ENGL4100: Writing in the Professions

Instructor: Dr. D.E. Haley

Term: Fall 2004

Time/Place: Burl. 204; W 6:00-8:45 p.m.

Course Description: Prepare to suspend reality and enter the world of HalCorp, a fictional company that will serve as the focus for this course. We're compressing several years of employment into a single term. You will begin the semester as an applicant to HalCorp, progress through several company assignments, and end with a multi-media conference presentation based on your years of HalCorp experience. Working alone and in small groups, using the computer, internet, and multimedia resources available in the English Department Computer Lab, you will produce a portfolio of work that will be assessed as your final examination. Among the writing assignments and exercises that make up this class are persuasive letters, resumes, proposals and bids, project reports, and conference multimedia presentations. Along the way you'll learn about using the computer to extend the writing process and to facilitate process interruption; the importance of layout/format in technical and professional writing; research and collaboration via networks (and in the larger context of the internet); electronic writing groups; and writing for the World Wide Web. Although you will learn about computers and the internet as part of the class, the focus of the course is writing in a workshop environment.
Note: This is a UIT-intensive course.

Course Policy Required Text Class Assignments Tentative Class Outline

Course Grade and Grading Scale About Portfolio Assessment ETSU English Department Back to My Home Page

REQUIRED TEXT

Pearsall, Thomas E., Donald Cunningham, and Elizabeth Smith. How to Write for the World of Work, 6th edition. Boston: Thompson Learning, 2000. ISBN # 0-15-507903-4

Additional Materials:
(1) Internet Access: By the end of the first week in class, you must have established the ability to email me from somewhere other than the English Department Computer Lab. Generally this means you'll have to arrange for "dial-up access" to the internet (either through the University, if available, or through an Internet Service Provider).
(2) Internet Browsing: Since you'll need internet access if you are to check syllabus/course outline changes, and if you are to successfully complete all the assignments for this course, you'll need access to the internet as mentioned  above. Email is the beginning; however, you'll also be "surfing the net" early in the semester.
(3) Data Storage: You must have one CD-RW disk, on which you'll store your materials for this course. At the end of the term you'll turn in the CD with your portfolio (meaning that you won't get it back, so don't use the CD for any other courses). Be certain you don't purchase a CD-R disk by mistake -- you can write to a CD-R once; data can be added to CD-RW disks fairly easily, in a process similar to saving to a floppy disk.  You  may want onr or two 3.5-inch diskettes for data storage; ideally, you'll have several on hand. I suggest that you keep your disks in a portable storage box (we'll discuss ways to protect your disk). Under no circumstances are you to attempt to keep all your information on the hard drives in the EDCL.
(4) Portfolio Organizers: You need two file folders for your Portfolio. You'll need these to keep the Portfolio organized into their two basic sections: Assignments and Projects. These file folders must be letter-size (the color doesn't matter, but they must be new).

Optional Materials:
You may want to purchase a small floppy disk carrier (I'll show you a couple of examples, if you haven't seen them before). When you take data out of the lab on disk, protect it with a carrier–many people don't realize that scientific calculators and other typical book-bag items can erase the data from a disk!

