English 414: Advanced Scientific Writing

Course Description and Objectives This course offers upper-level students (juniors and seniors) working in the natural sciences the opportunity to develop writing and communication skills appropriate for research science and professional publication. Students will learn to review and analyze professional documents in their area of study in order to produce a range of texts for both professional and lay audiences. These documents will include, but are not limited to, literature reviews, academic journal articles, and articles for popular publication. In addition to learning familiarity with discipline-specific conventions, students will be asked to recognize the variety of audiences and publications available to professionals working in the research sciences. Topics studied in ENGL414 will include professional peer-review, design and construction of tables and graphs, IMRAD document structure, and document editing appropriate to audience and context. Although the course content is aimed at students planning research careers, it may also be useful for those hoping gain some familiarity with conventions for their remaining coursework in the natural sciences. Prerequisites: Completion of first-year composition or its equivalent. The approach of this course is rhetoricalthis means with every assignment, we will consider purpose, audience, and context. You will be asked to consider not only the conventions of your particular scientific discipline but also the conventions and aims of specific publication venues and their audiences. We will look closely at a variety of texts in order to understand how data can be presented differently for changing audiences and purposes across the variety of written discourse used in the research sciences. In this course, you will learn to: Understand and apply a range of research methods. Recognize and apply peer-review strategies appropriate to your discipline. Recognize writing as a social act, involving multiple audiences and serving multiple purposes. Analyze, interpret, and apply the conventions of scientific prose. Organize, build, and design a variety of documents that effectively respond to professional contexts. Consider how purposes, audiences, situations, and methods affect writers, readers, and/or users perceptions of written documents.

Required Texts Day, Robert A. and Barbara Gastel. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. 6th ed. A style manual appropriate to your disciplinecheck with your professors or look at field-specific journal articles for the best choice. Required Materials $15-$20 dollars for printing, copying, and producing costs. Storage space (CD-R or CD-RW, flash drive/memory stick, dropbox or U-system account). Sarah E. Harris University of Arizona October 2012

 A University of Arizona NetID. Access to a computer outside of class with the following: A printer. Reliable internet access. Adobe Reader (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html). Microsoft Office. A set of research data (real or mock) for use in unit 2. Course Assignments Course assignments will consist of three main units, with other, smaller assignments due throughout the session. You must complete all major assignments to receive a passing grade in English 414. More details and assignment sheets for all course assignments will be made available on our course website. Unit 1: Literature Review (20%) Course goals for this assignment will focus heavily on research and analysis. You will prepare a review of the literature on a specific question in your discipline that is of interest to you. As with the research article (see below), your document will be peer-reviewed and prepared with a specific publication in mind. Unit 2: Research Article (25%) For the research article, you will use available data to prepare a research article appropriate for a professional journal of your choice. Though I will have some mock data available, you may choose to use data from your own research in another course or from your own independent projects. You should check with me prior to the start of this project to be sure you have access to the necessary material to complete the assignment successfully. Sections of this assignment include: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited. As above, you will also complete a peer-review of the research article. Unit 3: Article for Public Audiences (20%) For the final unit you may choose either a published article from the literature review or your research article and adapt it for publication in a popular genre. Course goals for this assignment include a focus on audience analysis, and as with other units you will target a specific publication. Peer Reviews (15%) For units one and two, you will complete formal peer-reviews of a partners drafts. These documents are designed to mimic the professional peer review process completed for academic journals. Cover Letters (10%) For each of the three major assignments, you will be asked to complete a one-page cover letter, identifying the specific publication your document has been designed for and analyzing how your document meets criteria for that publication. Research Presentations (10%) Throughout the course, you will be expected to research and analyze publications relevant to your

Sarah E. Harris

University of Arizona

October 2012

field. At the beginning of the semester, each of you will sign up for a research presentation, where you will report on the findings of an article of interest to you to the rest of the class. These short presentations will be designed to help familiarize you with the kind of speaking you might be asked to do at a poster session or conference presentation. Course Policies Professional Quality of Work You are expected to produce high-quality professional documents that are appropriate for specific business situations. As stated in the requirements for writing outlined in the WRIPAC course policies statement, your documents should have appropriate margins, spacing, and formatting for the type of document you are turning in. Because genres vary widely across projects, formatting guidelines will be given for each of the major assignments. Additionally, your assignments should be printed at least in a minimum standard of 300 dpi. Laser printing is recommended. Finally, there should be no obvious last-minute changes to the work (i.e., use of white-out or hand-written information). All e-mails should be professional in tone and proofread carefully; they should also use standard punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Part of producing professional work means being accountable to me and to your colleagues. This means you must have a completed draft submitted to your partner on time so that he/she can complete the peer review. It also means being responsible and accountable for classroom technologyit is your responsibility to back up your work and to print hard copies of assignments on time and bring them to class for submission. I will not accept computer failure as an excuse for late or incomplete work, whether that work is due to me or to your classroom colleagues. Attendance & Punctuality Attendance is mandatory. Because summer course days are longer than regular semester course days, you can miss a lot by missing just one class. Therefore, minimize your absences. If you must miss part of a class, spend as much time as possible in the rest of the class. You are allowed to miss 150 minutes--or 2 hours and 30 minutes--of class before penalties occur. (Our class is one hour and 45 minutes long. This means you may miss roughly one and a half classes before penalties occur.) After 150 minutes, I will deduct 5% from your final grade. For each additional 60 minutes you miss, I will deduct an additional 5%. Make sure you inform me beforehand about any planned absences. Contact me as soon as possible after any unplanned absences (sudden illness, emergency, etc.). You are responsible for finding out about and making up any work missed as a result of absences. Also keep in mind that since you will be working with peer partners, you also will be required to attend any scheduled out-of-class meetings with your partner to complete course assignments. All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students how show affiliation with that particular religion. Dean's excuses will be honored for approved events. Late and Incomplete Work If you must miss a scheduled class meeting, you are not excused from the work due at or accomplished during that class session. You should make arrangements to turn in your work in

