Technical and Professional Report Writing
Spring 2017
CRNs: 24100—1st, 24101—2nd, 24102—7th
Instructor: / Lloyd Savage / E-mail: /
Class Days: / Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday / Phone Number: / Use email
Class Time: / 1st, 2nd, and 7th periods / Office Location: / P3
Class Location: / CHS / Office Hours: / 8:30-9am Except Wednesdays
Course Description: / A study and practice of the writing and designing of documents in technical and professional discourse communities. Students will produce documents representing a number of technical genres: correspondence, reports, a proposal, a real-world project, and a final portfolio. These assignments will be taken from real-world situations and will present students with a set of rhetorical considerations and constraints. This course will approach technical writing rhetorically, discussing such topics as organizational conventions, visual design, and style in the context of specific rhetorical situations. ENC 2210 is a Gordon Rule writing course as defined by SBE Rule 6A-10.030.
This course cannot be used to fulfill the general education requirements for the A.A. degree but may be used as an elective credit towards graduation.
Course Materials: / Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. 8th Edition
Markel, Mike. Technical Communication. 10th ed.
Access to SJR State Portal and Blackboard, Microsoft Word, access and funds to printing,
Tutoring: / Free on-campus tutoring is available in the Academic Support Center on each campus.
Orange Park – Room L0113, Palatka – Room T0207, St. Augustine – Room L0124
Free online tutoring is available through Smarthinking via the student tab on the MySJRstate portal.
Student Learning Outcomes: / Upon completion of this course the student will:
A. Identify the basic features of six major professional document genres.
B. Master basic concepts of rhetoric related to professional writing.
C. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of her or his professional writing style.
D. Draft and revise prose to produce clear, concise, coherent, and correct final products.
E. Participate as an active member in a writing community.
F. Develop a set of strategies for effectively responding to documents produced by peers.
G. Produce a portfolio of polished professional documents appropriate for use in a job search.
Assessment: / The course will require completion of six major assignments, in addition to regular participation in class discussion. Each will be graded individually and all will be compiled in a final portfolio at the end of the semester. The parts are:
A. The Resume and Cover Letter. For these assignments, students will craft their resume and cover letter in response to a real-world advertisement for a job they are either currently interested in or in the field they hope to enter after completing college. Each student’s resume and cover letter will be tailored to meet the conventions of the field of the identified job.
B. The Letter of Inquiry. This document is students’ initial contact with the organization. In it students will introduce themselves and ask their contact person about the parameters of a possible project.
C. The Proposal. In this important document, students will lay out a detailed plan for their final project. They will use this document to persuade their contact person at the organization and their instructor that they have a feasible plan for accomplishing their goals.
D. The Progress Report. This short report will provide the organization’s contact person and the students’ instructor with a mid-term project update on their progress. It will include some reflection on ethical concerns students have faced during the writing process.
E. The User Test Report. This short report will provide the organization’s contact person and the instructor with an explanation of the methods and results of each student’s usability test of a working draft of his or her project. Additionally, this document will explain the revisions the student plans to make based on the results of the usability test.
F. The Final Project Portfolio. This substantial portfolio will include revised versions of all of the pieces of the project and the final version of the major text.
In addition to the above core assignments, there will be readings from the textbook concerning format and design standards. There will be periodic quizzes based on these readings.
Resume—5%
Cover Letter—5%
Letter of Inquiry—5%
Proposal—10%
Progress Report—10%
User Test Report—20%
Portfolio—20%
Reading Quizzes—25%
Grading Scale: / 900—1,000 A
800—899 B
700—799 C
600—699 D
0—599 F
Make-Ups: / No make ups—submit work early or arrange to complete work ahead of due date.
Academic Integrity: / Students in this class must know, observe, and not compromise the principles of academic integrity. It is not permissible to cheat, to fabricate or falsify information, to submit the same academic work in more than one course without prior permission, to plagiarize, to receive unfair advantage, or to otherwise abuse accepted practices for handling and documenting information. The grade for this course includes the judgment that the student’s work is free from academic dishonesty of any type. Violations or infractions will be reported to the Vice President for Student Affairs and may lead to failure of the course and other sanctions imposed by the College.
