Personal Experience: My Experience As A Scientific Writer

Improved Essays
Over the past four and a half years, my scientific writing has developed tremendously through different courses and styles of lab reports. Initially I started off in my undergraduate studies by writing a few biology lab reports in my courses, however chemistry lab reports are not comparable to these lab reports, in which the content and structure are different. Once I got used to writing chemistry style lab reports, the format and style of writing changed again when I reached Quantum Mechanics. As I had taken Quantum Mechanics before this writing intensive laboratory of Thermodynamics, I was exposed to the journal style of lab report writing. Thermodynamics allowed me to better understand the different writing style that was used in Quantum …show more content…
Upon writing several lab reports in a journal style, I could name a few strengths. The first strength as a scientific writer would be my thoroughness. As I like to write as I would think instances or problems through, can come to my advantage. For example, when I was explaining the background of the single displacement reaction from experiment 4, not only did my explanation help me explain the magnesium and hydrochloric acid reaction but also this thoroughness was observed by my peer-reviewed, which commented “Nice explanation on the background. It was easy to follow.” Along with the introduction, there is sometimes within the discussion section that thoroughness is recognized. In experiment 3, my explanation of the different phases present in the phase diagram was noted as being through and nicely explained. Another strength that is seen within my lab reports, is my formatting. My formatting can be seen with the lining up of the paragraphs to the neatly organized tables and figures. By being able to understand the data and figures, allows for the reader to better understand the data and wants the reader to engage more in the experiment. If confusing data is relevant in any type of lab report, this can not only confuse the reader but also it can result in false or wrong …show more content…
A strategy that I can use in the future to improve in my weakness areas would be to proofread over the report. By proofreading over the lab report several times on different days allows for the most accurate set of eyes to scan the lab report, to see if there is any mistakes or corrections that need to be made. Another strategy that can help improve my overall lab report would be to continue to have peer reviewer review my paper. By having other individuals read over my lab reports will allow for their intake on certain areas of my paper that I might have deemed okay. Also, they have the chance to catch a mistake that I have done that I have not caught. Finally, I would start writing my lab reports closer to the data that the experiment is completed. This allows for me to accurately document the observations and/or procedure of the lab report, as opposed to waiting a day or two before to start the lab report. By writing the lab report in advance allows for a fresh mind and set of eyes to work on it, as opposed to a sleep deprived and tired mind. Overall, my skill of scientific writing has improved, along with documentation in my online lab

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