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September
3
Introduction
to the computer classroom and general orientation on equipment and
lab policies
· Introduction to Course Website
· Introduction to ENGL 210 -- Course objectives, requirements,
policies, and grades -- introduction to textbooks, book companion
Websites -- general discussions -- guidelines and other pertinent
class issues.
· What is technical communication and why study technical
writing?
Introduction
to Tech Writing
September
5
- Introduction
- Characteristics
of Technical Communication (lecture and sample documents)
- Collaborative
Exercise (viewing and responding to sample documents)
- Measures
of Excellence in Technical Communication
- Collaborative
Exercises (sample documents, sample
websites-view, think,
see sample responses-and class responses)
- Concluding
Discussions
September
10
- Introduction
to Audience and Audience Analysis in Technical Writing (5 minutes)
- Class
review of related
resources (10 minutes)
- Identifying
Individual Characteristics
of readers (Review and note the Revision checklist in Markel
112-113 -- see Exercise 2, Markel 113) - (10 minutes)
- Multicultural
Audiences
- class exercise (Exercise 3 Markel 113) and discussion (15 minutes)
- Avoiding
Sexist Language and Bias (15 minutes)
- Class
Exercise and Discussion on Audience Analysis (Exercise 7 Markel
114)
- Generating
Ideas about Your Topic
September
12
- Sample
Reading Quiz
-- No grade assigned
- Introduction
to Clarity in Technical writing
- Review
Resources -- Browse Links of the Day
- Review
Class Exercise Worksheet
- Listing
- Eliminating
Wordiness - Vagueness, Redundancies, Pomposity, Unnecessary
Prepositional Phrases, Prepositional Phrases, Modifiers, Meaningless
Modifiers, Long Noun Strings, Obvious Material, Conciseness.
- Long
Sentences
- Choppy
Sentences
- Passive
Voice and "Agentless" Sentences
- Nominalization
- Parallelism
- Negative
Constructions
- Cliches
- Euphemisms
- Pronoun
Errors
- Jargon
Check
for Updates in the Assignments Section -- Saturday, September 15.
Links
of the Day
September
17
- Introduction
to Writing Memos and Emails
- Lecture
on Memos
- Review
Resources -- Browse Links of the Day
- See
Exercise Sheets on Memos (Individual Exercise
-- Read Instructions)
- Lecture
on Emails
- Review
Resources -- Browse Links of the Day
- See
Exercises 9, 10, and 11 of Markel 443-444 (Individual Exercise
-- Read Instructions)
- Class
Review of Written Reponses to Exercises --Class Discussion
- Questions.
Links
of the Day
September
19
Class
Focus for Next Session
- Law
and Legal Obligations
- Whistleblowing
Links
of the Day
September
24
September
26
- Review
of sample memos and discussion on the design of the assignment
-- 10 minutes.
- Questions
and thoughts -- 10 minutes
- Breakout
sessions -- collaborative groups meet -- 30 minutes
- Consultation
and general class discussion - 20 minutes
Class
Focus for Next Session
- Effective
Collaboration in Technical Writing: Strategies and Issues
- Reading
Quiz # 2 -- Read Markel Ch. 4 and Ch. 18 (p.533-535) & Woolever
Ch.14, p.141-152 and p.153-159
October
1
NOTE
CHANGES
- Reading
for Quiz # 2 -- Markel Ch. 4 and Ch. 18 (p.533-535) & Woolever
Ch.14. DO NOT READ WOOLEVER p.141-152 and p.153-159.
- Quiz
# 2 Review (Expect 10 of the 20 listed questions - 5 per textbook)
From
PC, right click mouse on the icon and select "save target
as"; For Mac, click to download.
-
- Reading
Quiz# 2 -- 10 minutes
- What
is Collaboration
- Guidelines
for Successful Collaboration
- Sources
of Conflict
- How
to Avoid Conflict and Steps in Conflict Management
- Effective
Meetings and Active Listening -- Seven
Deadly Sins or view/download as pdf
- Peer
Reviews and Assessment
- International/Multicultural
Dimension to Collaboration
-
Ethical Issues in Collaboration
- Class
Exercise
October
3
Letters
- Why
and When
Do You Write Letters
- Technical
Writing Criteria for Writing Letters
- The
You Attitude
- Audience
and Audience Analysis (Review links of the day and see Markel
413-414)
- See
Woolever 156-157 for tips on creating the right tone
- See
Woolever 158-159 on achieving clarity
- Parts
of Letters
- Letter
Formats
- Types
of Letters
- International/Multicultural
Considerations
- Ethical
Issues and Letter Writing
- Class
Exercise
- Discussion
-- Exercise 8 Markel 443
- Writing
Exercise -- Markel 445 -- "Dangerous Wrenches"
Links
of the Day
Focus-
Next Class
Drafting
and Revising Front and Back Matter -- note that this is one of the
topics for one of the optional extra credit tests.
