Writing-in-the-Major Program
for Microbiology Majors
A Proposal to the UW-L General Education
Committee
January 25, 1999
Date Program will take effect: Effective for students entering the
major in the Fall of 1998
The Microbiology Program at UW-L consists of seven full-time faculty and two
Instructional Academic Staff, serves approximately 150 majors and graduates 40-45 students per
year. Students majoring in Microbiology are required to complete core requirements (appended)
and select a minimum of nine credits from 16 elective course offerings. A heavy emphasis is
placed on laboratory instruction and each major graduates with a minimum of 750 hours of
laboratory instruction. Since approximately 1990, three courses in the core requirement of the
major have satisfied the current General Education requirement for "Writing Emphasis"
(Immunology, Microbial Genetics and Bacterial Physiology). Four teaching faculty have been
certified for the current Writing Emphasis program and two others are currently preparing proposals
for approval by the Writing Emphasis Subcommittee of the General Education Committee. All
faculty associated with the Writing-in-the-Major Program in Microbiology have agreed to complete
the Writing Emphasis certification process by the fall of 1999.
1. What are the forms or genres of formal writing students will be expected to learn in the
UW-L Microbiology major?
The main focus of this program is to help students become competent in
writing lab reports, posters, and review articles using the formats and conventions of
the American Society for Microbiology.
Microbiologists write in common professional genres (letters, memos, etc.) and also
in discipline-specific forms that are, to varying degrees, common to other sciences.
Specifically, microbiologists may be involved in writing lab reports, scientific publications
in peer reviewed journals, technical reports, review articles, posters, theses, and grant
proposals, to name a few. While it may be impractical to educate microbiology majors in
all details of each of these types of writing, many use similar formats and conventions. We
believe students should learn the fundamentals of these formats and conventions to prepare
them for future learning and writing in their careers.
Most formal writing done by microbiologists is organized using some version of the
format for a scientific paper and may include a title, abstract, introduction, description of
methods and materials, tables and figures, discussion and bibliography. In addition to this
common format, many conventions are shared with other physical and life sciences to guide
authors in writing and to aid readers in interpreting formal writing. For example, units of the
metric system and species names are expressed in a consistent form. Other writing
conventions such as those used in naming bacterial strains are more specific to
microbiology.
2. What is the program's definition of formal writing competence? Include an explanation
of the learning outcomes and standards for formal writing.
Competency in formal writing in this context is defined as being able to effectively
communicate data and ideas in an organized written form to the target audience using the
format and conventions specific to scientific communication and microbiology.
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Students completing this program should:
* be able to convey their ideas in clear, concise prose using standard conventions of
English.
* understand how scientific writing differs from other forms of writing
* be able to organize their thoughts and data into the parts of a scientific paper.
* know the importance of editing formal writing and some of the stylistic conventions
used in editing
* be proficient in correctly using mathematical equations, scientific notation, metric
units and chemical formulas in their writing
* be able to correctly use genetic and taxonomic nomenclature in their formal writing
* be capable of constructing proper tables and figures to effectively convey their
results to the intended audience
* understand the conventions used in presenting scientific results in poster format
* be competent at conveying summaries of the work of others in a clear, concise
literature review or review article
* be able to use bibliographic data bases to find scientific information germane to
their writing and to properly reference this information.
* be able to work collaboratively on group writing projects
3. Describe how the program will be structured to promote the development of formal
writing competence.
The Microbiology Program has always placed a heavy emphasis on both formal and
informal writing in our curriculum. Both informal and formal writing is currently done to
some degree in each course in the Microbiology curriculum. The Microbiology Writing-In-
the-Major Program is designed to improve the coordination of student learning through
writing as they track through courses required for their major.
Courses that will include formal writing.
Five core Microbiology courses and one Biochemistry course will constitute the
Microbiology Writing-in-the-Major Program. All Microbiology majors will track through
Fundamentals of Microbiology, Immunology, Pathogenic Bacteriology, Microbial Genetics
and Bacterial Physiology, typically over five semesters (see append sample 4-yr curriculum
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and description of major requirements). In addition, all students in the major are required to
take Biochemistry. All of these courses have traditional lectures and each has a required
laboratory component (with a minimum of three hours per week) providing ample
opportunities for formal writing.
