Syllabus

Course Information:

Title: Introduction to Professional Writing
Number: ENG 204-003
Location: MO 204
Time: MWF 10:00am–10:50am
Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Tirrell
Office: MO 161
Office Hours: MWF 11:00am–1:00pm (and by appointment or email)

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.

ENG 204 is the gateway course for the Professional Writing major track, which emphasizes rhetorical composition and explicit reflection. Professional Writing majors will complete a personal portfolio of work for the ENG 496 capstone course. This portfolio collects artifacts from throughout a student's academic career and asks the student to reflect on his or her educational experiences. To facilitate the production of this portfolio, Professional Writing majors should retain copies of their academic work and practice rhetorical composition and explicit reflection in their courses.

Class-generated mission statement

Required Texts:

  • Technical Communication Today, 4th ed., Richard Johnson-Sheehan. This book may be obtained from:
  • Be aware that electronic/loose-leaf/ring-bound versions of the textbook are perfectly usable, but they do not have any resale value.
  • Online readings provided on the course website


Course Policies:

Attendance and Punctuality:
Because this is a workshop and discussion-driven class, class attendance is crucial. Role is taken shortly after class begins. If a student is not present when role is taken, he or she will be counted absent. If there are extraordinary circumstances that will prevent a student from attending class, he or she must contact the instructor beforehand. There is no separate attendance component of the course grade, but any student who misses more than six class meetings will fail the course automatically. Additionally, any work missed because of an absence cannot be made up. This includes project assignments. 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.

Collaborative Work:
Teamwork and group projects are required elements of the course. When a group project is assigned, students will participate in activities that help foster successful collaboration. Student groups will be mostly autonomous and all members are expected to function professionally. After the conclusion of group activities, individuals will complete forms assessing the contributions and behavior of group members and the global performance of the team.

Service Learning:
This course requires a service learning component. Students will create 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.

Technology Expectations:

  • ability to interact with the course website
  • access to word processing, visual design, and web design software
  • a suitable email account checked regularly for course-related business
  • a flash drive or other means to backup coursework

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.

Personal electronic devices (such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.) 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 students post to this website will be publicly accessible through the Web. (A student's grades and personal information will never be shared publicly.) Additionally, any material posted to the course website may be used anonymously for teaching or published research purposes.

Grading:
Grade Disbursement:
Each student will have secure, anonymous access to his or her grades online. Students may opt out of this disbursement method by notifying the instructor via email.

Grade Components:
Engagement Assignments and Reading Quizzes = 10% of course grade
Corporate Communication Project = 30% of course grade
Instructions Project = 30% of course grade
Service Learning Project = 30% of course grade

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. The instructor will provide extensive comments on project drafts and discuss them with students. There will be very few or no comments on returned 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.

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 one or two points each. Reading Quizzes are short in-class quizzes over assigned readings, usually worth between three and ten points. The final engagement assignment and reading quiz grade is a cumulative score based upon how many points a student gained against how many were possible for the semester.

Final Course Grades:
This courses uses the plus/minus grading system on final grade reports. The breakdown is as follows:

  • 92-100 = A
  • 90-91 = A-
  • 88-89 = B+
  • 82-87 = B
  • 80-81 = B-
  • 78-79 = C+
  • 72-77 = C
  • 70-71 = C-
  • 68-69 = D+
  • 62-67 = D
  • 60-61 = D-
  • 0-59 = F

Course Learning Outcomes:
After completing this course successfully, students should be able to:

  • develop strategies for analyzing the components of organizational contexts, including audiences, purposes for writing, and organizational cultures (WI 4, WI 5, IL 2, IL 3, IL 5)
  • design documents, including memos, instructions, and reports, that meet the needs of their audiences and accomplish their goals (WI 2, WI 4, IL 4)
  • construct arguments that appeal to several audiences at once and are based upon multiple sources of evidence (WI 1, WI 2, WI 5, IL 1, IL 2, IL 3, IL 4)
  • conduct original, archival, textual, database, and/or internet research that can be used to support arguments (WI 1, IL 1, IL 3)
  • read multimedia texts critically and learn strategies for critiquing the medium itself (WI 2, WI 4, WI 5, IL 1, IL 5)
  • conduct usability testing to support document/product design and revision
  • write clear instructions that can be used by different levels of audiences (WI 2, IL 4)
  • write for different media, including print and electronic media (IL 4)
  • design effective graphics for use in documents and presentations
  • work with others to improve their writing and produce texts and presentations (IL 4)
  • use computer technologies necessary to communicate, research, design, and publish texts (IL 2)
  • understand ethical considerations involved in organizational communication (WI 3, IL 5)

Statement on Academic Integrity:
All UNCW community members are expected to adhere to the guidelines set forth in the UNCW Student 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 UNCW Code of Student Life for more information.

Statement on Services for Students with Disabilities:
I and the university will make every effort to accommodate students with disabilities. If you require accommodations, please make certain to go through the Disability Resource Center, as the instructor can take no action without their guidance. Please make contact as soon as possible, as accommodations cannot be made retroactively.

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.

Statement on Religious Observance Policy
In accordance with NC SL 2010-211, students are entitled to two excused absences for religious observances per academic year. Students must inform the instructor in writing the first week of class if they will miss any classes due to religious observance. Additionally, students should inform the Registrar the first week of class who will then coordinate with the corresponding course instructors. Any absence for religious purposes will be considered unexcused unless a student submits the request in writing the first week to the instructor or Registrar.

Course Information

Instructor Information