Wednesday 18 March 2009

Science Coursework

Argh! I can't do it!

Basically, at school we have to write a 2000 word essay on a particular science-y subject. I chose "Who is to Blame For Obesity". After 1121 words, I have nothing left to say. And it's due in on Friday. On the same day as a Maths exam.

I know it shouldn't be particularly hard, but still... I can't do it...
Aw, phooey.

-Sam

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blame America. Always works, and there is always what to say about it.

Good luck with that essay.

Fernando said...

Sam, the starting point in any science project is selecting a method. Science is nothing more than a method. And, I think, this purpose is propaedeutic. This which means: "learning how to construct a scientific paper". The topic chosen does not matter as much as the systematization of the materials and the election of a suitable work procedure for the appropriate treatment of the information.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter only the number of words. That would be absurd. You shouldn't just sit and write, checking every minute how many words you need to finish. Can you imagine a scientific doing that..?! Okay, it's a rule. I understand.

If I am to help you, any scientific essay involves a series of preliminary steps (This is universal, so you can trust me :)

(i) Choosing a topic. Never start writing if you haven’t defined clearly the specific topic;
(ii) Finding information. Never start writing if you haven’t collected and reviewed all the information sources. This never should be done as you go along (except if you have a maths exam the same day!);
(iii) Exploratory reading. Read through all this material and select what is relevant;
(iv) Operational plan. Define the specific tasks, do a work plan, express the difficulties which arise, etc. (of course, you don’t have much time for this now);
(v) Pose a hypothesis. Never start writing if you don’t have a hypothesis to prove. This step is fundamental: formulate a problem as a justification for the job;
(vi) Only then should you begin to write…

Right?

In fact, the steps are more rigorous. However, given that you have already started your work, try to reformulate the hypothesis in order to expand the limits of the problem and then introduce more content. But don't repeat data to reach 2000 words or place redundant information (this is an old universal trick).

:D

You'll do fine!

Cooperweb said...

Well I suppose I got 2 cents to toss in here.

Now I can't agree with the other posts thus far. You can't really blame America as we are working hard to destroy the world economy to the point that nobody can afford to eat. And you're all welcome.

Fernando makes some good points, but I personally think Stephen Hawkings is just guessing. What else does he really have to do? Rugby is out of the question. He always gets picked last. And being the front runner in his field, I should think any material he reads is a chuckle. He could practically say anything at this point and the science community would have to ponder it for years. Anything! The only thing that would damage his rep at this point is if he either started writing for Marvel comics, or challenges the Lost in Space robot to a caged ultimate fight. Well, also if he were to quote Paris Hilton in his next Science Review article .. yeah that would do it too.

So, three suggestions of points of view you may not have considered.
Many say it is hereditary, but working in a Twinkie factory isn't.
I have a friend who came here from Russia in the 90's. I asked him his first impressions of America. He said the bombardment of food commercials on TV made him ill in a short time. So I began noticing that he was right. Two, three in a row, all crap food, and kids watch it non-stop. And rarely is it mentioned that it is poisenous crap sure to shorten your life. Society allows this propaganda force fed us constantly.

Lastly, before WWII most American families could only afford meat on Sunday. It was after the war that the beef industry geared up and people were lulled into a steady diet of meat, big gulps and popcorn by the bucketfuls.

So if you haven't been inspired by these posts, just copy this comment in your paper, it's probably a good 900 words. :)

Now on to the video ...
Cheers