Course Outline 

Scientific Method  

In order to share their results with people, scientists need to have good descriptive skills. They need to be able to communicate observations, data, and conclusions with other people. In many Natural History fields data is narrative. In other words, there aren't always measurable results, but instead, scientists make and compare observations. For instance, if a scientist is studying the behavior of a bird, he might be able to make numerical observations like how many times does a bird leave it's nest, but he also might note that the bird appears agitated or sedate. He might write a paragraph outlining the bird's behavior. For this reason, many scientific disciplines develop technical vocabularies so that scientists can converse about specific things without having to use a lot of words. For instance, sandstone implies a rock that is made of sand particles between 1/256 mm and 2 mm. Greywacke is a poorly sorted, gray to greenish type of sandstone. If I am talking to another geologist, it is easier for me to say I found a greywacke than to say I found a poorly sorted, gray to greenish type of sandstone. Unfortunately, it is this fact that makes science difficult for some people. In fact, a student can learn more new words in a science class than in a foreign language class.

For this assignment, don't worry about technical vocabulary; instead, you will work on your observation and descriptive skills.

Assignment:
Find a scene to describe. It might be a quiet scene full of plants or rocks, or it might include some animals moving around. Do your best to describe some aspect of it. Try to use rich vocabulary (instead of saying 'there's some stuff under a swing', be specific). Describe color, texture, smell, light, and movement. Try to evoke an image of the scene so that a reader can imagine what you have seen.

Write 500 words describing the scene and submit to the discussion group. Take the time to read what the other students have written and make comments.

Go to the Descriptions Discussion Group

Go to Lesson 6: The Nature of Evidence >>