Sarah E. Harris

University of Arizona

October 2012

advance of your absence or before 5 pm on that same day. You are responsible for seeking out me or a classmate to determine what you have misseddo not expect me to contact you first. Also be aware that though I appreciate being notified if you need to miss class, notification does not mean an absence will be excused, and I will not reply to any email unless a reply has been requested. If you would like notification that I received your message, please say so or select the appropriate option in your email client. If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, you should contact me prior to the deadline to determine whether or not an extension for the work will or will not be granted. An extension of a deadline is a privilege, not a right, and therefore is based upon my judgment of what is reasonable and fair. Computer problems are not an acceptable excuse for a late assignment, so remember to back-up your work multiple times. Late work without arrangements made in advance will result in a 5% deduction per day late, including weekends. A course grade of an I for Incomplete will only be assigned in extreme cases and where a majority of the work for the course has already been completed. I do not accept work via email without arrangements made in advance; this includes late work. Classroom Conduct and Contact All cell phones are to be turned off and put away before entering class. If you need to leave your phone on for an emergency, please notify me at the beginning of class. You are expected to be on time for class, and to stay (engaged and working) until class is dismissed. There will be a 5 minute grace period at the beginning of class, after that, any time you are late will be deducted from your 150 available minutes (see attendance and punctuality). The best way to ask me about an assignment is to come to me office hours. Email is the next best way to contact me with course questions. Though I will do my best to answer emails promptly, be aware it may take me up to 48 hours to do so. I will not answer emails outside of reasonable weekday hours (usually 8 5, Monday through Friday). If your message is urgent, please indicate this in the subject line. I do not accept documents of any kind via email without arrangements made in advanceif you would like me to review a draft, you must come to office hours or make an appointment to see me. Finally, all UA students are responsible for upholding the Student Code of Conduct, which can be read online at: http://dos.arizona.edu/uapolicies/scc5308abcd.html Course Content If any of the course materials, subject matter, or requirements in this course are offensive to you, speak to me as soon as possible. Usually the resolution will be to drop the course promptly. Academic Integrity All UA students are responsible for upholding the Code of Academic Integrity, available through the office of the Dean of Students and online at: http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/cai1.html. Submitting an item of academic work that has previously been submitted without fair citation of the original work or authorization by the faculty member supervising the work is prohibited by the Student Code of Conduct.

Sarah E. Harris

University of Arizona

October 2012

Accommodations If you anticipate accessibility issues related to the format or requirements of the course, please meet with me so we can discuss solutions. If you plan to use reasonable accommodations, you must register with Disability Resources (621-3268) and self-identify through the established process. See: http://www.drc.arizona.edu. Add/Drop Dates The last date to add this course, or to drop with no record, is June 9. Grading Grades will consider the following aspects of writing, in the context of a particular assignment: purpose, audience, content, expression, organization, development of ideas, document design, mechanics, and maturity of thought. You must complete all of the projects and their components to pass the course. For each project, you must submit multiple components (including review drafts, research notes, cover letters, etc.). For the specifics of each unit, see our course website. A = 100-90 B = 89-80 C = 79-70 D = 69-60 E = 59 or below

As with other aspects of the course, I will base your grade on course assignments on your overall conduct as writers and as professionals. I will distinguish "A" or "B" work as professional quality i.e., meeting standards set out in class as appropriate for the documents intended audience and of a quality to be used in professional publication. Contract The policies in this syllabus are considered contractual at the University of Arizona. If you remain in the class after day one, you have agreed to all that is required. The details of the day-by-day schedule are subject to change but not the requirements outlined in the course description and policies. Consult the Department of English web site for policies (with hyperlinks) concerning undergraduate courses: http://w3.arizona.edu/~engladv/pols.html and http://w3.arizona.edu/~english/.

Sarah E. Harris

University of Arizona

October 2012