English
402: Technical and Professional Writing
Instructor:
Bryan Fry
Office:
Avery 371
Office
Hours: By
appointment
quick
link to schedule
Catalogue
Description
Research
writing: defining, proposing, reporting progress; presenting a
final
product; other professional writing needs.
Detailed
Description
In
this course you will learn a rhetorical approach to producing
technical and
professional documents from job application materials to technical
research
reports. While it is guided by the needs and practices of business and
industry, this course promotes rhetorical approaches and ethical
assessments
and judgments. These approaches, assessments, and judgments are part of
an
effort to move technical and professional writing to a position that
encourages
holistic thinking and ethical, sustainable practice as part and parcel
of this
kind of writing.
Course
Objectives
By the
end of this course students will be able
to
> identify
and analyze rhetorical situations and apply
rhetorical
strategies to technical and professional writing;
> understand
the relationship between writing and larger
societal
groups and social issues;
> compose and revise
a variety of technical and professional documents that respond to the
identified rhetorical situation;
> demonstrate a knowledge of research
techniques and
inclusion
of research results in technical and professional documents;
>
demonstrate the ability to communicate through professional
presentations;
>work
both individually and collaboratively to complete
technical and
professional writing projects.
Required Texts
A Concise Guide to
Technical Communication by Gurak and Lannon (3rd
ed)
The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
Computers
All
assignments must be wordprocessed. Registration for this course
includes
access to the Avery Microcomputer Lab (AML). An introduction to the AML
will be
provided, and the course will meet there often. No specific level of
computer
knowledge is required, but familiarity with basic personal computing
will be
assumed..
Attendance
and Assignments
To
successfully complete this class, you must faithfully attend class
and
complete all assignments. Because we will be working collaboratively on
many
assignments, your regular attendance is vital. Please note on the
schedule the
occasions when attendance is absolutely required.
Some specifics:
>more
than three absences will seriously jeopardize
your
grade; after five absences you will fail the class;
> extensive tardiness will be considered in
assessing
absences;
> planned absences must be discussed and
OK’d by
the teacher
prior to the absence; planned absences count in the total of absences;
> acceptance of late work is unusual and
must be
discussed in
conference with the teacher. Late work will receive a lowered grade if
turned
in within one week of the original due date. Work turned in later than
one week
past the original due date will be give an automatic F.
See
linked Schedule
WSU
Accommodation Policy
We are
committed to providing assistance to help
you be successful in this course. Reasonable accommodations are
available for
students with a documented disability. Please visit the Disability
Resource
Center (DRC) during the first two weeks of every semester to seek
information
or to qualify for accommodations. All accommodations MUST be approved
through
the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Rooms 205). Call 509 335 3417 to make an
appointment
with a disability counselor.
Academic
Honest
All
students are expected to act in accordance
with the WSU policies on Academic Honesty found in the Student
Handbook. These
policies include falsification of information, fabrication of
information,
plagiarism, multiple submission, and various others. Information about
these
policies can be found online at the WSU Academic Dishonesty
site. These policies will
be discussed in class and students will be asked to acknowledge that
discussion
and a basic understanding of the policies..
Projects
and Evaluation
Several
of the projects below are multi-part. Detailed assignments will
appear on the class schedule as the assignments begin.
Resume and Application
Letter
(individual) |
15
% |
Document Design Project
(collaborative) |
20% |
Pitch Proposal
(individual) |
15% |
Collaborative
Repurposing Project
(collaborative) |
25% |
Progress Memo
(individual) |
15% |
In-class Assignments
and Quizzes
(individual) |
10% |
Note: All
assignments must be completed to pass this course.
See
Schedule
|