October
8
Front
and Back Matter
- Letters
of Transmittal
- Elements
of a Letter of Transmittal
- View
Sample Transmittal Letters -- See Markel 310, Sample
1, Sample
2, Sample
3, Sample
Form Letter
- Class
Exercise -- Write down your thoughts on Exercise 1 - Markel-
326 and share with the class.
- The
Executive Summary
- Elements
of The Executive Summary
- View
Sample Executive Summaries: Sample
1, Sample
2
- Class
Exercise -- Write down your thoughts on Markel 326 Exercise
4 and share with the class
- Writing
Effective Abstracts -- informative abstracts, descriptive abstracts
- Writing
effective Summaries
- Exercise
-- Markel Exercise 4, 326. Discuss your findings with the
class
- The
Table of Contents -- Guidelines
- Exercise
-- Markel Exercise 3, 326. Discuss your findings with the
class
- List
of Illustrations
- Glossary
and List of Symbols
- References
- Appendices
- Index
- Elements
of an Effective Index
- Effective
Indexing
- Testing
an Index
- Using
your textbooks (Markel and Woolever) as the documents, work
on Markel Exercise 5, 327. Discuss your findings with the
class
The
Optional Extra Credit Quiz on Front and Back Matter is available
here and in the assignments
section
October
10
Focus
-- Next Class
Drafting
and Revising Technical Definitions and Descriptions -Markel Ch.
9 and Woolever Ch. 8.
Reading
Quiz # 3 is on October 17
October
15
Writing
Definitions and Descriptions
Focus
-- Next Class
- Reading
Quiz # 3 -- See the Quiz review
For PC, right click and "save target as..."; for
Mac, click save and select "download." Same guidelines:
20 questions for 10 possible questions.
- Drafting
and Revising Technical Descriptions. Review this
link in addition to your reading.
- Creating
and Using Graphics
- Look
for an Update on the Proposal Assignment --
Compliance Guidelines from the Agsgrant Foundation
October
17
Writing
Descriptions
- Introduction
to the Purpose of Descriptions in Technical Communication
- Class
Lecture on Writing Description
- Class
Activity
- Additional
Discussions and Exercises to Reinforce Learning on Writing Definitions
- See
Additional
Link on Writing Descriptions
Creating
and Using Graphics in Technical Communication
Focus
-- Next Class
- Reading
Quiz # 4 -- See the Quiz review
For PC, right click and "save target as..."; for
Mac, click save and select "download." Same guidelines:
20 questions for 10 possible questions.
- Writing
Instructions and Manuals
October
22
- Reading
Quiz # 4 -- 15 minutes
- Complete
Class Activity on Writing Description
- Review
Letter of Inquiry -- Agsgrant Foundation Technology Grant
Creating
and Using Graphics in Technical Communication
Writing
Instructions and Manuals
Focus
-- Next Class
- Usability
Testing
- Effective
Document Design
Links
of the Day
McMurrey's
Online Technical Writing -- Instructions
NTU
-- Guidelines for Writing Instructions
PRC
-- Writing User-friendly Manuals
Knopf
Online - Sample Documents -- Effective Design and Writing
McMurrey
- Process Discussions
Site
of Interest - Howstuffworks
Live
Manuals for Products
The
Technical Communicator's Resource Site
Warthman
Associates - Some of their Sample Documents
October
24
Class
Website Update
Writing
Instructions and Manuals
Usability
Testing
- Introduction
to Usability Testing
- Determining
Usability Criteria
- Usability
and Multimedia Documents
- Review
Links
Focus
-- Next Class
- Effective
Document Design
October
29
Writing
Instructions and Manuals
Links
Focus
-- Next Class
- Class
Workshop and Beginning the Job Search
October
31
Class
Workshop - Writing Instructions and Manuals
- Complete
writing assignment - 30 minutes
Review
the Job Application Portfolio Assigment
Prompt. See the Assignments Section
- 10 minutes
Introduction
to the Job Application Process
- Review
the links of the day
- Self-evaluation/profile
and Career Goals
- Planning
the Job Search - Exploring the job market, Roadmapping and Preparing
for the Job Market
- Class
Activity -- Develop a self-profile
Links
Focus
-- Next Class
Reading
Quiz # 5 -- See the Quiz review
For PC, right click and "save target as..."; for Mac,
click save and select "download." Same guidelines.
