We Actually Have Around 20 Senses (depending On How You Count) But This Infographic Outlines The 5 Main

as i get farther along this academic road, i can see that people are becoming increasingly secretive about their grant proposals, statements for faculty applications, fellowships, etc. what is your policy on sharing these things? i ask because i think you are a Normal Human Being who is a Decent Person, and sometimes this secrecy or tendency to distrust makes me sad!

i understand and i really dislike it as well, but i think it’s important to remember that much of that distrust comes from real and historical patterns of intellectual theft (which hit disproportionately across academia). it’s shitty! the world is a better place when we can share openly and help each other get through the absolute absurdity of the academy! but i can’t think badly of anyone who chooses not to spread their materials around. even though they’re not the same kind of work as, say, a book chapter or an article, we put a lot of labor into documents like proposals and applications, and i think it’s okay to be protective of that labor. 

that said, i’m really open with mine, particularly with people that i actually know. my roommate’s getting a big folder of fellowship and job application materials from me, for example, which is partially bc i love him & the other younger premodernists in my program and want them to succeed, and partially bc i want to save our shared advisor some work. my fellowship group have swapped and given feedback all our job materials, and juliana @caffeinebooks & i exchange proposals all the time. i’m happy to share things like cover letters and research statements with people that i know, because i want to save them some of the angst i went through (which was already ameliorated by the folks who did this for me). it’s harder to muster that kind of generosity towards people i don’t know, because, as selfish as it sounds, i spent 9 hours getting the wording on that cover letter right and i’m enough of an asshole to want to reserve the fruits of that labor for people i know and love, at least until i’ve moved on to other forms of labor. i was not planning on sharing my job materials until i got a job. now i’m cool with it.   

i feel an obligation to pay forward a lot of the help that i’ve gotten on my materials from people who shared theirs with me. but i also understand not being comfortable doing that, or only being comfortable doing that in certain ways. the giving and the getting should be balanced, IMO, but i think it’s up to the individual to decide what that balance looks like for them.

writing an essay in college is very different from writing an essay in high school. personally, i write more research/history papers than literary essays (the liberal arts life and curse), so this is going to be a post on how a general research-y essay that has a thesis and arguments. 

intro

don’t open with a quote and don’t be overly broad. 

avoid generalizations 

your intro should address the topic of your essay (ex. the significance of gardens in renaissance society), and then narrow down to what you want to talk about in regards to your topic (ex. the political influence of the Medici gardens during the renaissance)

thesis! it should include the argument you want to make about the narrowed down topic, and three (or however many your class requires) reasons to support it. I like to think of it as W = X + Y + Z. 

your thesis explains who, what and why in a concise manner. 

body

topic sentences should not be a word for word copy of your thesis.

the order of arguments in your thesis is the order of your paragraphs 

depending on the length of your essay, there should be at least two justifications to your argument. 

so, just as the intro has a formula, X = A + B, and so forth. 

A and B should be backed up with some sources/quotes. don’t forget that if you are quoting from class notes to put either the prof’s last name, or (class notes)

be sure to have clear and concise arguments, don’t be flowery

USE WORDS THAT ARE ACCURATE. thesaurus is great but if you use a word that sounds cool but doesn’t capture the meaning you want to convey then don’t use it, because it may just change the meaning of your argument

quote whatever isn’t yours. it is completely fine if 90% of your sentences are quotes. its weird to get used to, but don’t worry about it. 

conclusion

the worst part in my opinion. 

synthesize don’t summarize. show how your arguments relate back to the thesis.

try not to copy paste your thesis into the conclusion, word it so that the readers understands that through XYZ, you were able to conclude and support argument W (referring back to the thesis formula)

do not add any new information, do not add quotes. 

your final sentence should tie up the essay in a pretty bow, but try to avoid clichés 

protips

when writing the body paragraphs, your ‘weakest’ paragraph should be in the middle, strongest as your last, and the second best as your first.

if you’re stumped on the intro, skip it. write out the body first, then the intro and you’ll be able to concisely word your thesis

think of your essay as an infomercial. your intro is the loud and clear HERES MY PRODUCT, the body is blasting information on why the product is so cool, and the conclusion is the final push for the viewer to buy that product. make your teacher want to agree with your thesis! 

use a mix of paraphrase and quotes!

don’t forget your works cited lmao (the MLA Handbook is a gr8 tool, also OWL Purdue)

prime time for essay writing is in the morning or at night, but make sure you edit it meticulously 

EDIT ON PAPER NOT ON YOUR SCREEN

stay humble, study hard 

a small guide on how i battle my essays! (click on an image to view it clearer) 

(keep in mind: i’m an english major so a majority of my essays are literature-focused!)

these are just some of the methods i want to share that work for me when i write my innumerable amount of essays! i’m definitely a huge planner so it’s no secret that i spend a lot of time on an essay. if you’re a deadline fighter, these tips might not necessarily be helpful (especially the handwriting one). but i hope this gives you an insight on how i write my essays! 🌈

Free MCAT Study Materials!