Disability Services: / Students with disabilities who require a note taker or other accommodations should notify their instructor as soon as possible so those accommodations can be coordinated with the appropriate office. Students who would like to be a note taker should notify their instructor as well.
Attendance and
Withdrawal:
Technology:
Study Group: / A student may receive a warning to their SJRstate e-mail account when the equivalent of three 50-minute class periods have been missed and may be withdrawn from the course after the fourth 50-minute absence.
The last day to withdraw is 3/27. Withdrawals are done on-line at My SJRstate or through the Dual Enrollment Office (for Dual Enrollment students).
I will try my best to schedule time with computers. This may not be possible each week or even for the duration of the semester. Please plan to create your documents from home. This also includes printing before first period. Sometimes the library is closed for testing, but your assignments are still due. Some of the listed documents (above in bold) are required to be sent through Turnitin by the due date. All assignments may be emailed to me for proof of completion in the case of an absence on a due date (this excludes the final portfolio).
Early in the semester, students will be grouped according to intended major. This will be your study group for the entire semester. There will be some class time allotted for required group work; however, you may need to meet up outside of class time to finish documents. Instead of scheduled peer review sessions, you will meet with your group to help each other with document creation, research, and/or readings. Please be conscientious with your attendance and participation.
Brief Tentative Calendar
Week 1 (1/5—1/6) 2
Syllabus and content
P-1—Who Am I? (self-eval.) / Week 2 (1/9—1/13) 5
Read ch 14, 15
Deliver P1s
Assign P-2--Resume
End of Drop/Add / Week 3 (1/17—1/20) 4
Read ch 2, 3,4
Team building
Assign P-3—Cover Letter / Week 4 (1/23—1/27) 5
Read ch 5, 6, 7
*Quiz 1—week 2, 3 on 1/24
*Resume due 1/24
Audience
P-5—Team Meeting Minutes
Week 5 (1/30—2/3) 5
Read ch 9, 10
*Cover Letter due on 1/31
Assign P-5—Inquiry / Week 6 (2/6—2/10) 5
Read ch 11, 12, 13
*Quiz 2—week 4, 5 on 2/9
Document design and graphics / Week 7 (2/13—2/16) 4
Read ch 8, 16
Persuasion and argument
Assign P-6—Proposal / Week 8 (2/21—2/24) 4
Finish questionnaires
*Inquiry due on 2/22
*Quiz 3—week 5, 6 on 2/23
Week 9 (2/27—3/3) 5
Team document decision based on major / Week 10 (3/6—3/10) 5
Read 17, 18, 19, 20
*Proposal due 3/7
Spring Break 3/13—3/20 / Week 11 (3/21—3/24) 4
Logical Fallacies
*Quiz 4—week 10, 11 on 3/23 / Week 12 (3/27—3/31) 5
*P-7—Prog. Report due on 3/30
One-on-one consultations
Withdrawal Deadline 3/27
Week 13 (4/3—4/7) 5
One-on-one consultations / Week 14 (4/10—4/13) 4
*P-7--User Test Report due on 4/12
Work on P-8—Team Eval. / Week 15 (4/17—4/21) 5
Assign P-9—Reflection Memo / Week 16 (4/24—4/28) 5
*Quiz 5—cumulative on 4/27
*P-10--Final Portfolios due on or before 4/28
Week 17 (5/1—5/5) 5
Check AP Test Schedules
Confirm grades / Week 18 (5/8—5/12) 5
Check AP Test Schedules
Confirm grades
* indicate firm due dates. Plan ahead to meet them or arrange for work ahead of this date. Please remember that I may not be available on the most convenient day for you.
P-(#): These indicate a necessary part of the Portfolio. Please note that some of these are not graded individually but as part of the portfolio grade.
Quizzes are based on the chapters assigned for that week as well as any document that has been previously assigned. The final quiz may cover any reading from listed chapters, any assigned document, and/or any class lectures.