✍️HANDWRITE / SCAN✍️
CER Notes
Review: Scientific writing
Steven’s dog was recently adopted from the shelter and there isn’t much information about her, but it’s
clear that she has some kind of dermatitis (skin inflammation). The kennels in the shelter are pretty
dirty, even though the people who work there are doing their best to keep them clean.
1) Write a hypothesis that Steven might use to figure out whether or not the dog’s dermatitis is due to
a food allergy or irritation from lack of cleanliness.
2) How is scientific writing different from other forms of writing (especially creative writing)?
CER - Claim, Evidence, Reasoning
1) In order to write _________________________________ in science, we need to recognize:
i) Everything begins with a ______________________.
ii) Answers are ________________ - possible answers to the question.
iii) Claims are supported by __________________ - scientific observations, facts, or other objective
statements.
iv) __________________- helps the reader understand why the evidence matters in supporting
your claim.
✍️HANDWRITE / SCAN✍️
2)
Term Definition Example
3) Discussion Q’s: Circle the correct word in the parentheses to complete the sentences.
i) A claim ( should / should NOT ) begin with a lead-in like “I think that”, or “My hypothesis is”.
ii) If the question is “Is a molecule the same thing as a cell?”, the claim ( should / should NOT )
include the words “Yes” or “No”.
iii) A claim is like a topic sentence, and ( should / should NOT ) be able to stand alone even if the
reader has not seen the question.
iv) A claim ( should / should NOT ) directly and simply answer the question.
v) A claim ( has to / does NOT have to ) be correct.
vi) Evidence ( should / should NOT ) be in complete sentences.
vii) Reasoning statements ( should / should NOT ) just be summaries of the evidence.
viii) Reasoning statements ( should / should NOT ) include new evidence in the sentence.
✍️HANDWRITE / SCAN✍️
Practice Questions:
4) My dad’s a space alien: [Link]
Q: Why is my dad so weird?
C:
E:
R:
5) Come up with your own CER for the following question:
Q: Who is the best superhero? (Or character in an ensemble cast?)
C:
E:
R: