Course Information:Title: Introduction to Professional Writing Overview:Students in this course will engage core professional writing concepts, including audience analysis, research, document design, usability, and ethical composing practices. Students will produce works including technical instructions, usability tests, and public relations documents in both print and multimedia formats. Individual and group projects are a feature of this course, as is directed service-learning with community partners. All class members are expected to treat each other with appropriate courtesy and decorum, and all coursework is expected to be completed in a thorough, timely fashion. All students must read and understand the policies articulated in this syllabus and sign the course contract in order to remain in the class. Required Texts:
Course Policies:Technology Expectations:
Routine work with technology is a component of this class. Students need not be technological experts to succeed in this course, but digital technology interaction is integral, and computer problems are not valid excuses for incomplete work. Practice the core principle of digital data work: redundant backup. Digital technology will fail you; be prepared for that eventuality. Laptops may be used in the classroom, but please do not answer cell phone calls in class or send/receive texts. Phones should have their ringers turned off, and if a student must take a call, he or she should exit the classroom before doing so. All students are expected to participate in current class activities, and should not become distracted by unrelated computer usage. This course takes place in a computer classroom, but because we live in a technology-rich culture, we all must learn to focus on priority tasks. Availability of Online Material:Because of the nature of the course, some material posted to this website will be publicly accessible through the Web. (A student's grades and personal information will not be shared publicly.) Additionally, any material posted to the course website may be used anonymously for teaching or published research purposes. Collaborative Work:Teamwork and group projects are required elements of the course. When a group project is assigned, students will participate in activities that foster successful collaboration. Student groups will be mostly autonomous, but groups will inform the instructor about meeting times and fill out meeting attendance sheets. (This ensures that all group members meet as scheduled; any student who misses a scheduled group meeting will have points deducted from his or her project grade.) After the conclusion of group projects, individuals will complete forms to assess the contributions of group members and the global performance of the team. Service Learning:This course requires a service learning component. This means that students will be creating documents in collaboration with community partners. Students function as representatives of UNCW in this capacity, and should act accordingly. Community partners will have input in student assessment for service learning projects. Attendance and Punctuality:Because this is a workshop and discussion-driven class, class attendance is crucial. Role is taken shortly after class begins. There is no attendance component of the course grade, but any in-class or out-of-class work missed because of an absence cannot be made up. If there are extraordinary circumstances that will cause a student to miss class, the student should notify the instructor before the affected class period. The class abides by the maxim that all members of the class should show respect to one another by meeting at designated times and places prepared to work. Late Work:Late work is not accepted. Grading:This courses uses the plus/minus grading system. Pluses/minuses will appear on coursework feedback and final grade reports. The scoring breakdown is as follows:
Grade Components: Engagement Assignments include all the work necessary for the progress of the course, such as in-class activities, out-of-class short assignments, Reading Responses, blog posts, comments, etc. Most of these assignments are worth two points each. Students must produce professional, thorough, insightful work to receive full credit on engagement assignments. The final engagement assignment grade is a cumulative score based upon how many points a student gained against how many were possible for the semester. Exams are multiple choice/short answer tests based upon terms and concepts covered in class readings. All projects will go through drafting and revision processes before they are turned in for a grade. In order to reflect the conditions of a professional environment, projects have hard deadlines, and no make-up or second chance opportunities will be available. I will provide extensive comments on project drafts and meet with students to discuss them. There will be very few or no comments on final versions. This is because the primary purpose of feedback is to improve student work rather than to explain why it earned a particular grade. Students are always welcome to visit office hours to discuss work at any stage, including after it has been graded. Grade Disbursement: Course Learning Outcomes:After completing this course successfully, students should be able to:
Academic Honor Code:UNCW students and instructors are expected to adhere to the guidelines set forth in the University Academic Honor Code. Students are expected to produce original work in this course. Collaboration and incorporation of external material and ideas into original work is of course acceptable and necessary, but all writers are ethically obliged to document external sources through appropriate citation practices. If you are uncertain if some element of your work constitutes plagiarism or another honor code violation, please speak with me. The point of any class is to educate, not to punish. Nevertheless, the consequences of honor code violations are appropriately dire. Please consult the "Student Academic Honor Code" information in the UNCW website and the Undergraduate Catalogue for more details. Statement Regarding Violence and Harassment:UNCW practices a zero tolerance policy for any kind of violent or harassing behavior. If you are experiencing an emergency of this type contact the police at 911 or UNCW CARE at 962-2273. Resources for individuals concerned with a violent or harassing situation can be located at the UNCW Crisis Resources page. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities:I and the university will make every effort to accommodate students with disabilities. If you require special accommodations, please feel free to see me privately during office hours to make arrangements or contact Disability Services directly. According to university policy, students must consult with Disability Services before classroom accommodations can be provided. Please make contact as soon as possible, as accommodations cannot be made retroactively. |