English 105-01 -- Technical Communication
Eric Sonstroem
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Meets: MWF 8:00-9:20 Classroom: WPC 123 My Office: WPC 137 Office Phone: 209-946-2619 Office Hours: TBA |
Required Text: Rebecca E. Burnett. Technical Communication. Sixth Edition.
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Warning: This is the printer-friendly syllabus. It might not be as up-to-date as the main
syllabus.
The main syllabus
can be found here:
http://www.sonstroem.com/105/index.htm
Course Description:
If you intend to enter
the working world after you leave Pacific, this may be the most important
course you will take . . .
While this course is primarily geared toward communicating in a technical field, anyone planning to enter the workforce will find this class quite valuable. I emphasize practical skills that help you communicate in a clear, concise, and persuasive way—"make or break" skills for any professional career. This is more than just a writing class; you will learn oral communication skills for both formal and informal situations. You will learn a variety of electronic communication skills too, from using presentation software effectively to creating cool, easy-to-use web sites. (Computer illiterate people are welcome. We’ll start from the ground up, and you’ll be amazed at how fun and easy it can be.) Assignments will be based on real-world communication problems from your intended career.
The goals of this course include:
v
introducing the forms of
communication--interviews, job letters, resumes, memos, reports, poster session
presentations, idea workshops, meetings, electronic hyperlinked documents,
etc.--that a student will encounter when on the job
v
demonstrating the effective application
of organizational patterns--definition, technical description, process
explanation, etc.--in the structuring of technical information
v
increasing a student's awareness of
differences among audiences, and learning practical strategies for presenting
material to different audiences
v
improving a student's ability to locate
technical information and assess its accuracy
v
reinforcing a student's teaming skills
through Peer Editing Workshops
v
encouraging the use of various
technologies to aid communication and document design
v
developing and refining a student's
written, oral, and electronic communication skills, including document testing
v developing a significant professional document for the student's electronic portfolio
These goals will be achieved through the practice of writing and speaking within "cases"--fictional situations that closely parallel actual workplace situations and problems. In this way, a student may apply technical communication strategies in a manner that is directly relevant to his or her professional life after graduation. These cases will feed into a substantial final project in the student's area of professional interest.
Class Policies:
Attendance and Lateness Policies:
Treat this class like a job: Don't be late, and don't be excessively absent. You may take three "personal" days for any reason. Each additional absence will reduce your grade by one-third of a letter grade. Your grade will also be affected by chronic lateness. I reserve the right to count very late days as absences.
You need to be mentally present as well. This means no cell phones or other texting devices, and no open computers.
All work is due at the date and time specified on the syllabus. All late work will be marked down one letter grade for each day it is late. The same standard for lateness--that is, lateness is unacceptable--applies in the business world and in tech comm. Although you may miss a deadline and receive an F for an assignment, you must complete and submit all work in order to pass this course.
Attendance at Peer Editing sessions is required. Failure to submit a suitable draft on the Peer Editing day will result in a letter-grade penalty on the final version of the document.
Early in the course, I
will schedule a few progress report meetings with you to handle one-on-one
issues with course material and to guide your work toward your final project.
Failure to meet with me at the conference time you sign up for will count as an
absence.
Document presentation:
Most written work will be submitted to me electronically. If you are turning in actual paper to me, please print in a normal font on normal, 8 1/2 by 11 inch, white paper. Your name, my name, the course number, and the date should appear at the top of every assignment. Assignments of more than one page must be stapled. All assignments are due at the start of the class in question. You cannot use "personal" days as a way of getting an unauthorized extension.
Honor Code and Plagiarism:
The full text of the University’s Academic Honesty Policy can be found at http://web.pacific.edu/x30642.xml. Academic honesty is 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 Judicial Affairs. Penalties for violating the Honor Code can include suspension from the University. If you plagiarize in this class I will probably catch you, and you may 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. In such cases, you will be prevented from dropping or withdrawing from the course, even if the deadline to do so has not expired. There are no exceptions.
Grading Table
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Final Report
(includes draft, outline, etc.) |
300 pts. |
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3-min Oral Report |
50 pts. |
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Case #1 and #2 |
100 pts. each. |
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Case #3 and #4 |
125 pts. each. |
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Progress Report
Meetings/Class Participation |
100 pts. |
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Reading Quizzes |
100 pts. |
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TOTAL |
1000 pts. |
Schedule of Classes:
(This schedule will remain somewhat flexible. I may make changes to reflect the needs of the class.)
Warning: This is the printer-friendly syllabus. It might not be as up-to-date as the main
syllabus.
