Correct your own exam. Exercises for university students to develop writing skills in biology

¹ Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Granada, Facultad de Ciencias, Avda. Fuentenueva s.n. E-18002 Granada, Spain
² Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, Facultad de Ciencias, Avda. Fuentenueva s.n. E-18002 Granada, Spain
³ Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Granada, Facultad de Ciencias, Avda. Fuentenueva s.n. E-18002 Granada, Spain

^a Corresponding author: jhodar@ugr.es

Abstract

This work describes a project intended to improve an essential aspect of student learning, i.e. writing essay tests, directed to students of the Undergraduate Degree in Biology at the University of Granada (Spain). Previous results indicate that most students are well prepared and understand most of the concepts basic to Biology, as reflected in the multiple-choice questions, but perform poorly when answering the essay questions. This work seeks to improve speech, writing, and conceptual organization of student responses in the essay questions, and to maintain skills developed during this project. The core of the project was a session of correcting written exercises, conducted in groups during class time and led by the teacher. The analysis of the scores reveals better student performance, reflecting the usefulness of these exercises for improving the students’ skills in written expression