Example #1

1. Course description/goals
   The subject matter addresses microorganisms that impact human affairs, including microbes that have detrimental effects (i.e., those that cause disease), and also beneficial microbes, such as those used in industrial processes or in food production. We will explore the biological bases of phenomena that have received recent attention in the media. Information will be presented through informal lectures, readings, and discussion
   
2. Format
   The seminar will meet for two hours each week. The time will be divided between informal lecture presentations, discussion, and student presentations. Reading material will be provided. There is no text for the course.
   
3. Topic Outline
   Week 1 - Introduction to the microbial world and its diversity
   Week 2 - The role of microbes in food production
   Week 3 - ...
   Week 4 - ...
   Week 5 - ...
   Week 6 - ...
   Week 7 - ...
   Week 8 - ...
   Week 9 - ...
   Week 10 Discussion and student presentations
   
4. Grading Plan
   Students will be required to prepare a short paper on a topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor. The course grade will be based on the quality of their written paper -- 5 to 7 pages (1/3) and oral presentations (1/3) and on the frequency and quality of their participation in class discussion (1/3).
   
5. About the Instructor
   Professor ____ is a member of the faculty in the Department of ____. Her research interests include the ecology and evolution of filamentous fungi, with an emphasis on fungi which are pathogenic to plants. Current projects include studies of pathogens in both agricultural and native plant communities. He currently teaches a course on fungi and their effects on human societies.

Example #2

1. Course description/goals
   James Joyce's Ulysses is regarded by many as the best novel of the twentieth century. However rewarding the book is, it is also one of the most difficult novels in English to read. This course will introduce students to the structure of the novel, which is loosely based on Homer's Odyssey ; familiarize them with the historical background of the novel; prepare them for wrestling with its changing styles and continual wordplay; and make them better able to follow its portrayal of the characters' streams-of-consciousness. Students will discuss selected chapter of Ulysses in class, work in groups to research outside resources and present material orally in class, read passages aloud to the class, and write two short papers.
   
2. Format
   The seminar will meet for two hours each week. Students and instructor will discuss assigned portions of the text each week. Students will make oral presentations to expand on class assignments or to anticipate future readings, they will read aloud in class, and they will write two short papers (400-500 words each) on approved topics.
   
3. Topic Outline
   Week 1 Introductions; discussion of the structure of the Odyssey and its use in organizing Ulysses. Discussion of Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as background, reading aloud from literature. Assignment of oral reports.
   Week 2 Discussion of "Telemachus" chapter of Ulysses. Student oral reports and readings.
   Week 3 - ...
   Week 4 - ...
   Week 5 - ...
   Week 6 - ...
   Week 7 - ...
   Week 8 - ...
   Week 9 - ...
   Week 10 Discussion of "Penelope" chapter of Ulysses. Student readings. Assessment of Ulysses. Second short paper due.
   
4. Grading Plan
   Students will be given a letter grade on the quality of their participation -- their ability to discuss the works and the substance of their comments and their oral readings (25%); the quality of their oral presentations (25%), and the quality of their short papers -- 3 to 5 pages (50%).
   
5. About the Instructor
   ____ has been a Lecturer at UC Davis for over ten years in the interdisciplinary writing program, where he teaches advanced composition courses in, among other areas, scientific writing, technical writing, and legal writing. His interests include the cognitive development and critical thinking abilities of student writers, as well as the writing processes of professional writers—he has published interviews with Stephen Jay Gould, John McPhee, and Roger Angell. He was co-organizer this year, through the Irish Studies Colloquium, of the Bloomsday celebration, which celebrates the day, June 16th, on which the novel Ulysses takes place.