English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

Sections: 19010-ENGL 42100-Y02 and 19011-ENGL 42100-Y03
Instructors: Jeremy Tirrell and Nathaniel Rivers

English 421 is a writing-intensive course designed to introduce students from various technical fields to the principles of technical writing. Technical writing will be defined as the presentation of technical material in written and visual formats that are user centered and aware of audience and context. The course and its principles are grounded in rhetorical theory which students will be introduced to throughout the semester.

Rhetoric, briefly defined, is the use of symbols to produce an effect; in technical writing specifically it is the use of concise writing, instructive and accessible images and graphics, and well-designed documents to convey technical information, describe technical processes, and promote and maintain technical projects for multiple and diverse audiences. Though rhetoric has become a negative word within political circles and contemporary media, it has a rich history as one of the oldest intellectual pursuits in the western world. With a focus on audience, context, and the persuasion inherent to even technical documents, rhetoric can greatly inform the purpose of this course.

Through a variety of online assignments and larger projects (both individual and group), students will learn the principles of technical writing (audience awareness, context analysis, situational ethics, document drafting and design, concise writing and revision, as well as the use and production of images and graphics) and professional practice (memoing, thumb-nailing designs, documenting work, and working in groups). Communication across multiple audiences continues to be a desired skill set in technical and professional fields. As students will hear throughout the semester, beyond field-specific knowledge and experience, successful and ethical communication is what drives the professional world. This class, in its content and in its form, will model these successful communication practices. Students will write frequently, individually and in groups, and do so in a timely, efficient, effective and high-quality manner. To achieve success in this course, students must display (in their products and in their processes) the ability to succeed in the real world.

This course attempts to find a middle space between the daily assignments, F2F discussion, and interaction of an onsite course and the self-pacing student may expect of distance education courses. Keep in mind that this course is not completely self-paced, but students can work ahead on a several assignments and, ultimately, can have more flexibility and responsibility within the course structure. See below for a more detailed description of the project modules and self-pacing.

Required Texts

• The Thomson Handbook (Comprehensive Edition), by David Blakesley and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen. Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. This book is available at local bookstores and may also be purchased online (e.g., through Amazon, here). You can buy the hardcover or paperback versions. Students may also purchase the ebook version of the full book using these directions at the Professional Writing website. This text provides essential information, examples, and principles for effective business writing. We will be reading and discussing chapters from Parts 2 through 7. Other chapters in the book will be useful for reference purposes. You may be interested in watching this short Flash presentation about the book's resources.
• All other course readings will be provided on the course site or via links to sources off-site.

Course Goals

Writing in Context

• Analyze the invention, manufacture, and distribution of technologies in context and use writing to communicate these attributes in a variety of media and genres.
• Write to the different levels of technical expertise of a range of audiences and stakeholders to foster technical understanding.
• Understand the ethical implications of working within the nexus of technology and culture.

Project Management

• Understand, develop and deploy various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents both individually and collaboratively.
• Select and use appropriate technologies that effectively and ethically address professional situations and audiences.
• Build professional ethos through documentation and accountability.

Document Design
Make rhetorical design decisions about technical documents including

• understanding and adapting to genre conventions and expectations of a range of audiences including both technical and non-technical audiences
• understanding and implementing design principles of format and layout
• interpreting and arguing with design
• drafting, researching, testing, revising visual design and information architecture
• ensuring the technical accuracy of visual content

Teamwork
Learn and apply strategies for successful teamwork, such as

• working online with colleagues to determine roles and responsibilities
• managing team conflicts constructively
• responding constructively to peers' work
• soliciting and using peer feedback effectively
• achieving team goals

Research
Understand and use the research methods and strategies necessary to the production of professional documents, including

• working ethically with research participants, subject matter experts, and technical experts
• locating, evaluating, and using print and online information selectively for particular audiences and purposes
• triangulating sources of evidence
• selecting appropriate primary research methods such as interviews, observations, focus groups, and surveys to collect data
• applying concepts of usability research, such as user-centered design

Technology
Use and evaluate the writing technologies frequently used in the workplace, such as emailing, instant messaging, image editing, video editing, presentation design and delivery, HTML editing, Web browsing, content management, and desktop publishing technologies.

Project Modules and Self-Pacing

This section of English 421 finds the half-way point between the course goals of improving your writing process and collaboration skills while also meeting your expectations as a distance education student. Each student should be responsible and flexible in completing each week's work since you have some, but not complete, freedom to pace yourself.

The course is broken down into three modules centered around the course's three major projects. Here are some guidelines to help you understand how self-pacing, peer review, and collaboration will work:

• Students may work ahead on reading responses.
• Students or groups may work ahead within each project, but only within that project, and they must submit peer reviews in a timely manner, when due.
• Students or groups cannot work ahead on peer reviews. Begin reviewing and responding on the day that drafts are due.
• In group work, each student must maintain contact with other group members. Check your email daily, and use your course group space effectively.
• Reading responses, comments, and give-and take in the blogs must be submitted weekly. The requirement is that you submit one reading response per week and that you write five (5) follow-up responses per week to blog posts submitted by your peers..
• In Project 3, project logs must be submitted weekly. You'll create a blog post, tag it appropriately and post it by the end of the day on Fridays. You'll be given specific instructions for what your project logs should include.

