哈佛科学写作课程

我们最后学习哈佛的 Expos 42 科学写作课程，它是专门针对科学写作设计的 Expos 20 课程，练习包括分析科学对话、文献评审、研究计划书、参考文档、职业 Portfolio，很有意思。

该课程基于《芝加哥科学通信指南》这本书。这本书包括科学写作和沟通的方方面面，比如：批判性阅读、评审书、文献综述、项目申请书、一个特定方面的专业文献综述，还包括数据和图像的呈现等。非常详细，是一本好书。

参考链接

• 课程大纲，PDF 链接

附录：课程大纲

EXPOSITORY WRITING E-42c/W WRITING IN THE SCIENCES

教师：Tom Akbari。他现在在东北大学，主页链接

学期：Spring 2016

介绍

This “writing intensive” course will consider the discourses of knowledge that animate writing in the sciences. The course is aimed at students considering careers or advanced study in the natural, computational, or applied sciences.

Students consider how scientific texts address an audience, make claims, invoke prior claims, deploy keyterms, and engage quantitative and visual evidence. Course writing, like all discourses in the making of knowledge, will be socially engaged: students will “publish” it for fellow writers, who will review it and respond with specificity.

Course writing begins with critical reading of key examples, identified by students, of the genres of scientific literature. This project is followed by an academic research paper on a student’s choice of topic in a form common to most scientific disciplines, the literature review.

Next comes a reference document or, alternatively, at the student’s choice, a research proposal; either project may build on the literature review.

The final project is a professional portfolio presenting the work of the term.

Students will pursue their own scientific interests in each unit. They are encouraged to link, as directly as they wish, their work in this course to their own professional work in science and/or to other course work in science.

This course fosters skills in preliminary writing, drafting, revision, peer review, and research into the scientific literature. It offers sustained practice in the construction of precise sentences, coherent paragraphs, and well-ordered documents. It considers the strategic use of visual elements in the presentation of quantitative information. Students will engage complexity in terms, concepts, and judgments; exercise self-critique; and write with concision and flair. Students will cultivate an authoritative voice in the scientific disciplines that offers coherent, meaningful knowledge to a specific, disciplinary audience.

课本材料

Scott L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science. Chicago: U Chicago P, 2003. (Available in print or electronic editions; either is suitable)

OPTIONAL TEXTS

• Richard Lanham, Revising Business Prose. 4th ed. Longman, 1999. ISBN 978- 0205309443. Langham discusses what he calls the “official style” of bureaucratic writing that he says plagues business writing. Applying his lesson to science writing is useful.

• Joseph Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 11th ed. Longman, 2013. ISBN 978-0321898685. Williams discusses the common conditions that bleed writing of force and meaning and suggests his corrections.

其它

James Paradis and Muriel Zimmerman’s MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication,

Robert Day’s How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper,

Vernon Booth’s Communicating in Science,

Edward Huth’s How to Write and Publish Papers in the Medical Sciences,

David Porush’s Short Guide to Writing about Science.

ONLINE TEXTS (available through the course website)

• Course readings from the scientific literature, specified in each assignment description • Harvard Guide to Using Sources (HGUS) (http://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu). • Bedford/St. Martin’s Research and Documentation Guide, http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/webpub/english/everydaywriter4e_cms/EverydayWriter4e/links_resdoc.html • Oxford English Dictionary (https://www.oed.com//) • New Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors (http://www.oxfordreference.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545155.001.0001/acref9780199545155?rskey=T9iQUF&result=97) • Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl) • Purdue OWL Grammar Guide https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/ • Harvard Library dedicated Writing in the Sciences Research Guide: (http://guides.library.harvard.edu/akbari) • Other selected readings and reference material

STRUCTURE

Expository Writing E-42c entails the composition of four original and compelling projects.

