HLTH 688WProfessional Writing and Presentations

Spring 2004
4:00 – 6:30 PM, Tuesdays
Room:  HHP 0303

Class Website: www.phi.umd.edu/who/hlth688w

Instructor

Dr. Nancy L. Atkinson

 Office

1240 G HHP

Phone

(301) 405-2522

Email

atkinson@umd.edu

Office hours:

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.Tuesdays & Thursdays

Course Description:  The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with a variety of types of professional writing required of public health professionals, including:  grant proposals; journal articles; textbooks; presentation proposals and papers; and theses and dissertations.  The scope of the course includes both the form and content of a range of technical documents as well as the processes of writing, peer review, and critique.

General Course Objectives 

By the end of this course, each student will be able to:

  1. Identify the characteristics of good quality professional writing;
  2. Review, critique, and evaluate the professional writing of others, both published and unpublished;
  3. Describe the basic components (form and content) of various types of professional writing including:  grant proposals; journal articles; textbooks; presentation proposals and papers; and theses/dissertations; 
  4. Identify the causes of “writer’s block” and “writer’s phobia” and strategies that can be used to overcome these common problems;
  5. Describe the importance of gender neutral language and utilize these principles in their professional writing;
  6. Identify the characteristics of effective professional presentations; and
  7. Demonstrate improved skills and basic competence in professional writing and presentation tasks.

Required Textbooks & Materials

Dictionary and thesaurus of your choice.

Manning, T., Algozzine, B., & Antonak, R. (2003).  Guide for Preparing a Thesis or Dissertation.  PNG Publications:  Morgantown, West Virginia.

Browner, W.S. (1999).  Publishing and Presenting Clinical Research.  Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins:  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Online Materials

Online dictionaries, thesaurus, and Elements of Style:  Through UMD Library accessed via on campus computer at the Online Reference Shelf http://www.lib.umd.edu/ETC/Reference.html

Writer’s Reference website:  Interactive activities and other online resources http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/writersref/

APA Style Tips: Removing Bias in Language http://www.apastyle.org/styletips.html

PHS 398 Grant Application Kit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html

University of Maryland Grant Proposal Handbook http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/ORAA/prop_prep/

NIAID "All About Grants" Tutorials http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/

Department of Behavioral and Community Health Disseratation Guidelines http://www.hhp.umd.edu/dpch/grad/degree.html#dissertation

University of Maryland Departmental Human Subjects Review Committee Application Form http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/ORAA/forms/HSRCDEPT_21NOV03.pdf

University of Maryland: Initial IRB Application Form http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/ORAA/forms/IRB_Initial_29OCT03.pdf

Course Outline

Class

Topic

In-Class Activities

Reading Assignment

1/27/04

Course introduction; basic principles; assessment of writing strengths and weaknesses

Basic principles

Self-assessment

Browner, Chapter 1

2/3/04

Fundamentals of peer review and critique; gender neutral language.

Removing gender-biased language tutorial

APA Style Tips: Removing Bias in Language

2/10/04

Coping with writing blocks and phobia; more on peer review, critique, and evaluation

Writing goals

Browner, Chapter 14

2/17/04

Journal articles:  form and content.  What do reviewers look for?

  

Browner, Chapter 3 & 10

2/24/04

More on journal articles

 Review author guidelines

Browner, Chapter 8 & 13

3/2/04 Presentation proposals:  form and content.  What do reviewers look for?

Review GRID & TWT author guidelines; Review APHA abstracts

 Browner, Chapter 2
3/9/04 Grant and contract proposals:  form and content.  What do reviewers look for?   PHS 398 Application Kit

3/16/04

Midterm Exam; catch up

Midterm

None

3/23/04

Spring Break

3/30/04

More on grant and contract proposals; sources of funding, budget justification, management plan

  UMD Grant Proposal Handbook

4/6/04

Characteristics of effective professional presentations

 Hands-on PowerPoint tutorial Browner, Chapter 11 & 12

4/13/04

Theses and dissertations:  form and content.  What do faculty look for?

