ENG$3311:$PRACTICES)IN)WRITING)AND)RHETORIC!!Topic:'Scientific'&'Medical'Communication'

SPRING'2015'Section'252'#31178'MW'12:30'pm'–'1:50'pm'FH'G14'

!CONTACT!INFORMATION'Professor:!Dr.!Mogull!

Email:!mogull@txstate.edu!

Office'Phone:!(512)!245@3718!Office'&'Office'Hours:!FH!131!W!2:00!–!5:00!pm!or!by!appointment!

!

COURSE!DESCRIPTION!&!OBJECTIVES!

ENG!3311!is!a!special!topics!course,!which!means!that!each!section!will!have!a!more!specific!focus!or!

emphasis!(but!each!will!count!towards!the!ENG!3311!requirement).!The!topic!that!we!are!covering!in!this!

section!is!scientific!and!medical!communication.!!

!

In!this!course,!you!will!learn!to!write!scientific!and!medical!journal!articles!and!conference!presentations.!

This!course!is!designed!for!majors!from!all!fields!and!does!not!require!any!specialized!scientific!or!medical!

knowledge.!(However,!you!should!have!some!interest!in!learning!about!scientific!or!medical!topics!so!that!

you!can!write!them.)!

!

The!Department!of!English!has!adopted!student@learning!outcomes!for!general!education!courses!in!

writing!and!literature!and!for!all!degree!programs.!You!will!find!these!outcomes!described!in!detail!at:!

http://www.english.txstate.edu/about/learning.html.!

!

REQUIRED!TEXTBOOKS!AND!MATERIALS!!

Textbooks'(Required):!!• Writing!Scientific!Research!Articles:!Strategy!and!Steps!(2nd!ed.)!by!Cargill!&!O'Connor.!Wiley@

Blackwell!ISBN:!978@1@1185@7070@8.!!

• Publication!Manual!of!the!American!Psychological!Association!(6th!ed.)!by!APA!• One!additional!article!is!available!through!TRACS.!

'TRACS'(available!at!https://tracs.txstate.edu/portal):!

! Homepage!–'Class!schedule!! Assignments!–Assignment!descriptions,!place!to!submit!assignment,!and!where!to!receive!

instructor!feedback!on!your!graded!assignments!

! Attendance!–!Record!of!attendance!from!the!daily!sign@in!sheet!

! Email!–!Send!messages!to!professor!or!other!students!

! Gradebook2!–'Official!record!of!points!on!assignments!and!current!course!grade!

! Notes'&'Handouts!–'PDF!of!syllabus,!handouts,!and!notes!distributed!in!class!!ASSIGNMENTS!

Assignments!are!organized!into!four!units!and!are!worth!the!following:!

Unit'1:'Foundations'of'Scientific'and'Medical'Communication'Literature!search!using!scientific!databases!to!find!scientific/medical!journal!articles! 10%!

Unit'2:'Communicating'Research'in'Primary'Journals'Writing/editing!Introduction!section!of!a!scientific/medical!journal!article!in!scientific!style! 15%!

Writing/editing!Results!&!Discussion!sections!of!a!scientific/medical!article,!which!will!include!

presenting!data!in!text!and!visually!(e.g.,!in!tables,!graphs)!

15%!

Writing/editing!Methods!section!of!a!scientific/medical!article!in!scientific!style! 10%!

Editing!and!formatting!a!scientific/medical!article!manuscript!for!submission!to!a!journal! 10%!

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ENG'3311.262:'SCIENTIFIC'AND'MEDCIAL'COM' 2!!

Unit'3:'Communicating'Research'at'Conferences'Revising!a!scientific!paper!into!a!scientific!poster!&!brief!3@5!min.!presentations! 15%!

Unit'4:'Sharing'Research'Results'with'the'Public'and'News'Media''Press!(News)!Release! 5%!

Knowledge'&'Comprehension'Exams!(2!exams!at!10%!each)! 20%!

'Exam!Description!and!Policies!

The!exams!are!designed!to!ensure!that!you!understand!and!can!apply!the!information!covered!in!this!

course.!In!particular,!the!exams!will!cover!content!that!we!discuss!in!class,!in@class!analysis!and!exercises,!

and!assigned!readings.!To!do!well!on!the!exams,!in!particular,!you!should!attend!class!and!keep!up!with!

the!material.!Exams!will!be!cumulative.!

!

