Science papers differ from papers in the humanities in that most ideas in science papers will need to be reinforced by some reference article or book to provide evidence for the all the statements made in the paper. Opinions of the writer should be minimal and confined to conclusions reached through analysis of the existing experimental evidence. In science, research often consists of writing reviews of a particular subject, where numerous reports from different investigators are presented in order to produce a document that gives a general idea of the current body of knowledge in that field. The writer may also synthesize the information in these sources to develop new hypotheses and questions that future research should attempt to answer. Examples of assignments might include writing a research paper or giving a PowerPoint or oral presentation that answers questions about the availability of renewable resources, the causes and treatments of a particular disease, or the synthesis of Taxol.

Science writing may also report on personal investigation, and should place this work in the context of established knowledge, and how it furthers understanding. For example, a presentation of a student’s experiment on music’s effect on the growth of pea plants should include some background on the effects other variables (water, light, nutrients, etc.) would have on the growth of plants.