Course Syllabus:
Term:
Title:
Course Structure
Meteo 480M/580
Spring 2014
Instructor: Chris E Forest
COMMUNICATION OF METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH
Course Designation
Meteo 480W/480M is encouraged for all Meteorology majors in the Atmospheric Science option and
is an elective for all other options in the Meteorology major. Meteo 580 is required of all Meteorology
MS and PhD students.
Course Description
Students perform research under the guidance of a faculty member that is summarized in an AMS
conference preprint paper. Students also give a timed 12-minute oral presentation.
Prerequisites
Meteo 480M/480W: Junior or senior standing as a Meteorology Major. Meteo 580: Graduate standing
Internet Materials:
ANGEL homepage for course: http://cms.psu.edu
Textbooks:
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Eloquent Science by Schultz
Style for Students Online by Schall
Lectures: 10:10-11a Monday
Lecturer: Chris E Forest
Office: 507 Walker Building Phone: 865-0710 Mail to: ceforest@psu.edu Office hours: W/Th at
2:30-3:30 p.m., by appointment, or whenever the door is open
Teaching assistant: none
Attendance: Required (unless you are off-campus on a field program)
Course Outline:
The outline for the course follows. Please note that this outline serves only as a general guide to the
course. The actual topics covered may vary at the discretion of the instructor.
Course Topics
Introduction
Scientific Writing
Scientific Ethics
Writing a scientific research manuscript
Peer review process
Oral presentation of scientific research
Poster presentations at scientific meetings
Preparing research proposals
Reviewing manuscripts and proposals
Practicing the AMS-style presentation
AMS-style presentations to committee
Resumes (curriculum vitae)
Web page design
Bibliography
Alley, M., 1996: The Craft of Scientific Writing. Third edition. Springer, 282 pp.
Schall, Joe, 1995: Style for Students Online. Available at: https://www.eeducation.psu.edu/styleforstudents/
Schultz, D. M., 2009: Eloquent Science. American Meteorological Society. 412 pp.* Strunk,
W., Jr., and E. B. White, 2007: The Elements of Style. Fourth edition. Macmillan, 147 pp.*
* On reserve in the EMS Library
Supplementary Readings
Garland, J., 1991: Advice to beginning physics speakers. Physics Today, July 1991, 42
45. (Available on the course web site.) Gopen, G. D. and J. A. Swan, 1990: The science of science
writing. American Scientist, 78, 550-558. (Available on the course web site.)
Mermin, N. D., 1992: What’s wrong with those talks. Physics Today, November 1992, 910 (Available
on the course web.)
Assessment Tools
Grades are partially based on the assigned work including:
1. A polished writing sample (THE ESSAY),
2. A critique of a published AMS abstract (THE CRITIQUE),
3. Your own conference abstract (THE ABSTRACT),
4. A 2-4 page AMS conference preprint (THE PREPRINT),
5. An anonymous review of a classmate's preprint (THE REVIEW), and
6. A 12-minute oral presentation (THE TALK).
The preprint may be a succinct summary of your research work or may be on some other topic
approved by the instructor. The preprint and associated talk can also be from a conference that you are
preparing to attend or have recently attended if you (and not your advisor/co-authors) did most of the
writing and if you thoroughly critique and revise the preprint based on what you have learned in this
course. The goal here is for all of us to learn to improve our written and oral presentations.
Undergraduate students (3 credits): 1/3 of your grade comes from this part of the course and the
other 2/3 comes from your research advisor. The preprint should be a succinct summary of your
research. Be sure to contact your research advisors early in the semester and ensure that they know this
grading policy for Meteo 480M. Then email me their names.
Graduate students (1 credit): The entire grade comes from the written and oral assignments
described above. These assignments will help you prepare for the writing and defending of your
thesis.
PhD students: This course also prepares you for the university-mandated Technical English
Competency requirement. For this requirement, each PhD candidate must: write an acceptable
500-word essay in a one-hour period, write an acceptable 2-4 page AMS conference preprint, and give
an acceptable 12-minute oral presentation. The essay written as part of Meteo 580 will suffice, but an
ad-hoc panel of faculty members (none of whom are the student’s advisers) evaluates each of the other
two requirements. These additional evaluations are normally done each semester following this course.
Note: passing Meteo 580 does not necessarily mean passing the Technical English Competency
requirement.
Research Mini-Symposium (MeteoFest)
We will hold a mini-symposium on one or more days near the end of the semester or during finals
week for the 12-minute talks.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to do their own writing. Do not copy text from another person's paper or from a
World Wide Web site and present the material as your own, because that is plagiarism. Other people's
work should be summarized in your own words and properly referenced. Such reference provides
necessary background for presenting your work. Students who plagiarize will receive a grade of F in
this course. This course adopts the EMS college policy on academic integrity. Please see:
http://www.ems.psu.edu/current_undergrad_students/academics/integrity_policy.
Meteo 480M Course Objectives
1. Students can demonstrate the ability to complete and write a technical report on a research
project overseen by a faculty member or other.
