Supplies Required for Class
Course Description
Specific Course Goals and Objectives
Course Requirements
Grading & Grade Distribution
Absence Policy
Late Assignments and Making Up
Work
Academic Dishonesty
Civil Discourse, Rights,
and Responsibilities
Grading Scale
Official University
“No Class” Days
Final Exam
Special Needs
Use of Papers
Additional
Important Information
Final Note
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Texts
Technical Communication by Mike Markel
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Supplies Required for Class
Loose leaf paper (either college or wide ruled)
Stapler and staples
Floppy disk (at least one)
A dictionary & thesaurus (reliable access to an online version is acceptable)
Additional expenses include the cost of card stock and binding your instruction manuals. You may also have to pay for film and developing any pictures you take for the visual aids.
You will be required to have computer and internet access for this class. I do communicate regularly through email, so it is your responsibility to check your email daily. Also, all papers and communications should be typed. If you do not have access at home, there are labs in Alden and other locations across campus.
Also, the daily schedule can be found on Blackboard and on my web site. The addresses for both are below. It will be updated as needed, so be sure to check assignments daily.
Class listserv eng305j-a19-spr03-list@ohio.edu
Textbook Web site http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/techcomm
Blackboard https://mead.citl.ohiou.edu
My Web site http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~sr952597/technicalwriting/
Technical Writing (English 305J) will help you develop effective writing strategies for workplace communication. You will learn how to initiate, plan, compose, and evaluate written communication; then you will carry out these writing activities in real workplace scenarios, thus helping you understand how writing is used to carry out organizational goals, improve social and work relations, and develop effective and ethical uses of technology. We will also discuss the general principles of effective communication.
There will be several types of written assignments due in this class. Each will model those you will find in the workplace. Since this is technical writing, not business writing, the majority of writing will be focused on instructing and communicating knowledge to individuals and groups who are not familiar with the information. However, typical business communication forms (such as memos, etc.) will be assigned.
Each writing assignment will go through a collaborative drafting process that includes in-class class workshops. All written work and oral presentations will be supported with effective, appropriate graphics. In addition to writing assignments, there will be quizzes covering topics such as grammar, reading assignments, and document design, as well as a final exam that will cover readings and lectures on the principles of technical communication.This course will operate as a workshop. This means that, while I will lecture from time to time, the bulk of our class time will be spend going over the previous evening's reading assignments, writing that you’ve prepared for each class, class discussions, and in-class writing and activities. In order to do well in this class, you will have to read an average of one or two chapters from our textbook and prepare a written assignment for each class period. All assignments, including in-class activities and writing, must be completed to pass this class.
This course is meant to help you in your current and future professional life outside of the university. I will expect you to achieve the same professional standards that any employer will expect: come prepared and ready to work every day.
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Specific Course Goals and Objectives
Students will learn the following in this class:
Develop effective strategies for planning, composing, critiquing, and revising written communication.
Create more effective ways to envision communicative purpose, analyze multiple and complex audiences, design documents, and develop professional tone and style.
Develop a clearer, more concise, and more fluid writing style.
Enhance their ability to give and receive peer feedback on written communication.
Learn to write collaboratively.
Understand how writing influences the management of knowledge, authority structures, and decision-making processes in workplace settings.
Use the process of written communication to define, explore, and solve problems of human and technological interaction.
Understand the relationships among document design and the cognitive, social, and technological purposes and processes of reading written communication.
Integrate written communication with oral and visual media.
You will cheerfully complete the following major assignments:
Introduction assignment
Resume & cover letter
Proposal
Report
Instruction manual
Presentations
Conferences: You are required to attend an individual and group conference with the instructor. Our meeting place and time will be announced.
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Grading
In order to pass this class you must do all of the work (no exceptions), including in-class work, informal writing, drafting, and peer critiques. Not doing all the work (including in-class work) will result in a failing grade. Therefore, if you are absent during any class period, contact the instructor and a classmate immediately.
English 305J papers are graded according to the instructor's professional judgment of the overall quality of the writing and thinking, taking into account the outcome goals listed earlier and including the following: how well the essay fulfills the assignment; to what extent it demonstrates the principles taught in the course or expected of students entering the course; how effectively it communicates with its audience; to what extent it engages its readers; how easily it can be read and comprehended (reading ease is affected by factors such as organization, grammatical correctness, and the physical appearance); how well-developed it is; any other criteria set forth by the particular assignment.
Late papers are not accepted except under extraordinary circumstances and after prearranged agreements with the instructor.
The following is a pie chart of the grade distribution for this course with assignment name, point value, and percentage of the final grade.
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Absence Policy
I will be taking attendance this quarter!
The work you do in the course depends on your collaboration with your classmates through peer reviews, group projects, and discussions, all of which can not be “made up” after an absence. Consequently, your grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade for each day of absence beyond three hours (or a class and a half). Therefore, if your final class grade is an A and you miss two classes, then your final grade will be lowered to an A-). These three hours are for legitimate absences (as described in the University’s Class Attendance Policy).
