| Dr. Eric Sonstroem Office: WPC 137 Phone: 946-2619 Office Hours: 1-3 T, Th or by appointment Email:  |
Fall 2012 I ran a trial of this course in Fall,
2011. Visit the class
blogs that my students created here! |
| Dr. Eric Sonstroem Office: WPC 137 Phone: 946-2619 Office Hours: 1-3 T, Th or by appointment Email: |
Fall 2012 I ran a trial of this course in Fall,
2011. Visit the class
blogs that my students created here! |
Content Engineering is a professional writing class that has been designed from the ground up with the awareness that electronic content is dynamic, searchable, measurable, researched, optimized, published, marketed, and monetized in ways that are radically different from static “writing.”
Students will learn how to:
Create professional, reader-centric / user-centric documents, in both print and electronic media.
Understand the basic protocols of professional communication, and research the specific communication expectations of their chosen career. Create a resume and cover letter appropriate for their chosen career.
Create unique and relevant content, which is targeted toward a specific audience.
Research, analyze, and understand trends in search and social media, and recognize how this relates to market segmentation.
Determine conversion goals for the content they create, and measure and assess the effectiveness of their content against these conversion goals. Learn how to apply the results of their assessment, by refining their content creation strategies or re-engineering their old content.
Develop a habit of analytical thinking about their writing. Understand that all the content they create is fundamentally goal-oriented and measurable.
Identify, assess, and use up-to-date tools of content creation, publication, and analysis. This includes high-level applications like current blogging platforms, as well as some understanding of how to work directly with HTML and CSS.
Acquire some proficiency with industry-standard tools of web analytics, specifically Google Analytics. Understand the differences between different types of web traffic.
Understand the basics of how search engines index content, and become acquainted with best practices and current tools of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Gain first-hand experience in how content is marketed on the web, both through traditional web marketing as well as social media marketing.
Gain first-hand experience with how content is monetized on the web. By the end of the course, students will be receiving money from Google Adsense from the traffic they have generated to their content.
To this end, students will create a blog on a topic of professional interest to them, a topic they have research for market viability. Students will create a lot of content for these blogs, then use them as Content Engineering laboratories, experimenting with different techniques to drive real live traffic to their sites, and convert this traffic in different ways.
Be aware that this course is a lot of work, both in terms of the amount of writing you will do, and in terms of the new concepts, techniques, and tools that you will be exposed to. The payoff, however, is that this set of skills is extremely practical, and very much in demand in the modern workplace.
There is no textbook for this class. All your
readings will be found within the Resources section of our Sakai
page, or on the web.
Student work in this course might be retained for research purposes and to assess how course learning outcomes are being met.
You will be
responsible for showing up. Attendance
is
required, and the attendance policy is very much like what you will
find in the workplace. You may miss two "personal days" for
any
reason
(and I don't need to know the reason). After that, your final
grade will drop 1/3 of a letter grade for each additional day
missed. If you have a valid, documented reason for needing to
miss more classes (eg, a valid medical reason) talk to me about that early
in the course so that we can work out an alternate assignment for those
days. Just like in the business world, chronic or extreme
lateness
will also not be
tolerated, and may count as absences as well. The same
applies to failure to participate in classroom discussion or
activities. Cell
phones (or
other texting devices) are
absolutely not permitted in class and must be off. Also, you
may not use your computer in class, unless we are doing a
classroom
activity that specifically requires them.
You will be
responsible for carefully reading all
assigned readings. There will
be periodic, unannounced reading quizzes throughout
the semester. You
may be responsible for printing out some of these readings and bringing
them to class.
You will be responsible for actively participating in classroom discussions and activites. Active classroom participation will help you engage with the material, as well as learn and retain the skills of this class. Active engagement with co-workers and with your supervisor is crucial to success in the business world. Therefore, active engagement with me and with your peers in class is a part of your grade.
You will be responsible for turning in assignments when they are due. As in the business world, deadlines matter, and nobody wants to hear your excuses. Late papers will be marked down 1/3 of a letter grade for each calendar day they are late. I will consider giving short extensions on assignments if you contact me ahead of the due date and you have a good reason for wanting the extension. All assigned work must be completed to pass the course.
Written work will almost always be submitted to me electronically. Documents must conform to document specifications in the assignments. Any hard-copy assignments should be printed on white paper, in a standard 12-point font, with one inch margins. All assignments should contain my name, your name, the course number, the date, and a title.
