This project idea I have been thinking about for a while now, but never really had the motivation to pursue it: Make a concise collection of my notes from college.
I want to make this for many reasons:
a) Have a copy of pertinent information for the future.
b) Have a collected reference for graduate school.
c) Perhaps have a gift for people I know that are going through college as a biology student.
d) Give me great review before graduate school.
So how am I going to do this... well, I thought about that over the past few days and I think I'm gonna start off by digging up all my books, going through them for cool references/hand-outs, then going through the notes.
I'm thinking of setting it up in chapters:
Guides.
Notes.
Lab procedures.
Guides.
This section will include general information and tips.
The first few things that come to mind are that super-handy list of anatomy words I got from A&P. Lots of prefixes, suffixes, and full words. I will likely set that part up as:
Prefixes:
Word Example of use Definition
Desm Desmosome Bond
Hist Histology Tissue
Pelv Pelvic girdle Basin
Suffixes:
Word Example of use Definition
-ology Histology Study of
-some Desmosome Body
Something like that. I also like my guide to writing laboratory reports (Specifically for Dr. B, Goodwin, and others who utilize the MCLA guidelines, but its handy.) I will likely throw in other examples such as RMBL's guide to lab reports for Ecology, and their publication guide. I will probably throw in a lot of stuff from RMBL about presentation, public speaking, and other such goodies.
Notes.
This section will include notes from various classes about various subject matters and will be tabbed for quick-reference.
Here I will consolidate all the info I have collected, over probably months, into a nice and easy-to-use collection of my notes. I'm planning on either re-writing the notes or typing them and trying to copy the illustrations and figures I drew, so everything can be (for the most part) intact and semi-professional looking. I will probably start off by copying every page, even if they are not 8.5x11". (Like more than 1/2 of my notebooks.)
I predict this will be the most time-consuming part!
Lab Procedures.
This section will have example procedures/exercises, as well as reports and directions for collecting and presenting data.
I plan on having notes on the procedures such as "DNEasy kit use and extraction is best done on a cold day (Not proven or an actual note) as well as notes on the procedures such as, swirl the loop, then gently run it up and down the side of the tube before removing it. As well as (possibly) including a copy of each lab report I have done, likely following their respective labs as examples of presenting data.
If it turns out that I need to have three separate books, that is much better than the amount I have now... its kinda destroying my book shelf.
