Course Description
A writing-intensive introduction to reading and writing about scientific research in order to bring scientific information to the general public.
Athena Title
Science Writing General Audien
Non-Traditional Format
This course is writing intensive which means that the course will include substantial and ongoing writing assignments that a) relate clearly to course learning; b) teach the communication values of a discipline-for example, its practices of argument, evidence, credibility, and format; and c) prepare students for further writing in their academic work, in graduate school, and in professional life. The written assignments will result in a significant and diverse body of written work (the equivalent of 6000 words or 25 pages) and the instructor (and/or the teaching assistant assigned to the course) will be closely involved in student writing, providing opportunities for feedback and substantive revision.
Prerequisite
ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S and (ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1103)
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Students will understand that writing is a process that can generate a variety of possible products; 2. Students will analyze and evaluate discourse situations specific to writing in the natural and social sciences; 3. Students will analyze and evaluate popular written discourse about the sciences intended for the general public; 4. Students will design and compose written and multimodal texts for the general public about scientific research; 5. Students will develop their abilities to work independently and collaboratively, contribute to discussions in class and online, read and write about primary research, communicate effectively, and think critically and creatively; 5. Students will demonstrate improved scientific and rhetorical literacy after completing the course.
Topical Outline
The course will vary somewhat depending on the instructor's particular interests, but the following outline provides a model: Weeks 1-6 Text analysis: Reading scientific discourse, both technical and popular, and analyzing that discourse in a series of three to five short (250 -750 word) papers. During the first six weeks of the course, students will read and analyze articles written in the natural and social sciences as well as in popular interpretations and summaries of scientific research. The goal of this part of the course is to help students see and understand how rhetorical context (author/purpose/audience/subject) affects text produced and to identify specific features of scientific and popular discourse conventions. Weeks 7-14 Text Production: Composing text about scientific research for general audiences in several registers (informal, popular, conventional, abstract), adapting information, arguments, style, and evidence appropriately for different audiences. Students will hone their planning, drafting, and revising skills. They will plan, propose, and carry out one or two substantial science writing projects, re-framing a particular thread of scientific research into a text meant for the general public. This work will result in approximately fifteen pages of final, polished work. Weeks 15-16 Reflection on text production process and "Publishing" text: Students will construct an e-Portfolio in which they will exhibit several of their compositions from the course, discuss the process of composing these texts and the final product, and introduce the portfolio with a reflection on their engagement with the goals of the course. e-Portfolios will be presented and "published" to the class. Texts will vary and might include some of the following: 1. A Field Guide for Science Writers: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers 2nd Edition by Deborah Blum (Editor), Mary Knudson (Editor), Robin Marantz Henig (Editor) 2. Writing Science in Plain English by Anne E. Green (2013) 3. The Best American Science and Nature Writing, current editions. Tim Folger, series Editor. 4. "Some Narrative Conventions of Scientific Discourse" in Narrative in Culture by Christopher Nash 5. The Literature of Science: Perspectives on Popular Scientific Writing. Ed Murdo William McRae, U Georgia Press 1993, see especially, Jeanne Fahnestock's essay, "Accommodating Science: The Rhetorical Life of Scientific Facts" 6. Knight Science Journalism Tracker: http://ksjtracker.mit.edu
Syllabus