Posts published in May, 2013
How To Write A Good College Science Paper
Guest Blogger: Sandra Miller
Writing a paper will always be a part of every student’s academic life. While creative writing may be difficult, writing a scientific paper is even harder. Although the basic parts of the paper and format are already provided, every claim should be supported by scientific data and research. Hence, the following should guide you in writing your science paper.
Use Headings
A science paper should be properly labeled and organized with headings – abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion and recommendation – to allow readers to identify and understand the research. Use capital letters, highlight in bold face or use different font sizes to emphasize the sections in the science paper.
Use the Proper Tenses
Every paper should be written in proper tenses to make it readable, sensible and understandable for readers. When writing a science paper, make sure that the past, present and future tenses are used accordingly – past tense for describing a result of an experiment; present tense for presenting an established claim; and future tense for indicating that further work needs to be done.
Provide concise and supporting statements
Unlike all types of subjects, a science paper should be objective, direct to the point and supported by data and research. Details supporting the claim should also be explained in the paper because science is based on proven facts, methods and theories. The use of flowery words has no place when writing a scientific research so as much as possible, avoid slang or poetic language.
Be careful in making a statement
Again, science is based on facts that are proven through scientific research and experiment. As much as possible, personal opinions should not be included and every statement and claim must be supported by evidence.
When writing the result and discussion aspect of the paper, interpret the results according to the data shown on the experiment conducted. This time, personal opinions may be used especially when explaining observations made and making an analysis of the experiment conducted. Data should be presented in figures or description of observations and do not include anything that is not the result of a study. Highlight the significant results and connect it with the scientific questioned posed in the paper and provide recommendations for further study.
Avoid scientific jargons
Jargons are terminologies which students get addicted to using in order to make their paper look more impressive and professional-sounding. That is okay as long as the jargons are explained in a manner which an ordinary person will understand. However, when you are not familiar with the word and you don’t know how to properly use the term, avoid using scientific jargons. Instead of making an impression, you will end up distorting the meaning of the phrases which can affect the grade of your paper.
Keep in mind that writing a science paper is different. By following the procedures properly and making sure that all the data, observations and results are interpreted and conveyed according to the experiment conducted and in the manner which readers can understand, every student will be able to write an impressive science paper
Sandra Miller is a freelance writer from Brooklyn. She always uses professional editing services to help make her writing perfect.
Post College Employment Disappoints Graduates
By Amber M. Winkler, Fordham Foundation
McKinsey’s survey of 4,900 recent graduates of two- and four-year colleges is the latest contribution to a literature of dismal news on our nation’s latest crop of young professionals. These are the top five findings: First, nearly half of all graduates from four-year colleges said that they were in jobs that did not require a four-year degree; graduates with STEM majors, however, were more likely to report the opposite. Second, a little over a third of alums of both two- and four-year colleges had regrets, reporting that they would choose a different major if they could do it all over again. What’s more, students who had majored in visual and performing arts, language, literature, and the social sciences were the most likely to wish they’d majored in something else, while health majors were the least likely. Third, university quality didn’t seem to matter much: Forty-one percent of graduates from U.S. News’s top 100 universities responded that they were not employed in the field they had hoped to enter, while 48 percent of students from other institutions conveyed the same. Fourth, the retail and restaurant industries were among the least desired fields—but ended up employing four to five times the number of graduates who had intended to enter these sectors. And fifth, liberal-arts graduates of four-year colleges fared worse than average across most measures: They tend to be lower paid, less likely to be employed full time, and less prepared for the workplace. McKinsey says that we need to do a better job of communicating job and income trends to students. True. But the evidence is also mounting that maybe college isn’t the right choice for everyone.
Women Earn More Degrees Than Men; Gap Keeps Increasing
According to data from the Department of Education on college degrees by gender, the US college degree gap favoring women started back in 1978, when for the first time ever, more women than men earned Associate’s degrees. Five years later in 1982, women earned more bachelor’s degrees than men for the first time, and women have increased their share of bachelor’s degrees in every year since then. In another five years by 1987, women earned the majority of master’s degrees for the first time. Finally, within another decade, more women than men earned doctor’s degrees by 2006, and female domination of college degrees at every level was complete. For the current graduating class of 2013, the Department of Education estimates that women will earn 61.6% of all associate’s degrees this year, 56.7% of all bachelor’s degrees, 59.9% of all master’s degrees, and 51.6% of all doctor’s degrees. Overall, 140 women will graduate with a college degree at some level this year for every 100 men. The article is from AEI Ideas and is summarized by Carnegie Foundation..
Politics Blocks College Information Parents And Students Need
Higher Ed Watch
Despite rare bipartisan agreement on the need for better data, and on the already-identified ways to get the data, Representative Messer (R-IN) introduced a bill yesterday that would require the formation of yet another commission to conduct yet another study on what college information is needed, or whether anyone needs it.Students, families, taxpayers, and policymakers don’t need another study. They need better information. And they need it now. [Full Article]
New Forms of College Access
Academic leaders are rethinking the purposes, costs, and consequences of college residence and student co-presence in the digital era. This forum investigates possibilities for reconfiguring the time, space, and experience of college brought about by the digital revolution.
Community Colleges Get Less Government Money But Have Most Needy Students
Equity Gap Widens
Economic and racial stratification is increasing in higher education, with growing concentrations of needy students at community colleges. Meanwhile, government funding skews toward universities with more advantaged students, due in part to research support and tax breaks, according to a Century Foundation report. The paper includes policy recommendations to address the growing inequitie
Are AP Or Dual Enrollment Courses Best For Students?
AP Courses vs. Dual Credit: What’s Best for High School Students?
Dual credit and Advanced Placement (AP) offer competing schools of thought on helping high school students earn college credits. Experts say both approaches can work, when done the right way, but they also have pitfalls. In Missouri, a push is building behind AP after years of popularity for dual enrollment. For the first time, the percentage of students passing an AP exam will factor into a district’s report card. Check out ECS’ high school issue site. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 05/19/13)
College Success Strategies For Students With Disabilities
Issue Brief – Improving College and Career Readiness for Students with Disabilities
This issue brief prepared by AYPF for the College and Career Readiness and Success Center at the American Institutes for Research is intended to assist state policymakers in better understanding strategies to prepare students with disabilities and special needs for college and career. The brief provides context and background on the numbers of students with disabilities who are college and career ready; examines issues related to preparation and readiness for postsecondary education and careers; and includes examples of current programs and policies that help students with disabilities to successfully transition to college and careers.
Click here to find all briefs and reports
Should Federal College Readiness Programs From The 1960’s Be Ended Or Mended?
By Daniela Fairchild, Fordham Foundation
The Obama administration has shown commitment to evidence-based policies through its Head Start reforms, programs to reduce teen pregnancy, and efforts to boost parenting skills; it is time to show the same commitment for college-readiness programs, argues this policy brief. The brief, which accompanies the latest Future of Children journal issue, argues that the federal government’s major efforts to better prepare disadvantaged pupils for post-secondary education have yielded no rigorous proof of success. Yet we annually pump $1 billion into the so-called “TRIO programs” (Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Services, and a few smaller programs). In order to streamline efforts—and to ensure program efficacy—the brief authors suggest that Congress consolidate all federal spending in this realm into a single competitive-grant program and fund a broad variety of intervention approaches (tutoring, counseling, and instruction) run by an array of proven providers. The long-time recipients of TRIO dollars will naturally hate this reform, but what’s the point of programs that don’t accomplish their objectives? A tough-minded approach might finally narrow the vast college-enrollment gap between the nation’s poorest and richest students.
