Overview
English 421 helps students become better technical communicators
through contextual research, analysis, and writing. The curriculum
is informed by current research in rhetoric and technical communication
and is guided by the needs and practices of industrial and technical
settings and society at large, as well as by the expectations of
Purdue students and programs. Students learn effective strategies
for communicating with other people about and with technology,
particularly in networked workplaces and through usability testing.
They learn how to collaborate with colleagues in project teams
as they analyze writing situations and respond to them with informative
and visually effective print and electronic documents. The course
teaches the rhetorical principles that help students shape their
technical writing to suit a range of readers, for multiple purposes,
in a variety of technical situations.
Required Texts
Professional Writing
Online 2nd Edition, by Johndan Johnson-Eilola, Patricia
Sullivan, and James Porter. Boston:
Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2004. Available at University Book Store and Follet's.
Be sure to purchase unopened copies of the guide because used password codes
are not transferable. Keep your receipt in case your password fails to work and
see me immediately.
Passwords cannot be shared.
Course Goals
Writing in Context
- Analyze the invention, manufacture, and distribution of technologies
in context and use writing to communicate these attributes in
a variety of media and genres.
- Write for specialized/technical audiences to foster technical
understanding.
- Understand the ethical implications of working within the nexus
of technology and culture.
Writing Process
Develop and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting,
revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and ethically to
professional situations and audiences.
Collaboration
Apply strategies for working successfully within writing teams as well as within
client organizations, including
- defining and articulating specific talents and technological
expertise related to the technological design process
- responding to the needs and interests of internal and external
stakeholders
- managing short- and long-term projects
Research
Understand and use the research methods and strategies necessary to the production
of professional documents, including
- working ethically with research participants, subject matter
experts, and technical experts
- using primary research methods such as interviews, observations,
focus qroups, and surveys to collect data
- applying concepts of usability research such as user-centered
design
Technology
Develop strategies for using and adapting various communication technologies
to manage projects and produce informative and usable professional documents.
Document Design
Produce documents appropriate for particular rhetorical contexts by
- learning the generic conventions of the design of technical
documents
- interpreting and arguing with visual information
Course Projects and Activities
1. Employment/ Job application Project
In Project 1, you will (1) locate several advertisements for positions in your area of
interest or expertise. These should be jobs you could conceivably be offered and ones you would want to
take. Next, you will (2) choose one advertisement to analyse
in-depth, rhetorically and then (3) write a cover letter applying for that position and (4) a resume tailored to that position. You will also
(5) be expected to complete a project assessment document and to review your classmates' draft documents. (20% of course grade).
2. Open Source Case
This case is still in development, but it will prepare you to
write the documentation involved in project 3. Deliverables may
include a report on an open source application, a documentation plan, including audience analysis,
and storyboarding.
3. Open Source Development and Documentation Project (OSDDP)
For Project 3, our class will help launch the first stage of the
Purdue's Open Source Development and Documentation Project. In
this project, students interact with new people and new technologies
to provide valuable Open Source enterprise and application documentation.
Students in a variety of business and technical writing courses
will study open source software, talk to its designers and users,
use the software themselves, then write and test user documentation,
help organizations promote their software in the wider community,
and even develop action plans for deploying such software in new
business and academic ventures. For more information, see the
OSDDP site. (Collaborative; 40% of course grade.)
Grading
| Project 1 (Employment) |
20% |
| Project 2 (Open Source Case) |
25% |
| Project 3 (OSDDP) |
40% |
| Daily Assignments, Participation & Online
Discussion, Quizzes |
15% |
|
Total |
100% |
I reserve the right to tweak these percentages slightly,
especially in the case of borderline grades.
Each of the 3 major projects in the course will be comprised
of several components, each of which you must complete to receive a passing
grade for the project. For the collaborative project(s), students will complete
the required Collaborative
Evaluation Form.
All major assignments will be graded on the standard letter-grade
scale: A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or below.
Rhonda Reid has created a rough
translation of letter grades into professional terms:
A: This person’s work shows an intelligence,
polish, and extra effort that impress his/her supervisor and portray the
organization in the best possible light. This exceptional employee will be
mentored by higher-ups and groomed for promotion.
B: This person’s work is generally solid,
accurate and clear. It might have a noticeable number of small problems or one
significant, but not serious, error. This person is a good employee who can
expect job security and, in good times, modest promotions.
