Microsoft Word XXXXXXXXXXAE 1B Research Essay - Task Advice.docx
NATS1019 SCIENTIFIC LITERACY – Spring 2023
Writing Task Part 1 + Successful Searching Quiz
This assessment contributes 15% to your overall mark for this unit. The assessment is to be
submitted through Turnitin on vUWS by Week 6, Thursday 31 August, 11:59pm.
Assessment Description
Writing Task Part 1 develops the scientific topic that will be the subject of Writing Task Part
2. You will choose a scientific topic that is suitable for a popular-level article. You are
encouraged to choose your own topic, in discussion with your workshop tutor. A list of
suggested topics is provided below. You will write a short summary of your topic before your
second workshop (Week 4-5), and discuss this summary with your tutor and classmates. This
assessment consists of:
1) The “Successful Searching” Module and Quiz, in vUWS under “Assessment 1.”
2) 300-word reflection that includes discussion of group feedback.
3) 300-word description of an experiment or observation that is relevant to your topic.
4) Nomination of a reviewer for your article (Writing Task Part 2).
There is an example assessment in vUWS. Studiosity is available for free assessment help and
feedback sessions via Zoom. Find the link to Studiosity in the left-hand menu in vUWS.
Statement on the Use of Generative AI
Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to
ainstorm ideas, summarise reading
material or to edit your submission is permitted. The content of your final submission must
e your original work. Be aware that the output from generative AI tools may be inco
ect,
incomplete or biased.
Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in
assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party including generative AI to
questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the
Student Misconduct Rule. Use of generative AI tools may be detected. More information is
available on the Li
ary web page.
Background
Communicating to a general audience is an essential skill for scientists. Your non-specialist
eader might be members of the public who need to hear about your medical
eakthrough,
industry specialists who could turn your discovery into improvements in our way of life, or
https:
www.westernsydney.edu.au/cu
entstudents/cu
ent_students/student_misconduct_rule
https:
westernsydney.edu.au/studysmart/home/study_with_integrity/turnitin_ai_detecto
the assessors of a grant to fund your research. You need to be able to explain, in plain
language, what you discovered and why it matters.
Science is also inherently collaborative: your work will build on the work of other scientists.
Finding, assessing and citing scientific information is essential to providing a complete picture
of the available scientific evidence, and giving due credit to your colleagues. In particular,
properly referencing and citing allows readers to check your sources for themselves.
This assessment will invite you to reflect on your experience of choosing a topic for your
writing task. Reflection encourages you to observe your own experiences and beliefs, and link
these with the content of this course. It is an important part of learning at University, and an
essential part of being a practicing scientist. As we take time to think about what we have
done and learned, we organise our thoughts, see the bigger picture, and look for new
directions for future research.
What to do
Step 1: Complete the “Successful Searching” Module on vUWS.
A link to the “Successful Searching” Module can be found in the Assessment Zone on
vUWS. You must score at least 18/20 on the quiz at the end of the module to receive
any marks for this assessment. You can attempt the quiz as many times as you need.
Step 2: Choose a topic that is suitable for a popular-level scientific article.
Choose a scientific topic that interests you, about which you will write a popular-level
article. We will choose your own topic. Your topic must be a scientific topic: not
engineering, politics, philosophy, history, ethics, etc. It must concern scientific
knowledge about the physical world. If you are unsure, talk to your workshop tutor.
Be specific, but not too technical.
Step 3: Write a short summary of your topic before your Workshop 2.
Write two or three sentences to summarize your topic. It may be helpful to pose a
question that your article will answer.
Step 4: Discuss your topic with your workshop group.
Bring your short summary to Workshop 2. As you discuss your topic with other
students and your workshop tutor, record their comments and their effect on your
choice of topic.
Step 5: Find a scientific source that describes a relevant experiment or observation.
With the help of the internet, the li
ary, and any other useful source, find a
description of an experiment or observation done by a scientist, which is relevant to
your chosen topic. You need to find a description of the methods, results, and analysis,
not just the conclusions. What did the scientists do? What did they see?
You are permitted but not expected to read and reference published papers in
professional scientific journals. They might be too technical for you. Popular-level
articles are fine. Examples of websites with popular-level articles:
• www.smithsonianmag.com
• www.newscientist.com
• www.popsci.com
• theconversation.com
• nautil.us
• aeon.co/science
• www.fo
es.com/science
• science.howstuffworks.com
If you encounter a paywall (e.g. “Subscribe to continue reading”), you can access
articles via the Li
ary. As well as sources, these websites will also be useful for finding
examples of popular-level articles, whose style you can learn from.
The Structure of Your Assessment
Once you have completed the “Successful Searching” Module on vUWS, submit your
assessment as a PDF document that includes your name and student ID. Structure your
document as follows; an example assessment is provided on vUWS.
Section 1: Reflection
In (maximum) 300 words,
iefly describe your topic and why you chose it. Your
eason for choosing your topic may be quite personal; it does not need to be
sophisticated. We all have different reasons for becoming a scientist, and for our
scientific interests. Be honest and genuine.
Next, describe the feedback from your group at your Week 4-5 Workshop. Specifically,
• What did they already think about your topic?
• What did they want to know about your topic?
• How will you incorporate this feedback into your article?