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COURSE POLICY

Basic Skills: I expect you to begin this course with rudimentary typing and internet browsing abilities. Do not expect me to spend class time teaching these very basic skills.
Attendance: You MUST attend class. Exams, quizzes, and paper topics may be drawn from class discussion and other material not in your textbook. There are NO excused absences in this class. Notes from the health center, your therapist, faculty or staff in other ETSU programs, or others do not constitute an excuse absence in this course--please don't show me such notes. The ETSU English Department's policy concerning absences clearly states that three absences constitute failure in a once-a-week course; due to the cumulative nature of this class, you will find it difficult to pass the course if you accumulate more than two absences. You may, occasionally, arrive late to class--by "occasionally," I mean once or twice during the semester, and by "late" I mean five or six minutes.. Repeated tardiness will be recorded as absence from class (scale: one absence for each two "tardies"). Note: If you must be absent from class in order to complete work for another class, or to attend or participate in University activities, you will still be "counted absent." NOTE WELL: You will receive an "F" for this course if you accumulate more than eight absences. In addition, I will reduce your final percentage grade by two percent (2%) for each absence.
The Workshop Environment: I've set up a workshop environment for this class. Keep in mind, however, that this is a class, which makes the atmosphere somewhat more formal than some other workshops. What this means is that you may not disrupt the class by arriving late or leaving early (without my permission), nor may you bring visitors (i.e., your spouse, therapist, or child) to class.
Email: ALWAYS begin the "subject line" of your email with the identifier, ENGL4100; I get a lot of email from list-serves and individuals, and may miss yours if you don't clearly identify yourself. Also, first line of the "body" (or text area) of your email message must contain your name; although many email programs allow your full name in the "sender" area of the message, typing your name as the first line of every email to me assures that I'll know who you are, no matter what email program you use.
Electronic Communications Devices: Other than those we share in class, you will disarm any noise-making devices you carry (i.e., cellular phones, beepers, small children).
A Note About Children: Under no circumstances should you bring a child into the computer laboratory. The university's insurance does not cover non-students in laboratories, nor do I wish to compete with the obvious attractions of the average tot. If you are concerned that your child care provider may not be available during all of your class hours, I strongly suggest you make arrangements for another provider to take over during these times. You will not receive an "excused absence" for any reason. This policy includes family emergencies, sudden nuclear attack--anything short of your own demise.
Plagiarism: At this point I expect you know that plagiarism is presenting in any way, deliberately or not, the work of another person as your own. The penalty for plagiarism is outlined in university policy, and I will strictly enforce it. All ETSU students agree to the University's Honor Code; if you're not already familiar with that code, I suggest you read it at your earliest opportunity.
Deadlines: These are NOT NEGOTIABLE. I will impose severe penalties upon work that is submitted late -- those penalties may include, but are not limited to, assigning a failing grade to the late assignment or reducing of final or late work grade.
Appointments: In most weeks you may visit me without appointment. You may also make an appointment to see me during office hours or at other times. I encourage you to meet with me as often as you need to. By the way, some professors consider failure to show up for an appointment to be evidence of a character flaw or "controlling personality."
Students With Disabilities: If you have a disability that should be brought to my attention, please have the appropriate University office send me appropriate documentation. ETSU has well-established guidelines for faculty and students to use in determining what arrangements should be make for students with disabilities.
On Professional Academic Behavior: This is an "upper-level" class. I am not your parent or guardian, nor am I a morals monitor. I don't care what internet sites you access (the EDCL does not keep track of users' internet sessions); however, when you're in my class you may not entertain yourself by using the computer for activities not directly related to this class. Neither may you change any of the desktop or system settings on the lab computers. I am not interested in discussing with you, in or out of class, issues such as restricting access to certain internet sites, private behavior on the internet (other than behavior that directly affects this class), or business opportunities involving computers, the internet, or writing. You may not use the lab for non-academic work; you may not install or use "chat" software or games in the lab, nor may you print out long, personal documents using lab equipment.

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ABOUT YOUR PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT

Your grade for this course will be determined via a programmed portfolio assessment. Each assignment will be assessed on a five-layer scale; at the end of the term, your Portfolio of assignments will be assessed using a similar rubric. The point values for each assignment, and for the final assessment, will be distributed among these five layers (the percent values I've given are based on a 100% scale). Each of you will have a file, in which you'll put your assignments and other materials as instructed–this is your Portfolio. Although the individual assignments are explained in detail later in the syllabus, I want to list and explain, here, the five levels of grade that each assignment may receive:

CREATING YOUR PORTFOLIO
    Note Well: Never take your Portfolio out of the lab. If you need to review information in it, save drafts of the texts you need on a 3.5" disk and take that out of the lab. The EDCL is monitored at all open times; the lab staff will attempt to keep an eye on your Portfolio while you're away. If your Portfolio is empty, missing, or incomplete when I evaluate an assignment or project, I will decrease your grade accordingly. This course is non-competitive, in that how well one student performs does not affect the grade another student receives–so there's no reason for anyone to pilfer or otherwise rifle your Portfolio.
    At the end of the semester I will evaluate, for a grade, your entire Portfolio–it's in your best interests that you keep your Portfolio neat and in order. Here's the basic organizational strategy:

• Label the two file folders you've put in your Portfolio "Reviews" and "Projects."
• Keep the materials in your file folders in reverse chronological order. That means that the older projects will be at the bottom of the stack of materials in the folder.
• Put your disk(s) and, if appropriate, CD(s), in the pocket of your hanging folder (Portfolio). As the end of the semester, you will be required to submit some of your class materials or disk.
• At the beginning of each class, remove your Portfolio from the filing cabinet. At the end of class, place your Portfolio in the cabinet, in alphabetical order and with your name facing the front of the cabinet. I know this sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people just don't think about this. If you arrive late (though I'm not expecting that you ever will), you may not disrupt my lecture or a student's presentation to access your Portfolio–wait until there's a break.

    If you want to record any of the data from your Portfolio, you may photocopy the materials; at the end of the term I'll allow you to remove, briefly, that material from the lab. Do not remove material from your Portfolio until I give you permission, and never take the entire contents of the Portfolio out of the lab! I will keep the original documents in your Portfolio, including the disk(s) containing your final data; however, I won't use your name in research or teaching without written permission from you.

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COURSE GRADE AND GRADING SCALE

For your semester grade, I follow the following scale:

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A TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE

As the semester progresses, this outline may (read will) change. Check your course outline regularly. The "Final Drafts Due" dates are particularly tentative; however, unless I tell you otherwise, these dates will apply.

Week One W – Sept. 1: Introduction to the Course; Creating A Persuasive Cover Letter; Web Page Review Week Two W – Sep. 8: Templates and formatting exercises; Workshop (cover letter); Workshop (resume) Week Three W – Sep. 15: Guidelines for Web Assignment I; Workshop (web assignment); Web Assignment I Due Week Four W – Sep. 22: Project I Due; Basic Formats for Proposals and Bids; Memo and Bid Formats Week Five W – Sep. 29: Advanced MS Word (tables, graphics & image editing);  Small Group Work Week Six W – Oct. 6: Project II Due; Web Assignment 2 (workshop and Due); Your Report Scenario Week 7 W – Oct. 13: Internet Supplement; Workshop (Technology & MS Word, Excel); Workshop (more graphics & tables) Week 8 W – Oct. 20: NO CLASS (Fall Break)

Week 9 W – Oct. 27:Web Assignment 3 Due;  Sample Reports Week 10 W – Nov. 3: Q&A Session (format, graphics); Workshop (Preparing Project III) Week 11 W – Nov. 10: Project III Due; Introduction to MS PowerPoint; Guidelines for Conference Presentations: Workshop (basic PowerPoint vistuals) Week 12 W – Nov. 17: Web Assignment 4 Due; Small Group Work (Preparing Project IV); Q&A Session (more PowerPoint); Using the Lab Scanner Week 13 W – Nov. 24    NO CLASS (Thanksgiving) Week 14 M – Nov. 27: Technology Workshop (integrated presentations) W – Dec. 1: Workshop (Preparing Project IV); Technology Workshop (Integrated Presentations); FINAL PRESENTATIONS BEGIN Week 15 W – Dec. 8: FINAL PRESENTATIONS Web Assignment 5 Due; All Portfolio Materials and Revisions Due; Submit Portfolios

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CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

Web Site Review Form

Project I: Persuasive Cover Letter/Resume

Project II: Proposal/Bid

Project III: Report

Project IV: Multi-Media Presentation

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Project I: The Persuasive Cover Letter and Resume

The Scenario: Begin the semester by giving yourself a little authority. Assume you are already a technical writer, and are interested in expressing your upward movility through a change in employment. HalCorp sounds like just the vheicle you need!
The Project: This project is in two parts: (1) a persuasive cover letter and (2) an equally impressive resume. For your first assignment, you'll write a cover letter to accompany your resume (the second half of Project I), in response to the following advertisement:

HalCorp, a multi-national corporation, seeks motivated individuals with technical or professional writing skills for entry level positions. Other requirements include [YOUR PERSONAL INTEREST HERE]. Job to begin immediately. Send resumes with cover letters to: D.E. Haley, World Resources Manager, HalCorp, 2000 Portfolio Drive, Suite 204, Johnson City, TN 37614.

