Writing on Science and Society: Exploring Scientific Communication
PWR 3030, Fall 2010, section 4
Club 13
course blog:
Instructor: Sally Green
Office: Stadium 266B
Enter through Gate 11, go up stair 111, turn right, then enter the first door on your left into the 266 suite of offices
Office Hours: Tuesday 10-1 and other hours by appointment
Phone: 303-492-7290 (to call me during office hours or leave messages)
Email: (generally faster replies than the phone)
Texts
Your written work, with copies for classmates as assigned.
Academic articles linked to Wordpress blog “Readings” tab
Edward Tufte website, linked to blog
Oxford Institute for Manufacturing website, linked to blog
A chapter from The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning about Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims, Vaughn, Oxford, 2009, which I will provide.
Supplemental readings and handouts, as assigned.
A good, college-level dictionary and thesaurus and an up-to-date college handbook.
Course Description
As a future professional in the sciences or engineering, you will be expected to write and speak clearly and convincingly to audiences both within and outside of your field. The purpose of this course is to teach you techniques for communicating analytically and persuasively, to further develop your creative and critical thinking skills, to give you the opportunity to examine social and ethical issues in the sciences and engineering, and to consider the relation of your field to other fields and the civic arena. As a way of tangibly pursuing all of these objectives, class members will participate in a service-learning project in which they will tutor Boulder at-risk high school students in mathematics or a science subject for a total of 15 hours during the course of the semester. We will use this experience as a way to examine approaches to such subjects as the relationships among “doing” a field, teaching, and learning it; sociological, political, and institutional factors shaping science education; and analyses of the various rhetorical norms involved in science practice. You will both write informal reflections about this service experience and it will be used as one of our resources for the major assignments in the course, which include a 2-3 page autobiographical essay, a 3-4 page rhetorical analysis of a scientific text, a 5-7 page persuasive essay, and a 15-minute persuasive oral presentation. The course will also include units on formal logic and its persuasive uses, and on visual rhetoric, including effective design of the visual presentation of information in order to avoid the syndrome of “death by Powerpoint.” In addition, you will write professional career documents including a resume, personal statement, and recommendation or proposal to your tutoring supervisor. We will also analyze the characteristics of persuasive writing about science for a variety of audiences, through written and verbal examination of a broad spectrum of texts, including such authors as Jeanne Fahnestock, Stephen Jay Gould, Michael Halloran, Thomas Huxley, Thomas Kuhn, and Edward Tufte. (Look at the Reading tab in our blog for a full bibliography.) Distinguishing features of this class include the relative latitude students are given in topic choice for their assignments and its regular, high-intensity interaction, through textual workshop and class discussion.
Course Context
University of Colorado at Boulder Core Requirement: Offered through the Program for Writing and Rhetoric, College of Arts and Sciences, WRTG 3030 fulfills the core upper-division writing requirement for students majoring in engineering and in physical and biological sciences. The course builds on skills practiced in the first year writing core requirement by applying an advanced understanding of rhetorical concepts to communication within specialized fields.
CCHE Requirements: WRTG 3030 meets CCHE criteria for an Advanced Writing Course (GT-CO3). Specifically, this course will extend your rhetorical knowledge, your experience in the writing process, your mastery of writing conventions, and your awareness of effective communication strategies.
Extend Rhetorical Knowledge. Awareness of how a writer can shape words and images to successfully present ideas to an audience makes a critical difference in a writer’s success. In this class, as we analyze the different readings and the writing of colleagues in workshop, all written for different audiences with varying purposes, we’ll gain insight into the various strategies different writers employ to influence their audiences. For instance, Michael Halloran, in “The Birth of Molecular Biology: An Essay in the Rhetorical Criticism of Scientific Discourse,” shows how, in “A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid,” the rhetorical choices of James Watson and Francis Crick effect the tremendous audience acceptance of their conception of DNA. You will analyze the written and visual rhetorical strategies of a wide range of writers, ultimately writing an analysis of an article of your own choice. As well, you will reflect on your own rhetorical practice as you explore and hone it during your service learning tutorial.
