Scientific writing about discourse community

NSCI 306—Fall 2019 1

Writing Project #2

Writing Project #2

Investigating Discourse

Background: Scientific writing involves a culture of writers and readers. Another way to think about this is

that science has its own language or “discourse”—its own ways of speaking/communicating.

According to John Swales, this makes science as a whole (as well as its specific disciplines and

other academic disciplines) a “discourse community.” Discourse communities use language in

specific ways and, generally, use specific genres (such as journals, blogs, newsletters, emails,

etc.) to communicate amongst members. Journals/journal articles are a common genre used in

many academic discourse communities, and, arguably, help to form the knowledge base of these

communities. Thus, it is vital to be familiar with the journals in your chosen field.

The Assignment: Investigate a current academic/professional journal related to your academic discipline and

present your findings in a written paper. Your task is twofold:

 Learn about the journal’s research trends and interests and

 Determine and explain how and what this journal contributes to the goals, work, and/or knowledge base of your academic discipline (major).

To do this, you will need to do the following:

1. Describe and define your major (discipline), including some of its overall goals, its work, etc.

For example, if you are a Kinesiology major, what does Kinesiology, as a field of study, do or

seek to do? Or, what is its purpose? This description/definition should help contextualize your

chosen Journal, which means helping your audience understand why you are discussing your

chosen Journal.

2. Investigate at least the past three consecutive years of your chosen journal, looking through

titles and abstracts of the articles and other contents of the journal. You do not have to read

every article of every issue. Here are some of the questions you should strive to answer. You are

looking at your journal over time (longitudinally) to see trends and recurring topics and to get a

sense of the journal itself.

 How long has this Journal been in publication? Who publishes it? How often? What is its focus?

 How does an author submit articles to this journal?

 What genres are present in the Journal other than research articles? (Letters to the editor, book reviews, responses, etc.?)

 What are some of the recurring topics in this Journal? Briefly explain at least two of these topics so readers have a better understanding of them.

 What kinds of research questions seem to be part of this Journal? Are these questions consistent with questions your major asks or the work your major seeks to do?

 Is the research usually conducted by a single researcher or done collaboratively (more than one researcher)? Or is it a mixture? What might this say about how knowledge is

created in your discipline?

 What else should your audience know about this Journal?

NSCI 306—Fall 2019 2

Writing Project #2

Remember, though, that your main objective is to determine how and what your journal

contributes to the goals, work, and knowledge base your discipline. Thus, your paper needs to be

more than just a list of answers to the above questions. Use the information from your

investigation to help discuss what your journal does for your discipline.

3. Compile a Bibliography showcasing two of the recurring topics you discovered in your

investigation. The Bibliography should:

 Clearly label each recurring topic, such as Topic #1: Childhood Obesity. Topic #2: Vitamin Supplements.

 Cite three articles per topic, preferably from different years/volumes of the Journal. No summary or evaluation of the articles is necessary. Simply list the full APA citations in

alphabetical order by author last name.

o This means you need a total of 6 (six) citations.

 Be its own page/section. It is also separate from the Reference Page. (The Reference Page is for anything you cite in the paper itself.)

Your work with the Bibliography will help you with work for Project #3.

Paper Requirements

The paper includes a minimum 750-word (maximum 1250) essay addressing Parts 1 and 2 of the

assignment as listed. Yes, this is possible. The Bibliography does not count toward the word

count. The Reference Page is also not part of this word count. The Title Page and Abstract are

not part of the word count, either.

Formatting:

Papers should conform to APA format.

 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, 1-inch margins all around, double spaced.

 Title Page required.

 An Abstract is required for this assignment. 200-word maximum.

 Reference Page required if you use direct quotes or close paraphrases from any part of your Journal’s webpage or if you directly refer to or quote from or paraphrase any of the

articles you find.

 The Bibliography should come after the Reference Page or the last page of the paper. Title the Bibliography as “Bibliography.”

Refer to the APA Handbook as needed. Sample papers will be available on Blackboard.

Timeline: (Refer to Course Calendar for other dates and assignments)

Thursday, 10/24/19: Project #2 Introduced.

 Read Assignment Sheet and follow Calendar for other assignments Friday, 10/25/19: WP #2 Journal Log due

Tuesday, 10/29/19: WP #2 Rough draft due by 11:30 p.m.

 Go to Writing Project #2 on Blackboard. Select “WP #2 Rough” submission link

 If you do not submit by the deadline, you will not be able to participate in Workshop

 Review Writing Workshop #2 Procedures sheet Thursday, 10/31/19: WP #2 Workshop (via Turnitin PeerMark) due by 11:30 p.m.

NSCI 306—Fall 2019 3

Writing Project #2

 Read and give feedback on assigned PeerMark draft(s) Tuesday, 11/5/19: Final Draft due to Blackboard by 11:30 p.m.

 Go to Writing Project #2 link on Blackboard. Select “WP #2 Final” submission link

Assessment

This Project is worth 200 points, broken down as follows:

 10 points for Journal Log (see Timeline for due date)

 15 points for Workshop must submit draft and Workshop responses on time for full credit

 175 points for Final Draft

Project #2 will be graded according to the Assessment policy in the syllabus and the Grading

Criteria holistic rubric on Blackboard.

What Professor Taylor is looking for in this Project

 Clear definition and discussion of major (academic discipline) as described in “The Assignment” section above

 Clear connection between major and chosen Journal

 Discussion of what academic/professional journals do, why they matter

 Clear discussion and exploration of chosen Journal as described in “The Assignment” section above

 Logical order of ideas. Keep your audience in mind.

 Logical transitions and connections between paragraphs

 Conclusion that clearly wraps up the discussion and gives readers something to think about.

 Bibliography as described in “The Assignment” section

 Adherence to APA style and formatting, including attempt at Abstract

 Clear and clean prose—few/minor grammar or mechanics errors. Be sure to proofread and spellcheck.

Be sure to consult the WP #2 FAQ on Blackboard as needed.