Writing
Job Application Letters
November
5
Reading
Quiz # 5 - 10
minutes
Introduction
to the Job Application Process - 10 minutes
- Review
the links of the day
- Self-evaluation/profile
and Career Goals
- Planning
the Job Search - Exploring the job market, Roadmapping and Preparing
for the Job Market
Class
Activity -- Develop a self-profile (Use active verbs to develop
and present information on the following:
- training
- formal education, internships, in-house training, short courses
and training seminars, apprenticeships
-
skills - IT (software, hardware, platform other), administrative
and management, communication, leadership, other technology, other
relevant skills
-
experience - employment, internships and residency, affiliation
-
relevant personal attributes - emphasize attributes pertinent
to the position
-
career orientation/goals - clearly state what you see yourself
doing in the short and long terms
Save the information as a word file - 20 minutes
Writing
Job Application Letters
- Types
of job application letters
- Elements
of the cover letter
- Elements
of the follow-up letter
- Elements
of the acceptance of position letter
- Elements
of the rejection of position letter
- Writing
a response to a rejection letter
Focus
-- Next Class
- Writing
a Résumé
- Elements
of an Effective Résumé
November
7
Writing
a Résumé
- Planning
for the Résumé
- Types
of Résumé
- What
must not be included in an effective résumé
- Elements
of an effective résumé
- Effective
subdivisions and subheadings
- Action
words Sample
1, Sample
2
- Concise
sentences
- Stating
numerical information
- Document
design
- Producing
the résumé
- Producing
a Scannable résumé
- Elements
of an Electronic résumé
- Ethics
and Résumé Writing
- Multiculturalism
and International Issues
Class
Activity
Review
the following sample résumés. In groups of three,
discuss the elements that make each of these sample documents effective
or ineffective.
Writing
Job Application Letters
- Elements
of the cover letter
- Elements
of the follow-up letter
- Elements
of the acceptance of position letter
- Elements
of the rejection of position letter
- Writing
a response to a rejection letter
Class
Activity
Review
the following cover letters. In groups of three, discuss the elements
that make each of these sample documents effective or ineffective.
Exercise
1 - See Markel, p. 480, Exercise 4
Exercise
2 - Sample 1, Sample
2, Sample 3, Sample
4, Sample 5
Links
of the Day
Focus
- Next Class
- Persuasion
and proposal writing
November
12
Communicating
Persuasively
- Considering
the purpose of the argument.
- Elements
of a persuasive argument -claim, evidence and reasoning
- Graphics
and argumentation
- Projecting
a professional persona
- Ethical
implications
- International
audiences and argumentation.
Class
Activity
Review
the following cases. In groups of three, discuss the elements that
make each of the sample documents effective or ineffective.
- Exercise
1 - See Markel, p. 140, Case 1
- Exercise
2- See Markel, p. 142, Case 2
Focus
- Next Class
- Reading
Quiz # 6
- Proposal
writing
November
14
Reading
Quiz # 6 - 10 minutes
Writing
a Proposal
- Review
the links to the right.
- Background
- Types of Proposals
- Elements
of an effective proposal
Links
of the Day
David
McMurrey on Proposals
The
Mayfield Handbook on Proposals
Writing
Successful Grant Proposals- Guidelines
Rochester
Institute of Technology - Hints on Writing Successful Proposals
November
19
Writing
a Proposal
Continue
working on your proposals.
- Reading
- Again,
please read Markel Ch. 17 and Woolever Ch. 11. The questions
some people have been asking me, (e.g. what are appendices, illustrations
etc or should I do any research to buttress my arguments?), are
clearly answered. Please read.
- Research
- I do not expect meaningless general statements. There is a lot
of professional literature about the topic. Use the vast resources
available in the library. You may also conduct primary research
by contacting the customer services departments of companies that
make small applicances. Whichever decision you make, you must
develop each section of your proposal using information from primary
or secondary research. Remember, in your professional workplace,
you will be expected by your supervisors to write the best proposals
you can write if you are to win bids and grants for your organization.
Your bosses will not expect you to write just a few odd general
statements to which you will append a budget. They will expect
you to undertake thorough research before you write each bid or
grant proposal.
- Links
- The links to your right give some helpful pointers. Remember,
the best way of outlining and developing your proposal is to
follow RFP guidelines. Please follow the RFP
guidelines given.
