ESPM Course Writing Enriched Curriculum

Desired Outcomes

When ESPM students graduate they should be able to . . .

• Describe processes, sites and data
• Make, and provide evidence for claims
• Organize content logically
• Make persuasive recommendations
• Revise and proofread
• Intentionally and sensitively address specific readers

Description of ESPM Writing Abilities

These attributes are used within writing assignment in courses.

1. Intentionally and sensitively address specific readers
   1. Set up problems in ways that pique reader interest
   2. Interpret technical data and translate findings in ways that can be understood by specific audiences
   3. Write with cultural sensitivity and avoid alienating audiences by anticipating the impact of word choices on different populations
   4. Communicate across disciplines to demonstrate an awareness of where one subfield ends and another begins
   5. Use professional language and specific, technical langauge where appropriate for audience
2. Describe processes, sites, and data
   1. Describe sites accurately, objectively, and using audience-appropriate terminology
   2. Avoid superfluous details
   3. Create accurate, unbiased descritions that demonstrate an understanding of the science and its implications
3. Make and provide evidence for claims
   1. Offer a well-developed thesis
   2. Search for, select, and use data and examples that readers will find appropriate, adequate, and credible
   3. Analyze data by distilling it and interpreting the distillation
   4. Demonstrate familiarity with scientific process (collecting, analyzing data and testing hypotheses)
   5. Synthesize information found in primary literature
   6. Use technical terms accurately
   7. Make and evaluate impactful and well-captioned visuals (figures, charts, tables) and provide sufficient explanation for non-text (visual) messaging
   8. Site sources appropiately and correctly to avoid plagiarism
4. Make persuasive recommendations
   1. Distill key points of science, economics, social or cultural perspectives to make a recommendation
   2. Advocate for a choice, action, outcome, and/or behavior change by addressing multiple perspectives
   3. Differentiate between a value-based argument and an evidence based argument and can discern when each would be appropriate
5. Organize content logically
   1. Transition from analysis of results to discussion of implications and making recommendations as appropriate
   2. Differentiate between claims and evidentiary support
   3. Summarize large amounts of background data
   4. Use organizational structures that enhances their writing goal and intended audience
   5. Incorporate lower-level organization devices such as topic sentences and transitional phrases to increase flow within a paragraph
6. Revise and proofread
   1. Revise to ensure that ideas flow logically both within and between paragraphs
   2. Demonstrate a command of grammar and composition