Course Syllabus

Course Overview

Basic Information:

Title: Professional Science Writing
Number: ENG 575-800 (online)
Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Tirrell (he/him/his)
Office Hours: Morton Hall 161, M–F 11:00–12:00 (or by email or appointment)

 

Summary:

This course prepares students to compose and present contemporary science writing in multiple contexts. Students will engage writing rhetorically as part of a collaborative knowledge-making process that is situated within professional conventions and discourses. Students will exit the course with sharpened abilities to compose research and make it accessible.

This is an online asynchronous course delivered through Canvas. Students will use this site to access all course materials and submit all assignments. Because of this course's online format, students must have access to an online computing device and a reliable internet connection to complete it successfully. Although this is an online course, it is not self paced. The course is broken into weekly units, and the class will maintain a shared sense of progress while exploring the subject matter. Compared to standard face-to-face sections, this course requires students to be more autonomous and more comfortable with online interaction. The advantage of this format is that students have more agency and scheduling flexibility, but students should be aware that they will be thoroughly responsible for their own success.

This course affirms the Seahawk Respect Compact Links to an external site., which will frame class interactions. All class members are expected to treat each other with appropriate courtesy and decorum, and all coursework should be completed in a thorough, timely fashion. All students must read and abide by the policies articulated in this syllabus.

 

Catalogue Description:

Introduction to writing and designing scientific information in a range of forms for a variety of audiences in professional contexts. Focus on persuasive strategies, ethical considerations, and research practices.

Credit Hours: 3
Course Repeatability: Course may not be repeated

 

Learning Outcomes:

To complete this course successfully, students should demonstrate the ability to:

  • Develop strategies for analyzing rhetorical contexts, including audiences, purposes for writing, and the
    communication norms central to professional cultures
  • Develop an effective writing process involving inventing, drafting, processing reviews, and revising
  • Gain insights into the ways that writing about science is a kind of technical writing that helps legitimate
    certain kinds of knowledge
  • Engage in a scholarly conversation with peers on theoretical topics related to language and science
  • Summarize, compare, critically analyze, and synthesize findings and arguments expressed in scientific
    scholarship
  • Learn and employ primary and secondary research strategies to locate discoveries, debates, and data to
    support and frame writing
  • Craft a visual design for texts so that they meet the needs of audiences and accomplish goals
  • Explore issues of subjectivity and ethics in relation to scientific discourse
  • Produce effective written texts for a range of audiences that are clear, persuasive, and appropriately represent the
    complexity of the scientific information and concepts
  • Improve oral communication strategies and supporting visuals, including slides and posters 

 

Required Materials:

  • The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science, 2nd ed., Montgomery

This book may be obtained from:

Be aware that electronic/loose-leaf/ring-bound/rental versions are perfectly usable, but they do not have any resale value.

Course Policies

Technology Expectations:

  • ability to interact with the course website
  • an email account checked regularly for course-related business
  • a flash drive or other means to backup coursework
  • ethical academic use of generative AI applications

Students need not be technological experts to succeed in this course, but because this is a fully online class computer problems are not valid excuses for incomplete coursework. Students should practice the core principle of digital data use: redundant backup. Digital technology will fail; students should prepare for that eventuality. (If Canvas experiences outages or other issues, the instructor will make the necessary curricular exceptions.)

Generative AI applications (such as ChatGPT and Copilot) are an aspect of contemporary society in general and professional writing in particular. This course will engage with generative AI as needed, and some deployments may be proscribed. This course is focused on original research and writing, and it will address using such tools ethically. Using any prohibited generative AI deployments will constitute an honor code violation.

 

Professionalism:

This course seeks to uphold the Seahawk Respect Compact Links to an external site.. Our culture has become conscious of the rhetorical implications of language used to name and describe beings, objects, and concepts. Students in this course have agency over how they choose to be addressed by the instructor and other class members. If students encounter challenging concepts or language in this course, they are encouraged to discuss them. This is a rhetoric course, predicated on examining language's grounding and effects. It is a forum for such conversations.

 

Late Work:

If an emergency arises that will prevent a student from submitting coursework on time, they should contact the instructor. 

 

Statement on Academic Integrity:

All UNCW community members are expected to adhere to the guidelines set forth in the UNCW Student Academic Honor Code Links to an external site.. Students are expected to produce original work in this course. Collaboration and incorporation of external material and ideas into original work is of course necessary and acceptable, but all students are ethically obliged to document external sources through appropriate citation practices. The course will guide students through specific uses of generative AI tools; use outside of these practices may constitute an honor code violation. Students who are uncertain if some element of their work constitutes plagiarism or another honor code violation should speak with the instructor. The point of any class is to educate, not to punish; nevertheless, the consequences of honor code violations are appropriately dire. Please consult the UNCW Code of Student Life Links to an external site. for more information.

 

Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy:

Any dissemination of class notes, lecture slides, recordings, handouts, copies of exams, or any other course materials without permission of the instructor is prohibited by the UNCW Copyright Use and Ownership Policy Links to an external site., which specifies that class notes and related materials are considered derivative of original intellectual property of the course instructor. Therefore, the instructor (not the student) owns the copyright and must provide specific permission to distribute and/or reuse those materials for anything other than personal use and scholarship by the student. Commercial use, display, or dissemination of such notes, copies, or recordings—as well as posting to websites—will generally constitute an infringement of copyright and the Honor Code.  Materials that qualify as student-owned are listed in the policy.

 

Statement on Services for Students with Disabilities:

The university will make every effort to accommodate students with disabilities. Students requiring accommodations should contact the Disability Resource Center Links to an external site., as the instructor can take no action without its guidance. Students should do this as soon as possible, as accommodations cannot be made retroactively.

 

Statement Regarding Violence and Harassment:

UNCW practices a zero tolerance policy for any kind of violent or harassing behavior. Students experiencing an emergency of this type should contact the police at 911 or UNCW CARE at 962-2273 (24-hour crisis line: 910-512-4821). Students should be aware that all university employees, including instructors, are legally obligated to communicate any report of alleged sexual misconduct, on or off-campus, to the Dean of Students. Three university entities are confidential resources exempt from this obligation: CARE Links to an external site., the Counseling Center Links to an external site., and the Abrons Student Health Center Links to an external site..

 

Statement on Religious Observance:

In accordance with NC SL 2010-211, students are entitled to two excused absences for religious observances per academic year. Students must inform the instructor in writing the first week of class if they will miss any classes due to religious observance. Additionally, students should inform the Registrar the first week of class who will then coordinate with the corresponding course instructors. Any absence for religious purposes will be considered unexcused unless a student submits the request in writing the first week to the instructor or Registrar.

Course Grading

Grade Disbursement:

Students will have private, secure access to their grades through this Canvas site.

 

Grade Components:

Popular Science Responses = 16 points
Discussion Posts= 32 points
Literature Review = 20 points
Audience and Content Analysis = 10 points
Method Design = 10 points
Research Paper = 50 points
Presentation = 10 points
Public Communication = 10 points

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Total = 158 points

 

Final Course Grades:

This courses uses the plus/minus grading system on final grade reports. The breakdown is as follows:

  • 92%–100% = A
  • 90%–91% = A-
  • 88%–89% = B+
  • 82%–87% = B
  • 80%–81% = B-
  • 78%–79% = C+
  • 72%–77% = C
  • 70%–71% = C-
  • 68%–69% = D+
  • 62%–67% = D
  • 60%–61% = D-
  • 0%–59% = F