60109 Professional Science Document Writing
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 2 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Recommended studies:
68109 Advanced Communication Skills in Science
Description
When communicated well, science can inspire, create debate, and spark discussion that drives science to have a more significant presence in society. Science document writing encompasses a broad scope, including documents such as patient information sheets provided with medications, government policy documents, clinical trial applications and scientific publications. These can change public perception, educate, and drive policy change. Therefore, it is essential that scientists can explain their work to others and make their science open and accessible to the public. Being able to communicate science effectively, in various formats, is an essential skill of the modern scientist. Science communication itself is a burgeoning arm of science. Employers of science graduates commonly state that an essential skill they look for in a potential employee is excellent communication skills.
This subject aims to develop written communication skills in a variety of practical applications. This subject develops and enhances students' written skills, including creating convincing 'calls to action' and using the correct style, tone, grammar and referencing.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Consider and explain the importance of writing as a professional skill for all scientists |
|---|---|
| 2. | Translate scientific information effectively to a range of audiences in a variety of written formats |
| 3. | Demonstrate clear and effective written communication using correct academic referencing |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of following course intended learning outcomes:
- Develop, prepare, and engage, at times collaboratively, in safe, ethical, organised and transparent work practices that mitigate risk and contribute to solving global health problems in the context of science and medical biotechnology. (3.1)
- Reflectively discover, create, and evaluate processes used to determine the value, integrity, and relevance of multiple sources of information to derive innovative solutions to complex science and medical biotechnology problems. (4.1)
- Present and communicate complex ideas and justifications using appropriate communication approaches from a variety of methods (oral, written, visual) to communicate with discipline experts, scientists, industry, and the general public. (5.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The Faculty of Science has six graduate attributes that you will develop during your course at UTS.
This subject is intended to assess the following attributes:
Graduate Attribute 3.0: Professional, ethical, and social responsibility
The learning activities in this subject will give you the capacity to work ethically and professionally using technical, practical, and collaborative Medical Biotechnology skills within the context of the workplace, and apply these to meet the current and future needs of society. You will be evaluated on effective and consistent contribution to these over the course of the session.
As a professional scientist, you are expected to communicate science widely and comment on current topics of interest. You are likely to address a wide range of target groups of readers and/or audience of quite different scientific background who will not understand the jargon that is unique to your discipline. You will learn when to use different modes of written communication in different professional settings, and how to effectively identify the relevant audiences.
Plagiarism is unacceptable at any level of science communication and it must not be committed by an ethical scientist, therefore an ethical, professional attitude is strongly emphasised in this subject.
Graduate Attribute 4.0: Reflection, Innovation, Creativity
As a professional scientist, you are expected to work autonomously and to reflect on your professional practice continually. In undertaking your postgraduate studies, you are enhancing your reflective skills as you undertake self-directed learning. These skills encompass the ability to survey the literature, synthesise your understandings and justify your findings in writing.
Graduate Attribute 5.0: Communication
To enhance your written communication skills as a postgraduate student in science you will examine a range of styles and modes used in professional scientific writing. You will also explore the various forms of communication delivered by peers, supervisors and other professionals and the reporting of science in the media, and those commonly found in professional science workplaces. Your assessment tasks focus on practising the various communication modes. Online exercises will also build your competence in academic English expression appropriate for a professional scientist so that you write clearly, grammatically correctly and effectively for the target reader or audience. In addition, as a professional scientist you are expected to be interested in and to keep up to date with current science news - to help you develop this, you will be expected to contribute comments to the Discussion boards about articles and written documents on Canvas.
Teaching and learning strategies
The subject will be delivered online and you will be able to work at your own pace through the content. All of the material will be delivered to you using the online learning platform Canvas. The subject is designed to engage you using active learning and will feature videos, quizzes and other interactive media to allow you to further broaden your knowledge of the topic. You will be provided with relevant and current examples of scientific professional writing and be encouraged to compare and contrast these examples to others areas of science that you may be interested in.
The content will be delivered in four content areas which will each focus on a different style of professional science writing; media releases, blogs, and policy briefings. You will be assessed by a quiz at the end of the first three modules and will receive feedback to allow you to further hone your skills before completing the final assessment. You will also have the chance to connect with your peers using the Discussion Boards and ask and answer each other’s questions to further deepen your knowledge.
Content (topics)
One of the critical skills of a professional scientist is the ability to communicate; to explain their work to others, and make their science open and accessible to the public. Effective communication is one of the essential skills employers look for in a potential employee.
This subject aims to develop your written communication skills in a variety of typical and practical applications. This subject will develop and enhance your written skills, including creating convincing "calls to action" and using the correct style, tone, grammar and referencing.
The program moves through four online modules:
1. Writing for science
2. Media releases
3. Blogs
4. Policy briefings
For more details, please consult Canvas.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Multiple Choice, Short Answer Quizzes
| Intent: | The following graduate attributes are assessed in this task: 3.0: Professional, ethical, and social responsibility 4.0: Reflection, Innovation, Creativity 5.0: Communication |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): 2 and 3 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 45% |
| Criteria: | Correct responses to multiple choice questions and demonstration of comprehension and critical thinking in short answer responses. |
Assessment task 2: Policy briefing
| Intent: | The following graduate attributes are assessed in this task: 3.0: Professional, ethical, and social responsibility |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2 and 3 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 3.1 and 5.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 55% |
| Length: | Three A4-pages (excluding any diagrams, boilerplate and references). |
| Criteria: | Your policy briefing will be assessed on content, grammar, sentence structure and referencing, and applying the correct form and style of writing. A rubric and worked sample are provided on Canvas.
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Minimum requirements
Students must receive 50% of all available marks in order to pass this subject.