Fall 2015 - EASC 705 G100
Special Topics (3)
Class Number: 8924
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 8 – Dec 7, 2015: Tue, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby -
Exam Times + Location:
Dec 12, 2015
Sat, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
John Clague
jclague@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
Permission of the instructor.
Description
COURSE DETAILS:
TECHNICAL WRITING IN EARTH SCIENCES
Purpose
The purpose of this course is to improve your skills in written and oral communication in earth sciences. English is a beautiful language and, fortunately for North Americans, has become the ‘lingua franca’ of science around the world. Each of you, as a native English speaker, should, at the end of this course, be able to produce clear, readily understandable, even linguistically sophisticated reports, papers, and oral presentations. This is an advanced course; I assume you have basic writing skills on which to build. It is not an ESL course.
Format
EASC 450/705 is founded on the Platonian principle of dialogue. It is neither a seminar nor a lecture course. Rather, we will engage in a collective dialogue on a variety of aspects of good technical writing, including vocabulary, grammar, organization, and style. The foundation for our dialogue will be written reports, posters, and oral presentations that each of you will prepare. You are expected to contribute to the dialogue in the classroom; in fact part of your course mark will be based on the quality (not quantity) of your oral contribution. A tenet of the course is constructive criticism, thus you should be prepared to have your reports and oral presentations criticized by me and your peers. The key word in the last sentence is ‘constructive’ – I will not tolerate criticism of a personal nature.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
The textbook for this course is The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White (MacMillan Publishing Company).
RECOMMENDED READING:
Other useful books include:
Bates, R.L., Adkins-Heljeson, M.D., and Buchanan, R.C. (Editors). 1995. Geowriting. American Geological Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, 138 pp.
Day, R.A. 1998. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. Oryx Press, Phoenix, Arizona, 275 pp.
Fowler, H.W. 1983. Fowler’s Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 725 pp.
Northey, M. and McKibbin, J. 2002. Making Sense: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing . Oxford University Press, Oxford, 178 pp.
Scherf, K. 1995. The Brief Canadian Handbook for Writers. Harcourt Brace & Company, Canada.
Zinsser, W.K. 1998. On Writing Well. Harper Collins, New York, 308 pp.
Graduate Studies Notes:
Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS