technical and professional writing
engl 402.01 summer 2007
patricia freitag ericsson
ericsson@wsu.edu
Avery 223 Phone: 335-4820
Summer office hours by appointment
Textbook Abbreviations
CG - A Concise Guide to Technical Communication
NDDB - Non-Designer's Design Book
IX - IX Exercise for Tech CommThis schedule may change as the course progresses.
Week 1 May 7 Meet in AML; Introduction to class; review of syllabus, schedule, academic honesty policy; writing sample May 8 Introduction to Technical Communication
CG: Chapter 1; Exercise 1, p. 14 completed by class time; read Markel on ethics; be prepared to write about the article in class (bring printout of article to class)May 9 Begin Unit 1: Rhetorical Approaches to Job Applications
Complete OWL Self-Analysis and OWL Skills Checklist and bring to class; locate and bring to class three (3) job ads that you could apply for after graduation; read ethical concerns in job searches to prepare for class discussionMay 10 Meet in AMLfor orientation and workshop; Before class Read CG: Chapter 2 and article on e-resumes
During class and in consultation with others in class, choose one job for application; using the online resources of the OWL write the following: 1) an ad analysis; 2) at least two informal paragraphs explaining why you are qualified for this job; 3) at least one page explaining what you have found out about the company you are applying to and how your personal and career goals are compatible with the company's outlook; and 4) write a one page analysis of your audience for this application package--see the Audience Checklist found on p. 30 of CG.
May 11 Meet in AML
Application letters: Bring CG to class!
CG: p. 193-200; read Munschauer; Write critique of application letter that appears CG on p. 195 --use specific points from the Munschauer article to frame your critique; job ad for letter (necessary to appropriately critique the letter); have critique ready to hand in a beginning of class today.Week 2 May 14 Meet in AML;
Resumes
Read CG: p. 202-207; OWL Hypertext on Resumes; read Resume Styles and Format choices and select the style that will suit your application; write brief justification of that choice; draft #1 of letter due for peer review--bring two (2) copies of the letter and the job ad (one for class and one for teacher review)May 15 Meet in AML; NDDB: Chapters 8-10 (Designing with Type); draft #1 of resume due; Links for inclass exercise: Example 1; Example 2; Example 3; Example 4; Example 5; Example 6
May 16 Meet in AML; Drafts of letter and resume due; in class peer analysis
May 17 Meet in AML; Begin Unit 2: Document Redesign Project (DRP)
CG: Chapter 8 and 9; complete Exercise #1 on p. 180 of CG--bring article to class with list of visuals; analyze visuals via the checklist on p. 180.May 18 CG: Chapter 3 (Usability); read Jakob Nielsen web materials; usability notes
Week 3 May 21 Meet in AML; NDDB: Chapters 1-6; (pp.1-86); in-class assignment; Ireland; Angler; Revised drafts of Job Application materials due for final evaluation; presented in Job Application Portfolio format May 22 Meet in AML; Begin IX (bring CD to class); details of DARS Project May 23 Meet in AML; Draft of DRP report due for peer review; peer review information May 24 Oral presentations of DRP; final draft of materials due when you present May 25 Oral presentations of DRP; final draft of materials due when you present Week 4 May 28 Holiday (Schedule of course is firm up to this point; after this point, things may change based on our needs and how well we have kept up with the schedule to this point. Refer to this schedule often for updates and changes.)
May 29 Begin Unit 3: Collaborative Research Report
Meet in AML; Introduction to Collaborative Research Report; CG: p. 51-70; complete in-class exercise; complete lessons 01, 02, 03 in IX Exercises CD; print off answers to hand inMay 30 Meet in AML; Complete all remaining IX lessons before class; bring CD to class; in-class critique assignment May 31 Ethics, Copyright and Privacy; Read Chapter 6 and 7 CG before coming to class; bring your field or discipline's code of ethics to class for discussion. June 1 TBA Week 5 June 4 Meet in AML; What is an incident report?
Writing the incident report.June 5 Pitch Proposal Presentations June 6 Pitch Proposal Presentations continued; teams composed for Research Report; Pitch Proposal Written Reports due. June 7 Meet in AML; Memo writing workshop; CG p. 189-192; Report writing details June 8 Meet in AML; Ethical issues in research projects; In-class team workshop Week 6 June 11 Meet in AML;Oral presentation practice June 12 Meet in AML; In-class team workshop; course evaluations; Progress Memo 1 due by midnight June 13 Meet in AML; In-class team workshop; Completion Memo details June 14 Final presentations--final draft due when you present; colleague evaluations; do one for each of your final project colleaguesand email it to ericsson@wsu.edu June 15 Final presentations--final draft due when you present; Completion Memo 2 due by midnight.
