COMS1000: Science Communication- Scientific Argument- Report Writing Assignment

Internal Code: TV669

Report Writing Assignment:

Task: Introduction (why have you been given this assignment): Scholarly pursuits are described as ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’. Critical to that process it being able to find, understand and appropriately use and acknowledge the work conducted by those ‘giants’. Over recent centuries scholars have undertaken peer-review to verify the reliability of the work of each other prior to publication. The result is that there is now a fantastic and growing body of reliable evidence that on which we are able to draw to develop our own ideas and provide our own contributions to the scholarship in our chosen fields. The discussions that academic staff have with the employers of graduates in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines consistently reveal the extremely high value that is placed on written communication skills. Employers rate it as one of the top criteria they use in deciding whether or not to progress an applicant to interview, or a graduate intern to full employee. Employers are looking for evidence (that word again) that graduates can write well – not just a statement that you think you can. Gathering that evidence, and in particular the development of your writing throughout your University course is critical. This task is a first piece of that puzzle. This assessment tasks is designed to start you on the track of mastering the art of evidence-based scientific writing. That art takes time to develop and is something on which we continue to work throughout our professional careers. You have been and will continue to work on this task in class so that the output is as high quality as possible and you can use this experience and your feedback from it to grow your skills in future units. The Task: Your task is to: 1. Select a topic relevant to your field of study from the list on Blackboard (you should have done that in week 1 of semester); 2. Construct a piece of evidence based scientific writing (a scientific argument) that fully supports a thesis using:

1. An introduction that includes a well-crafted thesis statement
2. Sub-claims and counterclaims that provide a balanced evaluation of reliable evidence to substantiate your thesis.

3. Evaluate your work using the marking rubric provided.   Details

1. Title: Your work should have a title that provides a suitable concise description of the text. It SHOULD NOT be the topic that you were given.
2. Introduction with thesis statement (main claim): one paragraph (or two paragraphs at the most) with a brief introduction to the scientific issue being addressed and a working hypothesis (thesis statement). It is also appropriate to include a justification of the significance of your research topic in the introduction.
3. Body: The body of your proposal will explore the sub-claims that support your thesis statement (main claim). Use evidence from the current state of research in your topic to substantiate your sub-claims. This is where an annotated bibliography is useful as a tool to organise and track evidence that is used to justify claims in the argument. Each sub-claim should be presented as a paragraph. Provide your readers facilitators and peers with an overview about the current state of research that is relevant to your topic of inquiry. This revised text should incorporate responses to feedback from peers and facilitators.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion brings your argument together. Explain how the evidence that you have provided supports your thesis statement.
5. Reference list: A list of all references used in APA 6th. This must be presented in addition to the annotated bibliography, and should be the conclusion of your final text. The reference list is not included in your final word count of 1500 words.