Paper 1: Introduction of a Scientific Article
The grade of this paper makes up 20% of your writing grade, and accordingly, 14% of your final grade.
In scientific practice, scientists often introduce what they consider important or interesting research articles to their colleagues. In doing so, they not only exchange information with regard to research but also inspire one another by providing their insights on the articles. To introduce a scientific article is to tell on which periodical it is published, what the hypothesis is, how the hypothesis is established, how the data prove/disprove the hypothesis, what the (experimental) methods are, as well as how reasonable the (experimental) methods are. Sometimes, the identities of the authors should also be introduced. In this assignment, you are required to write a paper in which you introduce the scientific article about fox/dog domestication, An Experiment on Fox Domestication, to your classmates of ENGL 199C as if they do not read the articles yet. The purpose of writing this paper is to train you in both reading and retelling/recontexualizing a scientific article.
Focus: Logic and Structure of Scientific Publication
Outcomes:
— 1st, you should provide some general information of the article, such as where it is published and who the authors are.
— 2nd, you should articulate the hypothesis and the reasoning of the hypothesis.
— 3rd, you should introduce the (experimental) methods and data collection.
— 4th, you should analyze how the data support the hypothesis, or, how valid the conclusion is.
— 5th: Your writing should be proofread and edited so that errors of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics do not interfere with reading and understanding it.
(Note: the order of the outcomes has nothing to do with the structure of the paper.)
Length and format:
3 to 4pages, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and MLA format.
Copies to submit: 3
Draft due: Jan. 28, Monday
Paper due: Feb. 4, Monday
Paper 2: Academic Conversation
The grade of this paper makes up 30% of your writing grade, and accordingly, 21% of your final grade.
In this assignment, you are required to conduct library research on domestication in order to find out what research has been done on the topic. In so doing, you can observe the ongoing academic conversation regarding the topic, understand the rhetorical situation, and pick up the particular terms (concepts) often employed to discuss about the topic (intertextuality).
Focus: Academic Conversation
Outcomes:
— 1st, you should articulate why the issue matters; that is, the stake of the academic conversation.
— 2nd, you should summarize the ongoing academic conversation. In other words, introduce the rhetorical situation.
— 3rd, you should present at least three articles in your paper, including one article not on the reading list of this course.
— 4th: Your writing should be proofread and edited so that errors of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics do not interfere with reading and understanding it.
Length and format:
3 to 4pages, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and MLA format.
Copies to submit: 3
Draft due: Feb. 19, Tuesday
Paper due: Feb. 25, Monday
Paper 3: Popularization
The grade of this paper makes up 50% of your writing grade, and accordingly, 35% of your final grade.
In this assignment, you are required to write a paper in which you “popularize” the research on domestication to readers who are interested in scientific developments but not scientists. Your topics can be a concept like tamability, or a research project like the domestication of fox or horse, or a scientist like Belyaev. This kind of writing is a genre named popularization, usually published in newspapers and magazines, such as one of the articles we have read in class, “Taming the Wild.” Popularization aims to disseminate information about the developments and discoveries, as well as those who contribute significantly to the field, to a wider public. A popularization differs both from your textbook that elaborates concepts and facts important to your lecture course study, and from scientific publications that report new discoveries or advance new theories. Thus, such writings not only explain the concepts or discoveries in everyday language, but also, more importantly, tell why they are important to both the field and our society, and what they have to do with our life. A popularization of a scientist should narrate his/her life and emphasize his/her contributions. In other words, popularization must articulate the significance and social effects of what it popularizes.
Hint: The key is to have a focus or specific topic yet fully elaborate what it requires to interest and inform your readers.
Focus: Awareness of Audience/Readers
Outcomes:
— 1st: Your introduction to the term, or the concept, or the important person should be comprehensive. In other words, you should write about the historical background.
— 2nd: You should articulate the significance; or, the significance of his/her contribution, if you write about a scientist.
— 3rd: You should elaborate the social effects; or, the social effects of his/her contribution, if you write about a scientist.
— 4th: Your writing should be clear and comprehensible to non-experts.
— 5th: Your writing should be proofread and edited so that errors of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics do not interfere with reading and understanding it.
Length and format:
4 to 5pages, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and MLA format.
Copies to submit: 3
Draft due: Mar. 11, Monday
Paper due: Mar. 21, Thursday