Presentation dry runs

Manning et al., pp. 1-12, 21-50, Appendix C

4/20/04

More on theses and dissertations

Presentation dry runs

HLTH Dissertation Guidelines

4/27/04

Human subjects review:  form and content.  What do reviewers look for?

Human subjects online tutorial

 Manning et al., pp. 13-20; Appendix B

5/4/04

Textbooks:  form and content.  What do publishers look for?

 Interests and expertise inventory

5/11/04

Writing a prospectus for a publisher; course evaluations

  

5/18/04

Final Exam

  

Course Requirements

This course requires a great deal of writing both in-class and out-of-class, as well as review and critique of the work of others, both published and unpublished.  Some of the writing assignments are to be done individually, and others require the collaboration of small groups of students. 

It is expected that students will prepare all writing assignments using a computer and word processing software of their choice.  If you are not comfortable in using a computer for this purpose, please discuss this with the instructor.  You will be provided with a list of campus resources that will assist you in developing the needed computer skills.

1.   Class Participation

Maintaining an active presence in class will prepare you to learn the content and to be successful in your class assignments.  It includes:

Missing more than 5 hours of class time will necessitate the re-taking of this course.  If missing class is due to extenuating circumstances that can be documented, the instructor may grant an “I” (incomplete) grade for the course.  Active class participation will be the deciding factor in borderline grades. 

2. Midterm and Final Exams

Exams will be used to evaluate the students’ mastery of the didactic material presented in class and through reading assignments.  The midterm exam will be taken in the college microcomputer laboratory, and students will have the choice of using either PC or Macintosh computers.

 3.   Short writing assignments

4.   Individual Project

This assignment is designed to provide the student with an opportunity to produce a piece of professional writing that serves a purpose beyond achieving a grade in this course.  Students are free to choose any of the following writing options depending on their personal interests and goals:

As part of the creation of the individual project, students must submit a proposal to be reviewed and approved by peers and the instructor (2/17/04). They must also submit their draft paper to a peer for review, so drafts are due on 3/30/04 (one copy to peer reviewer, and one copy to instructor). Final papers are due the last day of class before the exam (5/11/04).

5.   Presentation Project

Students will have an opportunity to propose and present an individual paper in a professional venue during the course.  The course assignments have been designed to correspond with the university's Graduate Research Interaction Day. The project has three steps:

  1. Presentation proposal:  Students must write and submit a presentation proposal in response to one of several conferences with a current call for abstracts. (3/9/04)
  2. Professional presentation ("in-class dry run"):  Whether or not students are selected to present, they will each prepare a PowerPoint presentation to present in class. (4/13/04 or 4/20/04)
  3. Presentation revision:  Based on suggestions by the other class members, students will revise and submit their presentation to the instructor. (4/27/04)

6. Group Writing Project

Although students are expected to work together in pairs and groups, there is no group assignment this semester. Enjoy!

Grading

The final semester grade will be determined by:

Assignment

Percentage

Class participation

15%

Midterm and final

20%

6 short writing assignments

30%

Individual writing project

20%

Presentation project

15%

If you have a documented disability and require special accomodations, please see the instructor. 
You will need documentation from the Disability Support Service (301-314-7682)

Code of Academic Integrity

The University is an academic community. Its fundamental purpose is the pursuit of knowledge. Like all other communities, the University can function properly only if its members adhere to clearly established goals and values. Essential to the fundamental purpose of the University is the commitment to the principles of truth and academic honesty. Accordingly, The Code of Academic Integrity is designed to ensure that the principle of academic honesty is upheld. While all members of the University share this responsibility, The Code of Academic Integrity is designed so that special responsibility for upholding the principle of academic honesty lies with the students.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: any of the following acts, when committed by a student, shall constitute academic dishonesty:
CHEATING: intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise.
FABRICATION: intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.
FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate any provision of this Code.
PLAGIARISM: intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise.

All students are expected to adhere to the Code of Academic Integrity.

All violations of the Code will be referred to the Student Honor Council.