21003-E2syllabus

Writing for the Sciences

City College of New York

ENGL 21003-E2

 

Instructor: Ms. Conroy

Email: kconroy001@citymail.cuny.edu

Class Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 200pm to 315pm

Office hours: 1pm to 2pm Mondays and Wednesday or by Appointment

CUNY Academic Commons Website: https://english21003kc.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

 

Google Classroom:

For links and information see Blackboard or email me. 

 

Course Description

Writing for the Sciences’ primary purpose is to help students better understand the principles of reading and writing in the sciences. 210.03 will also give students practice of some of the specific forms and techniques used in scientific disciplines. Students will accomplish this by becoming engaged, analytical readers of scientific papers; translating the material for use by specific public audiences; and working with other scientific writing and by considering and questioning scientific methods, and the epistemology and nature of inquiry. Students will learn that science writing is an act of communicating ideas to those in their field and to the general public. A passing grade (not Incomplete) in Engl. 110, FIQWS, or an equivalent will meet the prerequisite requirement.

 

Course Learning Outcomes

Over the course of the semester, you will

1. acknowledge your and others’ range of linguistic differences as resources, and draw on those resources to develop rhetorical sensibility
2. enhance strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment
3. negotiate your own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation
4. develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
5. engage in genre analysis and multimodal composing to explore effective writing across disciplinary contexts and beyond to include public audiences
6. formulate and articulate a stance through and in your writing
7. practice using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects
8. strengthen your source use practices (including evaluating, integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources)

 

 

 

Student Support Services

 

Gateway Advising Center, NAC 1/220

Students without a declared major can receive academic advising, especially if you have questions about your course of study, core requirements, etc.

 

AccessAbility Center Tutoring Services, NAC 1/218

Provides one-on-one tutoring and workshops to all registered students with learning or physical disabilities.

 

SEEK Peer Academic Learning Center, NAC 4/224

Phone: 212-650-5786; email: seekpals@ccny.cuny.edu

Offers counseling and peer tutoring for students in need of academic and financial support who have registered for the SEEK Program.

 

Special Needs and Accommodations

For a complete list of Student Support Services please check the college website.

 

City College Writing Center

The City College Writing Center offers one-on-one assistance for students working on writing assignments and projects from any discipline. Visit whenever you need someone to listen to your ideas, discuss your topics or assignments, and read your drafts. Writing consultants will work with you on planning, drafting, and revising — all of the important steps in your writing process. For more information (location, hours, walk-in policy, etc) and to make an appointment visit, the website.

 

 

 

Class Rules and Policies

Online Learning

We will have two classes a week at our scheduled time of 2pm-315pm. During these live classes, we will have short lectures, discussions, and activities. I know that everyone’s situations are different, so these lectures will be filmed, and you are not required to go to live classes. You are required to watch these lectures. If you are doing class asynchronously, you need to send me your notes for each class along with your weekly assignment to get attendance and participation credit. Everyone is required to do the weekly assignments. Our weekly assignments are usually finalizations of our class discussion and exercises.  

 

Websites and Conducting Class

For this class, we will use Google classroom. Assignments, messages, work, meetings, and grades will all be on Google Classroom. We will use Google Documents for classwork as well. Here is the class code again:  l45wmxc. This code should not be shared with anyone outside of the class. You can make a google account using your Citymail address, which I recommend. For a more involved explanation of how to use Google Classroom, please see this tutorial: Link (video)  

 

Assignments

Along with small assignments that help develop the larger assignments over time, we will have Reflections and the Rhetorical Analysis Exercise. The reflections give you a chance to think about and verbalize your experience. The rhetorical Analysis Exercise is a watered-down version of the Rhetorical Analysis Essay some of you might have done in English 110. I do not feel like we need to do a full essay for this and so the exercise gives us a chance to refresh these ideas. We have two major assignments, the Literature Review Essay and a Public Awareness Campaign Project.

All assignments, unless stated, should be submitted as word documents in APA format. Assignment details are explained in the Syllabus Appendix. All of your assignments in this class will be on the same topic and will build off of each other. For example, the literature gives you a chance to look deeper into the research on your topic, and, finally, your Public Awareness Campaign gives you a chance to translate your knowledge and findings to a public audience.

The PAC project is traditionally done as a group project, and you work within these groups all semester long. However, last semester we did them individually to account for difficulties meetings online. This semester, I would like to give you all a choice. You can choose to do the PAC as a group – with some rules and things to make sure everyone has a part of their own to do and no one takes on more or less work than other group members – or you can a PAC campaign on your own. We will have various options for the final assignments. If you know that you cannot attend classes or meet regularly, working on a solo project might be the best choice for you.

