A professor in college said my rock descriptions were 'just a list' and it stuck with me

Back in my second year at the University of Oregon, I was so focused on getting every mineral name right in my lab notes that my descriptions were boring. My professor wrote on my paper, 'I don't get a picture of the rock, just a list. Tell me a story about how it formed.' I started writing things like 'the feldspar crystals look like they were shoved together in a hurry' instead of just 'porphyritic texture.' It made everything click way more. Anyone else get a piece of advice that changed how you look at samples?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciah991mo ago

Totally get that! My geology TA said something similar about my soil profiles. Started describing them like a battle scene and it just made sense.

nina_knight991mo ago

My old bio prof would compare cell parts to a tiny city. Once you picture mitochondria as power plants, it all falls into place.

spencerperez1mo ago

Geology TAs have a gift for that. Mine used to call conglomerates "rock salads" and it stuck forever. Try drawing a quick sketch next to your notes, label the layers like a diagram. Visual plus the story makes it click.