User:MPoe

Mya Poe, Director of Technical Communication at MIT

myapoe@mit.edu

3-7893

Courses Taught: 6.021J, HST 500, 20.109, and 20.380 as well as Rhetoric of Science (21W.747)

My own research focuses on how people use writing to make sense of their worlds. I look at the relationship between culture and transcription--What do we choose to put on the page/screen? How do those choices reflect our ways of understanding the world? How do these choices reflect cultural, ethnic, or individual ways of understanding the world? How does genre mediate those choices? In my current research--a book on MIT Press--I'm looking at how students learn the ways of arguing used by professional scientists. I'm also editing a collection on racism and the testing of writing abilities.

COURSE MATERIALS Here are the slides I showed in lab related to writing your report for the first module:

Overview of Scientific Writing and Rhetoric

Also, don't forget to check out the 20.109(F08):DNA engineering lab report guidelines.

MORE GOOD STUFF

The following are helpful places to do further investigation into good writing.

The Mayfield Handbook  (must have MIT Certificates to access) A rich resource for any scientific writer. The MIT Writing and Communications Center Located in 32-081 (Stata Center basement), the Writing and Communications Center offers free one-to-one instruction on any aspect of writing. The Science of Scientific Writing A very useful article that analyzes the structure and style of scientific writing. Writing Up Research A fairly comprehensive explanation of the components of the research article from the Asian Institute of Technology. Writing in the Neurobiological Sciences A scientific writing course from the University of Florida with many useful links. Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students A useful resource on scientific writing from Virginia Tech. Includes many examples and additional links. Instructions to Authors in the Health Sciences This site provides links to instructions to authors for over 3,500 journals in the health and life sciences.