The first (5 pages) entails close, analytical reading of your choice of a scientific text or texts;

the second (10 pages) is a literature review of a scientific topic of your choice;

the third (5 pages) is a proposal and cover document (1 page) for a small-scale research project or a reference document that may build on the literature review;

the fourth is a web-based professional portfolio (5-page essay plus other material) that presents your scientific writing of the term.

Composition of these projects entails rough drafts and exercises in revision and peer review. Before starting a draft, you’ll complete a short preliminary exercise to build specific writing skills. These exercises will be posted online so that written ideas can be “published,” that is, exchanged with the entire class. After submitting a rough draft, you’ll confer individually with the instructor to talk pointedly about your writing and revision in preparing a final draft. You’ll also confer with fellow students on your writing in “revision club,” which includes written evaluation of your fellow students’ work.

Our course will function as a seminar. In a seminar, you must be socially engaged in every way. Lectures, if any, are infrequent and you should come to each class prepared to discuss and write on the day’s reading and topic. You are expected to offer thoughtful comments on the work of your peers.

All written work should be carefully proofread. Grammar and punctuation will be addressed as an integral part of the writing process, not separately. If you have special concerns with grammar and punctuation, please seek personal help from me and tutors at the Writing Center, which is described below.

Please feel free to talk to me about any difficulties or concerns you may have. And let me know what you think is going well. Remember, your teachers are here to help and I am your teacher.

Discussion is at the heart of our online class. As “moderator,” the instructor will lead discussion. You must come to each class prepared to discuss and write on the day’s reading. Because we are meeting online, you will participate by speaking to the class via microphone and by typing questions and responses into the “chat” box of the software. You may present material on the “whiteboard” of the classroom. We will employ video functions as well. You are also expected to offer thoughtful written and oral comments on the work of your peers.

WRITING INTENSIVE COURSES (mandatory description adapted from the Extension School catalog)

Writing-intensive courses at Harvard Extension, such as “Writing in the Sciences,” offer students the opportunity to develop writing skills for a specific academic discipline. These courses feature common elements.

Students will • Develop core writing skills, as defined by the instructor, in the discipline of the course; • Complete multiple writing assignments of varying lengths, at least two of which must be revised; • Produce a minimum of 10-12 pages of polished writing, beyond required rough drafts, over the course of the term; • Meet at least once in individual conference (in person, by phone, or online) with the instructor or TA to discuss writing in progress; • Receive detailed feedback on their drafts and revisions, on both content and expression.

LEARNING GOALS

Work in this class is aimed at the following goals (work earning a grade above C will surpass these goals):

A student should • Understand writing in different scientific genres; • Understand and participate in scientific discourse; • Understand the importance of audience and context; • Arrange scientific documents, including textual, visual, and quantitative elements, in strategic ways; • Write with appropriate style; • Conduct effective research in the scientific literature; • Follow appropriate grammar, spelling, syntactical, and citation conventions; • Display confidence and facility with the processes of revision; • Offer written reflection on her or his writing; • Offer specific, collaborative, and constructive evaluation to fellow students.

You will receive a letter of evaluation for each final draft, which comes on a form that lists specific learning goals tailored for each unit and reports a grade. You will also evaluate fellow students during “revision club.”

Thus, your work in the course will receive evaluative feedback from the instructor and from fellow students in its draft stages and a grade and evaluation from the instructor in its final form.

• Unit 1. Academic Audience: Analyzing Scientific Discourse 20 percent

• Unit 2. Scientific Audience I: Literature Review 35 percent

• Unit 3. Scientific Audience II: Research Proposal/Reference Document 35 percent

• Unit 4. Professional Audience: Portfolio 05 percent

• Online writing, Revision Club 05 percent

Publication is the lifeblood of any writer in any profession.

