Department: Animal Science

Course No: 255W

Credits: 1

Title: Scientific Writing in Animal Food Products

Contact: Mike Darre

WQ: Writing

Catalog Copy: ANSC 255W. Scientific Writing in Animal Food Products.
First semester. One credit. Content as in ANSC 253. Faustman. A writing-intensive class integrated with course content in ANSC 253.
Must be taken concurrently with ANSC 253.

W Criteria: 1. Describe how the writing assignments will enable and enhance learning the content of the course. Describethe page requirements of the assignments, and the relative weighting of the "W" component of the course for the course grade.

Students enrolled in ANSC 255W must be concurrently enrolled in ANSC 253. The course objectives for ANSC 253 are:

1) To provide students with an appreciation of the consequences of animal breeding and genetics, feeding and nutrition and management inputs in animal production to the ultimate food
product(s) obtained from these animals.
2) To acquaint students with general principles of
food safety, chemistry and processing and the specific application
of these to animal products.
3)To familiarize students with edible and inedible products of animal production, namely dairy,eggs and various muscle foods, and to provide students with experiential laboratory activities associated with these.
4)To cite career opportunities within the general food industry.

The purpose of this 1 credit class is to provide a writing-intensive experience primarily for ANSC majors that will permit them to develop their writing skills within the context of the discipline. In order to receive credit, this class must be taken concurrently with ANSC 253 which is an approved Animal Science class taught by the same instructor. Class size will be limited to 19 students. The overall objective of ANSC 253 (the concurrent course) is to discuss fundamental and applied aspects of biology and chemistry to the acquisition of animal-based food products. This writing intensive course allows students to investigate topics of interest to them in greater depth than what may be addressed in class.

Page requirements and grading are included in #2 below.

2. Describe the primary modes of writing instruction in the course (e.g. individual conferences, written commentary, formal instruction to the class, and so on.).

The writing activity includes a short (approximately 2-3 double-spaced, typewritten pages) and long (approximately 12-15 double-spaced, typewritten pages) assignment. These assignments will be consistent with University Senate "W" Course and as outlined below.
1. The evaluation of the submitted papers will be
carried out by the instrutor(s) and potentially with assistance from a qualified Teaching Assistant. There will also be a peer evaluation component.
2. The citation style will follow the Style Guide for the Journal of
Animal Science.
3. The following text will be recommended
to students: Writing and Presenting Scientific Papers. B.
Malmfors,P. Garnsworthy, M. Grossman. 2000. Nottingham University Press,Nottingham, UK.

Instructor: Faustman
Meeting Time and Location: To be determined.
Grading: There are no examinations. Grades will be determined
as follows:

Short Assignment
Draft 1 10%
Draft 2 20%
Research Assignment
Draft 1 20%
Draft 2 30%
Peer Review 15%
Class Participation 5%
100%

Failure to pass the writing component will result in failure of ANSC
253 and ANSC 255.

Lecture Schedule:

Week Topic
1 Introduction; Short paper assignment; Discussion of
target audience
2 Meeting at the University Library; use of search engines
& other resources
3 Topic selection and approval; Discussion of
first steps.
4 Review and discussion of first drafts of short paper
assignments
5 Developing an Outline
6 Discussion of academic
scholarship and peer review
7 Developing an Outline; Determining the value of
reference sources
8 Quoting, Paraphrasing and Plagiarism
9 Scientific citation
10 Revision; Self-evaluation vs peer evaluation of student
papers
11 Revision; Self-evaluation vs peer evaluation of student
papers
12 Discussion of first draft papers
13 Discussion of first draft papers
14 Final submission and wrap-up

3. Explain how opportunities for revision will be structured into the writing assignments in the course.

Each writing assignment that a student submits will be reviewed by the instructor and returned. The student will be required to revise and resubmit the assignment for additional review. There will be four components (justification, outline, first draft and peer review) to the long assignment. This provides several opportunities for review and revision before the submission of the final revised paper.

Students will be encouraged to meet individually with the instructor following the return of draft paper submissions.

Role of Grad Students: It is anticipated that I will teach this class alone, or will have an advanced graduate student from the English
Department assist me. For the past 4 years, I have secured funds for doing the latter and have a commitment for the next 3 years
from the CANR Associate Dean to continue this arrangement. I will supervise the graduate student.

Supplemental Information: Students that enter the University of Connecticut with the long-term goal of becoming a Veterinarian
must follow a prescribed course of undergraduate study consistent with the requirements for admission to Veterinary Schools. At
present, this includes 6 credits of English Composition/Writing. The recent change in the GER from a 6 credit English requirement
to a 4 credit English requirement recently adopted by the University Senate has presented a dilemma for pre-vet students in that their
transcript needs to readily demonstrate the 6 credits of writing experience. Last year we gained Senate approval for a separate
course with a title that reflects the writing intensive nature of W classes in the discipline. This is currently listed as ANSC 255W.