Finding the nuggets in scientific articles doesn’t have to be frustrating and time consuming.

Here’s a five step process that uses your natural talent. It’s fun and even better, the information will stick. Because you added your own creativity to it!

 

This example is from a Dairy News article which is titled “Help For Stressed Cows”.

And features two visiting animal health experts who have been speaking about their findings on oxidative stress in production animals.

Here’s the link if you’d like to read it yourself.

First find an unlined A4 piece of paper and align it in a landscape form. I prefer it this way..I like the extra sideways space. Also gather up your favourite pens and pencils  or whatever is handy in the moment.

Quickly scan the whole article from start to finish to get a basic idea of what it is about. Pop a few key words down on your paper. In this case they were words like  “oxidative stress”, “antioxidant”, “imbalance”, etc. I think you get the picture. At the end the company sponsoring the two experts,B.E.C Feed Solutions, promoted their organic Selenoprotein product,  Selisseo. 

The next step is to add some doodles to your page. A pair of boxing gloves, perhaps. One for free radicals and another for organic selenium. Then a see- saw with two boxes at either end. One named R.O.S or reactive oxygen species and another A.O for antioxidants.A bowl of yeast risen dough to represent the beneficial effect of enzymes. You’re drawing images that your brain grasps easier than a whole bunch of words swimming around on a page. There’s no right or wrong here. This is your art. 

Then you need to go down a few rabbit holes metaphorically speaking. Do it online and/or physically to find the resources and the extra books to clarify the words you don’t quite get yet. It could be a  year 13 Chemistry book or one of Dairy Production System’s excellent course manuals. To find the answers to questions like …So what is oxidation in biology anyway?[its about a movement of electrons]. Are R.O.S’s and ‘free radicals’ the same? [apparently not] and how is selenium an antioxidant? [a selenoprotein speeds up the process of an R.O.S becoming something less harmful to the body ..like water for example].

Finally consider embellishing your piece of paper with colour. Then to help cement the information in your brain even better, try explaining it to a friend. Remember to file it away safely in a folder labelled ‘My Art”.

Oh and please let me know how you got on. What writing did you try this process with? Feel free to add a comment below.