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Professor Dr. Ann Brady:
STC-STA DirectorPhone 487-2066 mabrady@mtu.edu Office 329A Walker Office Hours
Tuesday & Thursday 1:00-2:00 And, by appointment Course Title HU3120: Technical and Scientific Communication Time & Place Tuesday & Thursday 3:35-4:50 Walker 134 Course Texts • Writing for the Technical Professions, 3rd edition
• Seleted readingsClass Listserv 3120stc-l@mtu.edu Class Website http://www.hu.mtu.edu/~mabrady Course Description
Technical and Scientific Communication is the study of written and oral communication in professional settings. It emphasizes audiences, writing processes, genres, visual communication, collaboration, professional responsibility, and clear expression.Course Goals
3120 seeks to familiarize you with representative communication demands of today’s workplace. Specifically, it offers you strategies for:1. Professional planning, drafting, and revising
2. Professional writing for a variety of audiences
3. Participating in a professional design team
4. Designing visually effective texts
5. Reviewing your own work, as well as that of others
Course Policies
Email and course materials:
Check your email regularly since I will use the class listserv to post updates, explain assignments, and clarify readings.
Academic honesty:
Unless the assignment calls for a collaborative effort, I expect that the work you submit will be yours. If you are referring to, or using, other sources, including your own work from another class or project, remember to acknowledge them, using proper form. Evidence of copied or plagiarized work is cause for serious disciplinary action by the University.
If you have questions about your work with other sources, see me. I consider learning how to document sources a challenge; if you don’t remember how to do this—or never learned—this is the class to secure that technique.
Attendance:
I expect you to attend every class meeting and conference, on time and ready to participate fully and thoughtfully. You are permitted two free absences. If you miss three to four classes, I will drop your final grade. If you miss five or more, I will fail you.
Replacement work:
Keep electronic copies of your work since you are responsible for replacing it should it be misplaced.
Late work:
I will not accept late work, unless you make arrangements with me well in advance of the deadline.
Collaborative work:
Group members are responsible for working as a team. Appraise each other of your current work by emailing drafts at the end of each day. Workplace teams experience, and manage, scheduling conflicts. I expect you to do the same.
Discrimination and Harassment:
MTU complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA) of 1990. If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation for access to education and services at MTU, please call Dr. Gloria Melton, Dean of Students (7-2212). For other concerns about discrimination, you may contact your advisor, department chair, or the Affirmative Action office (7-3310).
Assignments
Reading:
I expect you to read the texts assigned on the calendar before the assigned class session and to be prepared to engage in a discussion of them. Expect quizzes on the reading.
Writing/Designing/Speaking:
Although I may modify the assignment topics and due dates during the semester, I plan five major assignments for this class; due dates are listed in the course calendar. I will distribute detailed assignments at the beginning of each project. Read them carefully. Save all your class materials and take notes on your progress throughout the term. Doing so will help you remember what you’ve worked on and thus make the portfolio project easier to complete.
1. Reading and composing scientific and technical report
2. Writing for users/user documentation
3. Recommending for problem solving
4. Writing career documents
5. Developing a persuasive portfolio
Reviews:
When I review drafts of your writing, email them to me as Word document attachments. I’ll use the “comment” function and return them to you, again as email attachments.
When peer draft reviews are scheduled for class, bring three sets of paper copies with you.
When I grade final drafts, turn paper copies into me, along with all the planning documents and drafts you have accumulated during the document cycle.
Grading
1. Reading and composing scientific reports 20%
2. User documentation 25%
3. Recommendation report cycle 20%
4. Résumé and cover letter 15%
5. Portfolio 10%
6. Social practices (engaged and courteous participation) 10%
If you have questions about your grade at any time during the semester, let me know so that we can discuss your progress
Grading Standards
You can earn an A or B in this class if you complete all assignments and reach deadlines, do quality work, and show some genuine commitment. You’ll earn a C if you meet deadlines with satisfactory effort or if some of your assignments are incomplete. You’ll receive a D or F if your assignments are poorly executed or overdue, or if your attendance, participation, or effort is unsatisfactory.
A—truly excellent.
A work is an example of highly effective professional writing. It makes its purposes clear, reflects concern for its audience’s needs and responses, and is detailed, persuasive, effectively organized, exhibits appropriate format and tone, and is grammatically correct.B—very good
B work is effective and would succeed in most professional communication circumstances. It may lack the polish or effectiveness of an A.C—satisfactory
C work is effective though it lacks features necessary to succeed completely with a professional audience. Its purpose may not be entirely clear, it may not be effectively organized, it may not exhibit an appropriate tone or format, or it entails grammatical errors that make it difficult to read or understand than necessary.D—poor
D work does not communicate effectively for several reasons. It may display an inadequate understanding of purpose or audience. It may lack information or b e unpersuasive. Its organization may be confusing or misleading, and its tone or format may be inappropriate. It may be difficult to understand or contain serious errors in grammar.F—unacceptable
F work does not satisfy the requirements of the assignment.
Grading Criterion
Content
Meets assignment Yes Yes Most aspects Significant gaps Argument Interestingly & clearly advanced Clearly advanced May be good, but only implied Ambiguous or absent, generic or trite Support Valid & sufficient support provided Some gaps or weak support Some support, but weak or not clearly relevent Poor support or connections not shown Insight Original & creative Demonstrates thought Conventional or generic Superficial or incomplete
Organization
Logical ordering Establishes & foll9ows a pattern Follows a pattern Generally follows a pattern; some gaps Unapparent pattern or hard to follow Paragraphs Coherent & unified Usually coherent and unified Some incoherent or not unified Incoherent or lacking unity Transitions Provided as needed Provided as needed Sometimes missing Enough missing to cause confusion
Style
Sentences Correct & varied, according to meaning Correct, with some variety Correct, but elementary Surface errors, such as comma splices or fragments Diction Precise, correct, creative Correct Some debatable word choices Frequent misuse of words Spelling Correct Correct Very few mistakes Misspellings confuse meaning