            You will have to decide this early, in the first week, as it will be hard to switch once the semester is underway. You cannot decide you want to be put onto a group doing a single project or decide you want to be taken out of a group in the middle of the semester. Of course, if problems that cannot be overcome occur, we can discuss options for moving forward.

 

Grades

We will not use traditional grades for this class, instead we will use a grading contract. This is explained in the Syllabus Appendix.

Spring 2021 Class Schedule

 

Week 1 Introductions

Weekly Assignment: Introductory reflection due Friday February 5^th by noon

 

 Monday February 1^st

Introduction to class

Resources:

Adam Ruins Everything – Why Flawed Studies Get Famous | truTV (video)

Wednesday February 3^rd

Scientific Writing

“Science” a resource by the UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center. 

 

Week 2 Rhetoric

Weekly Assignment: Rhetorical Analysis Exercise due Friday February 12^th by noon

 

Monday February 8^th

Rhetorical Situation

Why Rhetoric? (PDF)

Extra Resources: Purdue Owl

 

Wednesday February 10^th

Analysis and evidence

Rhetorical Analysis in the Real World: A Useful Thinking Tool

Using Evidence

 

Week 3 Conferences

Monday February 15^th

No Class

Wednesday February 17^th

Conferences

 

Week 4 Literature Review

Weekly Assignment: Research question and sources due Friday February 26^th by noon

 

Monday February 22^nd 

Introduction to Literature Review (LR)

 Writing the Literature Review: Rasgulla as Metaphor

 

Wednesday February 24^th

Research questions and databases/sources

Video: How to Read A Scholarly Journal Article

Resources: Library.ccny.cuny.edu

 

Week 5 Literature Review

Weekly Assignment: LR synthesis and outline worksheets due Friday March 5^th by noon

 

Monday March 1^st

Synthesis Workshop

Synthesizing Your Research Findings

 

Wednesday March 3^rd

Essay Structures

 

Week 6 Literature Review

Weekly Assignment: Literature Review Draft Friday March 12^th by noon

 

Monday March 8^th

APA format

Purdue OWL: APA Formatting – The Basics(Video)

Purdue OWL: APA Formatting: Reference List Basics(Video)

Purdue Owl Website APA style Guide

 

Wednesday March 10^th

Revision

A student guide to proofreading and writing in science  

 

Week 7 Public Awareness Campaign

Monday March 15^th  

Conferences and Peer Reviews

Wednesday March 17^th 

Conferences and Peer Reviews

 

Week 8 Public Awareness Campaign

Weekly Assignment: PAC Proposal due Friday March 26^th by noon

 

Monday March 22^nd 

****Final Literature Review due March 22^nd by 2pm

The PAC

“What is a public Awareness Campaign?”

 

Wednesday March 24^th

The Proposal – Rhetoric, Genre, audience, and appeals

Stop Raising Awareness Already

 

Week 9 Spring Recess

No Classes

 

Week 10 Public Awareness Campaign

Weekly Assignment: Written genre first drafts due Friday April 9^th by noon

 

Monday April 5^th

Written Genres

Wednesday April 7^th

Written Genres cnt.

 

Week 11 Public Awareness Campaign

Weekly Assignment: Visual Genre first drafts due Friday April 16^th by noon

 

Monday April 12^th

Design Principles and Visual Genres

 

Wednesday April 14^th 

Visual Genres cnt.

 

Week 12 Public Awareness Campaign

Weekly Assignment: Presentation and website first drafts due Friday April 23^rd by noon

 

Monday April 19^th 

CAC website

 

Wednesday April 21^st 

Presentation workshop

 

Week 13  Public Awareness Campaign

Weekly Assignment: Final Draft of PAC due Friday April 30^th by noon

 

Monday April 26^th 

Group meetings

 

Wednesday Apri^l 28^th 

Group meetings

 

Week 14 Public Awareness Campaign

Monday May 3^rd

Conferences and Peer Reviews

 

Wednesday May 5^th

Conferences and peer reviews

 

Week 15 Public Awareness Campaign

Monday May 10^th 

****Final PAC due Monday May 10^th by 2pm

Presentations

 

Wednesday May 12^th

Presentations

 

Week 16 Reflection

Weekly Assignment: End of Semester Reflection Monday May 17^th by 2pm

Monday May 17^th – Last Day of Classes

Syllabus Appendixes

8…Grading Contract

12… Assignments

            12…Reflections, Literature Review Weekly Assignments, PAC weekly Assignments

            14…Rhetorical Analysis Exercise Prompt

            16…Literature Review Essay Prompt

            20…Public Awareness Campaign Prompts

 

Grading Contract

 

For this course, we will use a grading contract, a system of grades that are based primarily on your labors and efforts. That means that your final course letter grade will be the result of your participation, attendance, and completion of homework, assignments, and revisions. Thus, your grade will not be based on a subjective evaluation of your final assignments in comparison to the writing of your peers, which is how grades are usually assigned in writing and other courses.

