CSD syllabus

Writing in Communication Sciences and Disorders

ENC 3254 / Fall 2009 / T, 2-3rd & Th 3rd

Note: class will begin on Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m. AFTER the first day!

Mickey S. Schafer, Ph.D.
Office: 201 Rolfs Hall
Office Hours: T, 3rd/ Th, 4th and by appointment
Office Phone: 392-5421
email: msscha@ufl.edu

"The human animal as we know it, emerges into personality by first mastering whatever tribal speech happens to be its particular symbolic environment" - Kenneth Burke

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Course Description

According to A.S.H.A. (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association), "Audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists are professionals who evaluate, treat, and conduct research into human communication and its disorders. They work in schools, hospitals, businesses, in private practice, in universities, research laboratories, and government agencies, with infants and children, with adolescents and adults, and with older people" (http://www.asha.org/students/professions/overview/consider-career.htm). Given the broad range of professional circumstances and clientele the CSD professional encounters, excellent writing is an esssential career skill.

This course has been designed to improve your writing skills in areas that will be important to your career in Communication Sciences and Disorders. The course will focus on the kinds of writing you will do in graduate school and as a CSD professional. We will focus on three types of documents: personal, research, and clinical. The syllabus has been developed in collaboration with CSD faculty and targets specific writing skills identified by faculty members.

ENC 3254 "Writing For CSD" fulfills the University's General Education requirement for composition (C) and 6,000 words of writing (W).

Major Assignments

Professional Portfolio -- There are three documents critical to the beginning of your career: a resume, cover letter, and personal statement. The first assignments in this class focus on these three documents so that you are better prepared to begin your profession. You will write a resume and cover letter for a position (paid or internship) that you would genuinely like to apply for, and a personal statement to clinch your place in graduate school.

Review Paper (Literature Review) -- All research begins with a thorough evaluation of the current state of affairs. This evaluation is written up in a "review paper" (also called a Literature Review). Review papers are some of the most sought after documents for professional researchers; in fact, whole journals are dedicated to publishing reviews. For research reports, reviews form the foundation for effective introductions. You will write a 5-7 page review of a topic of interest, in real APA style.

Clinical Documents: S.O.A.P. Notes -- Specific and concise documentation is critical in patient/client treatment. To prepare you for this aspect of the CSD field, you will re-write a poorly written S.O.A.P. Note to make it clearer and more concise.

Clinical Documents: Progress Reports -- Progress Reports documents patient/client progress over a month or so of time. They must be very well-written as this is the document shared among professionals and agencies. As with the S.O.A.P. Note, you will re-write a poorly written progress report so that it is clear, accurate, and effective.

Penalty for Plagiarism/Unethical Writing Practices -- The instructor will call a private meeting with student to determine student's motivation for cheating. Penalties may include the following:

For Unethical Writing Practices -- (these include various forms of cheating that are not plagiarism, such as creating fraudulent data/information, misattributing citations, using fraudulent citations, using inappropriate sources) The student may be allowed to revise document according to the discretion of the instructor. Additional revision may or may not be allowed. Full credit for assignment may or may not be given
For Partial Plagiarism -- The student may be allowed to revise document according to the discretion of the instructor. Additional revision may or may not be allowed. Full credit for assignment may or may not be given OR The student will fail the assignment with no chance of revision (for first offense).
For Extensive Plagiarism, the first penalty is to fail the assignment with no chance of revision AND report to Student Honor Board (for first offense).
If plagiarism is discovered a second time, the student will automatically fail the class AND the student will be reported to the Student Honor Court.

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC HONOR CODE AND ACADEMIC HONESTY:

Preamble: In adopting this Honor Code, the students of the University of Florida recognize that academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students who enroll at the University commit to holding themselves and their peers to the high standard of honor required by the Honor Code. Any individual who becomes aware of a violation of the Honor Code is bound by honor to take corrective action. A student-run Honor Court and faculty support are crucial to the success of the Honor Code. The quality of a University of Florida education is dependent upon community acceptance and enforcement of the Honor Code.

The Honor Code: We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

Pledge: On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

Please note: An academic honesty offense is defined as the act of lying, cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains academic advantage. As a University of Florida student, one is expected to neither commit nor assist another in committing an academic honesty violation. Additionally, it is the student's duty to report observed academic honesty violations. Violations of the Honor Code and academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Specifically, instructors will rigorously pursue incidents of plagiarism of any type or incidents of referring to any unauthorized material for any class assignment. Before submitting any work for this class, please read the policies about academic honesty at www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/honestybrochure.htm, and ask the instructors to clarify any expectations you do not understand.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:

Mature and respectful behavior is expected in this classroom when dealing with instructors and other students. Each of you has significant individual experiences and will have unique reactions to share with the class that will affect the dynamics of the class as a whole. Side conversations, sleeping, and reading other course material (or the Alligator, etc.) are not appropriate. Also, please turn off and put away your cell phones and pagers prior to the start of class.