Meteorology BS Program Objectives
1
To produce graduates who possess quantitative, scientific reasoning skills that can be applied
to atmospheric problems.
2
To produce graduates who have a general knowledge of a range of atmospheric phenomena
and applications, and have expertise in one or more program sub disciplines or related interdisciplinary
areas
3
To produce graduates who are equipped to contribute to solving problems in the atmospheric
sciences and related disciplines, through service in business or as educators, researchers, and leaders in
academia, government, the private sector, and civil society.
Meteo 480M Course Outcomes
1
Students can demonstrate knowledge of effective scientific writing principles, including proper
organization of the material and use of good.
2
Students can demonstrate knowledge of good practices in reviewing and editing atmospheric
science manuscripts.
3
Students can demonstrate knowledge of issues underlying proper scientific ethical behavior,
such as plagiarism and authorship.
Meteorology BS Program Outcomes
a) Graduates can demonstrate skills for interpreting and applying atmospheric
observations
b) Graduates can demonstrate knowledge of the atmosphere and its evolution
c) Graduates can demonstrate knowledge of the role of water in the atmosphere
d) Graduates can demonstrate facility with computer applications to atmospheric
problems
e) Graduates can demonstrate skills for communicating their technical knowledge
EMS Syllabus Statements:
Prerequisites
Students who do not meet the course prerequisites may be dis-enrolled during the first 10-day free
add-drop period after being informed in writing by the instructor (see:
http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/C-5.html). If you have not completed the listed prerequisites, then
promptly consult with the instructor if you have not done so already. Students who re-enroll after
being dis-enrolled according to this policy are in violation of Item 15 on the Student Code of Conduct
(http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/codeofconduct/).
Academic integrity
Students in this class are expected to write up their problem sets individually, to work the exams on
their own, and to write their papers in their own words using proper citations. Class members may
work on the problem sets in groups, but then each student must write up the answers separately.
Students are not to copy problem or exam answers from another person's paper and present them as
their own; students may not plagiarize text from papers written by others. Students who present other
people's work as their own will receive at least a 0 on the assignment and may well receive an F or XF
in the course. For information about the Earth and Mineral Sciences Academic Integrity Policy, which
this course adopts, please see:
http://www.ems.psu.edu/current_undergrad_students/academics/integrity_policy.
Internet materials
The course syllabus, problem sets, and lecture notes are on the ANGEL web site for the class.
Accommodations for students with disabilities
The Office of Disability Services (http://equity.psu.edu/ods/) requests and maintains
disability-related documents; certifies eligibility for services; determines academic adjustments,
auxiliary aids, and/or services; and develops plans for the provision of academic adjustments,
auxiliary aids, and/or services as mandated under Title II of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA)
of 2008 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A list of these services is provided at
http://equity.psu.edu/ods/current-students.
Campus emergencies, including weather delays
Residence Instruction: Campus emergencies, including weather delays, are announced on Penn State
Live (http://live.psu.edu/) and communicated to cellphones, email, the Penn State Facebook page, and
Twitter via PSUTXT (to sign up, please see http://live.psu.edu/psutxt).
Student absence from courses
The University Faculty Senate Policy is 42-27: Class Attendance and Procedures E-11: Class
Attendance. For religious holidays see R-4, Religious Observances.
Attendance policy
This course abides by the Penn State Class Attendance policy given at
http://senate.psu.edu/policies/42-00.html#42-27
University Bulletin: University Course Descriptions
Meteorology (METEO) METEO 480M Undergraduate Research (3): A research thesis will be
prepared. A written and oral presentation required.
Undergraduate Research (3)
General Education: None Diversity: None Bachelor of Arts: None Effective: Spring 2014 Ending:
Spring 2014 Prerequisite: junior or senior standing as a Meteorology Major
Note: Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor.
For these details check the specific course syllabus.
Technical English Competency Exam Faculty interaction policy for the Technical
English Competency Exam (Professional Presentation Exam)
Meteo 580 is the preparatory course for the Technical English Competency Exam with speaking and
writing requirements matching that for this exam. In Meteo 580 and the exam, students give a
rigorously timed 12-minute talk. As part of the course, students are provided lots of detailed feedback
on their Meteo 580 talks and are told in the course that they can give a revised version of the talk for
the Tech exam. Also, students are counseled in the course to practice all of their talks with an audience
to get helpful input. Given that many students have little or no technical speaking experience, having
faculty and others provide students feedback on their talks to help them improve their speaking ability
is allowed. The paper written in Meteo 580 is also of the same format as that for the Technical English
Competency Exam. As part of the class, students are given feedback on earlier drafts of the paper by
fellow students and the instructor; as for the talk, a revised version of the paper can be submitted as
part of the exam. Faculty input is allowed on this exam paper so long as the sentences are critiqued,
but not rewritten by the faculty; the intent is for the students' writing ability to be evaluated, which
cannot be done if the faculty rewrite the paper as part of the input phase. Thus, a paper submitted as
part of the exam is to be single-authored by the student.