Extend Experience in Writing Processes. In the writing workshops we conduct face-to-face and via our Wordpress blog, we’ll put “Rhetorical Knowledge” into action. In workshop you’ll present early drafts of your papers to some or all members of the class. There, in the community of colleagues, you’ll see how an audience reacts to your work, and, as you critique the work of others, you’ll gain a stronger sense of the needs of the audience. Both will influence your writing, as you repeatedly revise your draft. Simultaneously, in workshop and peer review assignments, you’ll practice effective approaches to working collaboratively. As you work on your oral presentation, you will make use of information literacy skills and various technologies, including online research tools and presentation software to research and communicate your ideas.
Extend Mastery of Writing Conventions. The assignments of this course call for appropriate conventions of academic and professional writing. You’ll learn how audience determines the conventions you use, whether you are writing a career document, a rhetorical analysis, a causal analysis, or a persuasive presentation. Instruction will focus on rhetorically informed strategies relevant to the communication needs of engineering and scientific fields, dealing with issues of style, grammar, visual design and organization in the context of larger rhetorical and argumentative concerns.
Advance Content Knowledge through Communication Strategies. This course’s sequence of assignments as well as the exposure to the expertise and research of your peers will give you practice in adapting and designing communication strategies to meet the needs of specialized readers. You will gain advanced understanding of the applications of logic and visual rhetorical strategies in various rhetorical situations. The experience of tutoring a mentee in your field will provide you with the opportunity both to communicate your own expertise in a professional, pedagogical setting and to reflect on that communicative experience. In workshop and as you prepare and deliver your oral presentation, the course will also help you improve your verbal skills of communication and persuasion.
Course Methodology
- Attend class. Because this class is highly participatory, you must attend regularly. You may miss three classes with no harm to your grade. Each absence after three will lower your grade by one level (a B to a B-, for example). More than six absences may result in an IF for the course. Students who miss two classes during the first two weeks will be administratively dropped. You may not make up in-class work that you miss. Consistent late arrivals or early departures will be counted as absences. Enrolled students who miss three classes during the first two weeks of classes will be dropped so that other students may enroll. Please note this attendance policy.
- Participate, with rhetorical sensitivity, both in writing and verbally. Be prepared at every class meeting to discuss your classmates’ work or assigned readings. Respond thoughtfully to blog post questions and post your carefully proofread responses in a timely manner. All students are expected to respond to every draft assigned to them for feedback, whether online or in face-to-face workshop. You will learn appropriate norms for this type of discourse and I will periodically evaluate your annotations. Notice that a participation grade reflects your mental rather than simple physical attendance, the quality of your blog posts rather than their simple existence. Please turn off and put away cell phones and other electronic devices as soon as class begins.
- Reading Assignments. Post your response to readings in the time frame assigned. Print out, annotate, and bring to class all assignments to be discussed in class. Reading online and then “remembering” what you’ve read will rarely be adequate for the level of analysis in which we will engage. The cost of printing this course’s readings is far less than that of a typical university textbook.
- Written Assignments. Assignments that are attached to the blogsite should all be double-spaced, saved with your name in the title, in a format which can be readily opened. (Posts, of course, are single-spaced.) Printed-out work should be typed, double-sided,page-numbered, and double-spaced, unless otherwise specified. Papers which are more than one page long should be stapled before being brought to class. Following these directions prevents a host of difficulties and wastes of time in class. Leave margins in which I can make comments. If you don’t turn in your work, we can’t workshop it. Late drafts will be given last priority; if you turn in your drafts late, you may miss your opportunity to receive help from the class. I do not accept final papers of which I have seen no rough drafts. I do not accept late final papers except under unusual circumstances.
