![Kish, William [Biol]](http://blogs.longwood.edu/williamkish/files/2019/10/cropped-Buffalo-creek.jpg)
In all my sciences courses from middle school to college, I have written either lab reports or a journal article with similar guidelines on how to convey the information and data. Once I moved up in my biology courses, I was able to write in different styles and not just cut and paste the same formats over and over. This allowed me to broaden my horizons with my scientific writing. Some classes that really broaden my horizons was my BIOL 288 sophomore seminar, BIOL 330 conservation biology, and BIOL 455 Wetlands Seminar courses.
In my BIOL 288 course, I wrote two different papers than normal, a literature review and a general audience article. In my BIOL 455 course, I also wrote a literature review based off of primary literature. For both my literature reviews and general audience paper, I decided to investigate the different anthropogenic and natural parameters that affect vernal pool communities as well as what parameters affect the biotic communities. With my general audience paper, I took the information and wrote it in the style of a magazine for non-scientists. My literature review was made for a scientific audience that has enough background to understand what I am writing about.
In my BIO 330 course, I did a style of writing that was new to me at the time, I wrote a research proposal. This style is different because rather than write about what you have done, you write about what could be done. I proposed some conservation solutions to the issue of burmese pythons in Florida and the brown tree snake in Guam. Sections of this proposal was like a literature review where I found peer reviewed research on burmese pythons and the brown tree snake. Where it is different is where I write an expected results section and the proposed methods section. The audience for this style of paper is a funding committee to receive money for the proposal.
These writing examples show how one can use different writing styles to convey information to multiple different audiences. In my BIOL 288 and in my BIOL 455 course, I wrote in two different contexts from a scientific audience to a general audience. While in my BIOL 330 course, I wrote to a different scientific audience, more than likely a committee to potentially receive funding. These courses expanded my writing arsenal and my knowledge on how to write scientifically in multiple context.
Below is my general audience paper on vernal pools from BIOL 288.
Below is my research proposal from my BIOL 330 course.
Below is my literature review on vernal pools from BIOL 455.