Hollins University Hollins Digital Commons Books by Hollins Faculty and Staff Faculty and Staff choS larship and Creative Works 1997 Writing Science Through Critical Thinking Marilyn F. Moriarty Hollins University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/facbooks Part of the Rhetoric and Composition Commons, and the Science and Mathematics Education Commons Recommended Citation Moriarty, Marilyn F., "Writing Science Through Critical Thinking" (1997). Books by Hollins Faculty and Staff. 56. https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/facbooks/56 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty and Staff choS larship and Creative Works at Hollins Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Books by Hollins Faculty and Staff yb an authorized administrator of Hollins Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Writing Science through Critical Thinking The Jones and Bartlett Series in Logic, Critical Thinking, and Scientific Method Gary Jason, Editor Nancy Carrick and Lawrence Finsen, University of Redlands The Persuasive Pen: An Integrated Approach to Reasoning and Writing John Heil, Davidson College First-Order Logic: A Concise Introduction Gary Jason, San Diego State University Introduction to Logic Marilyn F. Moriarty, Hollins College Writing Science through Critical Thinking Other Titles of Interest Liane Reif-Lehrer, Tech-Write Consultants/ERIMON Associates Grant Application Writers Handbooks, Third Edition Liane Reif-Lehrer, Tech-Write Consultants/ERIMON Associates Getting Funded: It Takes More than Just a Good Idea (Videos) John F. Petrik, Rockhurst College Reading and Writing Arguments: A Primer for Beginning Students Robin White, California State Polytechnic University The Winning Writer: Studies in the Art of Self-Expression Deborah st. James, Medical Editor, with Howard Spiro, Yale University School of Medicine Writing and Speaking for Excellence: A Guide for Physicians Writing Science through Critical Thinking Marilyn F. Moriarty Hollins College ~,.~~w ... ,,~~ .. -~ ," .. "~>:~~~~~-!.~:-:'>'~--- _-- " .J" ,,-..I'; .... "".... '-.._/ "., .' ...: '-:1 ..,/ '"'..... \. '"' -- Jones and Bartlett Publi~hers I -:. -/ ~ Sudbury, Massachusetts.' . ~_::: I :: ~ Boston London Singapore ~ - ..._.,..- ":-'-;"''''''''''.., ... " .-.......... ;...-"...,. .........,::. / ... ""w...................... '../ ~"" '- _ ,I _ ",,, -",v, ") "-,-" \....Iv Editorial. Sales, and Customer Service Offices Jones and Bartlett Publishers 40 Tall Pine Drive Sudbury, MA 01776 1-508-433-5000 [email protected] 1-800-832-0034 http://www.jbpub.com Jones and Bartlett Publishers International Barb House, Barb Mews London W6 7PA UK Copyright © 1997 by Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form, electronic or mechani­ cal, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moriarty, Marilyn F. Writing science through critical thinking / Marilyn F. Moriarty. p. cm. - (The Jones and Bartlett series in logic, critical thinking, and scientific method) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-86720-510-5 1. Technical Writing. 2. Critical thinking. I. Title. II. Series. Tll.M573 1996 808.0666-dc20 96-28447 CIP Credits Acquisitions Editors: Arthur C. Bartlett and Nancy E. Bartlett Manufacturing Manager: Dana L. Cerrito Editorial Production Service: Books in Philosophy Typesetting: Books in Philosophy Cover Design: HaMHIO Design Associates . Printing and Binding: F.d wards Brothers • Cover Printing: John t:): P~w Company, Inc. Printed in the Uiuted States of America .' ;99989796. JO 9 8 765432 1 . / Dedicated to Robert A. Varsano (August 19, 1953-July 24, 1995) Contents Foreword by Laurel L. Wilkening ix Preface by Luis P. Villarreal xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction xix Chapter 1. Thinking Science 1 Chapter 2. The Language of Science 23 Chapter 3. Audience and Purpose: Developing a Perspective 44 Chapter 4. Abstracts 61 Chapter 5. Organizing with Headings 72 Chapter 6. The Scientific Paper 81 Chapter 7. Using Graphics in Scientific Writing 113 Chapter 8. Description/Perspective 131 Chapter 9. Definition 146 Chapter 10. Classification as Context 163 Chapter 11. Comparison/Contrast 177 Chapter 12. Process 191 Reading Selections 203 ''Take This Fish and Look at It" by Samuel H. Scudder 205 ''Epidemics, Book I" by Hippocrates 210 "The Plague of Athens" by Thucydides 215 "The Germ Theory of Disease" by Girolamo Fracastoro 219 "A Contagium vivum fluidum as the Cause of the Mosaic Diseases of Tobacco Leaves" by Martinus W. Beijerinck 227 ''Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" by J. D. Watson and F. H. Crick 233 vii