 

Grading contracts are valuable for a number of reasons, including the fact that they:

• Offer you the opportunity to be experimental and exploratory in your writing—to take risks, rather than only producing writing that is thought to be “correct” or doing exactly and only “what the assignment requires” or “what the teacher wants”
• Value the time, effort and labor you decide to commit to the class
• Provide you with a clear and concrete understanding of your grade at all times throughout the semester (grades are simple and easy to calculate)
• Do not unfairly penalize or reward you for how much experience with writing and language you have prior to entering our class; all students have the same potential to earn an A
• Privilege students who are investing the time, energy, and effort into literacy learning.

 

While grading contracts focus on quantifiable outcomes (attendance, participation, completed work), quality matters too; you are expected to carefully write and revise your writing assignments to meet certain goals and criteria. Grading contracts function on the belief that quality writing is the result of one’s efforts at drafting, getting and understanding feedback from others, and revising.

 

General Terms of Agreement

1. Attendance & Lateness. You are required to attend lectures either live or by viewing lectures after the fact.

1. 1. In class sessions will run Monday’s and Wednesday’s from 2-315.
   2. If you cannot make live class sessions and instead choose to participate asynchronously, along with your weekly assignment that are due on Fridays, you will email me notes on the lectures.
   3. Being a few minutes late a few times in a semester is understandable, but we may need to talk if lateness becomes a problem. 3 lateness and/or being 37 or more minutes late to a class (half of class time) counts as an absence.
   4. Asynchronous students will have attendance counted by their notes turned in on time. “Late” for asynchronous students will be counted in the same way a lateness to a live class would. If extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending class, do not hesitate to contact me so that we can determine how to proceed.

 

2. Participation & Collaboration. You agree to participate in ways that best fit you and that are most appropriate for each day’s goal (by actively listening, taking notes, asking questions, offering comments, etc.).

1. 1. In class, be engaged and open to sharing your thoughts. If you are not comfortable sharing publicly, make sure you are engaged in smaller groups or through writing responses (rather than saying them during class sessions).
   2. You agree to work cooperatively and collegially in groups, to share your writing, to listen supportively to the writing of others, and, when called for, give full and thoughtful assessments that help your colleagues consider ways to revise.
   3. Participate equally and fully in group work. Do your share of the work on time – including peer reviews, meetings, and parts of the PAC assignments (if doing together) – communicate with group members if issues or problems arise, be professional and courteous, and follow the group contract. No matter if you are doing a group project or not, students will still collaborate in peer reviews.

 

3. Homework & Assignments. You agree to strive to turn in all assignments and homework on time. All should be completed fully and meet all assignment requirements. If you face extenuating circumstances, please email me ahead of time. If you are absent, you are responsible for submitting work that’s due on time.

 

4. Timeliness:
   1. Late Assignments: An assignment is considered “late” if it is turned in after its initial due date and time but submitted within two days (48 hours).
   2. Ignored Assignments. Any assignments not done at all, for whatever reason, are considered “Ignored.” Even one ignored assignment will prevent you from earning a B or higher in the course (see chart below).
      1. IMPORTANT: Drafts of major essays cannot be submitted late. If drafts are not submitted on time, they will be considered “ignored.” AND, if assignments are not completed fully, they may be marked as “ignored” (see below).
   3. Extensions may be given to students who ask at least until 2 hours before the assignment is due. An extension is not a reflection on your work and does not affect your grade. Extensions can be given for extenuating circumstances, but do not need to be explained to me. Extensions are to help you complete work fully when you cannot for some reason, it is not to be used for every assignment or when not really needed, and if it is, we will have to have a discussion.
   4. Completion: Projects will not qualify as “complete” unless they have achieved all of the goals of the assignment as discussed in class or explained on handouts. This means that projects are not just done but done in the manner discussed. If I find that a given project is not “complete,” I will contact you to discuss how to move forward and how this might affect your grade.

 

5. Improvement:
   1. You agree to work to strengthen or hone your skills through your own writing and engagement in the class over the course of the semester. While you do not have to worry about anyone’s judgments or standards to meet the grading contract, you are obligated to work on improving your Scientific Rhetoric.
   2. Through class discussions, homework, peer and instructor feedback, as well as revision, you will show that you have improved your work from draft to final assignment, as well as from the beginning to the end of the semester.
   3. In this class, you won’t just correct errors or touch up pieces here and there. Each major essay and project will be substantially reshaped, extended, or complicated based on the feedback you receive. You will also make efforts to improve your copy-editing skills. I certainly do not expect error-free texts, but I do ask that you take an active role in developing your uses of grammar.
   4. If too few revisions are made to your drafts over the course of the semester, I will contact you so that we can make a plan and/or determine how this will affect your final grade.

