I did not know what to expect when coming into Entering Research. In high school, I never was exposed to writing a lab report or anything of that matter. I was really excited to learn that this class was all about learning how to write the lab report as well as developing the skills to be a good scientific writer. I was shocked when I learned how long each different section of a lab report should be, especially the introduction. I remember how shocked everyone was that we had to write our introduction that long.
The class taught me more than just how to write lab reports and how to write scientifically. It also taught me good time management skills and good public speaking skills. We had an assignment due every Monday for his class, sometimes even two assignments. The assignments were very lengthy and required a huge chunk of time during my week. It was difficult at first to ensure that I had sufficient time throughout the week to spend it on my assignments. I eventually learned how much time I should be designating to each assignment and I also learned how to balance my work and social life. Also, I learned good public speaking skills in the class. At the end of the semester, we had an oral presentation discussing a certain topic that we were given. I was pretty nervous about giving the presentation since it was for a group of highly educated individuals who I know would be able to ask questions that would stump me. I had great partners to work with and they made the presentation seem not as bad. I was very confident in my ability to speak in front of everyone and for once in my life I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out while presenting. I give a lot of credit to Dr Z for helping me put the presentation together so I wasn’t as nervous because I knew I had good material.
Overall, the class taught me more than just scientific material. It also taught me life skills that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my college career. This class was one of the building blocks of my college career and I am very thankful for the opportunity to have taken the class.
I chose to include my discussion paper because it was my favorite paper that I wrote and took me the most time.
Click here to view my Discussion Paper for Entering Research. (“Discussion”-Jeri Tyler; November 14, 2019)