Technical and Professional Writing 1Writing 3562WSyllabus

Jarron SlaterFall 2017

Lind Hall 325Mondays, 4:40 – 7:10

University of Minnesota—Twin Cities

Instructor Profile Hello—and Welcome to Technical and Professional Writing!

My name is Jarron Slater, and I’ll be your instructor for this course. I am from a city just south of Seattle, Washington, I’ve been in Minnesota for 4 years, and I am a 5th year PhD candidate in Rhetoric and Scientific & Technical Communication. I also have a Master’s degree in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition, and a Bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in rhetoric and a minor in Logic. I love writing and rhetoric, and I hope some of my enthusiasm for these subjects will help you to see how important, interesting, and useful that they are. My research emphasizes rhetorical theory and criticism, history of rhetoric, and rhetorical stylistics. I have been teaching university courses since 2010, and I particularly find this class intriguing because it is applicable in so many different situations! As we go through the course, I hope you’ll agree: technical and professional writing

and communication is essential, and the skills you’ll learn in this class will help you find success, not just in this class or even in other classes you’re taking or will take, but all throughout your life. The best way to reach me is in class. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions! You can also email me, and while I often respond the same day, sometimes I don’t see it until the next day (and I don’t respond to email after 5pm or on the weekends). My office is in 338B of the Nolte, and I have office hours on Monday from 1:30 to 4:30pm. If that doesn’t work for you, I may also be available at other times by appointment.

PrefaceJust to make sure that there’s no misunderstanding—since that’s what we’re studying together in this course!—this document gives an outline and overview of the policies, practices, and schedule for Writing 3562W - Technical and Professional Writing, Section 12, for Fall Semester 2017 at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Campus.

Course DescriptionTechnical and professional writing, or workplace writing, involves the ability to communicate business, technical, or scientific information to readers or users who need information to solve some problem or complete some task. Technical and professional writers and communicators create persuasive texts that influence the decisions and actions of people in a variety of settings. As the textbook states (see the image to the right), technical communication is “a process of managing information in ways that allow people to take action” (Johnson-Sheehan 2017, 12).

So together, we will study how people communicate with one another in professional and technical genres. Some of those genres include describing technical processes and mechanisms, defining technical terms, observing and interpreting measurable data, and designing professional-looking, user-based documents. We will also conduct research and usability testing, and we’ll learn some advanced strategies on how to adapt our writing to various audiences, for various purposes, and in various contexts

Figure 2: Here’s the required text: Technical Communication Today, 6th Edition, By Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Pearson 2018.

Figure 1: Yep, that’s me.

and circumstances. As the ancient rhetoricians used to believe, writing is a form of thinking, and as we learn to write, we’ll also increase our capacity to think and make decisions. Good stuff.

Before moving on, I’d like to say something about the textbook. You can get it in print or ebook format, but it should be the 6th edition. There is also a copy of the textbook in print at the Walter Library that may be checked out for up to 2 hours.

Official Student Learning OutcomesHere they are:

Students who successfully complete WRIT 3562W will have met these three Student Learning Outcomes:  

1. Can locate and critically evaluate information.  Students will obtain this outcome by doing the following activities:

o Conducting research using various information‐gathering strategies: library research, surveys, interviews, internet searches, etc.

o Assessing the credibility of sources and critically evaluating the quality and appropriateness of the information to produce the most reliable evidence

o Assessing information that doesn’t support the hypothesiso Relying on logical and rhetorically coherent argumentso Effectively managing a lengthy project

2. Can communicate effectively.  Students will obtain this outcome by doing the following activities:

o Writing workplace genres, including memos, letters, proposals, definitions, descriptions, instructions, and reports

o Analyzing audience and adjusting communication for varying audiences to advance the writer’s/speaker’s purpose

o Technically describing a complex product or process to a general, public audienceo Composing a set of instructions to teach an audience how to complete a procedureo Constructively working with other students on a collaborative assignmento Preparing and delivering an oral presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi o Using a variety of writing technologies such as word processor, presentation

software, blogs, wikis, discussion forums, and Google Docs to design usable documents

o Appropriately applying features and formatting conventions of workplace writingo Practicing writing that is grammatically correct and stylistically appropriateo Creating graphics such as charts and graphs that ethically display informationo Understanding ethical issues and its implications for technical and professional

writing (misinformation, confidentiality of information, etc.) o Revising and editing one’s own writing and that of classmates

3. Can identify, define, and solve problems.  Students will obtain this outcome by doing the following activities: 

o Writing a research-based report that addresses a specific problem or research question

o Conducting usability testing to ensure that the project meets the needs of the reader and the goals of the project

o Creating a proposal to convince an employer to move forward with a project

Not only that, but I know, I know: the fact that you are a junior or senior majoring in a technical field indicates that you already have a certain degree of proficiency and skill in many of these areas. So why are you in this class?

