Communication in the Life Sciences (ENGL 193, 4337, LEC 002, ONLN)
Instructor: Dr. Heather Love (she/her/hers)
Email: Heather.Love@uwaterloo.ca
Phone: (812) 340-5962 (personal cell, for urgent matters)
Office: Hagey Hall 347 (working from home during Fall 2021)
Consulting Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, ~11am-noon & by appointment (Teams) or over Teams chat
TA: Sarah Currie
TA Email: sarah.currie@uwaterloo.ca
TA Consulting Time: Wednesdays, 9:30-10:30 on MS Teams
Course Meetings:
Course material will be delivered online through primarily asynchronous methods.
Synchronous activities will be held via Teams on Tuesdays from 10:00-11:30 am.
Course Description
In this course, you will learn about effective written, oral, and visual communication in the life sciences. You will have the opportunity to shape these communication skills through iterative design processes that emphasize attention to your audience, the purpose of your communications, and student agency. You will work individually and collaboratively to craft messages for internal and external audiences, including scientists, government stakeholders, affected communities, or broader public. You will learn a variety of genres such as research reports, grant proposals, conference abstracts, conference posters, public talks, blog posts, and podcasts. Overall, this course will help you enhance your capacity to conduct research and report research findings, communicate ethically, and thereby effect important change.
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- design, draft, and persuasively deliver scientific communications to expert and non-expert audiences;
- justify decisions about the language, content, and genre used when communicating scientific information;
- practice collaboration and peer review in support of iterative communication design processes, including revision;
- practice research processes to find, assess, document, incorporate, and cite research resources and communicate research findings;
- describe and appraise the purposes and ethical concerns of science communication.
Required Texts and Materials
Thaiss, Christopher. Writing Science in the Twenty-First Century. Broadview Press, 2019. ISBN: 978-1-55481-304-9
Saini, Angela. Inferior: How Science got Women Wrong, and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story. Beacon Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-8070-1003-7
Internet access, including to a University of Waterloo email account and the course LEARN site.
Assignments and Assessment
Bolded items = group work components
Italicized items = oral components
Summary of Assignments (and Weeks due; Friday @ 5pm unless specified otherwise)
20% - Participation (weekly self-assessments / instructor spot-checks)
2% - for each of 10 self-assessments (not due W5, W9, W13)
17.5% - Project #1: Communicating Science Persuasively
2.5% - Science Biography (W2)
5% - Collaborative Swales Analysis of experiment.com proposal (W4)
5% - Group Presentation of experiment.com project (TUESDAY of W5)
5% - Lay Abstract of experiment.com project (W5)
27.5% - Project #2: Communicating Science in Print and in Person
5% - Collaborative Notes on science research article (W6)
2.5% - Collaborative Questions for guest scientist (W7)
5% - Peer-Review of In-Print/In-Person Comparison Report (W8 & TUESDAY of W9)
15% - In-Print/In-Person Comparison Report (W9)
20% - Project #3: Communicating Science Ethically to Broader Publics
10% - Collaborative Poster about Saini Chapter (W13)
10% - Group Poster Presentation (W13) ~may be assessed individually – TBA by W10
15% - Semester Reflection (due 14 December—during Exam Period)
Note: there is no final exam for this course.
Assignment Descriptions
Participation (20%)
During each week of the course when you do not have a major assignment due (i.e. not during weeks 5, 9, or 13), you will have readings, lectures, and smaller-scale activities to complete such as worksheets, synchronous activities, and Discussion Board posts. At the end of each week, you will reflect on and assess your own participation by submitting a 20-point LEARN Quiz, and your scores on those quizzes will add up to your overall Participation Grade in ENGL 193. Your instructor and/or TA will perform spot-checks to verify the accuracy of your self-assessments, and they will contact you about score adjustments if they notice significant discrepancies in your self-reported participation and the evidence available on LEARN.
Project #1: Communicating Science Persuasively (17.5%)
Project #1 runs during the first 5 weeks of the semester (up to Reading Week). It is designed to help you learn and practice the crucial communication skills of summary and analysis, as well as gain familiarity with some of the standard rhetorical moves of persuasive scientific communication (essential for scientists who want to secure funding for their projects), the multimodal tools available to science writers in online venues, and the art of effective collaboration.
