DPLS 774 – Academic Writing
Summer 2006 Credits: 1
Pre-requisites:
Admission to DPLS, or permission
Place/Time:
June 17 (Saturday), 9 am – 1 pm, SC 201
June 24 (Saturday), 9 am – 1 pm, SC 201
Faculty:
Susan L. Norwood, EdD, RN
Professor
Schoenberg Center, Room 012
(509)323-6646
norwood@gu.gonzaga.edu
Office hours:
Tuesday-Thursday, 9 am – 3 pm
Or by appointment
Course description:
This course presents a framework for doctoral-level academic writing that emphasizes evidence of critical/analytic thinking, application of universal intellectual standards, and attention to structural details.
Objectives:
Learners who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Develop written work that reflects the universal structures of thought.
- Apply universal intellectual standards to written work.
- Construct written work that is characterized by organization, flow, precision in wording, elegance, and attention to scholarly details and format.
Course Requirements and Grade Computation:
Article critique* - 30%
Paper critique and rewrite* - 40%
Class attentiveness and participation (academic citizenship and civility) - 30%
Total - 100%
*Assignment guidelines attached.
This course is being graded on a Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory basis. You will not receive a letter grade for the course.
To earn a Satisfactory (S) grade you must:
- Attend, be engaged in, and actively participate in both class sessions
- Complete both assignments on time in a thorough, thoughtful, and scholarly manner. Your work must show application of course content.
Required Texts: None. A list of useful resources will be distributed in class.
Teaching Strategies: Discussion-based interactive lectures, in-class application exercises, written assignments.
Course Outline/Calendar:
Session #1 – June 17, 9 am – 1 pm
Introductions
Course overview
Self-assessment/pre-test?
A framework for academic writing – overview
The elements of critical thinking
Reflecting the universal structures of thought in written work
- Purpose
- Questions
- Assumptions
- Point of view
- Evidence
- Reasoning
- Implications
Universal intellectual standards
- Clarity
- Accuracy
- Relevance
- Logicalness
- Breadth
- Precision
- Significance
- Completeness
- Fairness
- Depth
Session #2 – June 25, 9 am – 1 pm
Questions and reflections
Discussion re article critique assignment
The mechanics and aesthetics of writing
- Organization and flow
- Readability
- Grammar and punctuation
- Sentence and paragraph construction
- Precision
- Elegance
- APA format and aesthetics
Gonzaga University
Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies
DPLS 774 – Academic Writing
Summer 2006
Assignment #1 – Article Critique
Purpose: To identify and critique application of the universal structures of thought in written work.
Process:
- Develop a worksheet that you could use to assess presence of the elements of reasoning and the universal intellectual standards in a paper that you write. You may use the template that I hand out in class as a starting point, but I would like to see you “translate” this into something that would be helpful for your own self-assessment.
- Apply this worksheet to the article that is distributed in class.
- We will compare your findings at the beginning of our second class session.
- Hand in your completed worksheet.
This assignment will be graded holistically, using the criteria of completeness, thoughtfulness, accuracy, clarity, and scholarly presentation.
Gonzaga University
Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies
DPLS 774 – Academic Writing
Summer 2006
Assignment #2 – Critique and Rewrite Exercise
Purpose: To apply universal intellectual standards and the structural details of scholarly writing to a written product.
Process:
- Select a paper that you have submitted previously for another DPLS course. This should be a paper that needs improvement.
- Critique your paper using the elements of reasoning and universal intellectual standards. Do this by “annotating” your original paper. In other words, the strengths and weaknesses of your paper should be indicated on the paper itself.
- Rewrite 2-3 particularly problematic paragraphs in this paper. I need to see the original version and the rewrite “side-by-side.”
This assignment is due on July 10 (3 weeks following completion of the course). The assignment will be graded holistically using the criteria of completeness, thoughtfulness, accuracy, clarity, organization, and scholarly presentation.