Technical and Business Writing Syllabus for 2014-2015
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Course

ENGL-2311-001 Technical and Business Writing

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: ENGL 1301

Course Description

Intensive study of and practice in professional settings. Focus on the types of documents necessary to make decisions and take action on the job, such as proposals, reports, instructions, policies and procedures, e-mail messages, letters and descriptions of products and services. Practice individual and collaborative processes involved in the creation of ethical and efficient documents.

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Department Expectations

Amarillo College English Department Plagiarism Policy, revised Spring 2013

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The English Department takes plagiarism seriously.

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Plagiarism is defined as the following:  the use of someone else’s exact words that are neither quoted nor cited; paraphrasing someone else’s words without citing them; or using someone else’s research without citing it.

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Student plagiarism in the Amarillo College English Department is internally tracked.  To clarify, records will be kept in the Department of those students who have plagiarized.  At the beginning of each new semester, the names of students who plagiarized the previous semester will be sent to all English Department faculty.

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Plagiarism may receive a penalty of a zero.  A subsequent infraction will be deemed a reason for expulsion from the class. At this point, the case will be referred to the Vice President of Student Affairs.

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Note: Self-plagiarism will be discussed with the class by each instructor and infractions for such are left up to the individual instructor’s discretion.

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In addition to the learning outcomes, students will be expected to work in small teams to produce a researched analytical report that uses both text and visuals.

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Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Online Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Lannon, John M. and Laura J. Gurak.  Technical Communication.  13th ed. New York: Pearson, 2014.
Beason, Larry and Mark Lester.  A Commonsense Guide to Grammar and Usage.  7th ed. New York: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2015.

Supplies

No supplies available

Student Performance

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will

1. Recognize, analyze, and accommodate diverse audiences.
2. Produce documents appropriate to audience, purpose, and genre.
3. Analyze the ethical responsibilities involved in technical communication.
4. Locate, evaluate, and incorporate pertinent information.
5. Develop verbal, visual, and multimedia materials as necessary, in individual and/or collaborative projects, as appropriate.
6. Edit for appropriate style, including attention to word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling.
7. Design and test documents for easy reading and navigation.

***In addition to the learning outcomes, students will work in small teams to produce a researched analytical report that uses both text and visuals.

Overview of Assignments:
Resume and letter of application
Choose a real position in which you are genuinely interested and for which you could actually qualify. Your completed paper should be accompanied by an additional page giving the exact wording of the actual job announcement, including the name of the journal or web site where you found it.

Proposal  
Your proposal will be directed to me as the instructor of this class, convincing me to let you proceed with the topic you have chosen for your analytical report. Why is this project important? Why are you the one to do it? How will you go about it? What schedule will you keep?

Progress report  
Your progress report will describe work accomplished so far on your analytical report, and, at the same time, identify work still to be done.

Instructions
For this paper, you will choose an activity or procedure connected with your job or major and give detailed instructions for successfully engaging in or completing it. Also, you will select three people to try out your instructions (a usability study) and report on your findings.

Personal web pages
You will construct personal web pages to be posted on the World Wide Web. These pages, which should tell about you and your studies at Amarillo College, will demonstrate your knowledge of both web page design and construction techniques.

Analytical report  
This summer's analytical report will be conducted by teams of 2-3 students. In it you will define a local need or problem (preferably related to a non-profit organization.) Then, directing your document to someone with the authority to change things, you will clearly and persuasively articulate the problem, causes for it, and possible solutions to it. In addition to writing this document, you will prepare a PowerPoint presentation that could accompany an oral delivery of your report. In addition, be sure to read my Supplemental Instructions (see online folder) for writing the analytical report.

Weekly readings, discussion, quizzes, and group email
Each week (for the summer semester, every couple of days) you will post responses to my prompts on various discussion topics taken from the assigned reading in Lannon (find these by clicking on the Discussion Icon on the WebCT home page for this class). Each discussion is due by midnight of the last date listed in the syllabus for the assigned chapters. Together the discussions account for 10% of your grade. I choose randomly a portion of these discussions to grade throughout the semester; thus, the only way to insure a good grade is to respond to all of them. Also each week (more frequent in the summer semester), you will take a brief online exam, which will be based on the assigned reading in Beason and Lester (you will find these under Grammar Quizzes on the WebCT home page). The grammar quizzes account for 5% of your grade. In addition, I expect you to respond to your classmates' first drafts of assignments (I will give more details later).

Exams
There will be two major exams this semester: a midterm and a final. These can be taken on the Amarillo College campus or you may arrange for a proctor to give you the test in your locale. If you choose the latter option, you'll need to post your proctor contact information in the discussion prompt labled Midterm Exam.

 

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Amarillo College English Department Plagiarism Policy, revised Spring 2013

The English Department takes plagiarism seriously. Plagiarism is defined as the following:  the use of someone else’s exact words that are neither quoted nor cited; paraphrasing someone else’s words without citing them; or using someone else’s research without citing it.

Student plagiarism in the Amarillo College English Department is internally tracked.  To clarify, records will be kept in the Department of those students who have plagiarized.  At the beginning of each new semester, the names of students who plagiarized the previous semester will be sent to all English Department faculty. Plagiarism may receive a penalty of a zero.  A subsequent infraction will be deemed a reason for expulsion from the class. At this point, the case will be referred to the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Note: Self-plagiarism will be discussed with the class by each instructor and infractions for such are left up to the individual instructor’s discretion.

Grading Criteria

Grades:

I will use the following percentages to determine your grade:

Assignment................................................Percent of Grade

Resume and Letter of Application................ 10%

Proposal............................................................ 5%

Progress Report................................................5%

Instructions.........................................................10%

Web Page............................................................10%

Analytical Report.................................................15%

PowerPoint Presentation...................................10%

Weekly quizzes, email and discussion..........15%

Midterm Exam......................................................10%

Final Exam............................................................10%

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Total....................................................................100%

Attendance

Weekly readings, discussions, quizzes, and group email:

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Each week (for the summer semester, every couple of days) you will post responses to my prompts on various discussion topics taken from the assigned reading in Lannon (find these by clicking on the Discussion Icon on the AC Online home page for this class).  Each discussion is due by midnight of the last date listed in the syllabus for the assigned chapters. Together the discussions account for 10% of your grade.  I choose randomly a portion of these discussions to grade throughout the semester; thus, the only way to insure a good grade is to respond to all of them.  Also each week (more frequent in the summer semester), you will take a brief online exam, which will be based on the assigned reading in Beason and Lester (you will find these under Grammar Quizzes on AC Online home page).  The grammar quizzes account for 5% of your grade. In addition, I expect you to respinse to your classmates' first drafts of assignments (I will give more details later).

Calendar

Additional Information

Document drafts:
Some of your assignments require a first draft, which you will attach to a Discussion Forum labeled for that document. Failure to produce this on time will result in a reduction of one letter grade on your final paper. Also, you will be expected to comment on your peers' drafts (I will give details later).

Late work
All late work is penalized one letter grade per day it is late. In addition, all assignments must be completed. Failure to complete a paper within two weeks of its due date will result in a failing grade in the class. (If you have a special emergency, please talk with me as soon as possible. Don't wait until it is too late to get help.)

If you get behind:
If you get behind this semester, please get in touch with me. You may need to drop the class or maybe there is something we can do to catch you up. Remember that you must go through a formal procedure to drop. Simply no longer participating in class will result in an F on your grade record.

Disability:
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible (SS 125, 371-5436).