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Dr. Kristi Siegel Assistant Professor, English Mount Mary College Milwaukee, WI 53222 |
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| EPW Technical Writing 331 - Accelerated Spring 2002 Tuesdays 6:00-9:50 pm Smart Classroom - 2nd Floor, Haggerty Library Office: Fidelis 223, ext. 461 Office Hours: Tuesdays, 4:00 - 5:50 pm and by appointment Required: Gerson, Sharon J. and Steven M. Gerson. Technical Writing: Process and Product, 3rd Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. |
| Recommended: · A good dictionary · A good grammar handbook and/or The Associated Press Stylebook · A basic handbook on FrontPage 2000/web publishing · A pocket folder to hold my endless handouts! Course Objectives: · to understand the purpose and process of technical writing; · to produce documents reflecting different types of technical communication such as technical descriptions, proposals, reports, web pages, and instructional manuals; · to use mechanically and grammatically correct language in written and oral communication; · to learn how to adjust technical content to meet the needs of a specific target audience; · to learn how to produce clear and concise prose; · to appreciate principles of document design and how they enhance meaning; · to give a professional oral presentation on the final project (web site). Grading: ~In-Class Assignments - 15% ~Instructions, Manual, Proposal, Report - 40% ~Website - 15% ~Oral Presentation - 10% ~Participation - 10% ~Final Portfolio - 10% |
| Class Schedule Before Mar 19 Read (skim) first four chapters of text, pp. 1-85; focus particularly on definition and types of technical writing, methods for achieving clarity, and determining audience Assignments: · Be prepared to discuss reading for first class (Mar 19). · Bring in one example of technical writing for first class. **************************************************************** Week 1 - Mar 19 · Orientation and Introductions · Discussion of syllabus and scope of course · Definition of technical writing and types of technical writing · "Chopping block" of tech writing: clarity and audience · Basic word processing shortcuts and techniques **Speedy Beginnings with Word 97/2000 - Warpspeed1.doc **Speedy Editing with Word 97/2000 - Warpspeed2.doc **Speedy Formatting with Word 97/2000 - Warpspeed3.doc -Design principles - in class exercise **Basic Principles of Document design - Document design.doc Assignments: · Read Chapters 8 and 9 · Bring in example of good technical design and example of poor technical design for next class (be prepared to explain why examples are good or poor). *************************************************************** Week 2 - Mar 26 · Visual design and Graphics - in-class work and assignments **Summary Design Document - Summarydesign.doc **Memo _Re-design exercise - Wasson.doc · Narrative strategies for writing technical content (in-class exercises and assignments) **How to Put Your Reader into a Coma without Really Trying (Eliminating Wordiness.doc) -Lego Block assignment explained - Legoassignment.doc Assignments: · Read Chapters 11 & 12 · Lego Block assignment due on Apr 9 *************************************************************** Apr 2 - Easter Break *************************************************************** Week 3 - Apr 9 · Lego Block presentations · Principles of technical descriptions and instructions (in-class exercises and assignment) **Structural and Functional Partitioning - assignment **Effective Technical Descriptions - Technicaldescription.doc · Instructional Chapter/manual assignment explained - in-class work and discussion - FullShot 7 Instructions - Progress/Status Report explained and assigned. - ProgressReport.doc Assignments: · Read Chapters 13 & 14 · Status Report on Instruction Manual due Apr 16 · Instructional Chapter/Manual due Apr 23 *************************************************************** Week 4 - Apr 16 · Types of reports explained and discussed (in-class exercises and assignments). · In-class work on Instruction manuals · Principles of proposal writing · In-class work on Web site Proposal · Status Report on Instructions' Manual collected - Sign up for GeoCities web site Assignments: · Read handout on website design. - Website Manual - Tutorial on PageBuilder and FrontPage · Read Internet links on website design and construction. · Instruction manual due next class (Apr 23) *************************************************************** Week 5 - Apr 23 · Proposals and Grants (cont.) · Instruction Manuals collected · In-class exercises and assignments · In-class work on Website Proposal · In-class work on Web pages - design, techniques, and writing effective web text - Oral Presentation assigned Assignments: · Web site proposal due Apr 30 · Read suggested Internet Links ************************************************************** Week 6 - Apr 30 · Discussion of Website Proposals · In-class work on webpages · In-class work and discussion on presenting effective oral communication film on effective oral presentations - Explanation of Final Portfolio Assignments: · Read Chapter 17 ************************************************************** Week 7 - May 7 · In-class work on websites · In-class work on oral presentations - In-class work on final portfolios Assignments: · Complete website, oral presentation and final portfolio for May 14 ************************************************************** Week 8 - May 14 · Oral Presentation on Website · Assessments of Oral presentations · Task Analysis · Final Portfolios collected |
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| Additional Links: ~Basic HTML Tutorial (by Dr. Joe Burns) ~How to Build Lame Websites (this website, developed by Charlie Morris, offers some very true--and funny--advice on website design and content) ~Glossary of Internet Terms ~1,000 Free Internet Web Publishing Tools (e.g., clipart, fonts, animation, etc.) ~Web Style Guide |
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