Peer Review of Chemistry Journal Articles: Collaboration across Disciplines

In a collaborative exchange, undergraduate chemistry students and English composition students were given a realistic introduction to scientific writing in the field. Organic chemistry students, working as scientists, conducted self-designed experiments and submitted their manuscripts to English composition students who reviewed them according to journal guidelines. After analyzing the pre-class and post-class surveys, peer reviews, revisions of articles, student focus group interviews, and assessing students' presentations, we noticed that chemistry students had a better understanding of the scientific process and scientific writing. We also noticed that English composition students increased their understanding of the scientific process and the objective of reviewing papers. Such an interdisciplinary learning experience can be useful in high school or undergraduate-level chemistry and communication courses.