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Proposing Your Work for the Course

Proposing Your Work for the Course published on

This is the post for the week of September 20, 2016.

Readings for the Week of September 20

For this week, please read the following:

Work for the Week of September 20

Please complete these tasks by 11:59 PM on Monday:

  • Begin work on your Coursework Proposal. In your proposal, you will explain what activities you will complete for your remaining major projects, set a schedule for your work, and explore the genres of writing that are most important to your success in your field.

    As explained in the assignment, your options include choosing texts from Your Analysis Table, completing the Genre Analysis Report, and taking the midterm reading exam on Chapters 1 through 15 of Markel.

    • Peer review drafts are due by 11:59 PM on September 27.
    • Your proposal is due by 11:59 PM on October 3.
    • The grace period ends at 11:59 PM on October 10.

  • Participate in the Technical Writing Superlatives Discussion on Canvas. Your answers to the Superlatives should help you decide which kinds of writing to focus on for the remainder of your coursework. Remember that you should propose to compose kinds of writing that you haven’t tried and that are important for someone in your field.

  • Complete the quizzes or responses for the week’s readings (remember that for each you only do the quiz OR the response, not both):

Planning and Working Ahead

  • If you want to get ahead, all the additional quizzes/responses have been posted in Canvas. Remember that you need to know about all of the kinds of writing covered in the textbook, even though you may not write all of these kinds of writing during the term. Reading the remaining chapters in the textbook may also help you decide which kinds of writing to focus on for your remaining projects.

  • The midterm exam is also available. The midterm logistics are different from the quizzes, so please be aware of the following guidelines:

    • The midterm is an open-book exam on Chapters 1 to 15 of Markel’s Practical Strategies for Technical Communication.
    • The questions are taken from the same question banks as the reading quizzes.
    • You can take as much time as you need, but you must complete the exam in one sitting. 
    • You have only ONE opportunity to complete the exam. Unlike the quizzes, there are not unlimited submissions. 
    • Just like on the quizzes, a grade of 85 or higher counts as a Pass. Anything lower then 85 counts as a Fail.
    • The midterm is due by 11:59 PM on October 24. The grace period ends at 11:59 PM on October 31.

Analysis Peer Review & Submission

Analysis Peer Review & Submission published on

This is the post for the week of September 13, 2016.

Readings for the Week of September 13

As necessary, read the following information

Work for the Week of September 13

By 11:59 PM Wednesday (9/14)
Give feedback to the two classmates who are assigned to you, following the instructions on the course website.

After 12:01 AM on Thursday (9/15)
Revise your draft based on the peer feedback you received, using the Canvas Documentation to find your peers’ feedback.

By 11:59 PM Monday (9/19)
Submit your revised draft, following these instructions. If you need more time, use the grace period and turn in your work by 11:59 PM on September 26. 

Analysis Project Overview

Analysis Project Overview published on

This is the post for the week of September 6, 2016.

Readings for the Week of September 6

For this week’s session, please read the following:

If you want to get ahead, you can also read the following:

  • Chapter 6 of Markel, “Writing for Your Readers”
  • Chapter 7 of Markel, “Designing Print and Online Documents”
  • Chapter 8 of Markel, “Creating Graphics”

Slideshow for the Week of September 6

Get started on your project, by working through the slides in this Analysis Project Overview & Tips Slideshow:

Work for the Week of September 6

  • Follow the instructions on the Participation Log page to begin tracking your participation in the course. Thanks to those of you who have already set up your logs.

  • Complete the quiz or response for the week’s readings:

  • Begin work on your Analysis Project by following the advice in the slideshow above. Your table needs a minimum of 10 kinds of writing, but you can add more if you want to have more to choose from as you decide on the projects for the rest of the term.

  • Watch the main page for our course in Canvas for additional resources as I get them online. I aim to have the major project assignments for the rest of the term online in the next week.

Ethics in Your Field

Ethics in Your Field published on

This is the post for the week of August 30, 2016.

Since this is a short week, we’re going to begin focusing on your individual fields, but we won’t have any major projects to work on. I will get more details up on the major projects for the term online in the next week.

Readings for the Week of August 30

For this week’s session, please read the following:

  • Chapter 2 of Markel, “Understanding Ethical and Legal Obligations”

If you want to get ahead, also read the following:

  • Chapter 4 of Markel, “Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose”

Work for the Week of August 30

Please complete these tasks by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, September 6 (you get an extra day because of the holiday):

Intro to Technical Writing

Intro to Technical Writing published on

This is the post for the week of August 23, 2016.

This site is the official home for our Fall 2016 course (CRNs #83753 and #83754). Information on all assignments, weekly activities, and related resources will be posted here. Check this site regularly for the details on what to do for the course.

Readings for the Week of August 23

For this week’s session, please read the following:

Live WebEx for the Week of August 23

Assuming I can make the technology work, I will host a short WebEx session to go over some basic information about the course and provide a short tour of the website. Look for me around 2 PM Tuesday, August 23 in my WebEx room. The session will be recorded and posted here once I download and convert it.

Work for the Week of August 23

Please complete these tasks by 11:59 PM on Monday, August 29:

  • Confirm that your notifications in Canvas are set the way you want them. Note that Canvas uses your notification preferences to determine whether to email you or text you (or not tell you at all) about information in the site. See the section "How do I adjust my notification preferences?" in the Student Getting Started with Canvas Guide for more information on setting up your notifications. Note that for any time-critical announcements, I will email the class.

  • Verify that you understand how the course works:
    Go to the Discussions tool in Canvas, and respond to these posts:

  • Get to know one another by participating in two Discussions in Canvas:

Welcome to English 3764

Welcome to English 3764 published on

Surprise! People with Stronger Writing Skills Are Better at their Jobs, Get Paid MoreWelcome to the Fall 2016 session of Technical Writing. The Fall Term begins on Monday, August 22, 2016.

To prepare for the course, please do these things:

1. Buy the book. If you want the physical copy, you need to order it ASAP so that you have before reading quizzes are due. The ebook version is fine, and you will have it faster obviously.

2. Go ahead and check out theses pages on the course website:

3. If you have any questions, you can log into Canvas and ask in the Discussion forum for Questions about the Syllabus and/or Course Logistics. Naturally, if you have a personal question, you can send me an email message at tengrrl at vt.edu.

4. Watch for a post around midnight on Tuesday, September 23, with the instructions for the first week of class. This first week, I will also email a reminder. Additionally, activities in Canvas will not be ready until Tuesday.

 
 
 

[Image: Detail from Why Good Writing Is Needed for Better Jobs]

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