How will students be taught writing processes?
A coordinated, collaborative effort will be made by the faculty and instructional
staff members involved to teach principles of formal writing specific to microbiology. As
students track through the six required Writing-in-the-Major courses, formal writing
commonly done by microbiologists will be dissected into component parts (Introduction,
Materials and Methods, etc.). Each part will be analyzed as to form, content, style,
mechanics, etc. As their proficiency increases students in upper level courses will be
provided with actual written "Instructions to Authors" from recognized journals in the field.
A list of concepts and competencies (below) has been developed by the faculty
participants showing what will be covered in each required course and how the material
integrates into a coordinated effort. In each of these courses, the list will be expanded into a
detailed checklist provided to students to guide them in mastering the writing components
of the course (see example appended for Introductory Microbiology with an explanation of
the Writing-in-the-Major Program for students).
Competencies and Concepts to be taught in the
Microbiology Writing-in-the-Major Program
Fundamentals of Microbiology
1. Taxonomic and basic genetic nomenclature
2. Library skills and references
Required visit to the Writing Center
3. Introduction to preparation of scientific tables and figures
4. Design and interpretation of experimental controls
5. Organizational strategies for formal writing
Immunology
1. Review of competencies mastered in Fundamentals of Microbiology
2. Scientific writing: How is it different from other forms of writing: conventions,
brevity, accuracy, tense, etc.
3. Introduction to parts of a scientific paper:
Focus on Introduction and Methods sections
4. Guidelines and models for scientific writing:
Instructions to authors, style manuals, writing guides, etc.
5. Use of bibliographic database in scientific writing
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Pathogenic Bacteriology
1. Review of competencies mastered in Fundamentals of Microbiology and
Immunology
2. Introduction to other forms of formal writing done by microbiologists (memos,
clinical reports, letters, case studies, etc.)
3. Summarizing the work of others: Writing Review articles
4. Organizing oral presentations
Microbial Genetics
1. Review of competencies mastered in Introductory Microbiology and Immunology
2. Brevity in formal writing: Abstracts
3. Results: Polishing and refining tables and figures
4. Bibliographies using the conventions specific to microbiologists
5. Genetic nomenclature and use of abbreviations
6. Collaborative writing: editing conventions
Bacterial Physiology
1. Review of competencies mastered in Fundamentals of Microbiology and
Immunology
2. Organizing raw data: The laboratory notebook
3. Mathematics in scientific communications
4. Tables, figures and bibliographies: continued refinement
5. Discussing scientific results: organization, brevity, and precision in Discussion
sections
6. Editing conventions
Biochemistry
1. Laboratory notebooks: Accurately recording data
2. Communicating work to others: Conventions used in poster presentations
3. Assembly of component parts into a complete paper
What are ways that students will use revision/feedback?
Students will do extensive editing of many of their formal writing documents but
significant emphasis will also be placed on peer editing. The importance of editing and
revising documents will be reinforced in all courses that are part of the Writing-in-the-
Major program.
At several points, some of the stylistic conventions used in editing will be
discussed and reinforced. Students will also be encouraged to make full use of the UW-L
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Writing Center. To assure that all students are aware of the services provided by the
Writing Center, each student is required to tour the facility as an exercise in
Fundamentals of Microbiology. Instructors will also edit draft documents in some cases.
Models, goals and standards
The majority of models for formal writing assignments in this program will be
actual publications in journals published by the American Society for Microbiology
(ASM). Each of these journals uses a common editorial style and additional details will
be provided to students through the "Instructions to Authors" found in the first annual
issue of each ASM journal. Copies of How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 4th
ed. by Robert A. Day (Oryx Press, Phoenix, Ariz., 1994), a long-time editor for the ASM,
and the ASM Style Manual for Journals and Books (American Society for Microbiology,
1991) will also be available to students in the laboratories of courses that are part of this
program.
