In Physics? Math? I’m not sure. Is anyone here doing an undergrad program in this fields? How much writing are you expected to do, and how dependent is your GPA on your writing ability?
I wasn’t claiming that this is currently the case in math or physics programs, but that it would be a consequence of mandating “Writing for Scientists” courses.
In my own science courses, the answers were “quite a bit, for a given value of writing,” and “not much” respectively. Most non-math classes were “writing intensive classes,” meaning that they involved considerable amounts of putting your own words to paper, but grading was very little dependent on the fluency with which you did so.
Thanks, that’s about what I was expecting. In your own experience, to what extent is your grade dependent on the skills specific to your field, and to what extent is it dependent on extrinsic skills? Are you doing a BA, or are you doing graduate work?
Well, like if your field was physics, to what extent was your grade determined by skills you would use (and you would consider important to success in) the practice of physics as a theoretical or experimental activity? I don’t think I have a good idea of what these skills are, but I imagine math is an important one. And to what extent were your grades determined by skills like the writing of effective prose, which I take it we’re considering extrinsic to physical research as such?
I’d say that your grades in the core courses of an undergraduate degree would be pretty strongly determined by some combination of effort, conscientiousness, interest and information retention. If you can retain the material you’re taught in class and apply the required equations to it, and invest a high level of effort into all the assigned work while closely following the provided grading rubrics, you can get good grades without much writing fluency, and without much need for other intrinsic skills such as ability to come up with good original experiments or solid hypotheses to explain data.
I wasn’t claiming that this is currently the case in math or physics programs, but that it would be a consequence of mandating “Writing for Scientists” courses.
In my own science courses, the answers were “quite a bit, for a given value of writing,” and “not much” respectively. Most non-math classes were “writing intensive classes,” meaning that they involved considerable amounts of putting your own words to paper, but grading was very little dependent on the fluency with which you did so.
Thanks, that’s about what I was expecting. In your own experience, to what extent is your grade dependent on the skills specific to your field, and to what extent is it dependent on extrinsic skills? Are you doing a BA, or are you doing graduate work?
Could you clarify what you mean by field specific skills versus extrinsic skills?
I’ve completed my BSc, but haven’t applied to any graduate program.
Well, like if your field was physics, to what extent was your grade determined by skills you would use (and you would consider important to success in) the practice of physics as a theoretical or experimental activity? I don’t think I have a good idea of what these skills are, but I imagine math is an important one. And to what extent were your grades determined by skills like the writing of effective prose, which I take it we’re considering extrinsic to physical research as such?
I’d say that your grades in the core courses of an undergraduate degree would be pretty strongly determined by some combination of effort, conscientiousness, interest and information retention. If you can retain the material you’re taught in class and apply the required equations to it, and invest a high level of effort into all the assigned work while closely following the provided grading rubrics, you can get good grades without much writing fluency, and without much need for other intrinsic skills such as ability to come up with good original experiments or solid hypotheses to explain data.