 

Overview of Grade Breakdown

	# of Absences	# of  Late Assigns.	# of Ignored Assigns.
A	2 or fewer	0	0
B	Up to 4	Up to 2	0
C	Up to 5	Up to 4	1
D	Up to 6	Up to 6	Up to 2
F	7 or more	8 or more	3 or more

*Note: You only need one categorical item/column to dip for the entire grade to dip. In other words, having only 3 absences but 5 late assignments still puts your grade at a D.

 

Other things that can affect your grade is your improvement (see #5 on general terms) and participation (in class and group work):

 

For Improvement: You only need to show a willingness to improve, revise, ask for help, and work to increase your understanding and strengthen your skills. Not showing this willingness, not revising assignments or not willing to improve, could affect your grade if we have discussed this issue or a plan of action.

 

For Participation: All students should aim for excellent participation. “Excellent” here means participate fully and to the best of your abilities in class discussions and go beyond just doing your part in your group by working to create a unified project and welcoming atmosphere. However, a student can also have “Satisfactory” participation. “Satisfactory” means that you may have completed your part of group work and attended meetings but were not available or engaged. In class, satisfactory might mean the same. “Unsatisfactory” participation might mean you did not work with your group or be willing to discuss in class and/or did not complete your part of assignments.

 

 

Further Grade Breakdowns

“A” Grades

An “A” is the default grade for this class. You all start out with an “A” and your job is to maintain it. An “A” means you have completed all assignments and demonstrate a level of understanding with the content, as well as a willingness to revise and improve. Grades of “A” depend on you 1) being absent two times or less, having no “late” assignments, and no “ignored” assignments; and 2) having excellent participation in class and group work.

 

“B” Grades

You earn a “B” if you put in good time and effort and do all required work in an acceptable fashion – these assignments should still show understanding and improvement. Grades of “B” depend on you having 4 or fewer absences, having two or fewer “late” assignments, no “ignored” assignments, and “Excellent” participation in class and group work.

 

Grades Lower Than “B”

I hope no one will aim for lower grades. If you miss more than four classes, turn in more than two “late” assignments, have any “ignored” assignments, or have satisfactory or non-satisfactory participation in classes and group work your grade will drop below a “B.” The quickest way to slide to a “C,” “D,” or “F” is to miss classes and/or not submit assignments. See the “Breakdown” section above to see the specifications for each grade below a “B.”

 

 

Exceptions

Accommodations/Inclusivity. The goal of the Grading Contract is to meet you where you are in your reading and writing experience and to support you in growing as a critical thinker, reader, writer, communicator, and collaborator. Additionally, the purpose is to ensure students are having the opportunity to work in a just environment that adapts to their needs and equally supports each student’s learning. Thus, when necessary I will work with individuals on a case-by-case basis to determine how best to accommodate your needs as a learner and the course’s learning outcomes. Ultimately, the Grading Contract functions as a model for forming professional relationships and professional communication practices.

 

 

Grading contracts in the field of rhetoric and composition originate from researchers like Dr. Peter Elbow and Dr. Asao Inoue who have sought more equitable and just grading practices. This grading contract has been adapted from their work, as well as from the contracts of Dr. Missy Watson, Dr. Nicole Howell, and Dr. Kate Navickas.

 

*Please read and sign below during the first week of class*

By signing below and staying in our course you agree to all of the above terms and I agree to keep track of the above details responsibly and enforce them democratically.

 

______________      ____________

Student Signature         Date

 

 

________________

Instructor Signature

 

 

 

Assignments

 

Reflections

Week 1 Assignment: Introductory reflection due Friday February 5th by noon

In 1-2 pages, introduce yourself to me. What are the most important things that you think I should know about you as a person and a student? Make sure to discuss your confidence and comfortability with writing, what you expect to get out of this class, your Major and how that relates to the previous question, and the topics you are most interested in diving deeper into with your semester long project. Also, let me know if you want to work on an individual or group PAC. This does not have to be in APA format or written formally. This is just a chance for me to see what you write like and to get a sense of who you are.

 

Wk 16 Assig: End of Semester Reflection Monday May 17^th by 2pm

In 1-2 pages, summarize your experience in this class. Look at our learning outcomes – first page of the syllabus – and discuss at least one you feel like you have mastered. Strengthened, or grasped and how. As well, discuss one you feel you still need to work on and how you do this in future classes. In addition to this, or using this as a starting point, discussing your writing journey. Read your first reflection and reflect on where you have ended up all these months later. This reflection need not be so structured, it should really focus on your journey, so if your writing takes you away from the learning outcomes or away from your first reflection, that is fine. The only requirement here is that you honestly discuss your journey. This does not have to be in APA format or written formally.

