technical and professional writing
engl 402.01 summer 2006
patricia freitag ericsson
ericsson@wsu.edu
Avery 223 Phone: 335-4820
Summer office hours by appointment

 

schedule!!

 

 

 

Textbook Abbreviations
CG - A Concise Guide to Technical Communication
NDDB - Non-Designer's Design Book
IX - IX Exercise for Tech Comm

This schedule may change as the course progresses. Any updates will be made on this schedule and no paper copies will be handed out after the first day of class.

Week 1	May 8	Meet in AML; Introduction to class; review of syllabus, schedule, academic honesty policy; writing sample
	May 9	Introduction to Technical Communication CG; Chapter 1; Exercise 1, p. 12 completed by class time; read Markel on ethics; be prepared to write a summary of the article in class (bring printout of article to class) .pdf of CG chapter 1 (posted because of book's unavailability to some.
	May 10	Begin Unit 1: Rhetorical Approaches to Job Applications Complete OWL Self-Analysis and OWL Skills Checklist and bring to class; locate and bring to class three (3) job ads that you could apply for after graduation; read ethical concerns in job searches to prepare for class discussion
	May 11	CG: Chapter 2; choose one job for application; using the online resources of the OWL write the following: 1) an ad analysis; 2) at least two informal paragraphs explaining why you are qualified for this job; 3) at least one page explaining what you have found out about the company you are applying to and how your personal and career goals are compatible with the company's outlook; read article on e-resumes
	May 12	Application letters CG: p. 193-200; read Munschauer; write critique of application letter that appears CG on p. 195 (letter copy)--use specific points from the Munschauer article to frame your critique; job ad for letter (necessary to appropriately critique the letter);
Week 2	May 15	Resumes Read OWL Hypertext on Resumes; read Resume Styles and Format choices and select the style that will suit your application; write brief justification of that choice; draft #1 of letter due for peer review--bring two (2) copies of the letter and the job ad(one for class and one for teacher review)
	May 16	Meet int AML; NDDB: Chapters 8-10 (Designing with Type); draft #1 of resume due; Links for inclass exercise:Example 1; Example 2; Example 3; Example 4; Example 5; Example 6
	May 17	Meet in AML; Drafts of letter and resume due; in class peer analysis
	May 18	Begin Unit 2: Document Redesign Project (DRP) CG: Chapter 8 and 9; complete Exercise #1 on p. 180 of CG--bring article to class with list of visuals
	May 19	CG: Chapter 3 (Usability); read Jakob Nielsen web materials; articles on usability reviewed/summarized in class Revised drafts of Job Application materials due for final evaluation; presented in Job Application Portfolio format; usability notes from class
Week 3	May 22	Meet in AML; NDDB: Chapters 1-6; (pp.1-86); in-class assignment; Ireland; Angler
	May 23	Meet in AML; Begin IX (bring CD to class); details of DARS Project
	May 24	Meet in AML; Draft of DRP report due for peer review; IX
	May 25	Oral presentations of DRP; final draft of materials due when you present
	May 26	Oral presentations of DRP; final draft of materials due when you present
Week 4	May 29	Holiday (Schedule of course is firm up to this point; after this point, things may change based on our needs and how well we have kept up with the schedule to this point. Refer to this schedule often for updates and changes.)
	May 30	Meet in AML; Introduction to Collaborative Research Report; CG: p. 51-70; complete in-class exercise; complete lessons 01, 02, 03 in IX Exercises CD; print off answers to hand in
	May 31	Meet in AML; Complete IX 04, 07, 08 before class; bring CD to class; in-class critique assignment
	June 1	Ethics, Copyright and Privacy; Read Chapter 6 and 7 CG before coming to class; bring your field or discipline's code of ethics to class for discussion.
	June 2	No class
Week 5	June 5	Meet in AML; What is an incident report? Writing the incident report.
	June 6	Pitch Proposal Presentations
	June 7	Pitch Proposal Presentations continued; teams composed for Research Report; Pitch Proposal Written Reports due.
	June 8	Meet in AML; Memo writing workshop; CG p. 189-192; Report writing details
	June 9	Meet in AML; Ethical issues in research projects; In-class team workshop
Week 6	June 12	Oral presentation details;
	June 13	Meet in AML; In-class team workshop; course evaluations; Progress Memo 1 due by midnight
	June 14	Meet in AML; In-class team workshop; Completion Memo details
	June 15	Final presentations--final draft due when you present; colleague evaluations; do one for each of your final project colleaguesand email it to ericsson@wsu.edu
	June 16	Final presentations--final draft due when you present; Completion Memo 2 due by midnight.

 

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