COURSE SYLLABUS

Storytelling for Scientists

11:374:310 Storytelling for Scientists, 3 Credits
When: Wednesdays, 9:15 am-12:15 pm
Where: Cook Office Building 226

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Noreen McAuliffe
Office Location: Cook Office Building 227
Phone: 571-242-9110 Email: noreen.mcauliffe@rutgers.edu
Office Hours: By appointment

COURSE WEBSITE, RESOURCES AND MATERIALS:

• Course website: Sakai: sakai.rutgers.edu
• Required Text:
-The Best American Science and Nature Writing, 2018, Sam Kean, editor (ISBN: 9781328987808)
Resources & Materials posted on Sakai:
-Selected essays and papers from peer-reviewed science journals
-Selected science talks
-Selected podcasts

-Student-discovered research sources for final project (minimum 8)

-Please always have a writing notebook and pen with you in class.

LEARNING GOALS:
Core Curriculum Goals
Writing in a Discipline (Wcd)
-Communicate effectively in modes appropriate to a discipline or area of inquiry
-Evaluate and critically assess sources and use the conventions of attribution and citation correctly
-Analyze and synthesize information and ideas from multiple sources to generate new insights
Writing with Revision (Wcr)
-Communicate complex ideas effectively, in standard written English, to a general audience
-Respond effectively to editorial feedback from peers, instructors, &/or supervisors through successive drafts
and revision

Course Specific learning goals include:

A) Read both academic and popular science prose with an understanding of structure and the ability
to identify key ideas and questions.

B) Communicate complex scientific ideas, in grammatically correct English, to both an academic and
public audience with eloquence, precision, and creativity.

C) Incorporate conceptual and editorial feedback from peers and instructor by engaging in the drafting
and revision process.

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D) Understand and practice the different rhetorical strategies unique to an academic discipline or the
public sphere.

E) Discover and appraise sources through the research process and use the conventions of academic
attribution and citation correctly.

F) Analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources to generate new ideas, and present
those ideas with energy and creativity.

Science Communication Minor Learning Goals:

Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate science issues to audiences who have limited
backgrounds in science.
Understand how scientific information and evidence is perceived and used by different audiences in
particular contexts, demonstrating how appropriate communication strategy integrates social science
evidence about learning and framing.
Be able to argue claims in writing and through oral presentation based on causal links and multiple
evidentiary sources.
Be able to promote the public understanding of science and scientists.
Demonstrate the ability to develop and use visuals, construct narrative in public presentations of science.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Understanding and addressing the most complex and urgent challenges of our time—climate change,
biodiversity loss, genetic engineering—requires innovative thinkers who can critically assess and communicate
scientific ideas. From conference papers to podcasts, the ability to translate scientific research to all audiences is
an invaluable skill for science majors in every discipline, and the narrative techniques of nonfiction can help
students present ideas with compelling energy, clarity, and creativity.

In this course, students will have the opportunity to develop their writing and communication for both the
academic and public context, and hone their critical reading skills. The course will culminate in a student-driven
final research project that will consist of both a paper and a presentation, which may take the form of a
conference-style talk or a multimedia project, such as a short video or podcast.

Course topics will include: knowing your audience, reading like a writer, unpacking structure, staging
uncertainty, delivering a pitch, research techniques, and working responsibly with sources. Students will
develop techniques for conveying the story of their research work to peers, granting agencies, and the public.

Course prerequisite: All students must have completed Expository Writing 01:355:101 or its equivalent.

ASSIGNMENTS/RESPONSIBILITIES & GRADING:

• Short Essay on Assigned Readings (4-5 pages)
• Research Proposal (2-3 pages)
• Abstract
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• Annotated Bibliography
• Final Presentation on Research Project
• Research Project (8-10 pages) that draws from both academic and popular sources
• Participation (includes submitting drafts, completing peer reviews, taking an active role in class discussion
and activities, and completing miscellaneous assignments, including *attending one science talk or
seminar on campus this semester and submitting a one-page analysis of the speaker’s storytelling
methods). Links to the seminar schedules of SEBS majors will be posted on the Sakai site.