The goals of the program have been summarized in the list of competencies to be
developed in each course. Faculty participants are free to develop additional goals and
standards consistent with the philosophy of the program. To convey these goals and
standards clearly to students, a description of the program is provided to each student in
Fundamentals of Microbiology as they enter the program. For each course, an expanded
student checklist will be provided to each student at the beginning of class and these
checklists will remain in the student portfolios as they progress through the program.
(See appended examples for Fundamentals of Microbiology and Immunology).
4. Describe the shared criteria faculty will use to evaluate student writing in the major.
Attach a copy that students will receive.
As previously mentioned, the writing that students will do in the Writing-in-the-
Major Program is diverse in form and varies among courses. However, the faculty have
agreed to the general criteria summarized below. These criteria establish the basis for
evaluating formal writing in the Microbiology major. However, instructors may augment
these criteria where appropriate.
* Formal writing will be organized using a format consistent with the conventions
used by the American Society for Microbiology. When applicable, this format
includes a title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion
and references section.
* Formal writing will use a conventional scientific style. All writing will be
evaluated for clarity, accuracy and brevity -- hallmarks of scientific writing.
* Formal writing will conform to the conventions of the American Society for
Microbiology. This includes proper construction of tables and figures, and correct
bibliographic citation style. Correct taxonomic and genetic nomenclature,
scientific notation, metric abbreviations, chemical and mathematical formulas will
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be used.
* Final formal writing is polished using the rules of Edited Standard Written
English.
Students will receive criteria for evaluation consistent with the four objectives
above. Evaluation criteria for individual assignments will be modified, where possible, to
rely on the "Primary Trait Analysis" method of Lloyd-Jones.
5. Informal writing (writing-to-learn)
The Writing Emphasis-certified instructors in the Microbiology Program have for
some time incorporated informal writing assignments into the microbiology curriculum.
These assignments have been designed to achieve a variety of student learning outcomes
including building vocabulary, learning/reinforcing concepts, practicing quantitative
skills, and researching, organizing, and drafting documents, to name a few. Some
specific examples of writing-to-learn exercises used in Writing Emphasis courses are
appended to this proposal. The number and type of informal writing done by our students
will be expanded as the faculty involved have found these exercises to be of great benefit
to student learning.
6. Assessment
Assessment of the Microbiology Writing-in-the-Major Program will be conducted
using two independent methods. First, instructors involved in the program will meet
twice per semester to analyze the work students have placed in their portfolios. During
one of these meetings, Drs. Cerbin and Beck will be invited to provide external feedback
on the effectiveness of the program in meeting its goals.
A second, independent method of assessment will occur when each senior in the
major takes the Competency Assessment Test as part of their mandatory Capstone course.
This program has been in effect for several semesters so a "before and after analysis" will
be conducted as students who have received training in the new Writing-in-the-Major
program track through the curriculum in Microbiology. Students are required to edit and
type a paragraph containing errors in taxonomic nomenclature, use of the metric system,
scientific notation, etc. (see appended Computer Competency Test, Section 2b). A
quantitative exam has been developed (see appended Computer Competency Test scoring
document) that will allow direct comparisons to be made between various student cohorts
to assess the effectiveness of the new program. All students are also required to take a
Written Communication Assessment Test (see appended document) as part of the
Capstone Course in which they compose a cover letter for a job application, or for an
application to a professional or graduate school. They are also required to append a copy
of their resume. As before, a standardized test scoring method is in place to allow direct
comparisons between different cohorts of students.
7. Timetable
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The Microbiology Writing-in-the-Major program will be phased in beginning with
Introductory Microbiology students in the fall of 1998. The current Writing Emphasis
courses, Immunology, Microbial Genetics, and Bacterial Physiology, will continue to be
offered for two years (through the spring of 2000). Thus, no student in the major will
graduate without meeting the writing emphasis requirements of either the old or new
programs in Microbiology.
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