Technical Writing 1

Course Overview

Course Description

In this course, students will develop the scientific and technical reading and writing skills they need to understand and construct research articles. First, students will learn what research or the research process is and how it is reflected in the writing of a research paper. Students will plan and carry out a short research project, and write up the results of the project as a research paper after learning about the characteristic features of each section of research papers. In introductions, they will see how expert writers summarize previous work using references and citations. Then, they will learn how to explain materials, methods, and processes in the correct tense and voice in the materials and methods section. Subsequently, they will learn how to write up the results and discussion of their research, displaying data in the form of tables and charts, explaining trends and patterns in their data, and adjusting the strength of their options with hedging devices. Finally, students will learn how to summarize their entire research paper in the form of a short one or two paragraph abstract.

Course goals

• Understand the concepts of research and the research process.
• Understand the importance of audience, purpose, organization, flow, style, and presentation in the construction of a science and engineering research paper.
• Understand research journal “Instructions for Authors” guides.
• Write the title, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion sections of a research paper.
• Explain information in figures and charts.
• Know how to strengthen or weaken interpretations of research findings using hedging devices.
• Follow common conventions for citing and referencing information in a research paper to avoid plagiarism.

Download a generic course syllabus here.

Specific details related to each teacher are available on the Waseda Moodle course page.

Information

Materials

• Course materials will be distributed in the first lesson of the course.
• Bringing an advanced English/Japanese dictionary to class is recommended.

Grading and assessment

• Components
  • Final written paper (80%)
  • In-class and homework assignments (20%)
• Test Absence Policy

Further Information

• Statement on academic honesty
• Students should bring a sample of their writing from a previous course (e.g. CBD1/2) to the first class if available.

Supplemental resources

• Students are encouraged to visit the Nishi-Waseda Campus writing center (Bldg. 60, 2nd floor, Room 201). More information can be found here.