C: The employee completes the task, but his/ her
performance is careless or seriously lacking in a major area (clarity,
completeness, accuracy, sense of audience, verbal expression). This person might
need some additional training or might be a candidate for downsizing if the
organization began to have financial troubles.
D/F: There is no reason to keep this person on
the payroll.
Technology
Technology Requirements
In order to participate fully in the course,
you should already be able to use the technology platform and
applications listed
below.
- Windows XP
- Microsoft Office (Word and PowerPoint)
- Web Browser (e.g., Netscape Communicator, Firefox, Safari,
or Internet Explorer)
- Email Program (e.g., Netscape Mail, Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird,
etc.)
Technology Responsibilities
Because the exchange of information and documents
in this class will be almost entirely electronic, familiarity
with certain technologies is crucial for participation and
success in the course. If you need any assistance now or at
any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask.
During the semester, you'll need frequent access to the Internet
and email. If you have a computer at home, you'll be responsible
for configuring your system to access course materials, to
read course email and participate in online discussions, and
to complete other work. (Your Internet Service Provider should
be able to help you configure your system.) If you do not have
a system at home or cannot get your system configured, you
will be able to use any of the standard ITaP labs. One of your
first course assignments will be completing a technology checklist
and solving any technology access problems that you may encounter.
You are also required to subscribe to and participate on a
course mailing list.
Very early in the semester, you will be asked to demonstrate
that you can meet these responsibilities:
- Have access to your Career Account.
- Set up your @purdue.edu email address and regularly check
your email. Alternative email addresses (@yahoo, @hotmail,
etc.) are not appropriate for professional communication, so
you should use your @purdue account in ENGL 421.
- Become proficient sending and receiving email attachments,
resolving file compatibility issues, and following email decorum.
- Send an email message to the class list
- Check the course calendar before each class meeting.
- Become proficient participating in the class Drupal space.
- Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies
and applications, including Web editing software, document
cycling systems, desktop publishing applications, and graphics
programs.
- Maintain back-up copies of all assignments via your home
directory, disks, USB drives, or CDs.
Technology Etiquette
- unless we are
using the computers, please pay attention to the people speaking
(not just me, but your classmates as well).
- please
print only when
you are asked to do so.
- please
use the computer
appropriately. Surfing the Web, checking email, IMing, and/or
doing work for other classes during class time may result in
your being marked absent.
Course Technologies
Collaborative work is a required
component of the course. You and your project team members are
responsible for updating one another and me about assignment
development and progress. In addition, you also are responsible
for negotiating together all aspects of your work, including
planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of
assignments. When I assign a collaborative project, I will provide
you with explicit guidelines for successful collaboration. I
will also ask
individual group members to complete Collaborative
Evaluation Forms. The principles of collaboration I encourage students to
follow are contained in the brochure, Group Work and Collaborative Writing <http://www-honors.ucdavis.edu/vohs/index.html>.
Attendance
Attendance is required at all scheduled electronic
and face-to-face (F2F) meetings. Since you will be working in project
teams much of the semester, you also will be required to attend any
scheduled out-of-class meetings with your team to complete course
assignments. Three absences may result in your final grade being lowered
by as much as a letter grade. More than three absences can result
in a failing grade for the course. Excused absences may be granted
for religious holidays or university-sponsored events, provided you
make a written request to me no less than two weeks in advance and
that you complete any required work before the due date. Being excessively
or regularly late for class or team meetings, both electronic and
F2F, can also be counted as an absence. Academic Integrity
Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to
guidelines set forth by the Dean of Students in "Academic Integrity:
A Guide for Students," which students are encouraged to read
here:
http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/administration/integrity.htm
The preamble of this guide states the following: "Purdue University
values intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic
conduct. To be prepared to meet societal needs as leaders and role
models, students must be educated in an ethical learning environment
that promotes a high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic
dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the
academic fabric of Purdue University. Dishonesty is not an acceptable
avenue to success. It diminishes the quality of a Purdue education,
which is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards."
Academic dishonesty is defined as follows: "Purdue prohibits
"dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating,
plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University
are examples of dishonesty." [University Regulations, Part
V, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore, the University Senate has
stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying,
and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes
for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and
copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated.
Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other
parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest."
[University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]"
If you have any questions about this policy, please ask.
Late Work
The majority of missed class assignments cannot be made
up. If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact
me in writing prior to the deadline to determine whether or not an extension
for the work will or will not be granted. |
