PHYS 280 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Writing Assignments
The major writing assignments for the course are made up of required essays (RE2–RE4 require peer-review and must be revised), the research paper (really, a sequence of connected assignments that culminate in a research paper), and optional extra-credit essays (see the schedule below). You may also expect to complete minor writing assignments during your weekly writing labs, as practice toward completing the major assignments, which are introduced and discussed there. Please see links below to assignment prompts, given in the Details column (prompts will be posted as the semester progresses).
Assignment Sheets and Rubrics: For any given assignment, the assignment sheet and associated rubric will be updated by the weekend before the assignment is covered in your writing lab. Updated assignment sheets and rubrics will reflect small improvements rather than major changes.
Late Papers: Late papers will be accepted only until 4pm on Fridays. 15 points (15%) will be deducted from the score of the paper if it is late. Late papers require both electronic and paper submissions. The paper copy should be placed in the Physics 280 homework box, located on the second floor of Loomis in the corridor that connects Loomis and the Seitz Materials Research Lab.
Missing Paper Drafts: Missing paper drafts (both initial and revised) are assessed a 5% penalty (assuming the electronic draft has been submitted on time).
Shared Writing: Please expect that your writing for the course may be shared with other students, either through workshopping and peer review (you will be identified as the writer) or in whole or part to support writing instruction (you will not be identified as the writer; your privacy will be protected).
Below, you'll find information on how to submit your written work and how your written work will be assessed, and a schedule for when work is due that includes a link to assignment details (i.e., assignment sheets that provide specific requirements, including the assignment rubric).
Submission
Good writing requires revision, which means rethinking and reworking your initial draft (see the Resources page for more). To improve your skill in revision, two submissions are required for all major writing assignments (except RE4v0, RPCR, extra credit essays), and some initial submissions will require peer review and a writer's memo. Revisions may also require a writer's memo and/or peer-review.
Initial Submissions: Electronic submission on Wednesdays at 10pm. You can use this link or the "Submit Assignment" tab in the banner. Only .doc, .docx, or .pdf file types will be accepted.
Peer Review How-To
Important: Be sure to submit your drafts and reviews to the correct assignment.
Basic Instructions: Upload your draft to the secure document distribution folder and email it to your reviewer by following these steps:
- Go to https://my.physics.illinois.edu/secdocs
- Give your upload title the same name as the assignment (see below and replace 'Assignment name' with the actual name of the assignment)
- Enter the NetID of your reviewer and the TA in charge of peer-review assignments (Jordi Salinas, NetID: jordis2) in the field below the recipient list and click "Add"
- Keep "require login"
- Keep the password field blank
- Browse for your draft and upload
- Right-Click the file name in the box "Files attached to this file group"; this will open a menu from which you select "copy link" (Firefox) or "copy link address" (Chrome)
- Paste the link into the email to your reviewer
Complete your peer review by following these steps:
- Review the draft you receive from your reviewee and submit the reviewed paper. Choose the appropriate review assignment.
- Also email a copy to your reviewee and the TA using the basic instructions listed above for https://my.physics.illinois.edu/secdocs
Assessment
Your writing assignments will be assessed using the same rubrics you are given at the start of each assignment. We encourage you to use the assignment rubric to guide your drafting and revision process, to share the rubric with others as you seek feedback on your work, and to explore writing concepts further on your own and with course staff in office hours (see the Resources page).
The assessment of writing can seem subjective, especially to writers who are used to working with problems that can be answered with either correct or incorrect solutions. Writing solutions to real-world problems can be described not as right or wrong, but as qualitatively better or worse than other solutions to the same problem (or situation that prompts a response in writing as one possible way of addressing it). Our shared vocabulary for talking about writing concepts will develop over the semester, but you will find a good start below. What counts as effective technical writing can vary by discipline, industry, and situation, but professionals usually agree on a small number of shared characteristics. In general, good technical writing is
In Approach
- Audience-Centered (considers the audience’s needs and perspectives)
- Community-Embedded (is informed about others’ work, acknowledges others’ contributions, makes a contribution to others working in the same area/on the same problem)
- Purpose-Driven (accomplishes the writer’s and his or her organization’s goals, makes the purpose clear and is organized to accomplish that purpose)
As Text
- Clear (begins with clear thinking, uses words the audience will understand or defines them, structures sentences so they are easy to follow and follow sound logic)
- Concise (expresses ideas directly and simply; focuses on what is relevant; avoids unnecessary modifiers, prepositional phrases, negatives, repetition, weak verbs, dummy subjects, etc.)
- Precise (makes an effort to be exact, given some external standard of measure) and Accurate (makes an effort to be correct, given the facts and accepted methods of their construction and interpretation)
- Coherent (provides explicit transitions between sentences, paragraphs, sections; establishes effective organization in terms of logic, rhetoric, and genre)
- Conventional (conforms to accepted conventions of professional language use and document design such as vocabulary, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format) – In particular, our course places a high value on your ability to follow format instructions exactly, as a demonstration of professionalism.
Required Essays
Schedule
| Essay Assignment Code | Date Assigned | Due Date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| RE1 | Jan 20 | Jan 28 | Details |
| RE2v1 | Feb 2 | Feb 4 | Details (includes peer review) |
| RE2v2 | Feb 9 | Feb 11 | Details |
| RE3v1 | Feb 23 | Feb 25 | Details (includes peer review) |
| RE3v2 | Mar 9 | Mar 11 | Details |
| RE4v0 | Mar 23 | Mar 30 | Details |
| RE4v1 | Mar 30 | Apr 1 | Details (includes peer review) |
| RE4v2 | Apr 13 | Apr 15 | Details |
Research Paper
An overview of the research paper sequence can be found here. You should choose the topic for your research paper from this list, or receive permission to write on a different topic. The research paper will follow style guidelines of the Illini Journal of International Security (IJOIS), which can be found here. Please consider submitting your Phys/GLBL 280 paper to this journal.
| Assignment (Assignment Code) | Date Assigned | Due Date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Paper Sequence Overview | N/A | N/A | Details |
| Research Paper Style Guide (IJOIS Style Guide) | N/A | N/A | Details |
| Research Paper Proposal Verison 1 (RPPv1) | Feb 9 | Feb 19 | Details |
| Research Paper Proposal Verison 2 (RPPv2) | Feb 23 | Mar 4 | Details |
| Research Paper Collegial Response (RPCR) | Mar 2 | Mar 15 | |
| Research Paper Version 1 (RPv1) | Mar 9 | Apr 8 | Details |
| Research Paper Version 2 (RPv2) | Apr 20 | Apr 29 | Details |
Extra-Credit Essay Opportunities (Overview)
Pick any TWO opportunities from the list below.
| Opportunity | Date Announced | Original Date of Event | Due Date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Global Impact of the War in Ukraine: Family and War | TBA | TBA | TBA | Standard Prompt |