- Oral presentations. Your audience may consist of your classmates, peers from other classes, faculty from this and other departments, and outside reviewers from the professional community. Our unit on visual rhetoric will precede this assignment, so you will have the opportunity to apply what you have learned about graphic versus written presentation of information, avoiding “chartjunk,” and strategies for best use of presentation software.
Assignments
5% Oral participation
5% Written participation in workshop, online and in print
5% Reading responses and discussion posted to the blog
10% Autobiographical Essay
5% Resume and personal statement
15% Rhetorical Analysis
20% Final Essay, Causal Analysis or Proposal
10% Oral presentation
10% Written Reflections on Service-learning
5%Recommendation or proposal to tutoring supervisor
10% Service Work, all hours documented
Grading Guidelines
Grading guidelines are the same for all sections of PWR 3030. Remember that effort does count, because you invariably learn from your efforts to improve. However, your grade reflects the quality of your work, not the amount of time or effort you put into it. In order to make grading as fair as possible, please refrain from telling me what grade you “need” or want in this class.
Here are some general benchmarks:
Written work
90-100: Consistently insightful; beautifully organized; creative; opinions are clearly stated and backed up with sufficient evidence; style is graceful and error-free.
80-90: Some genuine insight here and there; opinions are mostly clearly stated and demonstrated, though there may be a place or two where more evidence or detail is needed; writing style is generally clear, though there may be minor, non-recurring grammatical issues.
70-80: There may be some insight here and there, but, generally the paper consists of ideas that have already been discussed by others or are self-evident; as a general rule, the evidence lacks detail and depth; there may be recurring grammatical or stylistic issues.
60-70: Only marginally meets the criteria for the assignment; lacks focus, and thus depth.
0-50: Formless, incoherent, or not turned in when due.
Participation
90-100: Excellent participants are always prepared for class and offer their insights freely. (This does not mean they dominate class discussion; they are more rhetorically sensitive than that.) Moreover, they understand the strengths and weaknesses of the reading or text at hand, and make insightful, often original observations. In workshop, they consistently suggest ways to make the author’s point clearer and/or more persuasive. As well as always being in class and turning everything in on time, they are noted as excellent critics by their classmates.
80-90: Above average participants are usually prepared for class. Regularly, they offer their insights. They often understand the strengths and weaknesses of the text at hand. In workshop, they usually suggest ways to make the author’s point clearer and more persuasive. They are noted as good critics by their classmates. They rarely miss class and generally turn all assignments in on time.
70-80: More often than not, average participants are prepared for class. Occasionally, they will offer their insights freely, but usually they wait to be called on. These critics may have some trouble discerning the strengths and weaknesses of the text in front of them. Their contributions to workshop are unoriginal or very rare. They are noted as average critics by their classmates.
60-70: Below average participants are generally not prepared and generally do not participate in class discussion. They have difficulty determining the strengths and weaknesses of the text in front of them. They are noted as below average critics by their classmates.
0-50: These critics are not prepared and do not participate in class discussion.
WritingCenter
We are fortunate on this campus to have a WritingCenter which is nationally recognized for its leading-edge excellence. Invaluable one-on-one help with your writing is available. Please remember to make your appointments for assistance (on their website) in a timely manner, as the Center is very popular with students, particularly in the last half of the semester. Do note that they do not provide a simple proofreading service, but are there to help you will all aspects of executing and refining your written work.
Notes
If you speak English as a second language, you should contact me before the third class meeting so that I can better assist you in the course, advise you about special ESL courses, and/or refer you to appropriate services on campus.
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit a letter to me from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, or
Campus policy requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. Please inform me within the first two weeks of class if you require alternative arrangements in order to complete coursework due to religious obligations. SeeUniversity policy details at
Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See polices at
at
The University of Colorado Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all students, staff, and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed may be found at
All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at
and at
PWR 3030, Writing on Science and Society, Course Schedule
Assignments are italicized. Assignments related to your service-learning tutoring are italicized and bolded. All readings are posted to our blog unless otherwise stated.