You should have access to a computer and printer. You will notice that there is a web page for the class, at http://www.sonstroem.com/105/. You will be required to access this webpage throughout the semester, for readings, assignments and other material. Many readings will be found on the resources tab within Sakai, at http//sakai.pacific.edu. Computer access is therefore vital to the class.
A large part of
the work for this class
will consist of the publication and promotion of a blog or other
website.
You need to be aware of this going into the class, and comfortable with
the notion that you will be publishing your work on the web.
Please refer to your Student Handbook (Tiger Lore) for a complete statement of the University Honor Code, an essential element in the academic integrity of our campus community. If I believe you to be in violation of the University Honor Code I will refer the matter to the Office of Student Life. Penalties for violating the Honor Code can include suspension from the University. In other words, if you plagiarize in this class, I will probably catch you, and you will probably end up in serious trouble.
Plagiarism is the attempt to pass off someone else's text or ideas as your own. If you copy or paraphrase from any outside source, even another student, and fail to formally acknowledge this in your text, you are guilty of plagiarism. If someone else writes a paper for you, or even part of a paper for you, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you are found guilty of plagiarism, you will receive an F for the assignment, an F for the course, and a letter will be sent to your dean. A student who is found violating the academic honesty policy (i.e.: cheating or knowingly plagiarizing) in a course will be prevented from dropping the course even if the deadline to drop has not expired. There are no exceptions.
Students
with Disabilities:
If you are a student with a disability, who requires accommodations, please contact Mr. Daniel Nuss, Coordinator of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities in Bannister Hall, room 101, for information on how to obtain an Accommodation Request Letter. Contact: SSD@pacific.edu or (209) 946-2879. Then please schedule a meeting with me during office hours or some mutually convenient time to arrange the accommodation(s).
Please notify me about any special needs during the first week of the semester. Those students needing accommodations due to a disability should arrange a meeting with me during office hours and provide an accommodations request letter obtained from the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities in Bannister Hall Room 101| Classroom
Participation and In-Class Exercises |
10% |
| Reading
Quizzes |
10% |
| Case 1, 2,
and 3 |
25% |
| Oral Report
1 |
5% |
| Paper
1 |
10% |
| Resume and
Cover Letter |
10% |
| Blog (Proposal, Blog,
Presentation, Report) |
30% |
| Total
----- |
100% |
| A = exceptional work, mastery |
B = good, excelling in some areas and deficient in others |
C = fairly competent |
D = barely passing, minimal competence |
F = failing |
As you can see, this schedule is still a work in progress. There are 2 reasons for this:
1) This is an upper-level English class at Pacific. That means that you, the student, are encouraged more than ever to help shape the direction and form of the class. Student suggestions for additional topics, readings, assignments and/or changes to the course are strongly welcomed.
2) This is a new class, which is exciting in that it introduces some healthy uncertainty. I will make changes to the schedule to help focus the class themes as they emerge over the course of the semester.
All readings are available through the Sakai site or online.
| Week 1 Begins August 30 | ||
| T | In-Class: Welcome. Introduction to the class. | |
| Th | Reading:
"Introduction to Workplace Communication" on  In-Class: Discussion of the Range of Methods of Workplace Communication |
|
| Week 2 Begins September 6 | ||
| T | Reading:
"Effective Document Design" and "Ten Ways to Make Your Documents Shout
'Read Me!'"on In-Class: Document Design Discussion/Workshop In-Class: Initial Meetings RE Blog Topics |
|
| Th | Reading:
Tips for Beginner Bloggers, Google's Guidelines for Bloggers, and read
around on Blogger
Buzz,
Google's official blog about blogging. (all on the web; just
click the links) Tool: Use Google Insights for Search to see what the trends are on people searching for your topic, where they are from, what categories they are interested in, how this has changed over time, etc. Search for (and study) other blogs and websites about your proposed topic. How can this help you choose your topic, focus your topic, target a specific audience? In-Class: Blog Topic Proposal Draft Workshop Due: Blog Topic Proposal Rough Draft |