Reflection requires both describing and analysing your experiences. Reflective writing
asks you to make sense out of your thoughts. As such, it needs to be logically
structured and readable, using paragraphs to organize ideas. It is not formal academic
writing, so you do not need to cite references in your reflection.
Section 2: Description of a relevant experiment or observation
In (maximum) 300 words, describe a specific experiment or observation, done by
scientists, that is relevant to your topic. Give particular attention to the methods and
esults; don’t just quote the conclusions. What did they do? What did they see?
Give at least one properly formatted reference for your source(s) of information for
this experiment / observation. Use www.citethisforme.com – a video explaining how
can be found in vUWS – and the Harvard referencing style.
http:
www.smithsonianmag.com
http:
www.newscientist.com
http:
www.popsci.com
https:
theconversation.com/au
https:
nautil.us
https:
aeon.co/science
https:
www.fo
es.com/science
https:
www.citethisforme.com
Section 3: Reviewer
Assessment 3 (Writing Task Part 2) includes an 800 word popular level article on the
scientific topic that you chose in this assessment. It is essential to developing as a
writer that you show your writing to other people for comment. In this assessment,
you will nominate someone who will review your Assessment 3 article before you
submit it. Tell us why you chose your reviewer, and provide evidence that they are
willing to help you.
Choose your reviewer wisely. They cannot be a WSU staff member. Fellow students,
friends, family members: these are all fine. Someone with experience in writing and
editing would be ideal.
We recommend sending the following email to your reviewer. If they accept,
screenshot (not copy-paste) their reply in your submitted assessment.
Submission Checklist
Complete the “Successful Searching” Module on vUWS.
Read the Marking Ru
ic below.
Read the Example Assessment on vUWS.
Include the Assignment 1 Cover Sheet (on vUWS) as the first page as an image
(otherwise, it will trigger Turnitin).
Word limits: Reflection and Description (not including reference) are each 300 words
maximum. There is no minimum word count.
No images. Text only.
Submit your assessment as a PDF via Turnitin on vUWS.
Turnitin similarity score should be below 15%. Check your score and revise your
assessment if necessary.
Dear _______,
For my university subject “Scientific Literacy”, I need someone to review my 800
word article. It’s supposed to be written so that anyone can understand it, not
just scientists. You would need to answer three questions:
• Where were you bored?
• Where could you not understand what was going on?
• Where was it not believable?
Any spelling and grammar comments could be useful, too.
Can you read it for me? If that’s OK, I’ll provide a draft by Thursday 15th October.
I’ll need comments back within a week.
Thanks,
_________
Advice to Students
• Do not copy-and-paste from the internet. Turnitin will compare your assessment to
internet sources, and other submitted assessments. If you plagiarise, you will be
caught, and face academic misconduct proceedings. Busyness and carelessness are
not acceptable excuses.
• Revise your writing! Write a draft, take a
eak, and reread your article out loud.
• Give your assessment to someone else to read – any adult should be able to
understand it and provide comments.
• If you find an article on a database, you need to reference the original article (i.e.
where it was published), which is not necessarily the website you found it on.
• If you fail to attend Workshop 2, you can receive feedback on your topic from any
adult non-scientist. Friends and family are fine.
Topic Examples – NOT TO BE USED
This list gives examples of appropriate topics, which must not be used. You must not chose
one of the following topics; use them as inspiration to think of your own topic.
• How, and why, do some animals glow in the dark?
• How animals survive bushfires
• Was Venus ever habitable?
• What is plastic doing to our environment?
• Social Media and the modern attention span
• Is it possible to clone a Neanderthal?
• Are plants intelligent?
• Do black holes really exist?
• Should we try to recover extinct species by cloning their DNA?
• Can someone's personality change throughout their life?
• Video games and teenager aggression.
• Why do we cry?
Marking Ru
ic
Weighting
Automatic
penalties
Level
Each criterion is marked out of 10; total mark will be converted to be out of 15.
Criteria Unsatisfactory (0-2) Beginning (3-5) Developing (6-8) Proficient (9-10)
A. Grammar, Layout,
Cover Sheet
10% No cover sheet:
-5 marks /10
Significant and common
e
ors in grammar,
spelling.
Frequent e
ors in
grammar, spelling.
Some minor e
ors in
grammar, spelling.
Only very few minor e
ors
in grammar, spelling.
B. Reflection 35% > 300 words:
-3 marks / 10
350 words:
-5 marks / 10
Inappropriate or non-
scientific topic, no
eflection on choice of
topic, no evidence of group
feedback
Mostly unscientific topic,
little reflection on choice
of topic, shallow group
feedback
Mostly scientific topic, some
eflection on choice of topic,
some evidence of group
feedback
Scientific topic, insightful
eflection on choice of topic,
quality group feedback,
including how it will be
incorporated.
C. Description of
experiment /
observation
35% > 300 words:
-3 marks / 10
350 words:
-5 marks / 10
No description, or
i
elevant to topic
Minimal discussion of
evidence and method.
Almost all conclusions.
Marginally relevant to
topic.
Some discussion of method
and results, but more
conclusions. Mostly relevant
to topic.
Insightful, balanced
discussion of method,
esults, and conclusions.
Relevant to topic.
D. Referencing 10% Fails to reference sources. Major e
ors in
eferencing. Unreliable,
unscientific source.
Minor e
ors in referencing.
Source of adequate
eliability.