Your work for Project #1 involves two individual and two collaborative assignments, most of which focus on a proposed science project that your group will select from the experiment.com website:
- Individual: Your own Science Biography (2.5%) and a Lay Abstract of the experiment.com project your group selects for analysis (5%)
- Collaborative: An analysis and assessment of the experiment.com project description (using the Swales Model for Rhetorical Introductions) in written form (5%) and presented orally (5%).
Project #2: Communicating Science in Print and in Person (27.5%)
This project, which runs during the month following Reading Week, introduces you to the genres of the science research article (and IMRaD structure) and the science presentation. It centers on the work of a UW-based scientist: you will read one of their published articles and watch them deliver a (recorded) presentation based on that research. They will hold a live Q&A session with our class on Tuesday, November 2nd during our scheduled synchronous meeting time. I hope that you will be able to attend that session, though a recording will be available for later viewing.
The project is divided into four components:
Before the Q&A session with the guest scientist, you will read the published article that their presentation is based on, and you will work in a group to:
- Create a 2-page, single-spaced set of notes that help you understand their research (5%), and
- Come up with three questions you would like to ask them during the Q&A session (2.5%).
After the presentation and Q&A session, you will individually author a 4-5-page (1000-1200 word) report that compares the experiences of encountering scientific research “in print” and “in person” (15%). Your overall task in the written submission is to use the experiences you had interacting with the visiting scientist’s work (in the article and from the presentation) as the basis for a focused, analytical argument about the rhetorical choices scientists need to make when they communicate their research findings (a) in diverse genres and (b) to diverse audiences.
Before finalizing and submitting your report, you will circulate a partial draft (including your central claim, supporting evidence, and preliminary analysis) for peer review, and you will provide feedback to your colleagues on their drafts. Peer-review activities are worth 5% of your grade.
Project #3: Communicating Science to Broader Publics (20%)
The last four weeks of the course are dedicated to a project that invites you to explore the rhetorical strategies and ethical dimensions of science journalism. The central text for this project is Angela Saini’s book Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong – and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story (2017). All students will read the book’s “Introduction” and “Afterword”; beyond that, you will work with a small group to read, study, reflect on, and present one additional chapter of the book.
During Project 3, you will both encounter and create a range of science-communication genres that are geared towards different public audiences (e.g. books, blogs, podcasts, infographics) and scientific communities (e.g. research articles, science posters). The project culminates in a group poster presentation that summarizes the argument that Saini makes in one chapter of her book (about past and recent science), and connects her work to an emerging “science story” that you have identified.
Semester Reflection (15%)
This final assignment of the course invites you to think back on the various skills, genres, ideas, and perspectives you have encountered in ENGL 193 and consider how they have influenced (and will continue to influence) your understanding of science, science communication, and your role within the scientific community. As part of the assignment, you will extend your engagement with Saini’s work by watching your classmates’ poster presentations and selecting an additional chapter of her book to read and discuss. Your Semester Reflection will total around 4 double-spaced pages (~1000 words), and it will be due on December 14th, which is part way through the Exam Period.
Asynchronous Learning and Communication Channels
This semester, remote instruction for this section of ENGL 193 continues as part of the University of Waterloo’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of your graded work will be completed asynchronously, and we will not meet in person.
We have synchronous class meetings scheduled for Tuesdays from 10:00-11:30am on Teams, and we will use this time to introduce assignments, work through brainstorming and collaborative activities, and engage in discussion/answer questions about course material. Those activities will typically take up no more than one hour of time. If you are unable to attend one or more of those synchronous meetings, you will be responsible for (a) viewing the recording of the sessions, and (b) completing an alternative participation activity. Details about what the alternative participation activities entail will be available on LEARN each week.
I will be available for one-on-one or small-group consultations each Tuesday after our synchronous activities wrap up (until noon or so). I have similar consulting hours scheduled on Thursdays (after my other class’ synchronous session), and I am available most days for quick responses over Teams Chat. I encourage you to keep in touch regularly, since we will all need to work extra hard to create the type of connections that would automatically exist in an in-person learning environment.
