Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Illinois Chicago/Current Topics in Earth and Environmental Sciences (Fall 2023)

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In this course you will read primary scientific literature in the Earth and Environmental Sciences, and popular science writing on various topics. Most of all, however, this course will give you the chance to practice scientific writing, which necessitates even more reading! You will write descriptively and in a neutral style for a Wikipedia assignment, as well as synthetically and in an argumentative style for a research summary article.

Why do we write? To answer this, we’ll start by exploring the goals of science and how scientific writing contributes to growth of knowledge and evolution of scientific disciplines. However, we will return to this question throughout the semester with guided reflections. It’s a question worth exploring!

How do we write well? It's never too late to go back to first principles. We’ll complete a refresher on what is called classical style, which I suggest you use, and will review classical style’s guidance for sentence, paragraph, and article units, including word choice, subject-verb positions, and stress points. More broadly, we'll consider what good science writing has in common with other types of good writing, illustrated with weekly examples.

How much practice does it take? Learning to write well is a lifelong journey. What I’m looking for in this class is for you to demonstrate improvement in your writing ability by applying the techniques and knowledge you gain in the class in assignments. You’ll complete two main writing assignments; one descriptive and one synthetic. In both you will write a first draft and then revise several times using peer and instructor feedback.