Publishing 1: Bloggies

As you begin to think about each set of readings in each unit and prepare to write an essay, you’ll do some of your early thinking in writing. This writing you’ll share with the class, extending our in-class discussions and propelling yourself into the writing project. This preliminary writing will take the form of a required blog entry, or bloggy. The purpose of these bloggies is to give you writing you can place into a rough draft. Each of our unit assignments will detail what these bloggies should do (under the heading “Bloggy 1,” etc.).

Our blog may also serve as a forum for ideas of all sorts, especially those, of whatever nature, pertinent to the class (events or talks or exhibits of interest, for example, or websites, books, or other materials I

REVISION CLUB

Revision Club is an essential element of our course. In it, you’ll exchange your writing in rough draft form with two other students. You’ll read your partners’ papers carefully and critically and offer written comments in margins and in a letter that fully articulates your critical assessment. In these comments you’ll note specific strengths and suggest specific moments to strengthen. In class, you’ll also meet with your two partners to discuss your findings in person.

This kind of rich and direct critical communication may in fact be the most vital element of the course. In it, you’ll practice the kind of oral and written exchange that is the hallmark of professional life. Offering constructive, collaborative critique to a fellow professional is a skill to be practiced. To be frank, it is often done poorly; doing it well can distinguish you immediately at the workplace as someone who works well with and can lead others.

计划

Unit 1. Academic Audience: Analyzing Scientific Discourse

Week 1

Monday, 25 January. Introductions. What makes good writing? What is the relation of language to knowledge? What is the function of discourse in a discipline? What are the genres of writing in the different disciplines? What is scientific discourse? What are scientific genres? How is scientific knowledge served by writing? Orientation to the functions of our online course. Introduction to online research resources.

Writing exercise. Syllabus, Unit 1 assignments, questionnaire issued (all three found on course website).

Introduction to Unit 1.

Thursday, 28 January. Questionnaire due; mail to akbari@fas.harvard.edu. Bloggy 1.1—first, introductory bloggy—due, 9 PM.

Week 2

Monday, 1 February. Scientific discourse in action. Close reading. Choose possible science writing specimens for Unit 1 writing and bring to class.

Reading: The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7;

1 Communicating Science 1 2 Scientific Communication 10 Historical Realities for Readers and Writers 3 Reading Well 26 The First Step to Writing Well 7 The Scientific Paper 78 A Realistic View and Practical Advice

Florian Schneider, “How to Do a Discourse Analysis” (online; link in Unit 1 Assignment description);

Sample Scientific Papers;

Harvard Guide to Using Sources: Introduction, Why Use Sources?, Integrating Sources, Citing Sources.

Workshop: close reading (observe, judge). Supplementary materials (TBA).

Week 3

Monday, 8 February. Unit 1 Rough Draft of Analysis of Scientific Discourse due (upload to course website).

Reading: The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science Chapters 4, 12.

Workshop: student drafts and close reading, use of quotations.

Unit 2. Scientific Audience I: Literature Review

Week 4

Monday, 22 February. Unit 1 Final Draft of Analysis of Scientific Discourse due (upload to course website).. Introduction to Unit 2.

Close reading: model scientific literature reviews. Introduction to digital resources and library research. Workshop on citation and source use.

Week 5

Monday, 29 February.

Reading: Sample Literature Reviews.

From The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science: Chapters 8, 9, 14.

From Harvard Guide to Using Sources: Locating Sources, Evaluating Sources, Avoiding Plagiarism.

Workshop on assimilating and synthesizing knowledge.

Thursday, 3 March. Bloggy 2.1 due, 9 PM.

Unit 3. Scientific Audience II: Research Proposal/Reference Document

Week 9 Monday, 4 April. Unit 2 Final Draft of Literature Review Due. Introduction to Unit 3.

Workshop on research and data collection. Survey of reference documents.

Week 10

Monday, 11 April.

Reading: Sample proposals, sample reference documents.

From The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science: Chapters 10, 11, 16.

Thursday, 14 April. Bloggy 3 due, 9 PM.

Unit 4. Professional Audience: Portfolio