The main syllabus
can be found here:
http://www.sonstroem.com/105/index.htm
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Week 1 Begins
Wednesday January 11 -- What is Technical Communication? |
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M |
Discussion: |
Welcome. My goals for
the course. Setting your goals for the course. |
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W |
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Burnett Chapter 1 |
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Discussion: |
Communication.
Summarizing Information. Audience. |
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In Class: |
Assign conference
schedule. |
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F |
No
Class: |
Individual Student
Conferences |
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Week 2 Begins Monday
January 18 -- Technical Research |
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M |
MLK Day |
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W |
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Burnett Chapter 6 |
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Discussion: |
Research Strategies.
Documentation. Annotated Bibliography. |
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F |
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Burnett Chapter 4 |
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Discussion: |
Audience |
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Week 3 Begins Monday
January 25 -- Career Correspondence |
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Monday's class meets
at 10am in the Library Computer Classroom |
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In Class: |
Library Resources for
Technical Research at Pacific |
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W |
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Discussion: |
Different Functions of
Resume and Cover Letter |
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In Class: |
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F |
Due: |
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In Class: |
Revision Workshop |
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Week 4 Begins Monday
February 1 -- HTML & Web Resumes |
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Due: |
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Burnett Chapter 13 &
Hypertext Gardens |
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Discussion: |
Considerations in Web
Design |
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In Class: |
HTML Workshop (Optional. Meets in the Computer Classroom of
the Library) |
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F |
Due In Class: |
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Week 5 Begins Monday
February 8 -- Oral Presentation |
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M |
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Burnett Chapter 17 |
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Discussion: |
Effective Oral
Communication Style |
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Due In Class: |
3-Minute Oral Presentations (which will
be videotaped) |
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F |
In Class: |
Review of Presentations |
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Burnett Chapter 2 |
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Week 6 Begins Monday
February 15 -- Definitions |
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M |
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No Class.
President's Day |
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W |
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Burnett Chapter 14 |
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Due In Class: |
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Discussion: |
Working in Intercultural
Situations |
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F |
In Class: |
Final Project Focus Day
& Peer Work on Draft |
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Due: |
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Week 7 Begins Monday
February 22 -- Technical Description |
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Due: |
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W |
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Burnett Chapter 15 |
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Discussion: |
Uses of Technical
Descriptions |
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F |
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Burnett Chapter 9 |
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Discussion: |
Testing Documents for
Usability |
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In Class: |
Exercises For Effective
Revision |
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Week 8 Begins Monday
March 1 -- Technical Description and Instructions |
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Due: |
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In Class: |
Peer Revision Workshop |
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Due: |
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In Class: |
Final Project Progress
Meetings |
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F |
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Burnett Chapter 21 |
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In Class: |
Instructions Workshop |
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Spring
break |
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Week 9 Begins Monday
March 15 -- Process Explanation |
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M |
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Burnett Chapter 10 |
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Discussion: |
Organizing Information
for Users/Readers |
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W |
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Burnett Chapter 16 |
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Discussion: |
Process Explanations |
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Due: |
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F |
Due: |
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In Class: |
Peer Revision Workshop |
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Week 10 Begins Monday
March 22 -- Bringing it all together |
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In Class: |
TBA |
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Discussion: |
Abstracts, Executive
Summaries, Outlines |
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F |
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Burnett Chapter 20 |
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Discussion: |
Types of Reports |
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Week 11 Begins Monday
March 29 -- Poster Sessions and Oral Reports |
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Discussion: |
Integrating your work so
far into the Final Project |
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Due: |
Case 4 Assignment 3 |
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W |
No Class |
Optional meetings about
final project |
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F |
In Class: |
Workshop on Preparing
Effective Poster Session Presentations |
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Review Burnett Chapter
17, especially the section on poster displays |
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Week 12 Begins Monday
April 5 -- Poster Sessions |
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No Class |
Student Travel
Day. Remember to work on Poster Session Presentations |
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W |
Due In Class: |
Case 4 Assignment 4 -- Poster Session
Presentations |
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F |
Due In Class: |
No Class. Work on
Final Projects. |
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Week 13 Begins Monday
April 12 -- Preparing your Final Project for the web |
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M |
No Class |
Work on Final Projects |
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In Class: |
Presentation Software
Workshop Class meets in Library Classroom |
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F |
In Class: |
HTML Workshop
II--Optional--Class meets in Library Classroom |
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Week 14 Begins Monday
April 19 -- Final Presentations |
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M--Student Oral Presentations Begin Today |
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Week 15 Begins Monday
April 26-- Final Presentations |
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Week 16 Begins Monday
May 3-- Final Presentations and Project Due |
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Final Project Due |