Anderson 1

Chloe Anderson
Wilson
Writing 2
9 November 2015
WP2
When I started my sophomore year in high school, I signed up for AP Chemistry excited
to learn and take my first AP class. However, it ended up being a class I absolutely loathed with
every bone in my body. And now, here I am in college, getting up every Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday morning at 7:00 am, and make the dreaded climb down from my bunk bed, and get
ready to go to my 8:00 am General Chemistry 1A lecture with Professor Darby Feldwinn. Before
attending Ive tried to make myself familiar as I can with the material, read the required texts,
and written out my lecture. Although they are all different genres of text, all are necessary to
prepare me for the course. The texts and writings of this academic discipline follow conventions
established within their discourse community to write research based pieces in order to educate
students on basic chemistry concepts, as well as stress the importance of research to students,
and these same conventions are present in a classroom setting.
Before going into the conventions of the discourse community, the members of the
community need to be identified. Students, professors, TAs/graduate students, and anyone with a
position in the chemistry department are considered members. Everyone in my current major,
pre-bio, is required to take general chemistry, so all of us are members of the discourse
community as well. Membership is limited to those types of people because they are the only
ones who will be able to communicate effectively and understand each other. Those who are

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excluded are anyone that is not currently enrolled in chemistry, is no longer enrolled and
chemistry, and no longer has an affiliation with the class or department.
The UC Santa Barbara Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry About page on their
website is where the department describe their purpose and goals. They gush over the prestige of
their top-ranked research, and their commitment to address the challenges humanity faces in the
21st century by performing research in all areas of chemistry (About the Department). The
importance of research as a way of moving the field of chemistry forward and as a way for
students to do their own is mentioned again and again in this discipline. This being said,
researchers, student and faculty alike, make a large portion of this discourse community.
However, so much emphasis is put on research, that academic seems like a secondary aspect. The
department is so heavily research based, but students need to be properly educated in the field in
order to perform experiments, so they continue to strive for academic excellence.
These conventions are also present in a classroom setting, and lecture-style instruction
and the accompaniment of a textbook contribute to how the student learns in general chemistry.
Every morning when I walk into my lecture, an iClicker question is already projected on the
screen, and we have until 8:00 am to click in our answer (our answer is also her form of taking
attendance). When that is over, Professor Feldwinn goes over due dates, and jumps right into
were we left off on the PowerPoint from the previous class. Since this is an 8:00 am class,
Feldwinn does a lot to keep us engaged and awake. She performs small experiments and includes
several iClicker questions throughout the lecture. These iClicker questions are important because
its a way for students to get some extra points that would be lost if they didnt attend lecture.
Feldwinn also stresses that we either print or have the PowerPoint on a computer in class so we
can follow along. The PowerPoint slides are bullet points taken almost directly from our

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textbook, Chemical Principles, and its the basis of evidence for Feldwinns teachings. The
textbook material is backed by years of research and experiments, again emphasizing research as
the backbone of the class and the academic discipline. Another way she validates the material is
through her experiments in class, thats usually related to whatever chapter were on. This keeps
us paying attention and helps us understand the material. Another crucial factor in grasping the
concepts in class is becoming familiar with the jargon used. In class last week, Feldwinn used the
terms oxidation, redox, and oil rig several times throughout the lecture. She didnt define
these terms for us, so it was assumed and expected that we should already know what they mean.
For example, the term oil rig out of context wouldnt make much sense in a chemistry class,
unless you knew it was actually an acronym used by chemists to help remember how to identify
oxidizing and reducing reagents.
The fact that Feldwinn does experiments in class stresses the importance of research
along with the rest of the department. Her teaching style is very energetic; she always seems so
excited to be talking about chemistry at 8 in the morning, which is a mystery to me and Im sure
everyone else in my class. But somehow her upbeat personality and pace in the morning actually
keeps us paying attention. If she asks a student question and the answers correctly, shell toss
them a piece of candy, and excitedly praise them. This level of engagement with her students
shows excellence in education, a goal of the department.
In the syllabus for this class, which is another example of the text from this discipline,
Professor Feldwinn lays out the general structure of the class, but doesnt go into depth about
anything to do with the purpose of class. I assumed thats because she felt it self explanatory; the
class is general chemistry and thats what the student would be learning. However, Feldwinn
provides ways to contact her via phone, email and office hours, and several different tutoring

