INST 470 Writing Assignments
Spring 2001
The following assignments should be well-developed essays (or other style of writing as indicated) of approximately one to two pages double spaced. Preferably, assignments will be typed with a 12-point font, however neatly hand written assignments are acceptable.
These assignments will be graded on the content (10 points), and also on spelling, diction, grammar, punctuation, paragraph structure and composition (10 points). The type and style of writing as well as the intended audience are also important.
There are two major goals. The first goal is to make you think about how science and technology affect your everyday life and how it has changed with cultural and social evolution. The second is to enhance your ability to effectively communicate.
Assignment #1 In Class January 17
In
“The Soul of Science” video, the narrator states an integral part of science
is wonder and power. In his essay,
Seven Wonders, Lewis Thomas expounds on the idea of wonder, something that is
both marvelous and miraculous, but also something to be admired. Lewis Thomas lists seven things that science has uncovered
which he admires and considers a wonder. Write
an essay about the one thing in science, technology or nature that most amazes
and awes you and that you would consider a Wonder of the modern world.
Assignment #2 Due January 24
Some
advances have very profound effects on society from their inception through the
present and beyond. One
example of a tremendous advancement that changed society and the way we live was
the plow. The agricultural
revolution would not have proceeded at the rate it did without the invention of
the plow. Write an essay
describing an advance in science and/or technology that significantly altered
society.
Assignment
#3
Due January 31
Technology
impacts all of our lives. Our
society is extremely dependent on very integrated and interdependent
technological systems. For example,
a small malfunction in one power transmission station in Niagara Falls was
responsible for the power outage throughout most of the Northeast on November 9,
1965. Imagine living without a particular technology
for one day to one week.
Reflect upon the effect that the loss of that technology would have on
you personally and on the community in which you live.
Discuss the positive and negative effects that this loss may have during
that time period.
Assignment
#4
Due February 7
Usually
there is an average acceptable standard of living in a society.
Most people in a society agree that certain essentials and amenities are
part of the average or standard lifestyle.
For instance, at this time in America, most people agree that having
indoor plumbing is the norm. Interview a person who is at least 40 years older than
yourself. Discuss their family’s
lifestyle when that person was growing up. Think about your own experience as a
child and teen and your family’s lifestyle.
Write an essay in which you
discuss the changes in the acceptable lifestyle in the past 40 to 50 years.
Assignment
#5
Due February 21
Historically,
the people responsible for advances in scientific fields were not scientists by
occupation as they generally are today. Write
a short biography of a person in history who advanced scientific knowledge, but
had another occupation, include factors that influenced their thinking.
The biography should be written as a short magazine article that might
appear in the front news section.
Assignment
#6
Due February 28
In
your local newspaper, several letters to the editor have focused on negative
results of technology (for instance, the decrease in physical activity and
increased pollution due to the changes in lawn mowing devices). Write one letter to the editor describe a technological
advance that has been a negative influence on society and sign the letter J.
Hughes. Then, write another letter
responding to the first one expounding on the positive effect that technology
has in your life and sign your own
name. Remember, in particular,
things that you use almost daily. Use
specific examples, not just generalities. Letters
to the editor are usually limited to 100 words.
Assignment
#7
Due March 7
As
demonstrated by the earliest technology, scientific understanding is not a
necessary element in technological advance.
Most technological developments arise from a societal need or want
followed by ingenuity and sometimes a different perspective.
Often it was a matter of a worker seeing how their task could be
performed more efficiently, merely by changing their tools or machines in some
manner. Write a formal letter to a
specific company to propose a technological advance that you feel would be
beneficial to their customers. Your
goal is to persuade the company to use their resources to research your ideas
for improving the product.
Assignment
#8
Due March 21
With
the rise in defense technologies came increased governmental funding of
research. In this country, the
majority of research and development funding is provided by government tax
money. The congress makes decisions
about how that money is allocated to the different governmental agencies, and
those agencies determine how that money is allocated to scientists and
institutions. Write a letter to
your congressperson (senator or representative from your home district - look in
phone book or internet for the names and addresses) stating your opposition to a
particular advance in science or technology that has had or will have
detrimental effects on society and therefore continued
research in that field should no longer be funded.
Our representatives receive an extraordinary amount of mail therefore it
is important to state your opinion and supporting evidence very clearly and
concisely. In fact, letters should be limited to a single typed page
whenever possible. Type these
letters in the proper format (address, date and signature in the appropriate
places) and single spaced.
Assignment
#9
Due April 11
Make
an appointment to speak with a professor in a basic science department other
than your major department. Interview
the professor to discover their opinion as to which technological discovery has
made the greatest contribution to research and advancements in their scientific
field. Limit the discussion to this
century.
Assignment
#10
Due April 18
As
a class we will be putting together a time capsule of sorts. We want to include artifacts that would help future
generations understand our culture and society.
Choose one item that represents our technologically advanced society and write
a description of the item and how it impacts society on a daily basis.
The artifact will be included in the time capsule.
Remember that you are describing the artifact to future generations that
may or may not have seen anything like it and may not be using the same
technologies in their time period.
Bonus
Assignment
Due April 25
Choose
only one of the following topics and complete the assignment by due date.
No late papers will be accepted for this assignment.
A total of 20 points could be added to your Writing assignment grade.
A. Some fiction writers are more imaginative than the remainder of society, yet scientists have often been as imaginative in their inventions. Research a science fiction book or a comic book series. Alternatively, you could watch the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” for this assignment. Look at the date in which it was published and the types of technology that were imagined as future possibilities. Discuss the futuristic technology in the earlier literature and compare it to what is currently available in our society.
B. Meet with a person who is twenty to thirty years older than yourself (in person or on the telephone). Have a conversation with this person about some of the advances in science and technology that have occurred during their lifetime. Choose a particular area to focus your discussion if possible. For example, choose advances in transportation, medical facilities and treatments, household gadgets and appliances, or entertainment, but not all of them. Try to discover how these advances have affected that person’s life. Summarize your conversation into an essay and include some or all of the specific examples from your discussion.
C.
Some advances in technology occur so quickly, we can barely keep up with
them. An example is computer
technology. Whereas, other
technological advances are rather slowly developed and are relatively unchanged
after long periods of time. An
example of this is kitchen cabinets. Write
an essay about your projection of how some present day technology will change
within the next fifty years, while other technology will remain the same.
Dr. Easter's Course Information