PHYS 280 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Required Essay 1 (RE1)

Electronic submission due Wednesday Jan. 25 at 10pm; paper submission due Thursday Jan. 26 at 2pm

For RE1 you will revise an essay using the scenario and guidelines described below. Your RE1 will be graded by your writing lab TA, who will use this rubric

This essay has a number of problems, including factual errors, formatting errors, and issues with style.

Scenario

You are a writer for Scientific American, and your editor has assigned you to revise a brief report, written by a colleague, on the events related to the revocation of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance in 1954. Your colleague's report has a number of issues making it unacceptable for publication in Scientific American. Your editor is looking for substantive revision of the report, not just proofreading. The report should be a summary of these events written for a general audience, not an editorial or discussion of whether or not the case was decided correctly in your opinion. News reporting should remain objective and focused on the facts of the case. The report should be based on the following sources: 

1. “Letter on the Oppenheimer Affair,” reference [1]. 

2. “The Oppenheimer Case,” reference [2]. The article appeared in Physics Today 7(7) in 1954 (doi: 10.1063/1.3061714).

3. Material from the PBS Atomic Bomb documentary The Bomb, where applicable, reference [3].

Guidelines

Writer's Memo

note: Writer's memos do not count toward meeting an assignment's minimum length requirement.

In addition to your RE1 essay please submit a brief statement (~8-15 sentences) that includes:

Your writer's memo will help your writing lab TA to improve their response to your writing. Please see the Phys 280 Style and Format Guide for additional instructions on formatting the writer's memo.

Your submission must include:

  1. Your RE1
  2. Your writer's memo for RE1

n.b. For electronic submissions, submit the writer's memo and RE1 in the same file (do not upload separately), with the essay first and the writer's memo second.

Content Learning Goals:

  1. Become familiar with the events related to the revocation of J. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance in 1954.

Writing Learning Goals:

  1. Develop your revision skills, by revising the linked MS word doc
  2. Learn the Phys 280 style and formatting guidelines
  3. Practice adapting to a new professional style (in this case, of a Scientific American news report) and genre (a news report for the general science-interested community)
  4. Develop your ability to assume a professional role (in this case, of a science journalist)