 

 

Rhetorical Analysis Exercise

Wk 2 Assig.: Rhetorical Analysis Exercise due Friday February 12^th by noon

 See prompt on page 14.

 

 

Literature Review Weekly Assignments

Wk 4 Assig.: Research question and sources due Friday February 26^th by noon

In 1-2 pages, state your research question and explain how it relates to your topic, as well as what you hope to learn/gain from this research. As well, list three potential sources you will use for your essay with short summaries of each. These do not have to be the ones you use for your final assignment, but you want to have an idea of the kind of thing you are looking for. This is not a formal assignment and does not have to be in APA format – unless you want to provide the sources in APA.

 

Wk 5 Assig.: LR synthesis and outline worksheets due Friday March 5^th by noon

Using the Synthesis and outline worksheets provided, complete the questions for synthesizing your three articles and use this to create an outline. The outline does not have to be in-depth, but the synthesis should show you have read the three articles fully and analyzed their contents and meanings. There is no page limit for these, as they are worksheets. This is not a formal assignment and does not have to be in APA format.

 

Wk 6 Assig.: Literature Review Draft Friday March 12^th by noon

Provide me and your group members a full draft of your Literature Review to comment on during peer reviews and use for revision. While drafts are required, and I encourage you to have a full draft, “full draft” is a bit loosely defined. How long or complete your draft will be is up to you.

 

Final Literature Review due March 22^nd by 2pm (week 8)

See Literature Review prompt on page 16

 

PAC Weekly Assignments

Wk 8 Assig.: PAC Proposal due Friday March 26^th by noon

A proposal is a written plan for your campaign. In 1-2 pages, discuss your goals, audience, plans for creating the written and visual genres, your theory of change, how the research you have done informed your choices, how you will engage your audience, and your design choices. If you are in a group project, you should list what tasks each member will complete. This is due earlier than the rest of the project because it should guide your creations. Of course, it can change in the course of creating the PAC, and that is fine. This is not a formal exercise and does not have to be in APA format.

 

Wk 8 Assig.: Written genre first drafts due Friday April 9^th by noon

Send in first drafts of your written genres for my comments. These first drafts can be outlines or full drafts, but they should resemble somewhat your thoughts for the final versions. Your peers will not comment on these.

 

Wk 9 Assig.: Visual Genre first drafts due Friday April 16^th by noon

Send in first drafts of your visual genres for my comments. These first drafts can outlines or full drafts, but they should resemble somewhat your thoughts for the final versions. Your peers will not comment on these.

 

Wk 10 Assig.: Presentation and website first drafts due Friday April 23^rd by noon

Send in first drafts of your presentation, as well as your link to your website for my comments.

The first draft of your presentation can be an outline or full a draft, but it should resemble somewhat your thoughts for the final version. Your website should be the same – mostly for the website I want to check if it is functional and see if there are any issues in access or navigation. Your peers will not comment on these.

 

Wk 11 Assig.: Final Draft of PAC due Friday April 30^th by noon

For the final draft of your PAC, you should have revised your first drafts as needed and compile them into a full draft that can be used for peer reviews and conferences.

 

Final PAC due Monday May 10^th by 2pm week 15

See full PAC prompt on page 20

 

Rhetorical Analysis Exercise Prompt
Student Sample

 

In 2-3 pages, identify the Rhetorical Elements of a provided piece of rhetoric. You need to have a claim for each element and evidence from the piece. This does not need to be in perfect APA format, but remember to cite evidence and write in somewhat of an academic way.  The purpose of this exercise is to review the rhetorical elements that you may have learned in English 110, as well as to get a sense of your skills in evidence and structuring/putting together an essay.

Rhetoric is the study of persuasive speech. Texas A&M Writing Center defines a rhetorical analysis as “an essay that breaks a work of non-fiction into parts and then explains how the parts work together to create a certain effect—whether to persuade, entertain or inform.”

In this analysis, you will analyze the rhetoric the author uses to address the subject. You will study the chosen “text” and fully examine the author’s strategies, purposes and approaches. You are looking at the content (what the article is about) but mainly the composition (how the article is constructed). Determine what the piece of writing seeks to achieve and decide whether or not it is affective and why or why not.

You will mainly be discussing the piece’s Rhetorical Situation. There are different schools of thought on the rhetorical situation, from Aristotle [link]  to Lloyd Bitzer [link], but they all have five main elements in common that make up the Rhetorical Situation. Since Aristotle’s Rhetorical situation is older, and a bit more comprehensive, we will focus on his. You need to mention all of these elements in your exercise. 

