Writing Biotechnology Scientific Reviews

 I just wrote my very first Scientific Review for my Biotechnology Writing class this morning. Very early this morning like from 2 to 6 am.

I had dreaded doing it wasn't into it at all in the beginning. I had started it several times this past week but life and school and four kids kept being to big of distractions to let me get very far. By Tuesday I had most of the researching done. I found several articles about transgenic food and allergies in children. They were all very interesting and informative. I read them several times in my false starts that got nowhere with actually getting started.

I think that it actually was a blessing for writing a Review paper to have read the articles so many times. I knew what they said and could easily put them into my own words for the review by the time I sat down this morning to write it.

What I had dreaded was the rules and the abstract. Which is funny in a way because I had already written an abstract for the class and the rules are good guidelines that really give every scientific paper a consistency that allows them to be thorough and interesting. It may have been more of the distraction issue again. It was definitely easier to get homework done when the kids were in school. Either I may have more all night writing sessions in my future or I'm gonna have to take it out of the house for a few hours like go to the Library or somewhere.

I was amazed when I started to write ad then finally after the second time through editing looked at the clock to see that it was 7 am and I had been writing for five straight hours. Well, reading and writing and a little more researching of some facts then of course editing and doing the final formatting.

The awesome part was I was writing and doing all that for five hours and it just flew by. When you are doing what you love to do time flies and it doesn't seem like work at all. I love to write whether it is my thoughts, a business report, a guide, instructions, grant proposals or scientific writing, it is all writing and even though sometimes I have issues getting going I always find that in the end no matter what kind of writting I am doing I really love to do it!

I can't wait to someday get paid to do what I love that will be the best!

So here are some links that could help you if you want to learn about writing scientific reviews.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19531932/How-to-Write-a-Scientific-Review-Paper

http://www.parint.org/isajewebsite/bookimages/isaje_2nd_edition_chapter5.pdf

http://www.istl.org/06-summer/review3.html

Finally I will get my paper "More needs to be Done to Protect Children from Allergenic Transgenic Food" posted for anyone who is interested in checking it out on my online portfolio 

http://arvillasportfolio.webs.com/

Have a great day and please leave me a comment let me know, What have you been writing lately?

Writing in HTML

I'm just finishing up my very first HTML class and I have come to a few realizations.

1. People who write in computer code are still writers like me, they just use a different language.
• I always thought that writing in code was something completely different than writing a document. 
• Writing an entire site requires knowledge of more than just HTML one must learn CSS and PHP too, similar to writing a great document requires knowledge about the subject and background which may include learning the meanings and backgrounds of words.
• Computer code requires one to not only be a good writer but also to be visionary and creative thinking not only of the wording but of graphic design also, much like creating a good magazine layout.
2. Writing code is much like writing a report or document.
• First you need an idea, a sketch or an outline of what will be written and how it should look.
• Good content always makes a better document, there are structures to follow in code just like in writing a sentence in English.
• Editing is not just a necessity but with code if it isn't correct it won't work.
3. Writing code can actually be pleasant.
• Once a style sheet has been created and a basic page layout, the background work, then the code that creates each page is much easier.
• I love writing and expected to dread coding but was happily surprised that I like it.
• Graphic design is always present in writing layouts and is also important for a good webpage and I love designing pages and places to look nice.
• It has come in handy for my blogs, my black board posts and in other places that I hadn't expected.

If you would like to see what I did for my HTML class I would be proud to introduce you to my live online website. It is called Easy Sales Shop and I will be using it to sell things that I have made and maybe someday things that other people have made too. 

Yes, I plan on taking more computer code classes. My degree requires it and my curiosity demands it. 

Listening Final Completed

Goodness that was an interesting assignment. We were supposed to work in a group of four students on the paper, but it ended up being just the two of us my new, dear friend from Alaska and myself. We worked really hard and collaborated very well, she was awesome.

The final assignment was to write a Listening Analysis on a Film. We decided on The Prince of Tides and set about creating a document that ended up being a full 16 pages long. I think we did a great job, we'll see what our Professor says, he is a tough one. We have been getting good grades from him but never a perfect score. Some classes are just like that.

