Summer 2025 - FASS 222 D100
Special Topics in Arts and Social Sciences: Academic Communication (1)
Class Number: 3605
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
-
Course Times + Location:
May 12 – Jun 13, 2025: Wed, 10:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Burnaby
-
Instructor:
Hope Power
hpower@sfu.ca
-
Prerequisites:
15 units.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Introduces to the basic knowledge and skills required for producing accurate, responsible and effective written and verbal academic communication in the arts and social sciences. Topics vary with instructor expertise. No prior knowledge of the topic is required. Suitable for students across all disciplines. Students may take this course for credit up to three times if a different topic is taught. Grading will be on a pass/fail basis. Students with credit for FASS 200 or FASS 205 may not take this course for further credit unless a different topic is offered.
COURSE DETAILS:
Selected Topics: Critical Research Skills
Do you ever feel overwhelmed when starting your research on a new topic? Or wonder if the information sources that you’re finding are credible and high-quality enough to use in your academic or professional work?
This course provides you with an opportunity to develop essential research skills and strategies for successfully navigating today’s complex information landscape. You will critically examine how information - including misinformation and disinformation - is created and shared, in order to identify and apply effective strategies for finding, evaluating and using relevant tools and sources for a variety of research tasks. Through weekly readings, reflective discussions and hands-on practice, you will build and strengthen key information literacy and research skills applicable across all disciplines to support evidence-based and informed decision-making and problem-solving.
About the instructor: Hope Power is a Teaching & Learning Librarian at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and has over 20 years of experience in a variety of roles with a focus on supporting students with developing and strengthening their foundational research and information literacy skills. She has a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) and a Bachelor of Arts (English Honours) from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her teaching philosophy is grounded in empowering students via open educational practices and inquiry-based learning, and she is a recent recipient of the BCcampus Award for Excellence in Open Education.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
- Describe the information cycle through which information - including misinformation and disinformation - is broadly produced, distributed and changed over time.
- Identify different types and formats of information sources, and critically assess their relevance for a range of academic, professional and personal research contexts.
- Develop and refine strategies for formulating a strong research question, and for effectively locating, evaluating and using relevant sources.
- Reflect on and apply best practices for ethically acknowledging and accurately citing research sources.
You can take more than one FASS Forward 1 credit course, as long as the topic is different. See the other courses here.
Grading
- Grading is pass/fail, based on: Engagement / participation; research log assignment; annotated bibliography assignment 100%
NOTES:
This FASS Forward course is delivered entirely in-person. It is designed to improve your skills for future success and work in this class is expected to be of high quality. A competency-based grading system will be used to assess your academic performance and active participation in all learning activities. That means only a P (pass) or F (fail) will appear on your transcript. There is no numerical equivalent for the final grade, and it does not affect either your grade point average or cumulative grade point average.
- P (pass) means that you have demonstrated your competency in relation to the learning objectives, met all the criteria for the course, and demonstrated the skills you have acquired.
- F (fail) means that you do not receive credit for the course.
Materials
MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:
Students must have access to the Internet as well as a computer and/other device that permits word processing and the use of other standard computer applications.
REQUIRED READING:
All reading material* will be available online via Canvas. Course readings include, and are not limited to, excerpts from the following open textbook:
Butler, W., Sargent, A., & Smith, K. (2021). Introduction to college research. LibreTexts.
*Changes, additions, and deletions to the list of readings may be made as the course progresses. Students will receive timely notice of any alterations.
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.
To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit:
- SFU’s Academic Integrity Policy: S10-01 Policy
- SFU’s Academic Integrity website, which includes helpful videos and tips in plain language: Academic Integrity at SFU
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.