Description
Purpose & Intent of Assignment: As preparation for writing Lab Summaries, take a look at some journal articles published in professional research journals. The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize yourself with the writing style, format, and structure of a scientific or engineering research paper. You will also likely see some great examples of really well done data tables and plots (graphs). This way you are more prepared to write your own lab reports later in this course.
Select a research article from a professional science or engineering journal (not news articles). You do not need to completely understand the topic or science covered, but maybe choose an area you are passionate or interested about (avoid choosing really long articles > 12 pages). Pay attention to how the author(s) communicates the information to the audience, and how effectively that is done. Read or skim the article and observe the points and answer the questions outlined below.
View the article after opening, saving, or downloading a PDF version of it. We want you to see the format the journal article would have if it was printed (typically 2-column format). This matches the format you will use when writing your Lab Summaries (lab reports).
Try to choose a journal article that is relatively short. There is no need to read something that is more than 12 pages. The purpose is for you to learn the general writing format and style, not to understand the research presented in detail.
This is an individual assignment to be written and submitted by you reflecting your own work, not that of a group.
Make sure your name and section number are clearly visible within the document.
Upload PDF copies of the following:
A copy of the article you reviewed
Your responses to the question below.
Note: The file must be .pdf. You can save Microsoft Word files directly as PDFs. If any attached files are not PDFs your assignment submission will not be saved and no record of your attempt will be recorded.
(10pts) Note the author’s organization of the paper (the structure of the paper)
Make an outline. (identify the sections/subsections)
How/where are results presented?
How/where are equations/calculations presented?(In context with application, or in advance?)
How/where is data presented?
How/where is experimental procedure presented?(Enough detail so that it could be reproduced? As instructions?)
How/where are conclusions given?
(10pts) Note author’s attention to audience
Who is the audience?
Note something that the author assumes the audience already knows.
Contrast that with something that is spelled out in detail.
Does the structure make it easy to find information? Could it be better?
(10pts) Note the writing style
Formal or informal tone?
Present or past tense?
First person? First person plural? second- or third-person?
Passive or active voice?
Could you catch them being inconsistent somewhere?
(10pts) Note the format
one or two column?(Was it easy to read?)
paragraphs indented or separated by space?
margins? text justification?
tables, graphs, or figures? How are captions displayed?
how are references made?
(10pts) Abstract, introduction, and conclusion
What is included in each?(what’s the same? what’s different?)
Is the abstract written with a different style/tone?
Does the abstract efficiently summarize the whole paper?
As you start working on your Lab Summaries, keep this analysis in mind. Make use of techniques that the authors of these articles use that seem to be effective in communicating (and avoid things that they may do that are not effective).
I need it in 6 hours