|
| Week 3 Begins
September 13 |
||
| T | |
Reading:
Google's Guides For Producing Relevant Content: Google-Friendly
Sites, Webmaster Guidelines, Why Is Content Critical to Ad Targeting? (all on the web;
just click the links) Reading: Other Prespectives on Producing Relevant Content: Webwriting Guidelines, How To Write Relevant Content By Understanding Search Behaviors (all on the web; just click the links) Video: How To Create A Blog on Blogger In-Class: Setting up you blog. Creating your first blog post. CLASS MEETS IN LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB CLASSROOM 2 Due: Blog Topic Proposal Final Draft |
| Th | Reading:
"Workplace Correspondence" on In-Class: Memo Exercise. More hands-on work on your blog. CLASS MEETS IN LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB CLASSROOM 2 |
|
| Week 4 Begins September 20 | ||
| T | Reading:
"Examining a
Sample Report" on In-Class: Discussion, Recommendation Reports |
|
| Th | Reading:
"Principles of Research" on In-Class: Case 1 Draft Workshop, TBA Due: Case 1 Rough Draft |
|
| Week 5 Begins September 27 | ||
| T | Reading:
Rice University's Designing
Effective Oral Presentations In-Class: Strategies for Oral Communication Due: Case 1 Final Draft |
|
| Th | In-Class: Oral
Report 1 Due: Oral Report 1 |
|
| Week 6 Begins
October 4 |
||
| T | Reading:
Charles O'Neill,
"The
Language of Advertising" and
David Ogilvy, "How to Write Potent Ad Copy," both on In-Class: Review of Oral Report 1 |
|
| Th | Reading:
Barden A Beginner's Guide to Google Analytics on In-Class: Finish Review of Oral Report 1, Blog Workshop CLASS MEETS IN LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB CLASSROOM 1 Workshop Topics Include: Installing and using Google Analytics, Designing and managing links, Thinking about Funnels and Goals |
|
| Week 7 Begins October 11 | ||
| T | Reading:
Refresh yourself on O'Neill and Ogilvy In-Class: Review of Oral Report 1 In-Class: Discussion on Persuasion in professional writing, with a focus on advertising. |
|
| Th | Reading:
Sean Brierley, "The Principles of Persuasion" and "The Content of
Persuasion" both on In-Class: Advertising Analysis Workshop. Bring examples of 2 different ads/ad campaigns with you to class. Due: Case 2 Final Draft |
|
| Week 8 Begins
October 18 |
||
| T | Reading:
Brierly redux In-Class: Outline Workshop Due In- Class: Paper 1 Outline |
|
| Th | In-Class:
Paper 1
Draft Workshop, Strategies for promoting your blog Due: Paper 1 Draft 1 |
|
| Week 9 Begins
October 25 |
||
| T | Reading:
Resume and Cover Letter Reading on In-Class: Resume Workshop Due: Paper 1 Final Draft |
|
| Th | In-Class:
Resume and
Cover Letter Peer Workshop Due: Resume and Cover Letter Draft |
|
| Week 10 Begins
November 1 |
||
| T | In-Class: SEO and
Analytics
Workshop Day 1 CLASS
MEETS IN LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB
CLASSROOM 1 Due: Resume and Cover Letter Assignment Final Draft Due: Initiate Application Process for Google AdSense |
|
| Th | In-Class: SEO and Analytics Workshop Day 2 CLASS MEETS IN LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB CLASSROOM 1 | |
| Week 11 Begins
November 8 |
||
| T | Reading:
"Web Analytics and Google Analytics" on In-Class: Basic HTML Workshop (IF YOU HAVE A LAPTOP, PLEASE BRING IT TO CLASS) |
|
| Th | Reading:
"Presenting
Information Architecture", "Navigation and Wayfinding", and "Interface
Design" (all on the web; just click the links) In-Class: Web User Experience Workshop (IF YOU HAVE A LAPTOP, PLEASE BRING IT TO CLASS) |
|
| Week 12 Begins
November 15 |
||
| T | Reading:
Baron from A Better Pencil on In-Class: TBA |
|
| Th | Reading:
"Presentation Zen: What is Good Powerpoint
Design", "Creating Effective Powerpoint Presentations" (all on the web;
just click the links) In-Class: Powerpoint Workshop Due: Case 3 Final Draft |
|
| Week 13 Begins
November 22 |
||
| T | Reading:
TBA In-Class: TBA |
|
| Th | No Class | Thanksgiving Holiday |
| Week 14 Begins November 29 | ||
| T | In-Class: PPT
Presentations of
Final Project Reports Due: PPT Presenations of Final Project Reports |
|
| Th | In-Class:
PPT Presentations of Final Project Reports Due: PPT Presenations of Final Project Reports |
|
| Week 15 Begins
December 6 |
||
| T | In-Class:
PPT Presentations of Final Project Reports Due: PPT Presenations of Final Project Reports |
|
| Th | In-Class:
PPT Presentations of Final Project Reports Due: PPT Presenations of Final Project Reports |
|
Final Project Reports are due Friday December 9 at Midnight. No Final Exam.