These skills are all important for students studying in the sciences:

numeracy and ability to deal with statistics - these are very important skills for students studying in the sciences especially in relation to their written work, where they will need to be used.
good control of language and spelling - scientists, as well as those studying arts subjects, need to be able to write and this requires language control and use of correct spelling. You will be judged and assessed by the quality of your research and ideas, which will be communicated through writing.
good command of scientific and technical vocabulary - as in any subject area, effective reading and writing in your discipline will require you to be familiar with a specialised vocabulary. You should actively try to build up your vocabulary in your own scientific area.
a precise and informative writing style - a key requirement of scientific writing is that it is informative and precise. It should also be impartial (objective) and clear.
familiarity with SI units and use of scientific symbols - SI units are an international system of base units, derived units and their symbols or abbreviations representing measures that are commonly used in scientific and technical writing.
ability to interpret and produce charts and graphs - data expressed in diagrammatic form is widespread in scientific text and you will also need to be able to incorporate these in your own written work on your course. You will need to be able to understand and evaluate data in this format when you read, and present and interpret any data that you have collected yourself.
ability to use references appropriately and correctly - students of all subjects, both in the Arts and the Sciences, need to know how to incorporate what they have read appropriately and correctly in their own writing. This involves the use of an acceptable referencing system (you will need to check the conventions followed in your own subject area as these may vary from standard forms used). Plagiarism is not acceptable in any discipline and students who fail to reference sources that they have used for their assignments can expect to be penalised.

These skills would not be considered important for students in the sciences:

skills at using frequent quotes to support arguments - scientists do need to write essays as well as producing reports and other forms of technical writing, and therefore they may well need to draw on sources to support their arguments. However, this is more likely to involve the use of paraphrase than quotation. Quotation (as well as paraphrase) is more commonly found in writing in arts-based subjects. Individual projects at undergraduate level in science, engineering and technology-based subjects may be the major exception to this. If an extended report is required, quotes may be used more frequently. If in doubt, you should check with tutors in your specific subject area.
ability to use metaphor and simile - metaphor and simile are literary devices that can be found in arts-based subject areas but are very uncommon in scientific writing.
a rhetorical writing style - a rhetorical writing style is one concerned with persuading the reader of the value of a certain point of view, or arguing a particular case. Scientific writing, on the other hand, focuses rather on presenting fact, information and description in order to reach conclusions about a topic.

While there are some skills and abilities, especially related to academic writing, which students in all subject areas (Arts or Sciences) need to be able to demonstrate, there are also some specific scientific skills and abilities which students need to be familiar with and able to use appropriately in their academic work.

Here are the correct answers:

Abstract - Overview or summary of an extended piece of writing such as a journal or conference paper written for a specialist audience.
Conference poster - Large visual/graphic display with limited information presenting a project or work at a conference. Submission can be accompanied by an abstract and sometimes a paper.
Design report - Used especially in the field of engineering to present a proposed solution to a design problem.
Executive summary - Overview or summary of an extended piece of writing such as a report, written for an executive audience using non specialist terms.
Experimental report - Written record of an organised experiment. Presentation format usually includes design rationale, data, results, discussion. May also be called a Lab report.
Literature review - A required part of a report or scoping of a topic for an extended piece of writing such as a thesis.
Progress report - Description of the current status of an individual or team project.
Research proposal - Part of PhD application process or outline for a project. Normally sets out research topic, aims/objectives, methodology, references, plan and potential outcomes.

In general, in science, engineering and technology-based subjects reports (not essays) are the standard form of writing that you can expect to do. The length of a report will vary depending on the task and/or subject so you should make sure you are aware of the required word length for any assignments that you are given. Other types of specialised writing may also be required on your course. If you are uncertain how to approach any of the writing tasks that you are required to do, you should check with your tutor or seek guidelines from your department office. You may wish to search on the Internet for examples of the different types of writing task referred to in this activity.