Writing Course Review Form (4/14)
I. General Education Review – Writing Course
Dept/Program
Subject
ENST
Course
Number
201
(i.e. WRIT 200)
Course Title
Environmental Information Resources
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Please type / print name Signature
Date
Instructor
6-11-2014
Vicki Watson
Vicki.watson@umontana.edu
Phone / Email
243-5153
Program Chair
Phil Condon
Dean
III. Type of request
New X
Renew
Reason for new course, change
or deletion
One-time Only
Change
Remove
We feel that ENST 201 meets the requirements of an approved
writing course. We would like for our students to use it to
satisfy that general education requirements.
IV. Overview of the Course Purpose/ Description: Provide an introduction
to the subject matter and course content.
The Purpose of the course is to help students develop needed critical thinking, research and technical
writing skills to deal with the wide range of subject matter needed to address environmental issues.
Students select a controversial environmental issue and research the topic. They must critically evaluate
their sources, synthesize the sources to determine areas of consensus and conflict, and use logic to resolve
the controversy. Then they develop a scholarly position paper on the issue, using & citing relevant,
credible sources to support their arguments.
To achieve this final result, they also develop a proposal describing the needed research & target
audience, an annotated bibliography of key sources (in which they analyze the credibility of each
source), & a detailed outline of the final paper. They also give an oral presentation on their research
to the class, and they provide a critical review of another student’s paper in the class.
The course is team taught by Environmental Studies faculty (Vicki Watson or Rosalyn LaPier) with
Barry Brown, the Mansfield Science Librarian. Barry provides a series of hands-on workshops on
using library databases and internet searches to find and evaluate information.
V. Learning Outcomes:
Provide examples of how the course will support students in
achieving each learning outcome.
Use writing to learn and
x Yes
synthesize new concepts
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
Students develop a position paper that is also a literature
review of key relevant, credible sources. They must analyze
the areas of consensus and conflict. They synthesize the papers
to determine the areas of consensus. And they also attempt to
explain the likely causes of disagreement, and try to resolve the
controversies by providing arguments as to which viewpoint is
best supported. Or they may explain the disagreements by
noting that the different sources are using different values,
study sites, or different assumptions or definitions of key
concepts.
They grapple with these concepts in developing their proposal,
outline and paper – and receive feedback on all of these.
Formulate and express written
opinions and ideas that are
developed, logical, and
organized
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
x Yes
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
As mentioned above, students develop position papers on
environmental controversies. They must resolve the
controversies using critical thinking and logic and credible
sources for evidence. The papers are organized using the
classical outline for a scholarly literature review paper with
some additional attention to describing the target audience.
They grapple with these concepts in developing their proposal,
outline and paper – and receive feedback on all of these.
Compose written documents
that are appropriate for a given
audience, purpose and context
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
x Yes
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
The paper must state the purpose of the paper, give background
to explain the nature of the problem and the need for the paper,
and identify a key target audience.
While following the general outline for such a scholarly review
paper, students are instructed to keep their target audience in
mind, and provide explanations they can understand, use &
define terms with that audience in mind, and avoid insulting
the values of their target audience.
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
Revise written work based on
constructive comments from the
instructor
x Yes
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
The students do three drafts of their proposal (using feedback
on each to focus and refocus the topic), and at least one draft of
their outline. They are allowed to revise and resubmit some of
the research assignments.
The proposal and outline are essentially plans for and partial
drafts of their final paper. And they receive feedback on all of
these which they use in developing the paper. In addition they
receive detailed comments from the instructor and a fellow
student on their final paper. They are encouraged to use those
comments to revise the paper and present it at a future
undergraduate research symposium. And some do.
Find, evaluate, and use
information effectively and
ethically (click for a
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
x Yes
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
description of information
literacy outcomes appropriate
for each class level)
Barry Brown the Mansfield Science Librarian team teaches the
course. He provides from 6 to 8 in class workshops on finding
and critically evaluating sources. He guides students in all of
the following:
Subject librarians are available
to assist you embed information
literacy into your course