Suggested Weekly Schedule
ENGL 193 will run over weekly periods from Monday to Friday. You will typically have an activity/assignment/task due on Friday by 5:00 pm EST/EDT, though extensions are available, as outlined below. Lectures, activities, and assignment sheets will be posted by 5:00 pm on the Friday of the previous week. This suggested weekly schedule should help you manage your time:
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Saturday & Sunday |
Review check-list of tasks for the upcoming week and make sure that you have access to all required materials (readings, videos, etc.). Create a plan for the week ahead. |
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Monday |
Read/review the week’s announcement and checklist on LEARN. Begin the assigned readings and lectures, focusing on material that needs to be completed before the Tuesday class meeting. Contact instructor/TA with questions. |
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Tuesday |
Attend and participate actively in class meetings (10:00 am EST/EDT on Teams). Complete any required post-class meeting work. If desired, consult with the instructor during class meeting follow-up time (~11am-noon). |
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Wednesday |
Complete assigned readings and lectures, and begin work on activities/assignment. Contact instructor/TA via. email or Teams chat with questions. A mid-week update announcement will be posted on LEARN by 10pm. |
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Thursday |
Continue working on activities/assignment. Contact instructor/TA via. email or Teams chat with questions (note: video consults with instructor are available ~11am-noon). |
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Friday |
Complete and submit the week’s activities/assignment. Complete weekly Self-Assessment quiz. Contact instructor/TA via. email or Teams chat with questions. All work is due to LEARN by 5:00 pm EST/EDT. |
Course Policies & Related Information
Submission Deadlines and Extensions:
All work in this course must be original work of the student or students submitting the assignments. Additionally, all use of sources must be documented correctly using APA citation format.
- Automatic 48-hour Extensions. You make take an automatic 48-hour extension for any reason on all assignments/activities, except for those noted below as “Exceptions.” You do not need to request these extensions.
- Exceptions. Extensions on Group Presentations (TUES of Weeks 5 and 13) will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. In addition, because they are time sensitive, the Peer Review activity submissions (FRI of Week 8 and TUES of Week 9) and the Saini Chapter Preference Form (WED of Week 10) are not eligible for extensions.
- Longer Extensions. Assignments that are turned in after 48-hours will be graded only after consultation with your instructor. In general, longer extensions are available; please request such extensions 24-hours in advance if at all possible. Requests for an extension longer than 48-hours must be made via email and need to include a suggested due date. There will likely be limitations on the extensions available for the Semester Reflection (exam period), since final grades are due to Quest shortly after that assignment’s due date.
- Kindness is a Policy. Generally, kindness will be our default policy when it comes to instruction, late assignments, the inability to participate on an activity, and other aspects of the course.
Additional Policies
Emergencies. In the event of a campus emergency or closure, deadlines and course requirements will be delayed. Obviously, events like closure due to weather will have less effect this semester during online instruction, so if there are any necessary changes due to a campus emergency, your instructor will communicate with you on LEARN.
Syllabus Changes. Additionally, assignments, grading percentages, and deadlines are themselves subject to change during the semester if necessitated by changing circumstances. A revised calendar and syllabus will be posted to LEARN, if needed. Please read all LEARN “News” posts and regularly check your uwaterloo.ca email so that you will be aware of changes.
Student Emergencies. Circumstances affecting your ability to complete course work should be communicated to your instructor as soon as you are safely able to do so. Please understand that in most circumstances you do not need to provide private or personal details. For problems with an extended duration, you may be asked to work with your university adviser.
Instructor Emergencies. Please note that your instructor may also encounter health or family emergencies, and will always communicate any changes or issues to you as soon as possible. Refer to LEARN announcements if you have questions, and read the course welcome letter.
Academic Integrity.In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the UWaterloo Academic Integrity webpage and the Faculty of Arts Ethical Behavior webpage for more information on policies, procedures, and student responsibilities, including consequences for deliberate or accidental plagiarism.
Discipline:A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Grievance.A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
Appeals.A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals.
Note for students with disabilities.The AccessAbility Services office, located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension (1401), collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.