But What About You? Why are you here? What is your objective in taking this course? (Please don’t say for 2 WI credits—or that the course is a “requirement” for your major!) To make real progress in this course, we need to understand that you’ve been doing many of these things for some time now, and you already may have a certain level of competence in some if not many of these areas. Awesome! This course will provide you with the opportunity to refine the skills you already have and develop the skills you still need. Since you are in control of your own education, what you learn and the skills you acquire are ultimately up to you, but take a moment and identify two or three of the bullet points in the above section that you’d like to work on in the next four months. Also, notice how these skills all fit someplace into the College of Liberal Arts’ list of core competencies (Figure 3).

Attendance PoliciesMissing class entails that you will miss out on learning and practicing these valuable skills. But there’s more. How would you feel if I consistently showed up to class 5 or 10 minutes late? Or how would a supervisor feel if an employee simply didn’t show up for work one day? It doesn’t make much sense, does it?

I wish that was all I had to say about attendance. At the very least, it’s all that should be said. But the department does have an attendance policy for this course: since we only meet once a week, students are allowed one free absence. But for every unexcused absence after that, a student’s final grade will be dropped by 1/3rd (an A- to a B+, a B to a B-, etc.).

Collaboration and Team Assignments Attendance PolicyWorking in teams is another skill that is absolutely essential in the technical workplace. Because of that, we will do some group work in this class. Now I know you’ve all worked in teams in the past and have had both good and bad experiences. We’ll talk about that more in a couple of weeks (see the schedule). Right now, I want to say that I will provide some class time for team collaboration, but missing class on a day in which groups collaborate or consult with me will detract an additional 5 points from an individual student's final grade. If the absence is unexcused, these points may not be made up.

Course Assignments and Grading ScaleThis course has a total of 695 points. You can see what the assignment breakdown looks like on the next page:

Figure 3: College of Liberal Arts Core Competencies for Career Readiness

Figure 4: Course Assignments and Associated Points, with 695 Total Points

Additional PoliciesStudents with DisabilitiesAny student with a documented disability condition (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, systemic, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations should contact the instructor and Disability Services (626‐1333) at the beginning of the semester.

Plagiarism PolicyStudents who knowingly plagiarize will fail the course.

Writing-intensive CreditThe University of Minnesota requires that courses with a “WI” designator include at least one assignment for which students are required to revise a draft after receiving feedback from their instructor. In order to receive credit for this course, students must receive draft feedback from the instructor that contributes to the writing process of producing a final polished draft. In other words, students cannot pass this course who do not meet this draft-revision requirement.

The Grammar PolicyCorrect grammar and mechanics are important in scientific, technical, and professional writing if any writer wants to be taken seriously. As such, the grade of any document with a misspelled word or a grammar or usage error will receive a lower grade than if the same document had been turned in without the same error. Please don’t misunderstand—grammar and mechanics are not the most important things in a document. But they will cause readers to negatively judge a writer’s intellect—and who wants that?

Late Work PolicyIn the case of an unexcused absence, the grade on late work will be lowered by 1/3rd for each weekday it is turned in late.

Grading and Revision PolicyPlease turn in your best work, work that has gone through multiple drafts, and work that follows the guidelines as they are stated in the textbook. You have the option to revise and resubmit one

Description; 50

Instructions; 75

Proposal; 100

Credibility-Rhetorical Analysis; 75

Analytical Report; 150

Reading Presen-tation; 50

Pechakucha; 75

Mini-Assignments, 90

Course Assignments and Their Points Final Grade %A 93-100A- 90-92.99B+ 87-89.99B 84-86.99B- 80-83.99C+ 77-79.99C 74-76.99C- 70-73.99D+ 67-69.99D 64-66.99

(Etc.)

assignment during the course of the semester, not counting the report assignment, and not counting oral presentations.

