Lab. Writing in Science
Technical Writing
Goal
Select one problem from the homework and write up its solution. The solution must include an illustration, a free-body diagram, equations for Newton’s Second Law, algebraic steps, and any accompanying explanations to make the solution clear to the reader.
This lab activity will be evaluated on the following components:
The correctness of your solution
Illustrations included
Clearly typed equations and formulae
Organization
Overall clarity
Resources
Every student has access to the Google Suite.
Software to write the report
Use Google Documents (or equivalent such as MS Office, Open Office, etc.) to write your documents. Use the built-in section titles and headings.
To write formulae and equations, use the “Insert Equations” function in the Insert Drop-down menu. In the same menu, the item above Insert Equations, allows you to insert special symbols, such as greek letters or math symbols.
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Most Equation Editors (in Google and Pages, at least) allow you type in commands for the math formulae that are based on LaTeX. So, if you wish to type in the following:
You must type in the equation editor the following (without the quotes)
“\Sigma F = m \vec a”
Here is a quick reference on LaTeX commands for math symbols and letters.
Diagrams and Pictures
Generally speaking, copying and pasting someone else’s diagram is a copyright violation, so it’s safe to avoid it. Make your own graphs and diagrams.
For Diagrams – Use Google Draw or Presentation where you can draw a diagram and then copy and past it in your documents. (Alternatives include Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, etc.)
For Graphs – use a spreadsheet – Google Sheets, MS Office Excel, etc. Then copy and paste into your document.
Overall Appearance of your Document
Your document should include full sentences organized in paragraphs. You cannot simply use bullet lists, or put the equations and skip the explanations. That is why it is called a Report.
As with the diagrams and illustrations, use your own words. Do not copy and paste other people’s words.
Grammar, Style, and Punctuation
Most Editors have automatic spell checkers. There are apps on the web which can also scan for punctuation and style. One such is Grammarly which has paid and free versions.
When you finish with your report, run the checks for common grammatical and spelling errors.
Bibliography
If you have used external resources, make sure to include them in the end of your report. The best way to do this is to use a bibliography app. Here is one free that I have used in the past:
https://www.mybib.com/#/projects/nQQaya/citations
Appendices
If you want to include data from experiments that take a lot of space, or add more details that might or might not be necessary – consider putting them in an Appendix at the end of your report.
Do not make your report longer than absolutely necessary!