Here’s master post of some great MCAT study materials and resources. Click on the bold titles to open links to folders containing the files listed below. Good luck!!!

2015 KAPLAN MCAT REVIEW BOOKS (pdf links listed below)

Behavioral Sciences Review

Biochemistry Review

Biology Review

Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Review

General Chemistry Review

Organic Chemistry Review

Physics and Math Review

BIOLOGY

Molecular Biology; Cellular Respiration

Genes

Microbiology

The Eukaryotic Cell; The Nervous System

The Endocrine System

The Digestive and Excretory Systems

The Cardiovascular System; The Respiratory System

Muscle, Bone and Skin

Populations

The Berkeley MCAT Review - Biology Part 1 (2011)

The Berkeley MCAT Review - Biology Part 2 (2011)

BIOCHEMISTRY

Lab Techniques

GENERAL CHEMISTRY

Atoms, Molecules and Quantum Mechanics

Gases, Kinetics, and Chemical Equilibrium

Thermodynamics

Solutions

Heat Capacity/Phase Change/Colligative Properties

Acids & Bases

Electrochemistry

Intro to Chemistry

Electrostatics

Gases

Thermodynamics and Thermochemistry

The Berkeley MCAT Review - General Chemistry Part 1 (2011)

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Molecular Structure

Hydrocarbons, Alcohols, Substitutions

Carbonyls and Amines

PHYSICS

MCAT Physics Book (2015)

Translation Motion

Force

Equilibrium, Torque and Energy

Momentum, Machines, and Radioactive Decay

Fluids and Solids

Waves

Electricity and Magnetism

Light & Optics

Linear Momentum

PSYCHOLOGY / SOCIOLOGY

SCIENCE

MCAT PRACTICE TESTS / QUESTIONS

Practice Tests

Solutions

OTHER MCAT STUDY MATERIALS

Examkrackers Complete MCAT Study Set (2007)

These materials will help build your knowledge and test taking skills, they may not fit the current MCAT exam criteria but it will definitely build your knowledge of the subjects being tested.

I’ve been here 8 hours I think they’re ready to kick me out.

why does it have to be a one-upmanship though? I've never heard people say doctors are better than vets, and even if some do, surely smugly saying 'we know so much more' makes you just as bad? Can't we accept that they are both very demanding, difficult jobs in their own ways? There are so many differences I think it's hard to even compare them.

Mk, I told you I wasn’t going to discuss this anymore unless you came off anon, but I think this is important because I know I have a few medblr followers and a lot of not-medical-at-all followers.

This is not one-upsmanship. “Real doctors treat more than one species” is a joke - in response to being treated like we’re not as good as MD’s. You can literally buy T-shirts and bumper stickers with that on them. As I stated when I responded to your original ask, all of us in the veterinary profession have respect for doctors. Another common saying in the field is “I’m in vet med because humans are gross.” But somebody has to treat them, and we’re glad it’s not us. Many of us would prefer that animals come in sans owners. During the rest of this post, keep in mind that I (and the vast majority of vets) respect MD’s because we need them just as much as they need us. But that doesn’t make us any less than them.

You say it’s hard to compare them - you must be on the human medical side. Want to know some similarities?- We go to school for the same amount of time.- The prerequisite courses for getting into school are nearly identical.- We accumulate approximately the same amount of debt from our schooling.- We learn much of the same material. Anatomy, histology, general/systemic pathology, clinical pathology, physiology, neurology, pharmacology, immunology, toxicology, bacteriology, virology, radiology, theriogenology (aka veterinary gynecology), ethics, business, medicine/treatment, surgery, public health, nutrition, epidemiology… except we learn it for every species, not just one. More on that later.- Vets have to learn about humans too, because we have to know how animals can infect humans. For example, we have to know how every single veterinary parasite in our 3-credit, semester-long parasitology class can potentially affect/not affect humans. Med students spend one or two lectures on parasites.