Execute both keyword and subject searches; execute
revised searches to refine results
Explain why there is usually not “one” source that will
meet all research needs (especially in interdisciplinary
subjects like env. studies)
Recognize and explain the value and differences between
general and subject-specific information resources
Recognize different information sources and explain the
value and differences between them, including their
scope, audience and intent (e.g., archival collections;
government information; popular, trade, and scholarly
publications). This class focuses on scholarly and
government sources.
All course instructors emphasize and help students:
Understand and recognize plagiarism and how to avoid it.
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
Begin to use discipline-specific
writing conventions
Demonstrate appropriate
English language usage
x Yes
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
Students are required to follow the format of a scholarly paper
within this discipline, and to cite their sources using the
conventions in this discipline.
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
x Yes
If yes, how will student learning be supported?
Part of the grade on the written work includes use of
appropriate English grammar, punctuation, and
usage. Errors are noted on assignments, and students are
referred to appropriate guidebooks or online
resources and can also consult with instructor
accordingly. Students who particularly struggle in this
area are also encouraged to seek help at the UM Writing
Center.
 No
If no, course may not be eligible
VI. Writing Course Requirements
Enrollment is capped at 25
students.
If not, list maximum course
enrollment. Explain how
outcomes will be adequately
met for this number of students.
Justify the request for variance.
The course has two instructors—
An EVST faculty member (Vicki Watson or Rosalyn
Lapier) and science librarian Barry Brown.
Which written assignments will
include revision in response to
instructor’s feedback?
The students do three drafts of their proposal (using feedback
on each to focus and refocus the topic), and at least one draft of
their outline. Some are required to revise their outline if the
first attempt is not sufficiently detailed or well organized.
Students are allowed to revise and resubmit some of the
research assignments.
The proposal and detailed outline are essentially plans for and
partial drafts of their final paper. And students receive
feedback on all of these which they use in developing the
paper. In addition they receive detailed comments from the
instructor and a fellow student on their final paper. They are
encouraged to use those comments to revise the paper and
present it at a future undergraduate research symposium. And
some do.
The course is capped at 28 students. And with typical
attrition, often shrinks to 25. This size has worked well
given that there are 2 instructors.
VII. Writing Assignments:
Please describe course assignments. Students should be
required to individually compose at least 16 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of the
course grade should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Clear expression,
quality, and accuracy of content are an integral part of the grade on any writing assignment.
Formal Graded Assignments
Proposal (3 drafts) – at least 2 pages long (40pts)
Detailed outline – at least 2 pages long (40 pts)
Annotated bibliography – usually 3-5 pages long (40 pts)
Paper -- 10-15 pages long (100 pts)
Critical review of another student’s paper –2+ pp (40 pts)
Oral presentation (40 pts)
Several information search exercises (120 pts)
Attendance & in class essays (80 pts)
Total for written assignments (380/500) = 76%
Guides for each of these assignments are attached.
In class essays on critical thinking topics (the nature of
evidence, fallacies in reasoning, ambiguous definitions,
etc)
Paste or attach a sample writing assignment. Include instructions / handouts provided to students.
Informal Ungraded
Assignments
See attachments – all key guides and handouts are attached.
VIII. Assessment
I will participate in the University-wide Program-level Writing Assessment by

requiring students in this course to upload a sample paper to the designated Moodle
Yes
location. Please clearly communicate the requirement to your students and include
language on your syllabus (sample below).
This course requires an electronic submission of an assignment stripped of your personal
information to be used for educational research and assessment of the writing program. Your
paper will be stored in a database. A random selection of papers will be assessed by a group of
faculty using a rubric developed from the following writing learning outcomes.







Compose written documents that are appropriate for a given audience or purpose
Formulate and express opinions and ideas in writing
Use writing to learn and synthesize new concepts
Revise written work based on constructive feedback
Find, evaluate, and use information effectively
Begin to use discipline-specific writing conventions (largely style conventions like APA or
MLA)
Demonstrate appropriate English language usage
The rubric score points are: (4) advanced, (3) proficient, (2) nearing proficiency, and (1) novices
This assessment in no way affects either your grade or your progression at the university.

IX. Syllabus:
Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.
The syllabus must include the list of Writing Course learning outcomes above.
Syllabus and instructions for written assignments are attached.