So, if your interested in checking out the Effective and Ineffective Listening Analysis of The Prince of Tides, you can check it out on my online portfolio.
http://arvillasportfolio.webs.com/

My listening class was a great experience. The professor was tough but fair and gave the best feedback that I have gotten through NEU from any professor. I wish my writing professors gave such fabulous detailed feedback on our work. I learned many things that I sort of knew about just through life and many more things that I had no idea about. I think that the Listening class was a great success. Although I was skeptical of it in the beginning, as a Junior in college having to take a listening class, I have learned valuable skills that will serve me well throughout the rest of my academic career and into my writing career.

Learning about WordPress

Yesterday I decided it was time to force the freelance writing desires into reality. I am now, once again only a full time college student and stay-at-home mom, so I am going to work as hard as I possibly can to become a freelance writer.

I searched freelance writing and found a place called Odesk and several other places that I may use in my adventure. The one common denominator that I noticed was that many possible clients wanted me to have knowledge of WordPress. So, today I set out to gain knowledge of WordPress and make myself more valuable in the freelance writing industry. The first place I visited in my adventure this morning was Wikipedia and that linked me right up to the WordPress site that allowed me to download the program for free and is where I know I will find out all I need to become a WordPress expert.

As for what I am writing at this time, my Online Documentation class has me creating a help file for a retail business. I picked the Furniture Row website since they currently have no help feature. I am creating a Design Specifications Document about the help file which I will upload to my online portfolio.

My Listening class has me creating reports about podcasts and movies on the topic of listening. When the class ends I will pick the best report on listening and also upload that to my online portfolio.

Read an entire Freelance writing book yesterday!

The book is called Getting Started as a Freelance Writer by Robert W. Bly.

It was well written, and kept my attention from beginning to end. I must admit there were a few paragraphs here and there that didn't really pertain to me so I breezed over them with a quick scan.

He starts with discussing what and how you need to set up your home office and your schedule. Goes on to money matters, fee negotiations and such. Then Bly talks alot about self-promotion throughout the book but Chapter 8 is devoted to it. It makes sense if your self-employed to self-promote. He gives great suggestions.

The hardest part for me, is probably what should be the easiest. He says early on that I need to pick specialties, things I know about or have experience in to write about. Bly says not to have more than three. I can't think of one good one. UGH! He has a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering, there is one of his specialties, he worked in marketing and direct mail is another of his specialties.

I have always been the "jack of all trades and master of none" type of person. I've cooked in restraunts, raised and raising four kids, homeschooled for several years, opened and closed a business, I'm crafty, and I can sew clothes.

I keep coming back to homeschooling to write about I researched the idea before I homeschooled for a year and then I was very involved and researching things for several years as we were homeschooling. I have been out of the loop for a little while but I think it would be easy enough to get back into researching even if I'm not actually homeschooling at this time.

So, I am off to research the world of homeschooling.

Last week disappeared

Okay so last week was a total wash as far as writing anything but cover letters and applications. I had a few interviews. So, the week wasn't wasted but no call backs. My biggest hurdle here in El Paso is that I don't speak Spanish. Or, at least I hope that is what it is because they all want to know if I can.

Anyway, we went to the Library on Dyer St. for the first time on Saturday. WOW, I'm liking it alot. I took out three books but at the rate I have been reading lately we'll see if I get through them.

Monday I figured out all the kinks from registering and getting my classes lined up for fall at Northeastern University. I am excited they have alot of classes I'd like to take and can online. I figured out that if I wanted to I could keep going till I had my Phd from them online. That is an idea anyway.

Tomorrow it will be back to the grindstone for me. I need to come up with an awesome post for my Handcrafted Mom blog.

Goodnight.

Friday - Cleaning, Blogging and Reading

I have no idea how Friday became my cleaning day once we moved here. We have only been here a month. Maybe, I still have time to change this habit. The chores could be divided up and I could do some on Tuesday and the rest on Thursday. Sweeping and mopping this entire house, cleaning two bathrooms, the kitchen and making the usual three meals for the family gave me no time to read or work on writing until after supper.

I did read several posts from the Ten Tips for writing a blog and a few from About Freelance Writing. I plan on catching up with the NYT and a few other news sources before I finally call it a night.

I did manage to get a nice post created for my Handcrafted Mom blog, this one came kind of easy because I wrote about one of my favorite things to do with the kids. Combining my memories, storytelling and a link to a good recipe. I ended with a couple of questions and hope that someone will respond to them.

Good night.