Teaching Scientific Writing in the Two-Year College

This article introduces a new course in the Virginia Community College System English Curriculum, "English 114: Scientific Writing." The article briefly reviews the concept of "science rhetoric," then discusses the intended audience and purpose of the course, and explains the basic goals of the course in relation to the two-year science student-writer. Next the article reviews the Course Content Summary, explaining and giving examples for each of the objectives listed, and notes one significant challenge to the success of the class in the VCCS. The article includes student responses, a sample syllabus, two sample writing assignments, and a complete Bibliography of relevant readings for the instructor new to the subject. The article recommends texts to support class instruction. The writer is also the author of the course.