Being able to read and critique my peers’ writing was very valuable. We didn’t get to do the full panel format but my group of three discussed the papers we were assigned in our small group. I really enjoyed this format. I always enjoy when I can hear other people’s point of view. It always presents new ways of approaching writing and interpreting scientific writing.

My biggest take away was how important it is to expand on my experimental design. The best papers I read had very explicit steps, expected results and well chosen controls. I think my writing tends to be either way to detailed or very vague. For proposals a balance of the two is needed. For my lab report I will be expected to be more detailed which I don’t expect to struggle with as much, but it is a great lesson to learn.

My other take away was how very creative scientific minds can be and how important that is. I read some very interesting and creative papers. This is more of a cool thing, not really a lesson. I was just very impressed. I will try to remember to be creative in my future DOI’s. It is always good to come at scientific questions from a lot of angles.