• The elements of the Rhetorical situation:
  • Ethos – The credibility that an author brings to the subject that he or she is communicating about
    • Need to define: Author, and stance and language
  • Pathos – the use of emotion in an argument
    • Need to define: Audience
  • Logos – the appeal to reason with a well-thought out and structured position in an argument
    • Need to define: genre and medium
  • Kairos – opportunity and fitness for speaking
    • Need to define: Setting and Exigence, meaning the event or issue that calls forth the piece of communication to change the situation.
  • Telos – the purpose of attitude of a speech
    • 
      Need to define: Purpose and Tone

Image Link

Outline

1. Introduction

• Title and author of piece
• Brief Summary, if necessary

 

1. Body Paragraphs (not in any particular order)

            Paragraph 1

Ethos

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

                        Stance and Language

                                    claim (for each)

                                    evidence 

            Para. 2

Pathos

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

                        Audience

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

Para. 3

Logos

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

Genre and medium

                                    claim (for each):

                                    evidence:

Para. 4

Kairos

claim:

                                    evidence:

Setting

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

Exigence

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

Para. 5

Telos

                                    claim:

                                    evidence:

Purpose and Tone

                                    claim (for each)

                                    evidence:

• Conclusion:
• Is this piece of rhetoric successful or unsuccessful, it is persuasive, does it reach its goal? persuasion?

Literature Review Essay Prompt

A literature review is a neutral synthesis of multiple sources’ arguments on one topic. Your opinions/ideas/argument should not be included in this paper. A literature survey is an important part of any serious research project (typically, the first chapter of a scholarly book acts as a literature survey). To make a convincing argument, you need to prove to your reader that you understand both the primary texts and the scholarly concerns surrounding them. A solid grasp of secondary scholarship will also help you avoid “reinventing the wheel,” and will help you generate ideas for your PAC.

 

The purpose of the literature review is:

• to give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with recent scholarship on your topic
• to help you focus on a particular area of your group’s research paper
• to help stimulate your thinking for your PAC. The basic idea is to see how other scholars have approached your topic so you can draw on—and, ideally, contribute to—their experiences.

 

Requirements

1. Be between 1500 and 2000 words or 6-8 pages.
2. Have a clear thesis that is the core of your paper
3. Use 3 scholarly sources on the same topic
4. Discuss at least three themes ALL of the sources have in common.
5. Conform to the conventions of scientific writing, the genre of the literature review, and APA format. Please have an abstract and a references page.

 

Directions

Select a research focus based on your group’s theme or topic. In order to achieve cohesion, organize your paragraphs by themes, rather than by author. You should have at least 3 themes that you discuss in your essay – all of your papers should touch on these themes in some way.

 

Find 3 scholarly articles using library databases. You and your group members cannot use any of the same articles. Resist the temptation to pick the three shortest; rather, try to choose articles that you believe are important and helpful. You can also include books in your literature survey if you choose to do extra research, but you will probably only want to focus on a particular chapter or section. If you need help determining the worth of a particular article or book, please ask me.

 

Read the articles carefully—at least twice. Some articles are fairly clear and straightforward; others will be more complicated and even obscure. A solid understanding of the author’s argument will make it easier to write the literature review and should help you formulate your group’s larger argument more effectively.

 

To avoid just slapping together several paragraphs with little or no coherence, try to generate an overall thesis or argument that helps pull the articles together. Is there some common assumption or argument that all of the articles address? Is there some aspect of the topic that all of the articles focus on? Do the articles form some kind of conversation (i.e., are the articles in agreement or are they contentious)?

 

 

Literature Review Checklist

Before submitting, ask yourself …

1. Have I read the prompt and made sure I understood it?
2. Have I written a persuasive paper, but written a Literature review, in which the aim is to report the findings of research on my topic?
3. Gathered 3 scholarly studies that discuss my topic and answer my research question? Are these sources different from my groupmates’ sources?
4. Is my paper, excluding the abstract and title page and reference page, between 1500 and 2000 words?
5. I have written in APA format, with all of its requirements, and in the Plain Style? I have a title page, an abstract, page numbers, and a reference page?
6. Have I quoted these studies correctly? To cite correctly I have: introduced, quoted, cited (in-text, not as a footnote. Include a page or paragraph #), and explained? (Not citing is equal to plagiarism.)

Outline

1. Title page

In this section, ask yourself…

1. Does my title page look like an APA formatted student title page? (See student example on Purdue Owl: Link)

II.Abstract

In this section, ask yourself…

1. Does my abstract tell my reader a general overview of everything my paper discusses, from my introduction to my conclusion? (The abstract is not an introductory paragraph.)
2. Is my abstract under 250 words?

