Jill R. Hardin
&
W. Scott Street, IV
Statistical Sciences and Operations Research
Virginia Commonwealth University

• College writing intensive requirement
• Students requested help with improving their writing styles and techniques
• Faculty were disappointed with the quality of work being submitted in upper-level classes
• Industry contacts desire graduates with communications skills

Student surveys revealed
– Many claim no professional writing skills
– Those who do are largely self-taught
– Students want help with
• Style and voice
• Audience awareness
• Research papers
• Citing references
• Conclusions
• Constructing solid arguments

Faculty Surveys suggested inclusion of
– Social context
– Technical reports
– Revision
– Literature review
– Audience analysis

Conversation with Tom York, Capital One
Group Manager suggested problems with
– Brevity and conciseness
– Structure and organization
– Identifying key points
– Adequate summaries
– Audience analysis
– E-mail form and etiquette

• Shift-phobia i have lefted a message on your answering machine wanting to know if you wanted to get together tomorrow morring and go over the project.
• Caps-addict
DR. STREET,
I DIDN'T MAKE IT TO CLASS TODAY BECAUSE I APPARENTLY
HAVE CAUGHT THE FLU. ATTATCHED IS QUIZ 2.
• Inappropriate/Nonprofessional E-mail Address msdiscobutt@-----.com
lookin4alady@-----.com
killPikachu@-----.com
findmytatoo@-----.com

• “Situated Learning” (Tyre & von Hippel)
– Students must practice writing in the major to become good at it
• “Discourse Communities” (Swales, Lemke)
– “Learning to ‘talk’ science means acting as a part of the scientific community”
– Students must learn specifically what is expected of them in the statistics and operations research communities

• Statistics and operations research, with special emphasis on writing or
• Writing, with special emphasis on writing in statistics and operations research
•
We chose the latter!

Based on student and faculty input, we aim to focus on four general areas:
–
Career Writing
– writing to pursue a career in statistics and operations research
– Academic Writing – writing in the academic world of statistics and operations research
– Popular Writing – writing about statistics and operations research for the lay person
–
Professional Writing
– writing about statistics and operations research in business and industry

• Topics
– Résumé
– Curriculum Vitæ
– Cover Letter
– Thank-you Letter
• Activities
– Career Center staff presentation
– Peer reviews of résumés with group discussion
• Sample Assignments:
– Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. What specific skills do you possess?
– Given a job posting,
• Tailor your résumé to fit the job announcement.
• Write a cover letter specific to the announcement.
• Write a thank you letter giving thanks for the
“interview.”

• Topics
– Literature Review
– Journal Article
– Analysis for other fields
• Activities
– Presentation by a research librarian
– Discussion with a faculty member who reviews journal submissions
• Sample Assignments:
– Literature review
• Brainstorm topics
• Locate sources for a chosen topic
• Write a summary of findings
• Present results to the class
– Outline and analyze a journal article.

• Topics
– Newspaper Article, Press
Release, etc.
– Community Writing
• Activities
– Guest speakers to discuss
“real-life” interactions with the local/regional press
– Write a press release or newspaper article on the results of a research study
– Write for the local community
• Sample Assignment:
– Given a newspaper article which draws incorrect conclusions from a statistical study, write a letter to the editor that tactfully points out these errors.
You should also clearly explain why such conclusions are incorrect.

• Topics
– Technical Report
– Executive Summary
– Memo
– E-mail Etiquette
• Activities
– Hear from local executives about the importance of good communication skills.
– Converse via e-mail throughout the semester.
• Sample Assignments:
– Complete a case study that requires communicating results to someone with no technical expertise.
– Write an executive summary of a given technical report.

• Regular Writing
– Throughout entire semester
– Short-term and long-term assignments
• Feedback
• Revision
• Quantity
– Substantial amount of writing
– Major revisions count towards quantity
• Variety

• Peer feedback
• Instructor feedback
• Substantial revision
– Students will be allowed to revise each assignment at least once
– Some assignments will be allowed unlimited revisions before a grade is assigned (within semester time limits)
• Quantity, variety, and regularity are inherent in the course structure.

• Prerequisite is one junior-level course in either statistics or operations research and sophomore-level English composition.
• Course will be designed so that students can focus on their own interests – either in statistics or in operations research.
• Course will be team-taught by statisticians and operations researchers.

• Communications in Statistics & Operations
Research (STAT 490 / OPER 490)
• First offered in Spring 2003
• Taught by Drs. Hardin & Street
• 2 credit hours (upper-level)

– 75% rated the course “Very Good” or “Outstanding”
– 87.5% found the team-taught aspect beneficial
– Only 1 student rated the level of learning as “Adequate” or below.
– “This course was a lot of work, but I did learn a lot.”
– “I liked the team-taught aspect because we received two separate opinions (sometimes differing) on our work.”
– “Too much out of class work!!!”

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the SSOR writing intensive course, please feel free to contact us.
Dr. Jill R. Hardin
P.O. Box 843083
828-1301, ext. 156
JRHardin@VCU.edu
Dr. W. Scott Street, IV
P.O. Box 843083
828-1301, ext. 138
WSStreet@VCU.edu

This presentation is based on research that was funded in part by a Small Teaching
Grant that was awarded to Drs. Hardin and
Street by the Center for Teaching
Excellence at Virginia Commonwealth
University.
http://www.vcu.edu/cte/

THE END