Course Projects and Activities

Project One: Employment Project

During the Employment Project, students will learn and employ strategies for seeking and securing employment or an internship, with particular attention to the documents people normally use to represent themselves and their prospects to potential employers. This project asks students to work individually, but there will also be chances for students to work with their peers to exchange ideas and feedback during online workshops.

Students will locate a real and specific job or internship for which they are qualified and prepare the application materials for it. If a student already has a good job, they should find one that would be an advance for them, then prepare application materials for that position. In preparing the first deliverable, students are asked to learn about and use various web-based resources for job seekers and ultimately to select one real job to pursue. The second deliverable is a print resume suitable for such a position. The third deliverable is the all-important cover letter (i.e., "Job Application Letter"). The forth deliverable is an assessment of the student's experience in a "Project Assessment Document." In the process of completing each step, students will work closely with their peers and their instructor to shape their writing so that it represents them and their experiences fully and effectively.

Project Two: Instructions Project

An important task for technical writers is producing instruction materials that assist expert and novice readers with technology. However, clear, concise, helpful instructions are extremely difficult to produce. Many technology users have given up on reading instructions altogether and instead try to operate technology intuitively, with varying rates of success.

This assignment asks students to choose a specific technical subject they know well and write instructions for its use. The instructions can cover one complex process or general use of the item. Writing software instructions is recommended for this project because screen captures make excellent and easy-to-produce graphics, but students may choose an appliance, computer hardware, automobile procedures, mobile phone technology, etc. Students will produce two sets of instructions for this subject, one for experienced users and one for novice users. Both sets will be clear, concise, helpful, user-centered instructions that use words and graphics to assist the appropriate audience. Both sets of instructions will carefully consider audience experience, expectations, knowledge, competency, and vocabulary.

Project Three: White Paper Project

Building on the skills developed in The Instructions Project and the Employment Project, students will be assigned to groups of four to five individuals in order to research and present technological solutions to common (or perhaps uncommon) problems (e.g., internet security, alternative energy, prescription medication options, etc). This project will result in one primary document, a White Paper prepared for a specific audience as well as several supporting documents (project proposal, a Gantt chart, as well as activity reports and research reports). In researching, designing, composing, and revising the White Paper, students should keep in mind their primary and secondary audiences, in addition to any tertiary and gatekeeping audiences. When composing the documents students should pay close attention to:

• writing style (plain and persuasive)
• rhetorical moves made in the composition of the document
• technical definitions and descriptions
• the use of images, graphics, and other design features such as: fonts, headings, margin comments, sidebars, and pullouts

Additionally, students should consider the physical, political, economic and ethical contexts of these audiences.

Weblogs

Much of your writing for this class will be posted publicly on the Internet to your individual weblog or our community weblog home page. Weblog posting assignments will include Reading Responses, drafts, project logs, and research notes, among other types of content. See posting to your weblog for more information. The calendar specifies what you should post to your weblog and by when, so let that be your guide.

Reading Responses

Although we may have multiple readings each week, you are responsible for writing one, 300-word blog post as a Reading Response. The Reading Responses will synthesize the readings and your reactions to them, much like class discussion. Please refer to guidelines on how to post a reading response for more information.

Comments and Replies

You are required to submit five (5) comments and replies (e.g., follow-up responses) each week to the blog posts (Reading Responses and other posts made by others) appearing on our course site. Each should be, at minimum, 100 words.

All comments and replies to another's blog post should follow effective rhetorical strategies for networking with others on the Web. (Readings from the course text provide guidelines to follow.)

• Keep threads alive and relevant.
• Follow-up comments with further discussion.
• Think of your comments and replies as part of a lively class discussion in which everyone participates.

Our activity online substitutes for in-person discussion in interesting (and sometimes deeper) ways. Of course, you are always welcome, and encouraged, to post beyond thsese minimum requirements. The course calendar includes reminders about meeting this ongoing obligation for participating in class discussion.

The format and focus of your weblog comments and replies is described in these Guidelines for Posting Comments and Replies. Please bear in mind that your online interaction is the glue that holds the course together, makes collobaration possible, and helps you achieve the course goals. For these reasons—and because we are not meeting F2F—your engagement in these online discussions will require serious and consistent attention throughout the course. It won't be possible to make up missed postings later since the discussion will have already moved on.

Grading

Employment Project	20%
Instructions Project	25%
White Paper Project (collaborative)	25%
Participation (Weblogs, Reading Responses, Project Logs, etc.)	30%
Total	100%

The three major projects in the course comprise several components, each of which will be worth a percentage of your final grade. For the collaborative project, students will complete the required Collaborative Evaluation Form.