Science Café Spring Schedule:

Tuesday, January 29: Lena Struwe
Title: Hidden in plain sight: Science collections and wild species on Cook Campus
IFNH 205, 9:30 am

Tuesday, February 19:

Jean Marie Hartman
Title: Water + land = watershed: Connecting ecosystems in the Raritan watershed
IFNH 101, 9:30 am

Tuesday, March 26:

Topic: Microbiome and health
IFNH 101, 9:30 am

Date to be Determined: Happy Hour Science Café

Mark Robson
Title: Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are
CSC, 4:30 pm

Grading:

Grading Scale

93-100 A

89-92 B+

81-88 B

77-80 C+

70-76 C

69 and below F

Components of the Final Grade

Participation 10%

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Short Essay 10%

Abstract and Annotated

15%
Bibliography

Research Presentation 20%

Research Proposal Pass/Non-Pass

Research Project 45%

• You risk losing a grade for each class that your assignment is late.
• You must earn a passing grade on your final project to pass the class.

ACCOMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Please follow the procedures outlined at https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/registration-form. Full policies and
procedures are at https://ods.rutgers.edu/

COURSE POLICIES
-No cell phone use in class.
-Unless you are directed otherwise, all writing assignments you submit must be double-spaced, in 12-point font,
and include your name and page numbers.
ABSENCE POLICY
-Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University
absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An
email is automatically sent to me.
• Attendance at all classes is expected. After two unexcused absences you risk failing the course. If
you will be missing class, please inform me ahead of time and contact a classmate to learn about any
required assignments.
• Punctuality is important. Lateness of twenty minutes or more counts as half an absence. After missing
thirty minutes of class, you will be marked absent.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The university's policy on Academic Integrity is available at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/academic-
integrity-policy. The principles of academic integrity require that a student:
• properly acknowledge and cite all use of the ideas, results, or words of others.
• properly acknowledge all contributors to a given piece of work.
• make sure that all work submitted as his or her own in a course or other academic activity is produced
without the aid of impermissible materials or impermissible collaboration.
• obtain all data or results by ethical means and report them accurately without suppressing any results
inconsistent with his or her interpretation or conclusions.
• treat all other students in an ethical manner, respecting their integrity and right to pursue their
educational goals without interference. This requires that a student neither facilitate academic dishonesty
by others nor obstruct their academic progress.
• uphold the canons of the ethical or professional code of the profession for which he or she is preparing.
Adherence to these principles is necessary in order to ensure that
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• everyone is given proper credit for his or her ideas, words, results, and other scholarly accomplishments.
• all student work is fairly evaluated and no student has an inappropriate advantage over others.
• the academic and ethical development of all students is fostered.
• the reputation of the University for integrity in its teaching, research, and scholarship is maintained and
enhanced.
Failure to uphold these principles of academic integrity threatens both the reputation of the University and the
value of the degrees awarded to its students. Every member of the University community therefore bears a
responsibility for ensuring that the highest standards of academic integrity are upheld.

STUDENT WELLNESS SERVICES

Just In Case Web App http://codu.co/cee05e
Access helpful mental health information and resources for yourself or a friend in a mental health crisis on your
smartphone or tablet and easily contact CAPS or RUPD.

Counseling, ADAP & Psychiatric Services (CAPS)

(848) 932-7884 / 17 Senior Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901/ www.rhscaps.rutgers.edu/
CAPS is a University mental health support service that includes counseling, alcohol and other drug assistance,
and psychiatric services staffed by a team of professional within Rutgers Health services to support students’
efforts to succeed at Rutgers University. CAPS offers a variety of services that include: individual therapy,
group therapy and workshops, crisis intervention, referral to specialists in the community and consultation and
collaboration with campus partners.

Violence Prevention & Victim Assistance (VPVA)

(848) 932-1181 / 3 Bartlett Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 / www.vpva.rutgers.edu/
The Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance provides confidential crisis intervention, counseling
and advocacy for victims of sexual and relationship violence and stalking to students, staff and faculty. To
reach staff during office hours when the university is open or to reach an advocate after hours, call 848-932-
1181.

Disability Services
(848) 445-6800 / Lucy Stone Hall, Suite A145, Livingston Campus, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ
08854 / https://ods.rutgers.edu/
Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In
order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the
appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake
interview, and provide documentation: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/documentation-guidelines. If the
documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office
will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the
accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. To begin this process, please complete the
Registration form on the ODS web site at: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/registration-form.

Scarlet Listeners
(732) 247-5555 / https://rutgers.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/scarletlisteners
Free and confidential peer counseling and referral hotline, providing a comforting and supportive safe space.

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