viii Contents Appendixes 237 Appendix 1: Writing Grant Proposals 239 Appendix 2: Mechanics and Style 246 Index 261 Foreword Writing Science through Critical Thinking has its roots in an academic alliance dedicated to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in the sciences. In California, this alliance was implemented in 1991 at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), through a cooperative agreement between the National Science Foundation and UCI, and identified as the California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP). CAMP evolved from an earlier initiative, the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Biological Sciences Minority Advanced Research and Training Program with addi­ tional support from the National Institutes of Health. Under the leadership of Professor Eloy Rodriguez, professor of developmental and cell biology, and principal investigator, and Professor Luis Villarreal, professor of mo­ lecular biology and biochemistry, and regional director, CAMP emphasized the importance of fostering scientific writing skills for science students as a key factor underlying their academic success. Rodriguez and Villarreal recognized that writing about science comprised a necessary complement to knowledge only when those results are published. In order to produce a cadre of publishing researchers, a writing component accompanied the hands-on research units. In 1992, support from Vice Chancellor Manuel N. Gomez and UCI's science faculty brought forth the summer academy's writing component, which formed the genesis of this book. The first draft was enthusiastically received, and funding was provided for revision. It soon became apparent that the emphasis on writing skills pedagogically reinforced the interdisci­ plinary linkages between science curriculum, critical thinking, and scien­ tific writing. Thus, promoting student writing skills served the dual function of preparing students for both their immediate future within the university and their professional development as potential scientists con­ tributing to the body of scientific knowledge. Laurel L. Wilkening Chancellor, University o/California, Irvine, and Principal Investigator, CAMP ix Preface Scientific writing, like so much in academia, is an acquired skill. It seems that transmitting writing skill is essential among the various aspects of scientific training. Most of my colleagues will agree that the one chore eliciting most consternation is the effort it takes to transform a young graduate student's first draft into a publishable manuscript. Dr. Marilyn MOriarty makes great strides in helping students acquire the keen thinking and writing competencies required for success in the science disciplines. For science writers, that means an objective tone built from words that are concrete, specific, and concise. Few students, if any, will succeed in science if they fail to establish themselves through writing. That is the ultimate premise we at the University of California, Irvine, cite in our science writing component: establish yourself through writing. As I consider how I came to establish myself, to acquire some of thIs skill, I am struck by how long and disjointed a process it was. Today, as I observe the struggle among my own students, I am also struck by the universality of my experience. Like most undergraduate science students, I was introduced to the process of scientific writing through the established practice of writing lab reports, an affair in which one attempts to obtain the expected results and neatly recount the experiment. Such a rote practice, however, proved inadequate when attempting to construct an original idea. Teaching has shown me that when beginning science students are faced with concepts or observations which have not been previously reported, many will be paralyzed by the task of creating an original argument. They will either parrot the ideas of others or spin their mental wheels. Addition­ ally, from my long standing interest in minority and women science educa­ tion, I know that these students often have greater difficulty with science writing, due, I believe, to their limited exposure to the process. During the development of various programs at Irvine, it became dear that the prob­ lems of linking writing and thinking were not limited to minority students but applicable to all science students, even most graduate students. xi xii Preface Before I had joined the faculty ranks, when I was asked to write my first original paper as a graduate student, my inadequacy in conveying scientifiC thought and analysis was made very apparent. My mentor asked