All major assignments will be graded on the standard plus-minus letter-grade scale: A=100-94, A-=93-90, B+==89-87, B=86-84, B-=83-80, C+=79-77, C=76-74, C-=73-70, D+=69-67, D=66-64, D-=63-60, F=59 or below.

Students must participate in all of the three major projects and complete a majority of the required weblog posting assignments in order to pass this class. Students with questions about final grades should review university policies regarding grade appeals, which are outlined by the Dean of Students here: http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/gradeappeal.pdf.

Technology Requirements

In order to participate fully in the course, you should already be able to use the technology platform and applications listed below.

• Mac OS X or Windows XP or Vista
• Microsoft Office for the PC or Mac (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) or Apple counterparts (Pages, Keynote, Numbers)
• Up-to-date Web Browser (e.g., Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer)
• Email Program (e.g., Purdue Webmail, Outlook, Thunderbird, Gmail, etc.)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (for PDF documents, collaborative review)

Technology Responsibilities

Because the exchange of information and documents in this class will be entirely electronic, familiarity with certain technologies is crucial for participation and success in the course. If you need any assistance now or at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask.

During the semester, you'll need regular access to the Internet and email. Because the course website is the main locus of the class community, you are responsible for reading and keeping current with all content posted there, including what has been submitted by both the instructor and your fellow students. You will be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course email and participate in online discussions, and to submit your work. Very early in the semester, you will be asked to demonstrate that you can meet these responsibilities:

• Register for the course website and complete your profile information.
• Post a message about yourself and your interests
• Read the course description and calendar, and ask questions when you are uncertain about requirements or activities.
• Set up your @purdue.edu email or an alternative that you can access regularly and reliably
• Become proficient sending and receiving email attachments, resolving file compatibility issues, and following email decorum.
• Check the course calendar before each class meeting.
• Become proficient participating in the class Drupal space.
• Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications, including Web editing software, document cycling systems, desktop publishing applications, and graphics programs.
• Maintain back-up copies of all assignments.

If at any time you have problems accessing the Internet from home, you will need to find a public lab or connection point. Problems with computers will not be an excuse for falling behind or failing to complete required assignments. If your Internet service goes down, find another connection point. If your computer breaks, use another one. In other words, find a way to complete the assignments on time. Because computer problems are a fact of life, always work to complete your assignments early and make frequent backups to multiple media.

Course Technologies

• Course Website (running on Drupal)
• Dreamweaver (Web Editor)
• Powerpoint, Word, Keynote, Google Docs (for collaboration)
• Acrobat and Acrobat Reader
• Adobe Connect (for group meetings, as needed)

Collaborative Work

Teamwork is a required component of the course. You and your project team members are responsible for updating one another and me about assignment development and progress. In addition, you also are responsible for negotiating together all aspects of your work, including planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of assignments. When a collaborative project is assigned, you will receive explicit guidelines for successful collaboration. Individual group members will complete Collaborative Evaluation Forms. For more information about good principles of collaboration, see the brochure, Group Work and Collaborative Writing <http://dhc.ucdavis.edu/vohs/>. 

Attendance

Because this is an online course, your attendance at a physical location is not required. However, you will need to demonstrate active involvement in the course activities by keeping up with reading responses, project logs, and other coursework. You will also need to respond to course email promptly to ensure that good communication flows in all directions. More than one continuous week of absence from course activities is grounds for failure of the class. If you disappear for a few days here, another few days there, and some more later, then your final grade may be lowered, and you will likely see your class participation suffer and your collaboration fail. In addition, if you are frequently "absent" from the online discussions (i.e., you fail to post for several days at a time), your final grade may be lowered.

Academic Integrity

Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to guidelines set forth by the Dean of Students in "Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students," which students are encouraged to read here:

http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/integrity.htm

The preamble of this guide states the following: "Purdue University values intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic conduct. To be prepared to meet societal needs as leaders and role models, students must be educated in an ethical learning environment that promotes a high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the academic fabric of Purdue University. Dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success. It diminishes the quality of a Purdue education, which is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards."

Academic dishonesty is defined as follows: "Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty." [University Regulations, Part V, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore, the University Senate has stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest." [University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]"

If you have any questions about this policy, please ask.

In Case of a Campus Emergency

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. You can acquire updated information from the course website, by emailing your instructor, or by contacting your instructor through the English Department at 765-494-3740.

Late Work

The instructor will stick closely to the course calendar. It is important that you keep up. When possible, you may certainly complete assignments early, but you must complete them on time. Much of what you do for this class quickly leads to another assignment. And, often, your postings and comments are part of a larger discussion that will not wait for you. It will also be difficult for you to do your part in group projects if you miss assigned deadlines. Thus, the majority of missed class assignments cannot be made up. If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact your instructor by email prior to the deadline to determine whether or not an extension for the work will or will not be granted. Late work will rarely, if ever, be accepted without prior approval.