But you’re right, there’s a lot of differences.- Vet schools are 3-4x harder to get into than medical schools.- Vet school is harder, full stop. Not only are we learning the same things as med students, we have to learn it for every animal species plus some human stuff, and we have to be prepared to actually practice after four years of education without an internship or residency to catch us after school is over. Yes, some students will choose to go the internship/residency route, but the majority will not. Another common joke in vet school, which my professors have literally said to my entire class more than once, is “if you wanted it to be easy you should have gone to medical school.”- An MD is unlikely to be injured by their patients on an average day. A vet is.- When I graduate, I will have performed upwards of 50 surgeries on at least 4 species of animals, despite the fact that I have no intention of specializing in surgery. A human medical doctor has to wait until their residency to do even one surgery, and that’s only if they’re specializing in a field that requires surgery on a routine basis.- Upon graduation, for any given patient I may have to be a general practitioner, gastroenterologist, dermatologist, cardiologist, pediatrician, emergency doctor, radiologist, orthopedist, oncologist, behaviorist, endocrinologist, surgeon, dentist, neurologist, internist, pathologist, pharmacologist, pulmonologist, anesthesiologist, OB/GYN, physical therapist, opthalmologist, and more during their lifetime. Medical doctors have to specialize in a single one of these things. Lucky me, I don’t have to choose. Poor me, I have to know every single one of these specialties for every single animal. Hence, knowing more and doing more than MD’s.- Show me a human general practice clinic (or even hospital) where I can come in with a bellyache, vaginal discharge, and diarrhea and have an exam, bloodwork, x-rays, ultrasound, and emergency hysterectomy all in the same department, within 2-3 hours of arrival, and go home the same day if absolutely necessary or at least the next day. Yeah, not gonna happen.- Vets have to pay for equipment/supplies, building expenses/upkeep, and staff salaries in addition to their own salaries, and this is incorporated in the cost of vet care. Human clinics are subsidized so they don’t have to worry about this…- … and still charge upwards of 5-10x as much for the same procedure that a vet does. Here’s a total hip replacement comparison, for example.- Because of the two above points, if a client stiffs a doctor, it’s not a big deal - the government and the practice insurance will cover it. The lights will not go off. If a client stiffs a vet… well that one client might not make the lights go off, but now the vet isn’t going to be able to offer clinic-based payment plans because they simply can’t afford to be stiffed anymore. Some practices won’t even send a bill and instead require payment up front, because collections cost more than the bill is worth (that’s how low veterinary bills tend to be, comparatively), and these clinics will still get slammed on Facebook/Yelp/Google for “only caring about money and forcing me to pay upfront when my puppy was dying.”- Humans are required to have insurance, but pets are not. This leads to a lot of emotionally demanding decisions for both the vet and owner (I can’t afford his care - do I put him down? surrender him to the clinic if they’re able to take him? bring him home and let him die? toss him to a shelter and let him suffer?) and a lot of emotionally demanding owners ( “If you really loved animals you would treat him for free” - well yes Becky, but I have to eat and pay my student loans/mortgage too…)- Despite our similar educational debt load, my average salary will be less than half of an MD’s. And people still think we charge too much and make too much and try to guilt us into performing services or giving items at a discount or for free.- Vets can put patients down. While this is usually a blessing, it does mean that patients we’ve treated since they were babies are now dying because we can’t do anything to save them, whether due to owner finances or inability to cure a terminal illness. That’s hard enough as it is, but then you get clients who are moving, had a baby, don’t want the pet for whatever reason, and demand you put the animal down instead of doing something else to try to rehome it - “convenience euthanasias.” Both types take an emotional toll on vets, and euthanasias happen every day, usually multiple times.- A vet’s work-life balance is notoriously terrible. Non-ER MD’s can turn away people who walk in at 4:55 when the practice closes at 5. Vets often can’t (or don’t). Because our patient care is so much more involved, it’s rare for vets or vet staff to be able to leave on time even from general practice, and that says nothing for emergency care or the many vets who are on call nights, weekends, holidays… At the first practice I worked at, staff members got to choose one (1) holiday PER YEAR to get off, and were expected to work every weekend.- Due to the previous 5 points, suicide and mental illness in the veterinary field is at an all-time high. Vets are twice as likely to commit suicide than an MD. It’s alarming, and the field is working to change it, but not much can be done on a national scale.

