Some Jobs Sentences Do in Science

I’ve been thinking a lot about how important sentences are in science. The new DfE Writing Framework puts sentences at the heart of writing in subjects, so here are some sentence types I would want my students to be able to use with fluency in their writing and discussions.

I don’t think we spend much time teaching sentences to students in science – instead focusing on vocabulary. Vocabulary is very important, as scientific terms encapsulate a world of meaning, but sentence are how we use vocabulary to explain new concepts, situations and relationships.

I’ve put together this table with some basic sentence types I would explicitly teach in science lessons.

Ben

Function	Sentence Formula	Example (KS3/4 Science)
Defining Terms	_____ is a _____ that _____.	A vertebrate is an animal that has a backbone.
Describing Properties & Structures	_____ has/possesses/is characterised by _____.	A red blood cell has a biconcave shape and no nucleus.
Classifying & Grouping	_____ can be classified into _____ and _____ based on _____.	Vertebrates can be classified into mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish based on whether they have a backbone.
Explaining a Process or Mechanism	The process of _____ begins with _____, which leads to _____.	The process of neutralisation begins with H⁺ ions from the acid reacting with OH⁻ ions from the alkali, which leads to the formation of water.
Stating a Method	To investigate …., first …., then …..	To investigate how a surface affects friction, first pull a block across one surface with a newton meter, then repeat the experiment on a different surface.
Stating a Law	_____ states that _____, provided that _____ is constant.	Ohm’s Law states that current is directly proportional to potential difference, provided that temperature is constant.
Establishing Causality	_____ because of / due to _____.	The rate of reaction increases due to an increase in the frequency of successful collisions.
Describing Relationships	As _____ increases, _____ increases / decreases.	As light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases.
Comparing & Contrasting	_____ has _____, whereas/while _____ has _____.	An artery has a thick, muscular wall, whereas/while a vein has a thin wall with valves.
Formulating a Hypothesis	I hypothesise that a change in _____ will cause a change in _____.	I hypothesise that a change in the concentration of acid will cause a change in the time taken for magnesium to react.