These past four months have been a grand adventure in my
Scientific Writing class. Honestly, I had very different expectations coming
into this class. I expected to learn about research papers: writing them, analyzing
them, and citing them. I did not expect to learn many other valuable writing
skills. I did not realize that I would be writing resumes, cover letters, and
personal statements. I did not realize that I would be writing a blog for the
NDSU Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences (VMS) website. I did
not realize that I would be learning how to write efficient tweets (or that
there even was a right or wrong way!). I definitely did not realize that I
would be directing a promotional film about the NDSU VMS department and that it
would also be featured on our NDSU VMS website. Needless to say, I was very
naïve about what I was getting myself into!
My Cyber-Self
SET – CUT!
I’m
a director? SAH-WEET! Little did I know that this would mean long hours
overseeing each step, numerous emails back-n-forth to my professor, last minute
editing.. and re-editing, and easing tensions between team members. Was it fun?
You bet it was! Would I do it again? Most definitely! This was such a blessing
and a learning experience for my team and I. If anyone tells you that
Scientific Writing classes can’t be fun, send them my way, I've got a video for
them!
Ready to Write
I
sit down at my desk – writing is impossible anyplace else (even in class).
Papers, scribbles, and notes scatter across the desk, surrounding my computer.
On screen is a blank word document, cursor blinking as it waits for me. I go
through all of my sources, all of my notes, and I scribble down ideas. Next I
move to sort my ideas and favorite highlighted sources, every topic I want to
discuss gets either a letter code or a color code. Finally I can begin to
write. I prefer to write the entire document in one sitting. Writing in pieces ‘throws
off my groove’. The first draft needs to be ‘decent’. Not necessarily in
grammar, but in word structure and ideas. Changing those means rewriting the
entire document. The best time of day to write?? Early morning or late evening.
At a time with few distractions, allowing me to be entirely immersed in my
project. I’m ready to write.
Struggles
Oh,
where to begin? This class has not only shown me my strengths and techniques in
writing, but has opened my eyes to my struggles. Words. Long, detail-packed,
sentences. I struggle with conciseness. My papers are dry and wordy with few
action words and plenty of prepositional phrases. I was never aware of this
before this class, but now I know what I need to strive to overcome. For that I
wholeheartedly thank you Professor!