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services. She provides a calendar outlining the entire quarter in terms of what chapter is being
covered in class, and when exams are, and a scale for how homework is assigned and graded.
This is where reading the text before coming to class is (although not explicitly) suggested. The
syllabus does not exactly match the objective of the department website however, since it is just
about the teaching the basics of chemistry as a foundation for future classes, while the website
talks more about their research excellence. All Feldwinns syllabus really is, is an general outline
and guide for what the class looks like and how one should go about preparing for it.
Another crucial text in the chemistry discipline would be the students textbook. In the
textbook for General Chemistry 1A, Chemical Principles, chapters are styled and separated
like one would expect a textbook to be like: chapters for each concept and number and labeled
sections within the text. For example, chapter 3 Stoichiometry, covers stoichiometry as a
whole, and divides the chapter in different parts to teach it effectively. Section 3.1 covers
Atomic Masses, section 3.2 is The Mole, and so on (Zumdahl 54). Throughout the chapter
are sections of text called Chemical Insights, including a couple paragraphs about a real-life
application of the concept. Throughout the chapters are examples of how to do the necessary
calculations correctly, and ends with #1-100 book problems for extra practice. Along the margins
one can find pictures of chemists performing an experiment, with a caption explaining it and how
it relates to the chapter. In section 3.1 Atomic Masses, the left margin includes a picture of a
chemist using a mass spectrometer to analyze for copper in blood plasma (Zumdahl 55). Being
able to see what a real experiment looks like stresses the significance and relevance of doing
research within the chemistry discipline, and these textbook chapters provide the base for
students to do so in the future.

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In the peer-reviewed journal, another example of writing in this discipline, Reactivity
and stability of selected flavor compounds, is another example of a text from the chemistry
academic discipline. Its structure is similar to a lab report, with and an abstract explaining the
purpose of their paper with some background, and introduction, sections of data, and a
conclusion. Their sources are listed at the end of the journal along with a disclaimer about any
conflict of interest. Diagrams are also included (in this case they are the chemical structures) to
accompany the data. Its something that students, educators, or anyone in the discourse
community can read and learn from.
The clear ideals of the chemistry academic discipline are research and excellence in
education. The department is very adamant about students and faculty conducting research, and
that stance is evident in the classroom and in texts. However, the syllabus was the least helpful in
terms of discovering anything else about the discipline. It barely touched on anything to do with
the subject of chemistry, just due dates and required materials (although its very helpful for the
student taking the class. The text is an excellent example of writing because its literally about
chemistry. It contributes to excellence in education by teaching the student about chemistry and
providing practice in the area. The content of the book is reiterated in lecture with Professor
Feldwinn, who can explain concepts in more depth and in way thats easier to understand for our
convenience. In class, Feldwinns energy and all the opportunities she gives us to earn extra
points keep us awake and dedicated to doing well. Her examples of the material through simple
experiments contributes to the overall learning experience for the student, and seeing such things
inspires us to be interested in research; the ultimate goal. The peer-review journal is an example
the outcome for a student that completes their education here, and is an important source of
knowledge. It accomplishes the same thing as a textbook in conveying information and

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documenting research. These texts are backed by research and help further education in the field
of chemistry.

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Works Cited
Weerawatanakorn, Monthana, Jia-Ching Wu, Min-Hsiung Pan, and Chi-Tang Ho. "Journal of
Food and Drug Analysis." Reactivity and Stability of Selected Flavor Compounds (2015).
Reactivity and Stability of Selected Flavor Compounds. Elsevier. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Zumdahl, Steven, and Donald DeCoste. "Stoichiometry." Chemical Principles. 7th ed. Belmont:
Brooks/Cole, 2013. 53-93. Print.