Each summer, proteges take part in a weekly Scientific Writing and Communication Workshop that not only improves their skills but also leads to a richer appreciation of the close connections between communication activities and scientific research.
The workshop helps proteges produce a detailed and sophisticated scientific research paper, a scientific poster, and a colloquium talk by addressing a range of rhetorical issues: framing the research question by drawing on previous research, articulating methods in ways that demonstrate mastery of disciplinary conventions, stating results by incorporating visuals, analyzing claims in light of the evidence gathered, and articulating the broader significance of the study.
The workshop is held weekly. Collaborative peer review forms an important part of the workshop, with drafts posted the day before the workshop on the SOARS wiki. The Writing Workshop provides a common framework within which individualized meetings with writing mentors can become especially productive.
Rolf Norgaard
SOARS Writing and Communication Workshop Coordinator
rolf.norgaard@colorado.edu
Rolf Norgaard (Ph.D. Stanford University) is a faculty member in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he recently served as associate director of the program. He teaches a broad range of courses, with a special focus on technical and professional communication. He has published widely on the rhetorical dimensions of writing instruction in institutional and curricular contexts, information literacy, and writing as a vehicle for civic engagement and ethical inquiry. A regular presenter at national conferences, he is the author of Managing the Partnership between Higher Education and Industry (with Jana Matthews), Ideas in Action: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Writing (Longman), and most recently Composing Knowledge (Bedford/St.Martin's). In April 2006 he received the Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest campus-wide teaching award.
General Writing Resources
- The Writing Studio at Colorado State University: This website offers resources for both students and teachers and guides on both writing processes and specific types of writing. Topics covered range from grammar and style to English as a Second Language; the site includes an extensive set of web links. Note the guide on science writing, which offers useful information on poster sessions.
- The On-Line Writing Lab at Purdue University: In addition to general coverage of writing issues, the site offers handouts on grammar, English as a Second Language (ESL), scientific writing, editing techniques, etc.
- Gopen and Swan, "The Science of Scientific Writing"