You!may!use!your!own!handwritten!notes!during!the!exams.!To!do!well!on!the!exams,!you!should!take!

notes!on!the!reading!assignments!before!class!and!then!take!notes!during!our!class!discussions.!There!is!

no!limit!to!the!amount!of!your!own!personal,!handwritten!notes!that!you!may!use!on!the!exams—so!if!

you!take!notes!on!all!the!content!we!cover!you!should!do!very!well!on!the!quizzes.!!

!You!may!“make'up”!only!one!missed!exam.!If!you!miss!an!exam,!you!must!notify!the!professor!by!email!

that!you!intend!to!take!the'“make'up”'exam,'which'will'be'given'on'the'last'day'of'class'(May'4).!You!must!notify'the'professor'by'email'on'or'before'Apr'29!in!order!to!take!a!“make!up”!exam.!

!

The!“make!up”!exam!will!substitute!for!one!missed!exam.!There!are!no!other!accommodations!for!missed!

exams.!Any!other!missed!exam,!or!missed!“make!up”!will!result!in!a!0.!

!Assignment!Submission!&!Late!Work!Policies!

Assignments!must!be!submitted!through!TRACS!>!Assignments!(unless!otherwise!specified).!!!

Assignments!must'be'submitted'in'the'document'format'specified!(which!will!be!Microsoft!Word,!

PowerPoint,!or!PDF).!Assignments!in!the!wrong!format!will!lose!points.!Assignments!that!are!not!

submitted!through!TRACS!>!Assignments!are!not!considered!submitted.!!

'You!must'submit'assignments'by'the'time'indicated'in'TRACS.!(Typically!assignments!are!due!before!

class.)!Any!assignment!marked!as!“Late”!in!TRACS!assignments!is!considered!late.!Written'assignments'are'penalized'with'a'10%'point'deduction'for'each'day'late.!Do!not!wait!until!the!last!minute!(i.e.!

immediately!before!class)!to!submit!your!assignment.!If!you!encounter!any!delays!then!your!assignment!

might!be!marked!“late”!by!TRACS.!

'There!are'no'“makedups”'for'indclass'presentations.!!!

GRADING!POLICY!

Final!course!grades!are!assigned!based!on!the!total!points!you!accumulate!this!semester!(the!maximum!

number!of!points!is!100).!Grades!are!as!follows:!A!=!90–100!points,!B!=!80–89,!C!=!70–79,!D!=!60–69,!or!F!

if!fewer!than!60!points.!!

!

See!http://www.registrar.txstate.edu!for!university!policies!on!other!course!grades.!If!you!intend!to!drop!

the!course,!please!note!that!you!must!officially!drop!the!course!through!the!Registrar’s!office!or!you!may!

receive!a!failing!grade!in!the!course.!Please!also!inform!me!of!your!intention!to!drop!the!course!so!that!I!

can!make!changes!to!your!team!project,!as!appropriate.!

!

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ENG'3311.262:'SCIENTIFIC'AND'MEDCIAL'COM' 3!!

ATTENDANCE!POLICY!

Class!attendance!is!essential!to!both!learning!and!student!performance.!The!University!strongly!

encourages!student!attendance.!Class!attendance!is!required.!Physical!attendance!does!not!impact!grades!

per!se,!but!affects!your!learning!and!ability!to!complete!assignments.!

'Attendance'is'recorded'by'the'signdin'sheet,'which'you'must'sign'before'class'begins.!Be!sure!to!sign!in!before!class!each!day!or!you!will!be!marked!as!absent.!If!you!arrive!late,!you!must!sign!in!at!the!end!of!the!

class!session!and!you!be!marked!as!late.)!Your!attendance!history!will!be!available!to!you!through!TRACS!>!

Attendance!

!

If'absent:!You!should!(1)!complete!the!entire!reading!assignment,!(2)!ask!one!or!more!classmate(s)!for!a!

review!of!the!course!materials!and!copies!of!their!notes,!and!(3)!review/attempt!to!complete!any!

additional!activities!or!exercises!made!available!though!TRACS.!!

!

Please!do!not!ask!for!a!summary!of!“what!you!missed”!until!you!have!checked!these!other!sources.!I!am!

available!during!office!hours!to!answer!specific!questions!about!the!material!after!you!have!read!the!

assignments!and!attempted!to!complete!the!in@class!practice!assignments.!Then,!you!should!schedule!an!

appointment!and!come!prepared!to!my!office!to!effectively!review!the!material.!