III.Introduction

An introduction gives a brief overview of your topic and aim for the paper. You state your research question towards the end.

In this section, ask yourself…

1. Have I introduced the topic to my reader fully, not giving too much information but not giving too little?
2. Have I only given an overview – not giving evidence or proving anything?
3. Have I discussed my aim for the paper, including the studies I have used and the 3 themes/subtopics I will discuss? Have I told my audience my research question?

IV.Main Body

Section 1 – theme/subtopic 1

            -Explain the theme

            -Report what each source says about the theme/subtopic

            -Conclude the section by synthesizing the findings from all 3 articles

Section 2 – theme/subtopic 2

            -Explain the theme

            -Report what each source says about the theme/subtopic

            -Conclude the section by synthesizing the findings from all 3 articles

Section 3 – theme/subtopic 3

            -Explain the theme

            -Report what each source says about the theme/subtopic

            -Conclude the section by synthesizing the findings from all 3 articles

In these sections, ask yourself…

1. Have I explained my theme in a way my audience would understand?
2. Have I used evidence from all three studies?
3. Have I quoted these studies correctly – introduce, quote, cite, explain — and made sure the quotes I use directly discuss the sub-topic?
4. Have I synthesized my findings at the end?
5. Have I written in the Plain Style?
6. Conclusion

            Your conclusion does not just summarize the findings you talked about in your theme sections. It also synthesizes everything you have found to come to an answer about research question. “An answer” could be that the research was inconclusive or that there are multiple answers or that there is a clear one.

In this section, ask yourself…

1. Have I summarized the main findings of my theme paragraphs?
2. Have I synthesized all of my findings to come to an answer on my question – whatever that answer may be?
3. Have I followed my research, instead of forcing an answer that I want?
4. Have I concluded in a way brings the paper full circle – from introduction to conclusion, I have to the sense that I have discussed everything, wrapped up my thoughts, and answered all my questions/fulfilled my aims?

VI.Reference page

In this section, ask yourself…

1. Does my title page look like an APA formatted reference page? (See student example on Purdue Owl: Link)
2. Have I cited all of my three sources?
3. Have I only used these three sources?

 

 

“Rubric”

As we are using a grading contract, you will not get a letter grade on this assignment, but you should aim for your essay to match the satisfactory side of the rubric.

 

	Satisfactory	Not Satisfactory
Content
Research question	The research question is well established and developed throughout the essay. The context of the question is explained and relates to the broader topic.	The research question is unclear, does not relate to the broader topic, and does not relate to the articles chosen.
Articles	Three different peer reviewed, scholarly articles are used, and each relates to research question.	There are not three articles, and/or they are not peer-reviewed academic articles. They do not relate to the themes or research question.
Synthesis	The findings/results of articles are thoughtfully compared, contrasted and/or connected to each other. The essay discusses at least three themes.	The articles are summarized singularly, not synthesized, and there are no connecting elements.
Conclusion	The conclusion of the review summarizes the knowledge found from this review and relates the knowledge gain to the inquiry question.	The conclusion is too short, does not tie-up the essay or relate it back to the research question/topic.
Organization
Genre Conventions	The review follows the structure, conventions, and style of a literature review. Including but not limited to subheadings, organizing by themes, etc.	The essay does not follow any conventions of the literature genre.
APA Format	Essay is formatted in APA format, including a cover page, abstract, works cited page, and anything else that APA asks for.	The essay does not follow APA format.
Mechanics
Writing	The essay is written in the Plain Academic Style. The language is neutral, concise, and simple. The essay is between 1500 – 2000 words.	The essay is not written in the Plain Style. The essay is too short or way too long.
Grammar	There are no grammar mistakes. If there are, they do not hinder the understanding. There are transitional phrases, limited usage errors, and etc.	There are a lot of grammatical mistakes that hinder the meaning of the essay and make it hard to understand.

 

 

 

Public Awareness Campaign

 

Assignment

The idea of a public awareness campaign is to alert a particular audience (not just the “general” public) to an issue, or problem that is of concern to them, such as teen pregnancy to educators, or the now infamous, See Something, Say Something Campaign

to commuters, or the most successful campaign, “Seatbelts save lives.”

For this assignment, you will create a Public Awareness campaign using the topic you chose in the beginning of the semester. You will formulate a theory of change – a goal, an audience and how to reach them, and a plan for reaching your goal – and use this and the research done in your Literature Review to create a successful, creative, and cohesive campaign.

For group projects, you will all split the work – in my head each group member will have one written element (blog) and one visual element/one person does outreach. You would all collaborate on the website and presentation. This is unless you wanted to split it up a different way, but as long as everyone is doing equal work, and everyone is happy, that is fine.

