CC500, Section G: Scientific Writing (Edu 3.

0)
Fall 2018 Syllabus

Class time: Section A: Wednesday, 10:30 – 12:00

Classroom: Section A: Bldg. N4 Rm. 1220

Course Instructor
Professor: Mik Fanguy

Office: Bld. N4, Room 1115

Email: mik@kaist.edu

Course Objectives
 Write a scientific or engineering article that is suitable for publication.

 Promote understanding of the styles and grammar in scientific and engineering articles.

Textbook
We will not designate a single textbook for the course. Online video lectures, pdf files, and handouts will be the
primary source of reference. We will provide necessary information on- and off-line in class and keep you
informed via our class website. You are expected to view the assigned online lectures prior to coming to class.

Course website
http://klms.kaist.ac.kr

Each class will have a website containing the online course lectures for each week.

Course Structure
Your term project will be the major deliverable of this course. I will provide online lectures, but a major portion
of your learning will occur through required in-class discussions and activities, and ultimately your writing project.

Prepare a draft of your science or engineering article and have it edited.

You will be required to bring to class the draft sections of your paper to be edited in class. Following this, you
are required to submit the edited paper to your professor for editing. You will then be required to submit the final
edited section to me. I will work closely with you throughout the whole process to maximize your learning
experience and ensure that you complete the science/engineering article before the end of the term.
Submit paper for plagiarism check

You will be required to submit your paper to http://www.turnitin.com for a plagiarism check. If a problem is found,
you will be required to resubmit the paper until you pass this important check.

Term Project
A science/engineering paper is the main submittal of this course. You will develop and write your paper that
summarizes your research or a survey paper of an important research area of your major. I expect you to coordinate
the topic of this paper with your advisor. The topic should be related to the requirements of your major department.
Here are a few key pieces of information related to your term project:

 Science/Engineering Paper Topic

Examples of prior papers submitted in this course are available for you to have an idea of the type of
paper required.

 Science/Engineering Paper Length

This will vary depending on your topic and your departmental requirements. It is assumed that this paper
will be between five and ten double spaced pages not including the References section.

 Concept development

You must meet with your departmental advisor to determine the type of paper required. The professors
of this course can advise you on the suitability of the topic, but the final topic is related to your
departmental requirements. Many papers written for this course were used for graduation requirements.

 Implementation

I will provide online video lectures for you to view before class that will introduce the requirements of
each section with guidelines and examples. You will be required to complete each section and bring to
class for peer editing in class on the specified dates on the course schedule at the end of this syllabus.
Class time will be devoted to answering questions and providing supplemental information to help you
with the specific section we are working on that week. The once-a-week class meeting will also be
utilized as a chance to practice editing other’s papers and discuss your writing progress with me. Some
class time will be devoted to workshops centered on critical topics related to science writing. We will
utilize the special Edu 3.0 classroom environment to enhance your learning experience during all
classes, including the workshop classes.

 Submittal of paper to www.turnitin.com

During the course you will be required to submit your draft of the science/engineering paper to this
website for a check of plagiarism. In order to do this you must sign up for the class on this website. The
teacher will show you examples of results on prior written science/engineering papers.

Course Deliverables
 A paper consisting of title, abstract, introduction, Materials and Methods, results, discussion/conclusion,
and references. This type of paper is known by the acronym of AIMRC.

 Submittal of your paper to www.turnitin.com for plagiarism check at specific dates during the term.
Your paper must achieve a low score in this plagiarism check. If the score is unacceptable, you must
rewrite the offending section and resubmit until it achieves an acceptably low plagiarism score.
 Academic honesty is an important part of the course. Failure to abide by the standard principles of academic
honesty will result in failure of the course.

Weekly Schedule
Every week there will be a number of lectures that you must view prior to class. These lectures can be
viewed at your leisure, and they are an integral part of the course. This is an Edu 3.0 course and is
different than prior Scientific Writing courses offered by the Humanities and Social Science Department
of KAIST. This is an innovative course that requires attendance in class only one day each week. Because
of this, each student must pay attention to the online lectures that provide background information
required for the writing of his or her paper. These lectures mush be viewed prior to the class, and it will
be assumed that you have viewed the lecture prior to class as the class will utilize information gained
from the lecture as background for that class period. You must bring to class the sections as they are due.

Attendance Policy
Attendance is required in order to pass this course. This class employs a “three strikes, you’re out” policy. In other
words, your third absence, regardless of the excuse, will result in failure.

This course is graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

Assessment

Assessment %
Attendance 10
Quizzes (6) or Online Discussion 30
Section Papers (6) 60
Total 100

*60% is the pass mark (ranked “satisfactory”). A score of 59% or less will lead to a student receiving an
“unsatisfactory” grade and having to repeat the course.