Addtional
Thoughts
Focus
- Next Class
Class
writing session - developing sections of your proposal.
November
21
Writing
a Proposal
Some
more useful links with general comments on the correlation between
product liability and defective manuals
Warnings
and Precautionary Labels: Reducing Product Liability Exposure
- The Hartford Loss Control Department
Product
Liability and How to Minimize the Risks - Jason Bright
Product
Liability Warning Cases - Richard Alexander
Viable
Products Vs the Legal System - Dr. C.J. Abraham, P.E.
Labeling
and Product Liability- some Caveats about those Caveats -
C. Lynn Munro
Liability
for Defective Documentation (Published in Software QA, Volume
2, #3, 1995, p. 8. (c) 1995 - Cem Kaner
Continue
working on your proposals.
- Reading
- Again,
please read Markel Ch. 17 and Woolever Ch. 11. The questions
some people have been asking me, (e.g. what are appendices, illustrations
etc or should I do any research to buttress my arguments?), are
clearly answered. Please read.
- Research
- I do not expect meaningless general statements. There is a lot
of professional literature about the topic. Use the vast resources
available in the library. You may also conduct primary research
by contacting the customer services departments of companies that
make small applicances. Whichever decision you make, you must
develop each section of your proposal using information from primary
or secondary research. Remember, in your professional workplace,
you will be expected by your supervisors to write the best proposals
you can write if you are to win bids and grants for your organization.
Your bosses will not expect you to write just a few odd general
statements to which you will append a budget. They will expect
you to undertake thorough research before you write each bid or
grant proposal.
- Links
- The links to your right give some helpful pointers. Remember,
the best way of outlining and developing your proposal is to
follow RFP guidelines. Please follow the RFP
guidelines given.
Addtional
Thoughts
Focus
- Next Class
Peer
Revision Session - Proofread and discuss grant proposals written
by your colleagues.
November
26
- Class
Evaluation
- Final
Examination Review
- Review
Oral Presentation Prompt
- Peer
Revision of Proposals
NO
CLASS - Nov. 28 - Thanksgiving Holiday
Focus
- Next Class
Oral
Presentation - Dec. 3 teams.
Everyone
must be present.
November
28
NO
CLASS - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
December
3
- Refer
to the Oral
Presentation Prompt
- Sit
next to your team members. Please maintain
a professional presence in this room through out the presentations.
- Before
9:35 or 2:20, please make sure that you have six copies of the
evaluation sheet.
- Download
your presentations into the designated class folder.
- Review
the PowerPoint slideshow on the key
elements of the presentation.
- Keep
in mind all the key elements of an effective oral presentation
that we have discussed in class.Refer to the links of the day
for additional guidelines
- Submit
a bound copy of your proposal after your presentation. Proposals
that are not ready for submission immediately after your oral
presentation will NOT BE ACCEPTED AND A 0% OUT OF 10% GRADE WILL
BE ALLOCATED TO THE GROUP.
Links
of the Day
Designing
Effective Oral Presentations - Rice University
Making
Effective Presentations - Northeastern University College of Business
Virtual
Presentation Assistant - Kansas University
Focus
- Next Class
Oral
Presentations - Dec. 5 teams.
Everyone
must be present. Only documented absences are acceptable.
December
5
- Refer
to the Oral
Presentation Prompt
- Sit
next to your team members. Please maintain
a professional presence in this room through out the presentations.
- Before
9:35 or 2:20, please make sure that you have six copies of the
evaluation sheet.
- Download
your presentations into the designated class folder.
- Review
the PowerPoint slideshow on the key
elements of the presentation.
- Keep
in mind all the key elements of an effective oral presentation
that we have discussed in class.Refer to the links of the day
for additional guidelines
- Submit
a bound copy of your proposal after your presentation. Proposals
that are not ready for submission immediately after your oral
presentation will NOT BE ACCEPTED AND A 0% OUT OF 10% GRADE WILL
BE ALLOCATED TO THE GROUP.
Links
of the Day
Designing
Effective Oral Presentations - Rice University
Making
Effective Presentations - Northeastern University College of Business
Virtual
Presentation Assistant - Kansas University
Everyone
must be present. Only documented absences are acceptable.
Focus
- Next Class
Focus
on the Examination Review and see the syllabus
for examination dates and times.
- Dec
11-12, Wednesday and Thursday, Reading Days - No Classes
- Dec
13, Friday 12:30-2:30pm TR
9:35-10:50am
- Blocker 119
- Dec
18, Wednesday 1-3pm TR
2:20-3:35pm
- Blocker 115
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