources can help me explain the nature of writing in this field of study and compare my assumptions to be either correct or not.

            To begin, as I have stated before, my assumptions were that writing in biology are mainly just lab reports based on research.  My first interviewee, Nathan Deasy, mentions that “most of the writing I have had to do is based on research.  Science is all about research through experimentation.  Its how we find the answers to the scientific questions we have.”(Deasy) What I took from him saying this was not only that my assumption was very accurate but that a lot of the writing would be extremely formal.  Experimentation is not something to take very lightly if you want to be able to find promising results.  Of course the informal nature of scientific writing could be the notes you write down in a lab.  They are for your eyes not for a committee or group of scholars which I learned is different from my assumption.    I enjoy how one of my sources states to “clearly distinguish results from discussion.” (Scientific Writing 101)  Basically, what I got from this is that you should keep formal and informal pieces apart in this type of writing.  Which I believe is an important part in the nature of writing in biology.

            Now, my second interviewee is an old biology teacher from high school, Kathi Heggs.  When talking to her, she reminded me that “writing in class was nothing short of just finding out information, and expressing that information in a professional way.”(Heggs)  We had to write many reports on notes we had taken in class on the different experiments we had done.  This report would then be reported to the class in a presentation.  Each writing had to be set up in the same basic style in a report form.  Using clear, precise wording was mandatory and it is as you continue to write in this field of study.  Also it is important to use past tense because when writing either a report or research paper it reflects work that has been completed (Bates University)  These two points are very important aspects especially on the professional aspect of the pieces in biology or scientific writing. 

            When it comes to the less formal pieces in scientific writing, things that could be examples would be like a pamphlet for a science museum.  It is informal because it isn’t written for scholars in any way but more towards a casual audience.  Facts and reason are still included in these pieces, but because of the more creative and less serious tone of these writings, they are informal.  There are different goals when it comes to an informal piece in writing in biology.  Research isn’t really required because if it is for a museum per say, then it would be more of writing down and listing facts that have already been researched or discovered.  It is non academic writing.  This style of writing is extremely relaxed in a casual manner. 

            UNFINISHED DRAFT

            Need help with non academic sources and revisions on academic sources.

Works Cited

"How to Write Guide: Introduction to Journal-Style Scientific Writing." How to Write Guide: Introduction to Journal-Style Scientific Writing. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. <http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWgeneral.html>.

"Scientific Writing 101." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nature.com/nsmb/journal/v17/n2/full/nsmb0210-139.html#close>.