English 3113.001, Advanced Technical Writing

Faculty: Dr. Sally Emmons-Featherston

Office: 204 Baird Hall (office is inside classroom 204)

Hours:

I will post my office hours on my door during the first week of classes. You may see me before or after class, during my office hours, make an appointment, or call. If I am unavailable, please leave a message on my door or on my voice mail and I will get back in touch with you as soon as I am able. I attend many meetings on campus and may have to alter from my schedule without notice. If this occurs I will leave a note on the door to inform you of any changes.

Phone: (918) 343-7976

Fax: (918) 343-7899

E-Mail: sallyemmons@rsu.edu

In-depth study of technical writing required in business and science careers and in graduate schools. Focuses on forms of applied writing with required research in each student’s area of specialization.

This course is designed to teach you the essential components of technical writing, writing which is produced for the professional world. According to Mike Markel, author of Technical Communication, "Technical [writing] is meant to fulfill a mission: to convey information to a particular audience so that they understand something or can carry out a task. To accomplish these goals, it must be honest, clear, accurate, comprehensive, accessible, concise, professional in appearance, and correct" (17). This course will introduce various types of technical writing, and will identify specific strategies for tackling both large and small technical writing projects.

English 1213

Technical Communication, Mike Markel, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004 edition.

Handbook of Technical Writing, Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003 edition.

This course will be conducted in a workshop environment where there is open give-and-take between all of us. I will occasionally lecture over important ideas, but class discussions, occasional group work, and one-on-one working with me will be encouraged. Your final grade in this class will be based upon an average of your daily work grade (this includes all work completed in class), your technical writing projects, a willingness to contribute to group work, and participation to the course as a whole on a regular basis.

Because this class depends so much upon class involvement, your attitude throughout the course is particularly important to me; as such, a positive approach to the class is a must in order to do well. At the end of the course, I frequently re-assess borderline grades for individuals who work hard and who encourage a positive, friendly atmosphere in the class and demonstrate a strong work ethic.

Do not forget that the grade which you ultimately receive in this class is the grade which you have earned. If at any time during the course you are concerned about your standing in the class, please come see me so that we can discuss it while there is still enough time remaining in the class for you to raise your grade. Do not wait until the last few weeks of the course to make an appointment with me to discuss your grade because there will not be enough time left to boost low grades at this point. It is your responsibility to earn the grade which you want/need to receive by completing the course requirements during the course.

Within the context of RSU’s mission, goals, and educational objectives, as well as the intended outcomes of the Department of Communications and Fine Arts, this course is intended to provide the space and moment for students to build and display effective oral and written communication skills, as well as an understanding of the fundamentals of technical communication. By the end of the semester, students will demonstrate progress in or mastery of the following course objectives:

*An understanding of the characteristics expected in effective technical communication

*An understanding of how technical communication is used within the business world

*Improved written and oral communication skills

*The ability to use the writing process to produce technical writing projects which are appropriate to topic, audience, and the purpose of the project

*The ability to use visual materials to enhance technical writing projects

*The ability to assess and use library resources, including electronic and Internet sources, as sources for technical writing projects

All student work will be held against the following Academic Criteria:

*Effective use of technical communication principles.

*Accuracy of information.

*Organization and clarity of thoughts.

*Depth of critical thinking and observation.

*Satisfaction of defined requirements for assignments (deadlines, etc.).

*Basic writing mechanics.

*Fidelity of work (no plagiarism, cheating, etc.).

*Evidence of creative or innovative thinking.

*Effective cooperative learning techniques (when applicable).

Grade Composition:

Students will earn their final semester grade via the following (ranked in order of importance)

Major technical writing projects

Collaborative Assignments

Chapter Assignments

Course Participation

Attendance

The Department of Communications and Fine Arts Division has adopted a standard objective grading scale:

A Excellent

Students receiving a "B" can be considered to have exhibited above-average effort in class, revealing noticeable improvement in academics, and showing accurate and complete scholarship. The student will have exhibited most or all of the following: have attended regularly (not missed more than the equivalent of one week of class meetings) and on time; have participated honestly and solidly in peer evaluations and in class discussion; have demonstrated an understanding of technical writing principles; have revealed a grasp of mechanics that prevents many errors; have revealed critical thought and observation; have exhibited a moderate grasp of timeliness in turning in assignments; have revealed interest in intellectual, cultural, and personal growth by reading and discussing assigned material.

C Average

Students receiving a "C" can be considered to have exhibited average effort in class, performing satisfactorily but not above average, with some self-direction, and have shown signs of academic progress, meeting assignment parameters accurately. The student will have exhibited most or all of the following: attended regularly (not missed more than the equivalent of one week of class meetings) and on time; participated willingly in peer evaluations and in class discussion; have demonstrated an average understanding of technical writing principles; have revealed an average grasp of mechanics that prevents most errors; have revealed average critical thought and observation; have exhibited a moderate grasp of timeliness in turning in assignments; have revealed average interest in intellectual, cultural, and personal growth by reading and discussing assigned material.