For individual projects, you will do all of the same elements, except you will do one to two written elements (blogs) and one visual.

Parts of the Assignments

1. CAC Campaign Website — each group will create a CAC website that will be the home for their campaign. The site will be easy to navigate, aesthetically linked to the campaign, and have all the campaign material on it.
   1. On your website, you should include all of your previous essays for this project – rhetorical exercise, literature review, proposal, etc. Weekly assignments do not have to be posted.
   2. When working on your website think of the rhetorical design, the navigation, and how to display each element.
2. Presentation – All elements of the campaign should be presented to class. These presentations should be conducted as if you are talking to your audience and not your classmates and should include a PowerPoint. These presentations will be about 15-20 minutes per group, about 5-10 per individual.
   1. When doing the presentation, think of the rhetorical design, rhetorical situation, structure, and transitions.
3. Written Elements (blogs) – These blogs are a moment to slow down and explain or talk to your audience. Your written elements should be around 300 words and can take on any genre that benefits your campaign, as long as they are based in writing. In the past students have done Twitter* threads, newspaper articles, Dear Abby Letters (*See letter “e” visual elements for discussion of social media.) Topics can include campaign explanation, narrative, call to action, data translations, etc.
   1. When writing these posts, think about the topic, the clarity (does the reader understand the importance), the design (is it visually appealing), and the rhetorical situation (are all of your rhetorical choices aligned).
   2. For groups, you should have 5-6, depending on how many members you have. Each member should do one.
   3. For individual projects, you should have one to two.
4. Original Data – This element includes any way that you can collect data (not just stats and numbers, this can also be verbal discussion) yourself and then explaining that to your audience. So, these can be surveys, testimonials, interview with an expert or audience member, etc.
5. Visual Elements –

Each group member, aside from the one or ones collecting the original data, should create one visual element.  These visual elements rely on images to rely their points. Some will have writing mixed in. Below are the main kinds of visuals you will need. If another form of visual rhetoric would support your campaign better, we can discuss your options.

1. Infographic
2. Brochure or newsletter
3. Poster/Advertisement
4. Data Visualization
5. (Social media handles are an option, but we will have to discuss these. All of your posts would have to be original – made by the person handling social media, not just reposts of other elements or pictures taken from other sites/account. You should have at least 3 or 4. When you submit you will also have to send me pictures of these, not just links. Same with the website.)

“Rubric”

As we are using a grading contract, you will not get a letter grade on this assignment, but you should aim for your essay to match the satisfactory side of the rubric. As well, the rubric changes with what each group is doing. As each person’s work is being looked at for their individual and group participation, these rubrics are for each person in the group

 

Elements	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
Website	All elements are visible and accessible on your personal CAC website. The page they are on is designed specifically for the campaign and everything is easy to find/navigate. As well, there is an about the campaign section that explains the elements found on the site. All group members have had a part in creating website.	Elements are not uploaded on the CAC website and/or a space for campaign materials is not created. Individual may not have helped in creation.
Presentation	The presentation has a clear thread/goal, speaks on the campaign well, speaks to audience, and everyone in group gets a chance to speak equally. All members have had a part in creating presentation.	The presentation is messy and unorganized. Some group members speak more than others. It is shorter than the necessary time. Some elements are not mentioned. Individual may not have helped in creation.
Written Element	The blog is well written, engaging, discusses one topic clearly, and all of the rhetorical choices align. It is around 300 words. Data is explained and it knows its audience	The blog does not speak on one topic or does not do so clearly. There is information lacking, it does not follow any genre conventions, and does not relate to the campaign. The blog might not match the rest of the campaign, showing that the individual did not work with their group or was otherwise disengaged/disorganized.
Visual Element (or Original Data)	There is a clear topic for the visual, it has a structure and flow that fits its genre/purpose. It is engaging to its audience. The layout, design, colors, and arrangement are accessible. The rhetorical choices are aligned.	The visual is poorly made and it is obvious there was little to no effort put into the design, structure, or relating the topic/engaging the audience. The rhetorical choices are not in cohesion and the visuals purpose is unclear. The visual might not match the rest of the campaign, showing that the individual did not work with their group or was otherwise disengaged/disorganized.
Original Data (or visual)	Data has been actually collected by the person or group. It is represented as it is, not skewed in any way. It relates to the topic and its significance is fully explained the audience. It is presented in a well-designed way and integrated into the campaign.	The data has not been original collected or it is skewed and misrepresented. Expert or audience used is not exact audience or not an expert. It is not easy for audience to understand or integrated into campaign. The Data might not match the rest of the campaign, showing that the individual did not work with their group or was otherwise disengaged/disorganized.