Assistant professor enlightens students about how writing plays a role in the sciences

by Sally Turner assistant professor of journalism

Ann Fritz talks about writing the way any enthusiast would. She loves to read. She writes articles. She did journal writing through her college years.

But this enthusiasm comes, perhaps, from an unusual source: the northern California native is a professor of entomology.

As an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Fritz uses writing in her classroom as part of the process of teaching the subject, whether it be Animal Diversity, Zoology or Organic Evolution, the senior capstone course.

“There is a preconception from students. They think they don’t have to write [in science classes],” she said. “In introductory classes, I will often hear from students that my course is not an English class! In fact, we do write in our profession all the time.”

So writing and reading are integrated into each class, and she sees writing as part of the class.

“The department is good about preparing students for the kinds of writing they might have to do in the field,” she said. That includes papers to disseminate research, reports to government or granting agencies, grant proposals to fund research, and conceptual articles to understand and debate the precepts of the field.

Fritz takes what students have learned about research and documentation in composition classes and expands on it. That includes learning a standard set of rules and how to write in a scientific paper format. In addition, citation styles vary, as does person. For example, in most academic writing, the third person (he, she, it and they) is used. But in other scientific disciplines, the first person (I) is used.

In her classes, Fritz helps students understand they must understand that theses styles are a reflection of the discipline, and the need to write for their intended audiences.

“We can make assumptions about the level of readership in biology journals,” Fritz explained, “but I stress to my students that they have to write for both audiences.”

For example, the students might have to write a grant proposal geared toward scientists, as well as a one-page summary for the general public. Students learn to write abstracts, introductions and the results of their research and findings.

But writing in Fritz’s classes is not just for projects and presentations.

“Students write a great deal,” she said. They write short answers on quizzes and answer analytical questions on tests. They also write responses to lecture questions, “attendance” questions, predictions in laboratory and in groups to brainstorm discussion questions, she said.

To help students understand the expectations Fritz has for her students, she often shows them an “A” answer and talks to them about what makes it good.

“I tell them, ‘Here’s what I am looking for,’” she explained.

She notes traditional criteria for writing, such as grammar, sentence structure, organization, and development of their research findings, but she also looks for “the ability to communicate one’s point or research result” through organization.

Fritz, who has been teaching in her current position since the fall of 2001, has seen the way she incorporates writing into the classroom change from writing on specific assignments to writing as part of the daily routine.

“I now use writing in my courses in a more fluid way,” she said.