Turnitin.com and alternatives.Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students' submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students will be given an alternative if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin in this course.
It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit an alternate assignment.
Basic Needs. Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact the Dean of Students in their faculty for support. Furthermore, please notify your professor if you feel comfortable doing so.
Writing and Communication Centre (WCC). The Writing and Communication Centre works with students in all faculties to help you consider your audience, clarify your ideas, develop your voice, and write in the style appropriate to your discipline. WCC staff offer one-on-one support for writing papers, delivering presentations, citing research, and revising for clarity and coherence. Group appointments for team-based projects, presentations, and papers are also available.
For information about booking an appointment and to see drop-in hours, visit www.uwaterloo.ca/wcc.
Please note that communication specialists guide you to see your work as readers would. They can teach you revising skills and strategies, but will not change or correct your work for you.
Mental Health Support. All of us need a support system. The faculty and staff in Arts encourage students to seek out mental health supports if they are needed.
On Campus
- Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
- MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and Counselling Services
- Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek form Student Life Centre
Off campus, 24/7
- Good2Talk: Free confidential helpline for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
- Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-4300 ext. 6880
- Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
- OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213
Full details can be found online on the Faculty of Arts website
Download UWaterloo and regional mental health resources (PDF)
Download the WatSafe app to your phone to quickly access mental health support information.
Academic freedom at the University of Waterloo. Policy 33, Ethical Behaviour states, as one of its general principles (Section 1), “The University supports academic freedom for all members of the University community. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base teaching and research on an honest and ethical quest for knowledge. In the context of this policy, 'academic freedom' refers to academic activities, including teaching and scholarship, as is articulated in the principles set out in the Memorandum of Agreement between the FAUW and the University of Waterloo, 1998 (Article 6). The academic environment which fosters free debate may from time to time include the presentation or discussion of unpopular opinions or controversial material. Such material shall be dealt with as openly, respectfully and sensitively as possible.” This definition is repeated in Policies 70 and 71, and in the Memorandum of Agreement, Section 6.
Territorial Acknowledgement. We acknowledge that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River.
For more information about the purpose of territorial acknowledgements, please see the CAUT Guide to Acknowledging Traditional Territory (PDF).
Course Schedule (Fall 2021, Communication in the Life Sciences, ENGL 193)
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Project #1: Communicating Science Persuasively | ||
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Week |
Date |
Lectures, Readings, Activities |
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1 |
Sept. 8-10 |
Tasks for the week
Deliverables (Due Friday, 10 September @ 5pm to LEARN)
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2 |
Sept. 13-17 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverables (Due Friday, 17 September @ 5pm to LEARN)
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3 |
Sept. 20-24 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverables (Due Friday, 24 September @ 5pm to LEARN)
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4 |
Sept. 27- Oct.1 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverables (Due Friday, 1 October @ 5pm to LEARN)
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5 |
Oct. 4-8 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 8 October @ 5pm to LEARN)
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Project #2: Communicating Science in Print and in Person | ||
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Rdng Week |
Oct. 9-17 |
Read Thaiss, Ch.5&6 “Writing the Research Article” (Part I & Part II, pp.119-170) Complete EDGE Skills Workshop (if desired; due in Week 7) |
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6 |
Oct. 18-22 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 22 October @ 5pm to LEARN)
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7 |
Oct. 25-29 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 29 October @ 5pm to LEARN)
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8 |
Nov. 1-5 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 4 November @ 5pm to LEARN)
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9 |
Nov. 8-12 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 12 November @ 5pm to LEARN)
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Project #3: Communicating Science to Broader Publics | ||
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10 |
Nov. 15-19 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 19 November @ 5pm to LEARN)
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11 |
Nov. 22-26 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 19 November @ 5pm to LEARN)
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12 |
Nov. 29- Dec. 3 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
Deliverable (Due Friday, 19 November @ 5pm to LEARN)
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13 |
Dec. 6-7 |
Complete before synchronous session
Synchronous session topics (Tuesday, 10am EST, Teams)
Remaining tasks for the week
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Exam Week |
Dec. 9-23 |
Deliverable (Due Tuesday, 14 December @ 5pm to LEARN)
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