Monroe Community College

Welcome to the Technical Writing Syllabus

Monroe Community College Course Information Sheet English 251, Technical Writing (SLN) Spring, 1999

INSTRUCTOR: Donna H. Cox Phone: 292-3377 Office: 5-534

Office Hours: MWF 8:00–9:00 (on-line from class or by phone)

IMPORTANT: English 101 is a prerequisite for this class. (I do check records.)

COURSE

DESCRIPTION: Technical Writing will give you the necessary skills to communicate clearly and effectively in your profession. The course will provide practical experience useful to you in the "real world." The course emphasizes audience analysis; preparation and organization of various types of reports; manual writing; listening, questioning, and speaking skills; and effective use of supplements and visuals.

OBJECTIVES:

Upon successful completion of English 251, you will be able to perform the following tasks:

Understand the principles of technical writing.
Analyze and understand importance of knowing an audience.
Organize work effectively.
Write technical communications that are precise, clear, concise, and relatively free of mechanical errors.
Find, analyze, and evaluate data found on the Internet.
Use an effective format and basic computer graphic aids.
Use a computer to create simple documents and graphics
Use e-mail to communicate
Make effective oral presentations.
Ask questions freely and effectively.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Communicating Technical Information.Pattow & Wresch One floppy disk for computer use

Dictionary (optional)

ATTENDANCE: Attendance is mandatory. See College Bulletin. Three “absences” may result in a formal withdrawal from this course. (I will consider you absent if I don’t hear from you weekly, either through class discussions or personal e-mail to me.) However, do not assume I will automatically withdraw you if you simply quit coming to class. Formal withdrawal is your responsibility. (Exceeding the allowed number of absences after it's too late for me to withdraw you will result in a one letter grade cut per absence.)

REQUIREMENTS: Students must fulfill the following requirements:

regular attendance
reading selections as assigned
written assignments

résumé & letter of application
reports & abstracts
letters & memoranda (some by e-mail)
mechanism description & directions
literature review

oral presentation
class participation—on-line discussions & group work
daily work—quizzes, in-class writings and so on
final project—to be determined

Note: All major assignments (6 pts. or more) and major oral assignments must be completed to pass this course. EXAMS: No major exams; quizzes given at the instructor's discretion.

MAKE-UP

POLICY: On-line discussions or quizzes cannot be made up. Once a discussion is closed, there’s no way you can get credit for contributing. You will be able to read what your classmates wrote, but you can’t add comments. Additionally, it is your responsibility to know what happened in any “missed” classes (possible changes in assignments or due dates, etc.). Changes will be few, but you always need to read carefully in case I do make changes. GRADING: See attached sheet.

PAPER

GUIDELINES:

Note the following information concerning written work:

While most assignments will be submitted on-line, you may be required to fax or mail hard copies of some assignments.
All correspondence must be dated.
Excessive spelling errors will result in an unacceptable paper. (I consider more than three errors excessive.)
Late work, accepted only at my discretion, will receive a grade cut and cannot be rewritten for a better grade. (One week maximum on late work.)
Your failure to check in does not automatically extend a due date; work is due as stated on the module page.
All letters and memos must be signed or initialed to be graded. (I will not evaluate unsigned correspondence.)
You may select 3 papers to revise for a better grade. Remember: Late papers may not be rewritten.

*Grading Procedure:

People who write on the job are not graded in terms of a C+ or a B-. A report or letter is either unacceptable, acceptable, or superior.

Students generally feel more comfortable with quantitative evaluations, with guidelines clearly spelled out. An instructor is always hard-pressed to explain to a student (and often to herself) the subtle distinction between an A- and a B+. Students see the contract system as more fair, and with good reason.

With a contract system, students can do as much or as little as they deem necessary to receive the desired grade. A negative approach, such as subtracting points, stifles and frustrates; the contract system offers a positive and creative approach.

By keeping track of their points, students know exactly where they stand at any moment in the course. This arrangement is very helpful during conferences.

Each assignment in this course will be classified in one of three categories:

Superior A paper of professional quality in organization, development, format, mechanics, and information (Superior papers are in the A range.) Acceptable A paper that has enough information, but contains a small number of easily correctable errors (Acceptable papers are in the C to B range; Acceptable- papers are in the D range) Unacceptable A paper that either does not have enough information, or contains major errors, or contains an excessive number of easily correctable errors (An unacceptable grade is equivalent to an F.)

*Thanks to John M. Lannon, Southern Vermont College, who defined this grading procedure in his Instructor's Manual to accompany TECHNICAL WRITING.

Thanks also to Richard Dozier, University of Idaho, who devised the original version of this system.

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