Scientific Diagram!

For the last to weeks we have been looking at the kingdoms, animals and plants. We have now moved to look at how a sientifc diagram is written so we can write one ourselfs. We have read 3 different texts, each with different leves. Here are my througths on what each basic section of a scientific diagram have. Do you agree with what each section needs?

Explaining Scientific Diagrams
Intro
Scientific diagrams help people understand pieces of information. They have many different elements and the elements range from purpose, audience, visuals, symbols and labels.

Purpose
Scientific diagrams almost always have a purpose. There are lots of purposes to focus the diagram about but the text we looked at was all to inform. To tell the writing is informative you can tell from the language used. In text 2 (Planting an apple tree) they use factual language to tell and inform the reader how to plant a tree and because they used that language I could tell that it was written to tell the reader how to plant a tree.

AudienceThe audience of a diagram is important to think about when writing one. This is important because you want the reader to understand and learn the content. In text 2 they use harder language then text 1 (How do plants grow) because the age recommendation would have been older. Some of the words they use in text 2 like biodegradable and burlap, the younger readers might not understand but then in text 1 they use easa language so the younger readers will understand. 

Visuals
In a scientific diagram the audience is important not just for the text. Adding pictures can help readers understand the text better or just add some colour. If the text was for younger kids they might add more pictures that are easy to understand like in text 1 but if it was for older kids the pitchers might be more realistic and informative. In text 1 they have lots of colours to help show the tree is green for example but in text 2 they used black and white because the reader is older so they don’t need colour to understand.

Symbols
When writing a scientific diagram we have to think about adding some symbols like arrows, lines, Circles, color coded pictures etc. This helps label images and parts. Some things like arrows in Text 1 show the way the sun gives light to the plant but in text 3 (Tui planting calendar) they use colour coded small plants to symbolize what plants are good to plant at each time of the year.

Words
Using labels when doing a scientific diagram can help the reader understand the diagram. They use headings and side notes to help the reader understand the context and depending on what age the diagram is written differs the words used and length of sentences.