Institutional Review BoardBecause this course involves a research-based report in which you may conduct surveys and interviews of other people, this class follows guidelines for research as approved by the UMN Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB functions to protect human subjects who participate in research by requiring researchers to outline issues of risk, anonymity, and confidentiality in an informed consent form. Our class project is considered “exempt research” by the IRB, meaning that interview or survey research on topics related to this class are considered "minimal risk" to interview or survey participants. Your instructor can help you with the consent form and with designing appropriate questions. For further information, or for any inquiries, contact your instructor, or contact Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch (lkbreuch@umn.edu). 

Course SchedulePlease complete readings before class on Monday. TCT stands for Johnson-Sheehan, Technical Communication Today. Other readings are available on Moodle. Major assignments are due by noon on Monday. Mini-Assignments are due by 11:55pm on the Friday following class.

Date

Awesome Discussion Topics for the Day

Stuff to Do for (and Bring) to Class

Assignments Due the Friday After Class

Sept.11 Welcome to Class!

What is Technical Communication?Sign up for Textbook PresentationsGrammar and UsageLetters, Memos, and Email

SyllabusTCT Chapter 1Appendix ATCT Chapter 6

Mini-Assignment 1: Who are you, and what do you want to learn?

Mini-Assignment 2: How are rhetoric, ethics, and technical communication related?

18 What is Rhetoric?Readers, Contexts, and AudiencesTechnical Description

TCT Chapter 2TCT Chapter 7Smith, 2008 “What Connection Does Rhetorical Theory Have to Technical and Professional Communication?”

Description Assignment

25 Instructions and DocumentationWorking in Teams

TCT Chapter 8TCT Chapter 3

Mini-Assignment 3: Team Forming and

Visual Rhetoric TCT Chapter 17TCT Chapter 18

Topic Inventio

Oct.2 Writing a Usability Report

Revising for Editing and UsabilityUsability Tests

TCT Chapter 19Bring draft of Technical Instructions and all materials users need to test instructions

Mini-Assignment 4: Team Evaluation

Technical Instructions and Usability Report Assignments

9 Technical/Analytical/Research/ Recommendation/Feasibility ReportsProposals

TCT Chapter 9TCT Chapter 11Aristotle, Rhetoric 1.2

Mini-Assignment 5: Topic Exploration

16 CreativityForming a TopicPersuading OthersDescribing the Current Situation

TCT Chapter 12TCT Chapter 13A Rhetoric of Motives pages 20-26

Mini-Assignment 6: The Current (Problematic) Situation

23 Style Researching and Research MethodsEvaluating and Interpreting ResearchInformationUsing Sources and Managing InformationSign-up for Consultations

TCT Chapter 16TCT Chapter 14Burke, “Terministic Screens” (Just the first half)

Mini-Assignment 7: Proposal Draft

30 Consultations: Proposal Meet in 338B Nolte (NCCE) By appointmentBring Proposal

Mini-Assignment 8: Submit proposal

Nov.6 Workshop Proposal

Argumentation in ScienceWriting IntroductionsWriting the Methodology

TCT Chapter 11Bring Proposal

Proposal AssignmentMini-Assignment 9: Your Introduction and Methods

13 Reporting and Discussing Results Summarizing InformationFront Matter and End MatterGrading a Sample Report

TCT Chapter 11 Just finish the formal report for Monday’s workshop!

20 Pechakucha PresentationsSign up for Pechakucha PresentationWorkshop Technical Report

TCT Chapter 20Bring Technical Report

Work on formal report and presentation

27 Oral Presentations Prepare Oral PresentationsCicero 2.182-84, 211b-216a

Oral Presentations

Dec.4 Finish Oral Presentations

Making Those Final RevisionsCredibility (Rhetorical) Analysis

TCT Chapter 6 Oral Presentations

11 Credibility (Rhetorical) Analysis Ethical Considerations in the WorkplaceCourse Evaluations

TCT Chapter 4

Bring a technical or professional document that you think is well-written

Katz, “Ethic of Expediency”

Technical Report Assignment

Addendum: We decided to cancel the Credibility-Rhetorical Analysis because it was distracting from completing the final report. Accordingly, the Credibility-Rhetorical Analysis will not factor into the final grades, and the point value of the course will reflect the assignments as if there had been no Credibility-Rhetorical Analysis.