Assessment will be conducted in the following manner:

 Attendance: 10%

Five percent is deducted per unexcused absence. Arriving late three times will count as one unexcused
absence. If you have three or more absences, you fail the course, regardless of other grade points.

***Note: If you are going to be absent due to a conference, business trip, or similar unavoidable
circumstances, inform your TA. The TAs will be in charge of taking attendance.

 Quizzes or Online Discussion: 30%

Students will chose to participate in online discussion forums or take online quizzes related to the video
lectures. If a student posts at least two comments on the discussion forums per week, either in existing
topics or by starting a new topic, he or she will not need to take a quiz. Students who do not post at least
two comments in our discussion forums per week must take a related quiz for that unit.

 Section Papers: 60%

Throughout this course you will also be required to submit six written assignments – each one a section
of a research paper. All assignments must be submitted to pass this course. Students will
automatically get a zero and receive no comments for a late submission unless there is a valid
reason.
 Scientific Writing Edu 3.0 Course Schedule
Period Contents
1st week Introduction of Scientific Writing
Aug. 27- Overview of the course and
Sep. 2 assignments
Introduction of the Edu 3.0
learning environment including
online videos to be viewed before
class.
2nd week Science Writing Process
Sep. 3-9 Q&A on online lectures
Discussion of course topics
Scope and limitations pair work
activity
3rd week Q&A about course lecture content
Sep. 10-16 Pair activity answering the six
questions of the Introduction
Introduction group activity on ramen
consumption
4th week Q&A about course lecture content
Sep. 17-23 Review of ramen group activity
The Introduction section of your
paper is due.
Bring a print-out to class.
Peer editing of Introductions
Turn in final drafts on Turnitin.com
by the day after class, 6pm.
5th week No class: Chuseok
Sep. 24-30
Period Contents
1st week Out-of-class assignments
View assigned video lectures providing an
Overview to Scientific Writing and
related grammar and style concepts on the
course website (Weeks 1 and 2).
Select course writing topic
2nd week Out-of-class assignments
View assigned video lectures describing
how to write the Introduction Section
and related grammar and style concepts
(Week 3).
3rd week Out-of-class assignments
View assigned video lectures on grammar
and style concepts (Week 4).
You must complete the Introduction
Section of your paper before the next
class meeting.
4th week Out-of-class assignments
View assigned video lectures on the
Materials and Methods Section you will
be working on, as well as related grammar
and style concepts (Week 5).
5th week Out-of-class assignments
View assigned video lectures (Week 6).

6th week No class: National Foundation Day 6th week Out-of-class assignments
Oct. 1-7 View four assigned video lectures (Week
7).

7th week Materials and Methods, “Building 7th week Out-of-class assignments
Oct. 8-14 blocks activity” on detailing the steps Watch video on “Future of High Impact
in a procedure. Publishing” by Dr. Phillip Campbell.
You must complete the Materials and
Methods Section of your paper before the
next class meeting.
8th week Midterm week 8th week Out-of-class assignments
Oct. 15-21 (No midterm exam for the course) View assigned video lectures (Week 9).
Midterm Course Evaluation
9th week Materials and Methods section of 9th week Out-of-class assignments
Oct. 22-28 paper is due. Bring a print-out to View assigned video lectures (Week 10).
class. Peer editing based on course
lecture content.
Turn in final draft on Turnitin.com by
the day after class, 6pm.
10th week Class Survey Group Writing Activity 10th week Out-of-class assignments
Oct. 29- View assigned video lectures (Week 11).
Nov. 4 You must complete the Results Section
of your paper before the next class
meeting.
11th week The Results section of the paper is 11th week Out-of-class assignments
Nov. 5-11 due. View assigned video lectures (Week 12).
Bring a print-out to class.
Peer editing of the Results section.
Upload final drafts to Turnitin.com by
6 pm on the day after class.
12th week Surrogate Robot Group Writing 12th week Out-of-class assignments
Nov. 12-18 Activity View assigned video lectures (Week 13).
You must complete the Discussion and
Conclusion Section of your paper before
the next class meeting.
13th week No class: Freshman Interview 13th week View assigned video lectures (Week 14).
Nov. 19-25

14th week The Discussion and Conclusion 14th week Out-of-class assignments
Nov. 26- section of the paper is due. View assigned video lectures (Week 15).
Dec. 2 Bring a print-out to class. You must complete the Abstract and
Peer editing of the Discussion and References of your paper before the next
Conclusion section. class meeting
Turn in final draft on Turnitin.com by
the day after class 6pm.
15th week Abstract and References sections 15th week
Dec. 3-9 are due.
Bring a printed copy for peer editing.
Abstract ranking activity
Abstract error correction activity
Turn in final draft on Turnitin.com by
the day after class 6pm

16th week Final exam week (No final exam for 16th week
Dec. 10-16 the course)
Final Course Evaluation