Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications Winter 2012

Course: Instructor: Office: E-mail: Office Hrs: RHET-1103-002 Academic Writing: Sciences MWF 8:30-9:20; Room 4M46 Mr. Barry Nolan 3G18 (3rd floor of Graham Hall); Phone: 786-9465 (voice mail) contact me through WebCT Mondays and Wednesdays 13:30-14:20 or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION Academic Writing is a course designed to introduce students to the professional writing of university researchers and to give students practice writing within academic genres. Although the principles of academic writing are consistent across disciplines, writing in each of the divisions (Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Sciences) has distinctive features. This section of Academic Writing is designed specifically for students in the sciences and readings will be from the sciences, including readings ranging from the popular to the technical. This section introduces students to analytical techniques of summary writing and to the genres of science writing, such as the laboratory report, the research article, review article, and the popular article. Weekly workshops will focus on specific aspects of composition necessary for university assignments and will also feature library research techniques and documentation styles most commonly used in science writing. Learning Outcomes In this course you will gain awareness of features of academic writing, learn to analyze academic writing, explore techniques of library research, summarize academic writing, practise a recursive writing process, and practise several writing styles common to academic writing assignments. This course fulfills the University of Winnipeg Writing Requirement. NO REQUIRED TEXT Many of the resources for this course are available in WebCT and on-line. For example, please consult the following website, the OWL at Purdue, for suggestions on the writing process in academic writing, styles of academic writing and documentation styles: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/. ASSIGNMENTS A paper copy of the following assignments must be handed in to me. Please keep a copy of your assignments in case I misplace an item. I will hand out descriptions of the following assignments with a schedule and grading criteria. At least one class each week will include a workshop exercise that will count toward your final grade. The assignments, their course grade weight, and due dates are as follows: Assignment Summary #1 Summary #2 Research Proposal Summary #3 Article Analysis Literature Review In-class Essay Assignment Workshop Exercises Grade distribution (10%) (10%) ( 5%) (10%) ( 5%) (30%) (10%) (20%) Due Date January 27 February 10 March 2 March 16 March 23 April 2 March 28, 30, and April 2 Each week

There is no final exam in this course. A student who receives a grade of less than 55% on a summary may revise it; I will then grade the revision. PRESENTATION OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignments completed outside of class must be typed and revised with Microsoft Word or a similar program. Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman, and font size 10. Space lines of text at 1.5. LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY: a) An assignment handed in any time on the due date is on time. If necessary, send it via email and hand in a print copy the next class day. b) If you notify me at least one class day beforehand that you cannot meet a deadline, I will agree to a later date without penalty. c) If you hand in an assignment late, having not made prior arrangements with me, I will subtract 5% from the grade for each day the assignment is late, including the weekend. For example, if an assignment is due on Monday, and you hand it in on Wednesday, I will subtract 10% of the grade: 8/10 will become 7/10. d) I will not accept an assignment handed in more than one week late, unless an agreement was made before the due date. e) In the case of illness or emergency, please contact me as soon as you are able, and we will make alternate arrangements. WORKSHOP EXERCISES: Please note that no one will be allowed to make up missed in-class workshop exercises except in the case of illness or emergency. Call me or email me as soon as possible so that we can make alternate arrangements. GRADING SCALE A+ 91 - 100 A 85 - 90 A80 - 84

B+

75 - 79 C B 70 - 74 C+ 65 - 69

55 - 64 D 50 - 54 F below 50

ADDITIONAL NOTES: 1. The Computer Writing Lab (3G103rd floor of Graham Hall) is open for your use. Hours are posted on the door. Also, the Tutoring Centre offers free tutoring for students who want help on any aspect of writing. Please speak with the supervisor in 3G10 to make an appointment with a tutor. 2 The final date to withdraw without academic penalty from courses that begin in January and end in April, 2012, is Wednesday, February 29. 3. Services for Students with Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities requiring academic accommodations for tests or exams (e.g., private space) or during lectures or laboratories (e.g., access to volunteer note-takers) are encouraged to contact Disability Services (DS) at 786-9771 to discuss appropriate options. Specific information about DS is available on-line at http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/services-disability. All information about disability is confidential. 4. The Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications wishes to protect your right to privacy when you hand in and get back assignments. Most assignments will be handed in and handed back in class. However, if assignments are to be handed in or returned in another manner, and you are concerned about others having access to your work, you should attach to your final assignments a stamped self-addressed 8.5"x11" envelope that can be sealed. If you do so, your assignment will be mailed to you. If this is not done, we assume that you have waived your concerns in this area.

INFORMATION ABOUT ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT The University of Winnipeg has policies and rules that you are expected to know and to follow while you are a student here. You also have rights with regard to your treatment by the University and its faculty and staff. These policies, rules, and rights are explained in detail in the Regulations and Policies section of the University of Winnipeg Course Calendar (http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/calendar-calendar). One of the most important sets of rules defines and prohibits academic misconduct. There are many forms of academic misconduct, including plagiarism. Plagiarism is the presentation of someone elses work as your own. This happens when you dont show what information you have taken from a source (for example, by not placing quotation marks around a direct quotation) and when you dont use document-ation correctly (for example, citations and references). It also happens when you simply hand in someone elses work as if it were your own, or when you hand in the same work to different courses without having the permission of the instructors to do so. When an instructor thinks a student has deliberately committed some act of academic misconduct, the instructor will make a formal report about the incident. This report will be investigated by both the Departmental Review Committee and the Senate Academic Misconduct Committee. If these committees agree that academic misconduct has occurred, the student will be penalized. The penalties range from a written warning to expulsion from the University. A student has the right to appeal decisions made by either committee. If you are not sure how to avoid plagiarism, talk to your instructor or use any of the reference manuals available in the library, the Tutoring Centre, or on-line through the University Librarys website.

I will use the following criteria to grade your summaries: Representational Criteria (4 points) accuracy proportion comprehension sentence complexity word choice (style) Compositional Criteria (3 points) clarity coherence arrangement Mechanics (2 points) sentence grammar punctuation pronoun use Other (1 point) length APA reference use of your own sentences draft and notes included Total /10

Workshop Exercises Please note that some exercises are worth twice the amount of other exercises. I will tell you which exercises they are. Most exercises are not graded quantitatively. I will use the following criteria to grade the workshop exercises you complete in class: 10/10 9 8 7 6 0 exceeds my expectations complete; excellent complete; very well done complete; on the right track incomplete or misguided nothing handed in