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Assignment 3 - Public Understanding of Science Public Understanding of Science Report Due: December 9th/16th (see syllabus for details) at 11:55pm Weight: 25% of your final grade Now that you have a good sense of the types of writing leading up to publication, we want to look beyond the field, and examine what happens once results are released. You must write a report on the state of your particular phenomenon in science and how it was represented differently in the public sphere. This assignment will let you trace the origins of science and understand how that is translated and changed to present that information to the public. You may use either your main science journal article from the beginning of the term, the science journal article you were working with for the Poster Presentation, or a new science journal article of your choice. This is not a collaborative piece. If you are using the same article as someone else, you cannot share ideas. However, you may use the peer review process to discuss areas that may have commonality. Your final thoughts must reflect your own. Alongside the science journal article, find two non-academic articles (popular press, newspaper) which discussed that information. One of your two non-academic “articles” may be a video or a podcast. Please see Page 3 to help guide your analysis of these non-academic sources. Your assignment is to write a critical analysis report analyzing all three pieces. You will need to critically analyze: 1. The raw science content (that which is found in your main science article). 2. How the science is framed in the non-academic sources (how is it referenced? What is the connection?). 3. The ways in which the material is modified, changed, or used to modify meaning. You should use the CARS model of introductions to frame your research, and ensure that you clearly outline your methods of analysis. Your paper should detail all the sections of the IMRaD format (introduction, method, results, and discussion) but you can structure your work as either a traditional essay or using IMRaD format. Remember to include a References page in APA style. Communication in the Sciences ENGL 193 University of Waterloo The report will consist of: • An understanding of the goals and nature of the assignment • Use of the CARS method to frame your research and effective organization of the material • Use of IMRaD materials • A targeted analysis of the works • Clear, persuasive, original, and effective arguments • Demonstration of critical and applicable research • Well-developed writing skills, i.e. few to no errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation The format of your report will be: ● 3 pages in length, double spaced (approximately 1000 words) ● PDF (preferred) or .docx format ● Submitted via the appropriate LEARN Dropbox ● Use APA format, including in-text citations and bibliography as appropriate Feedback ● I will offer important feedback on this assignment if it is submitted for December 9th. Should you submit after, up to December 16th, I cannot guarantee in depth feedback. This assignment cannot be resubmitted if feedback is received prior to the final cutoff. Assignment feedback is intended to help individual writers find areas of improvement, rather than for resubmission in this course. I am happy to discuss the course with you whenever you like. I am also more than happy to help you develop your skills as an academic writer. If you would like any help or feedback, please make an appointment for office hours or ask any questions in the LEARN forum. Communication in the Sciences ENGL 193 University of Waterloo Choose ONE of the following aspects – or create your own – to focus your argument of how the material is translated to non-academic sources. You do not need to address every subpoint. 1. Titles ● Are any of the words, terms, ideas used in the article title the same as the public material title? ● Does the title shift focus from results or data to implications of the study? ● Does the title mislead the audience or focus only on one area of the work? 2. Audience ● What is the audience for each source and how does it differ? ● Does the audience change the way the material is presented? ● How does the text use rhetoric to persuade a particular audience? 3. Visuals ● What visuals from the main article does it use or modify? ● What other visuals are brought in and how does this indicate an audience awareness? ● Do the visuals used demonstrate a different interpretation of the material? 4. Quotations ● What quotations from the main article is it using? ● Is it using quotes from other sources? ● Is it using epigraphs to effectively convey a message? 5. Statistics ● How are statistics used in each text? ● When are they used? What particular ones were chosen from the original document? ● Were any statistics found in the non-academic articles which were not present in the main article? (Created, translated, etc.) 6. Narrative ● What is the narrative of each piece? ● Is there evidence of the IMRaD format in the non-academic sources? ● What is the “morale” of each text and how does medium shift this message? 7. Complexity ● What has been removed, lost, or simplified in the non-academic materials? ● Does the different level of complexity suggest a different goal of the piece? 8. Sources ● How are sources used rhetorically in each text? ● What kind of sources are used? ● How easy is it for the reader to access the main article? Communication in the Sciences ENGL 193 University of Waterloo 9. Publisher ● Who is the publisher of each piece and what are their overall mission statements/goals? ● How has the publisher impacted the format, tone, goals, etc. of each piece? 10. Rhetorical Devices ● How does each medium use metaphors, analogies or other comparisons? What is the goal or purpose of each? ● Are other common rhetorical devices used? (Rhetorical questions, alliteration, etc.) and how are they complementing or detracting from the scientific basis of the materials? 11. Popular References ● How does each text use (or ignore) popular references? ● How are these rhetorically used to engage particular readers? ● How are these rhetorically used to enhance or enforce certain ideologies? 12. Assumptions or Errors ● Does the translated material suggest that the author believes the deficit model? ● Does the author make any assumptions about the audience? ● Do the non-academic materials make any errors or contradict any knowledge in the article? Communication in the Sciences ENGL 193 University of Waterloo