In fact, maybe you’re right. Maybe there really is no comparison. If you read all that, I think you’ll understand that vets have earned a little bit of wiggle room to poke some harmless fun at their “real doctor” colleagues.

Oh, and not to mention the biggest difference between MD’s and DVM’s, but…

Hey you wonderful person! I just started studying bio and was wondering if you had any advice on thinking like a biologist?

hey you wonderful person as well and budding biologist! 

Thinking like a biologist.. hmmm! never been asked something like this before, so this is great for me to think about it too! here are 7 “rules of biology” if you may, that i personally find truth in. it’s definitely not complete, and maybe not all 100% correct, since i am just one person. but it’s what i believe: 

nothing in biology is absolute. this field is about as lawless as lawlessnes gets. for example: “smoking causes lung cancer”–yes, in some cases, but not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer, and not everyone who gets lung cancer smokes. because individuality exists in biology, it makes things complicated. that’s not to say there’s no rhyme or reason; it’s just that nothing happens in a vacuum/by itself so the answer to a lot things is: “well, it depends.” that’s why you’ll see a lot of words like “may”, “can”, “sometimes”, and “suggests” in biology. 

science is a tool created by humans to understand nature. thus, science can never be 100% free from human bias and error. we try to be as unbiased and close to the truth as we can by using things like experimental controls and large sample sizes, but at the end of the day, sometimes science can still be flawed. and that’s ok! but we need to be able to edit past discoveries to what we know now. (and going off of that, I really don’t like that popular quote by neil degrasse tyson: “science is true whether you believe it or not”. that’s not accurate. what’s accurate is “NATURE is true” because humans doing science can be very very flawed)

going off of that, question everything. don’t accept something is true until the evidence is sound (ie. good study design, no false interpretation of data, reputable sources, etc). even if someone well respected in the field says something, doesn’t always mean it’s true. be your own advocate in finding out the facts. 

sometimes the “outlier” can teach us the most. take cancer, for example. it’s definitely a non-normal state of health and being, but from it we learned so much about normal cellular and organ function. or how we’ve been able to discover some drug metabolism gene variations in certain populations because they didn’t respond well to a treatment during a clinical trial. a lot of knowledge in biology can come from studying what goes wrong or contrary to what we expected. 

your personal ethics may be challenged at times. this is particularly applicable for things like: science vs religion, research on animal models, who and what gets funding priority (eg. a cancer drug with the potential for pharma companies to make billions vs a tropical disease that primarily affects poor communities?), the high cost of pharmaceuticals/health-care in general, open-access knowledge vs getting scooped, is it right to sequence every individual’s genome, etc. you will truly need to know yourself, especially your beliefs and your limits, to navigate these situations. 

everything is connected, sometimes extending beyond the realm of biology. this is related to what can happen in a given situation is always “it depends”. everything affects everything; we–every living unit from microorganisms to cities–are all connected in some way. for example, recent research has shown certain populations of bacteria in our guts can alter our mental health, and it’s easy to see how that can change our day-to-day-life, which in turn can affect society in general. 

never cease to be fascinated. the biology of nature is amazing, everything from the smallest virus to the largest ecosystem. no matter how jaded you may become later in your career, never let go of that childlike curiosity that first brought you to the field. 

good luck and have fun on your adventure as a biologist :) and i’m always here if you need anything! 

1/100 ➵ 190216 

My love for perfection always ends up in procrastination, so I’m really excited to finally start with this challenge, yay! These are my Algebra notes for my big exam in July…and I’m quite happy with this writing system now.

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but what program do you use to make your infographics/how do you make yours?? I love your design and style and was curious ^^ thank you!

Piktochart- it’s a website and whilst there is a paid version, I’ve been perfectly content with the free version!

Fractures:

Depression: Broken bone portion pressed inward; skull fractures.

Comminuted: Bone breaks into many fragments; common in the elderly.

Simple/Closed: Clean break, bone doesn’t penetrate skin.

Compression: Crushed bone; spinal fractures.

Compound/Open: Bone penetrates skin.

Greenstick: Bone breaks incompletely; common in children.

Impacted: Broken bone ends forced into each other; results of blocking a fall.

Pathological: Results of disease and degeneration of bone tissue.

Spiral: Ragged break as a result of twisting forces; common sports injury.