!

Note:!Since!assignments!are!due!through!TRACS,!being!absent!does!not!change!the!assignment!late!

policy.!

!ACADEMIC!HONESTY!

Students!must!demonstrate!high!standards!of!integrity.!You!must!do!your!own!work!on!all!assignments!

submitted!to!meet!course!requirements,!including!not!collaborating!with!other!students!on!assignments!

unless!specifically!allowed!on!the!assignment.!Students!must!follow!the!honor!code!and!academic!

honesty!policies!as!stated!in!the!Texas!State!Official!Student!Handbook.!

!

All'assignments'submitted'through'TRACS'will'be'analyzed'by'Turnditdin'for'originality.'If'you'submit'an'assignment'that'is'plagiarized'(in'part'or'in'full),'you'will'receive'an'F'as'your'final'grade'in'the'course.''POLICY!FOR!STUDENTS!WITH!SPECIAL!NEEDS!

Students!who!need!special!accommodations!to!succeed!in!this!course!must!inform!the!professor!and!the!

Office!of!Disability!Services!in!the!first!two!weeks!of!the!semester.!

ENG 3311: SCIENTIFIC & MEDICAL COMMUNICATION (SPRING2015)

SPRING 2015 CLASS SCHEDULE

DATE LECTURE/CLASS SESSION READING DUEJan 21 Course Introduction

UNIT 1: FOUNDATIONS OF SMCJan 26 Introduction to SMC and Role of Professional Communicators

in Science and MedicineJan 28 Genres of SMC & Connecting Communication to the

Scientific MethodAPA p. 9­20

Feb 02 Audiences and Discourse Communities WSRA p. 3­10Feb 04 Searching the Scientific and Medical Literature: Database

Strategies and ManagementAPA p. 37 (section 2.11 only)

Feb 09 Proper Citation Practices APA p. 169­192UNIT 2: COMMUNICATING RESEARCH IN PRIMARYJOURNALS

Feb 11 DUE: Literature Search AssignmentPlanning and Preparing Articles of Original Research(IMRAD)

APA p. 21­23 (top) & WSRA p. 11­16

Feb 16 Introduction Section: The CARS Model APA p. 27­28 & WSRA p. 43­57Feb 18 Introduction Section: Scientific Writing Style APA p. 61­86 & 87­111Feb 23 DUE: Introduction Section

Results Section: Two Major Organizations; Content and StyleAPA p. 32­35 & WSRA p. 23­24 & 32­36

Feb 25 Results Section: Presenting Data in Tables APA p. 125­141 & WSRA p. 25 & p. 29­31Mar 02 Results Section: Presenting Data in Graphs APA p. 151­165 & WSRA p. 26­29Mar 04 Results Section: Summarizing Data in Statistics APA p. 111­124Mar 09 Results Section: Showing Evidence in Photographs and

Representations in DiagramsAPA p. 165­167

Mar 11 Exam 1Mar 16 Spring BreakMar 18 Spring BreakMar 23 Discussion and Conclusions Sections: Content and Style APA p. 35­37 & WSRA p. 59­64Mar 25 DUE: Results & Discussion Sections

Methods Sections: Content and StyleAPA p. 29­32 & WSRA p 37­42

Mar 30 Preview Sections: Titles and Abstracts APA p. 23­27 & WSRA p. 65­71Apr 01 DUE: Methods Sections

Preparing a Manuscript for Submission and Submitting forPeer Review

APA p. 225­243 & p. 41­53 & WSRA p. 91­103

UNIT 3: COMMUNICATING RESEARCH ATCONFERENCES

Apr 06 DUE: Article ManuscriptConference Overview and Writing Abstracts

Apr 08 Designing Scientific Posters "Billboard Science" from NatureApr 13 Workshop: Creating PostersApr 15 Workshop: Creating Posters

Apr 20 DUE: Poster & Poster PresentationsApr 22 Exam 2

UNIT 4: SHARING RESEARCH RESULTS WITH THEPUBLIC AND NEWS MEDIA

Apr 27 Public Communication Strategy and EthicsApr 29 Writing Press ReleasesMay 04 DUE: Press Releases

Make­up Exam (Notify professor by Apr 29 if you intend totake the exam)

NOTE: This schedule is tentative and may be modified during the semester. Students will be notified of any changes through the schedule posted inTRACS, in class, and/or by email.