D Below Average

Students receiving a "D" can be considered to have exhibited some effort in class, but not enough to show full engagement with the subject and with the course material, showing little or no initiative and academic improvement, and not meeting the scholarship requirements of assignments. The student will have exhibited most or all of the following: have participated somewhat in peer evaluations and in class discussion; have attended somewhat regularly (missed more than the equivalent of one week and less than the equivalent of two weeks) and usually on time; have displayed a partial understanding of technical writing principles; have revealed a sub-standard grasp of mechanics that prevents only some errors; have revealed below average critical thought and observation; have exhibited some grasp of timeliness in turning in assignments; have revealed below average interest in intellectual, cultural, and personal growth by reading and discussing assigned material; have not met the scholarship requirements of assignments; have not shown initiative; have not revealed academic improvement.

F Unsatisfactory

Students receiving an "F" can be considered to have exhibited little or no desire to pass the course. This will usually involve poor participation and attendance (missed more than the equivalent of two weeks of class meetings) and little or no effort to attempt improvement as well as scholarship deficiencies and lack of effort to complete assignments.

Understanding that there will be times that you will need to miss class, I urge you to remember that regular attendance is an essential ingredient to doing well in a course. In this class, you may miss class if you need to; keep in mind, however, that none of the work assigned during your absences can be made up for credit. This means that it will be your responsibility to contact me or someone else in the class to find out what you have missed in order to submit it by the due date; no extensions will be allowed on daily assignments. Any work that is completed in class the day that you are absent --free writes, quizzes, group exercises, etc.--cannot be made up. If you miss class, it will be your responsibility to find out what assignments you have missed. These assignments must be turned in on the date they are due in order to receive credit. Occasionally, I will do a roll check during the semester. On these days, you will receive ten points for being in class. These points will contribute to your daily work grade in the course and should not be mistakenly considered as extra credit. Always remember that excessive absences jeopardize your potential success in any course. This is especially true of a course that meets only twice a week.

It is very distracting to have students interrupt a class because they are late to it. Please make every effort to be in class on time. If you are tardy to a class after I have taken roll, you will not receive the ten points for being in class. In addition, you will not be allowed to make up any work (free-writes, quizzes, etc.) that was completed at the beginning of the class. Please exercise professional judgment when deciding whether to enter a class once it is in session.

You will submit TWO copies of each of your technical writing assignments to me in a file folder. I will grade one of the copies and will return it to you with my comments, and will archive the additional copy in my office for the duration of the semester. Your folder will also include copies of any research materials that you have used to complete your assignment.

You may turn in late projects, however, I will deduct 10% from your assignment grade every day that it continues to be late. I will allow you one extension (usually, of an extra week) on an assignment of your choice; due to time constraints, however, this will not apply to the last assignment for the course.

No other late work will be accepted.

I will allow rewrites on assignments which receive a C or below, but only if the rewrite is submitted no later than one week after the graded assignment has been returned to you. After a rewrite is assigned a grade, I will calculate your final grade on the assignment by averaging the new grade on the assignment with the grade that the assignment initially received. As usual, assignments that do not display a university level of written proficiency will not be accepted.

Since this course only meets twice a week, it is imperative that we have a means of communicating with each other. To this end, I require all students to establish an e-mail account where I (and others in the class) can reach you if the need should arise. Occasionally, I will send course e-mails to the entire class which will remind you of upcoming assignments and readings, will give advice about our exams and logic sheets, will answer questions which may be useful to everyone, etc. I will also make every effort to notify you of any class cancellations via e-mail. Please check your e-mail several times a week so that you remain informed of all updates.

It is very distracting to have disruptions in class. To this end, I ask you to please turn off all cell phones, pagers, etc. before entering the class. In emergencies, I will make exceptions to this but only if you clear it with me prior to the class. If for any reason you need to leave the class once it is in session, you may do so, but please do so quietly.

Rogers State University strongly prohibits plagiarism of any kind and severely punishes students who commit it. RSU’S official plagiarism statement is: "Plagiarism is representing someone else’s ideas or work as your own ideas or work. To avoid plagiarism when using someone else’s data, arguments, designs, words, ideas, projects, etc., you must make it clear that the work originated with someone else by citing the source." Absolutely no academic dishonesty will be tolerated in this class. Please review the Student Code of Responsibilities and Conduct published by Rogers State University for a full discussion of "Code and Academic Conduct" and academic dishonesty penalties.

If you have special physical, psychiatric or learning disabilities, please let me know immediately so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation to the office of Student Relations, Prep. Hall 110.

Computers are available in the UPA, Thunderbird Library, and Student Support Services. Computers are available for class use in BH 205.