You are responsible for your absences, and must keep in touch with me. This class is preparation for the workplace. Absence from work requires that you contact your supervisor. In this class, the instructor is the supervisor, and the class is the workplace. The instructor should be notified as far in advance of the absences as possible, but no later than a day and a half after the absence (discussing it in class is not sufficient – the notification should either be by phone, email, etc.). I prefer to be notified in writing. In extenuating circumstances (hospitalizations and other serious emergencies), the instructor should be notified as soon as possible. Please email or call me (at home or the office) if you have such an emergency. I am more than willing to make any necessary concessions in such cases, but I cannot work with you if I don’t know you are having trouble.
Excessive tardiness will also lower your grade. Arriving up to 10 minutes late for class more than 4 times throughout the quarter constitutes excessive tardiness. Arriving more than 15 minutes late disrupts the class and is counted as 2 tardies. Missing more than half the hour (:40-:00) will be counted as an absence. Each tardy over 5 will count as a class absence. If there is a scheduling conflict (i.e. you have a class immediately before this one that makes it difficult to arrive on time), let me know in writing by the end of the first week.
Late Assignments and Making Up Work
Not completing all the assignments and in class work will result in failure of the course.
Late in class assignments will not be accepted for credit unless the instructor is notified immediately before or after the absence, in accordance with the preceding Absence Policy. Students have one regular week (7 days) to turn in missed class material as a result of absences. This does not apply to major papers or peer critiques. Peer critiques are an in class activity. Missing a peer critique day can only be made up by visiting the writing center and bringing in a signed draft with comments from the tutor in addition to having a peer critique the draft (it does not have to be someone in the class, but parents and siblings do not count). Students are still required to revise based on these comments, even though there may not be time to revise before the instructor draft is due. The instructor will not coordinate make up peer critiques of any kind. Peer critiques are due with the final paper.
Major assignments (for example, manuals, proposals, reports, resumes and cover letters) must be submitted on time and in the correct format (papers sent as an attachment to an email will not be accepted). Late papers will not be accepted unless other arrangements were made with the instructor in advance.
Students who need special consideration should contact me in writing before the end of the first week of class or immediately after the situation arises. Each student’s situation will be considered individually.
Plagiarism is defined by the Ohio University Student Handbook as a Code A offense, which means that “[a] student found to have violated any of the following regulations will be subject to a maximum sanction of expulsion, or any sanction not less than a reprimand…. Plagiarism involves the presentation of some other person's work as if it were the work of the presenter. A faculty member has the authority to grant a failing grade…as well as referring the case to the director of judiciaries” (10). Based on the level of plagiarism, the student could either fail the assignment or the entire course. Any student who has chosen to plagiarize will receive a failing grade for the course. Using someone else’s work and passing it off as your own is plagiarism, regardless of whether it is a draft or the final product. Thus, if you are unsure about plagiarism or what it means talk with your instructor. In addition, writing which has been (or is intended to be) used for credit in another course is not permitted and could result in failure.
See these Ohio University Web pages for more information: http://www.ohiou.edu/judiciaries/letter.htm and http://www.ohiou.edu/judiciaries/integrity.htm.
Civil Discourse, Rights, and Responsibilities
At this university, students and faculty are afforded an academic environment that allows for intellectual expression; challenging issues and ideas may arise, but none of these should be expressed in an inappropriate manner either verbally or in writing. One of the goals of a university is to challenge us to think again about what we know (and all that we don’t know). This demands that we all share responsibility for creating and maintaining a civil learning environment in our classrooms and in the larger university community: we will be conscious of and accept responsibility for what we say and do, how we act, how our words and actions have consequences, and how our words and actions affect others. As part of this awareness we will avoid sexist, racist, and heterosexist language.
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Grading Scale
100-94…….....A 90-93………...A- 87-89………....B+ 84-86………...B 81-83………...B- 77-80………....C+
74-76………...C 71-73………...C- 66-70…………D+ 63-65………...D 60-62………...D- 0-59…………..F
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Official University “No Class” Days
Memorial Day, Monday, MAY 26
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Final Exam
Friday, June 13, at 2:50 p.m.
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Special Needs
If you have a disability that requires special arrangements, please notify me so we can discuss accommodations for your specific needs. Preferably, you should have registered your disability with Crewson House.
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Use of Papers
I am requesting permission to anonymously use your papers, either now or at a later date, in my research/teaching. If you would prefer not to have your paper(s) used or would prefer your name be used in conjunction with your work, please let me know.
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Writing Center
Peer feedback is vital to the development of good writing. To further facilitate this, there is a writing center available on the 1st floor of Alden Library, in the back left hand corner (keep in mind that the front entrance of Alden is actually the 2nd floor). There are both appointment and walk-up times available. If you attend the writing center, please request your tutor sign your draft and put a note at the top of the draft that you made that extra effort.
Additional Important Information
Please feel free to contact me regarding paper drafts. I am always available, but I must have at least two days to read and respond to any draft I receive. Usually the turn around time is quicker, but please leave enough time for both of us to do our best work.
Part of the work we will do in this class requires email communication; therefore, you must check your email daily and respond as part of the class participation. If you do not check your OAK account, make sure that you forward your mail to another account that you will check.
Final Note
I reserve the right to change the daily schedule as needed.
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