LSC 212: Intro to Scientific Communication
Duration: 8 weeks
Credits: 3
Whether you’re majoring (or planning to major) in science, social science, communication, business, or another field, writing will be a key part of your academic and professional life. This course focuses on increasing your confidence and competency as a writer with an emphasis on science. It satisfies the university’s Comm B requirement for undergraduates.
The overarching theme of LSC 212 is “writing as a conversation,” which comes from the course’s textbook, They Say / I Say, and from what scholars have learned from studying the science of communication. All good communication — scientific or otherwise — isn’t just about asserting what we think or know. It also requires listening carefully to the views and perspectives of others and responding thoughtfully to their ideas. The authors of They Say / I Say state it this way: “Writing well means entering into conversation with others.”
Why this approach? Entering into conversation with others isn’t just the basis of effective academic, scientific, and professional writing, but responsible public discourse, as well. As the authors of They Say / I Say argue, this approach is especially needed in today’s deeply divided society, where we often talk past one another, rather than engaging in any meaningful way with people who see things differently. Appreciating others’ perspectives is also critical when we’re communicating about science. That’s because no matter how “objective” we believe science to be, the reality is that scientific ideas always intersect with people’s beliefs, values, opinions, and emotions.
Throughout the semester, students in LSC 212 will expand their skills in refining ideas, developing an argument, composing, critiquing, revising, critical thinking, and doing library research. Building these skills will help students communicate more effectively in many genres, including academic papers, scientific research articles, journalistic and other forms of professional writing, multimedia pieces, and online communication including social media.
LSC 212 is an eight-week online-synchronous course that runs from June 20 to August 14, 2022, and is taught by LSC Graduate Student Hannah Monroe. This course fulfills UW-Madison’s Communications-B requirement.
Enroll now by following this link.