• "Freewrite" a rough draft of your cover letter, including your qualifications for the job. You'll use Microsoft Word for this assignment.
• Using your rough draft as a template, edit your cover letter and produce a second rough draft.
• Here you'll meet with your small group, and will comment (in writing) on the members' drafts.
• From the comments you receive, you'll produce a third rough draft of your cover letter.
• Using materials from lecture (and from your textbook), edit your third draft and produce your final draft.
• Staple together all the materials, in chronological order (with the oldest material at the back), and place the packet in your portfolio. NOTE: This will be a final step for each assignment, so I won't repeat this in my description of the other projects.

The Resume: Part II of this project is your Resume. Using the templates from your textbook, along with information from lecture and the sage advice of your instructor, you'll prepare this document as an accompaniment to your cover letter. We'll work on this project in class, via workshops and one-on-one sessions. 
Data You'll Need: Before you begin your resume, you should gather the following information:

• Lists of honors, awards, achievements, and other activities you want to present to a potential employer
• The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and (ideally) email addresses of at least three references
• The names and addresses of former employers, along with the names of a contact person for each

For your resume you are allowed two approaches: (1) a real resume, that you might use in the near future, or (2) a totally or partially fictional resume, in which you list bogus information that you feel meets the requirements of the assignment. Grade-wise, I won't favor either approach.

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Project II: The Proposal/Bid

The Proposal Situation: O.K.—your resume and cover letterimpressed the people at HalCorp, and you’ve got the job. Now you’re a professional technical writer in the field of [INSERT YOUR FIELD HERE]. You arrive for work, first day on the job, and discover that you’re the ONLY tech writer in your department! That may be a good thing; however, your department doesn’t have the equipment you need to do your job. You have a nice, large office--with nothing in it except a telephone, a network connection, and three empty Diet Cola cans. You mention this to your new supervisor, Heesa Creape, and he tells you to write a proposal to purchase or otherwise equip your office. Since HalCorp’s stock is up 200 pts., you figure that the company can afford to spend as much money as it takes. Now you have to write the report.
     Project III and IV come together, in that you’ll write a Proposal/Bid for Proj. III and turn that into a Report for Proj. IV. For this project, you’ll develop a plan (proposal) for outfitting a tech writer’s office; that plan includes the costs (a sort of bid) for the materiel you’ll need.
The Proposal Audience:  Me. That is, Dr. D.E. Haley, who has been promoted to Vice-President for Development and Accounts Payable. You’ll bypass Mr. Creape (who is delighted). As V.P.D.A.P., I have a lot on my plate—and I’ve never heard of your department, nor have I ever authorized funds for tech writing offices or equipment. You discover this at the water cooler, where you’ve had several conversations with my secretary. This information gives you some idea as to the level of technicality, etc., that you’ll use in the Proposal/Bid. In addition to materials you receive in class, you'll use the following rubric to complete Project II:

• Using your imagination and Internet resources (along with software, catalogs, or other material you may have on hand, including material I may supply in the lab), you will create a list of the equipment (i.e., software, hardware, texts) you need. You can assume that, as with most large corporations, your department's supply officer will furnish basic desk accessories, paper, and other standard materials. What you need to concentrate on, here, is equipment that a technical writer might need that the average office worker doesn't.
• Type your list into a word processing program; this constitutes Draft #1 of your Proposal/Bid. Don't forget to include such important items as price, source, ordering information, and exact model number.
• Small Group work; evaluation/review of Draft #1.
• Append Draft #1 to a statement of need and a description of the problem (we'll discuss the methodology in class); this is Draft #2
• Open Forum: this is a Q&A session designed to help you clearly state your problem.
• Using the Tables function of MS Word, create a table containing the information you gathered and presented in Draft 2; along wiht your revised introduction, this constitutes Draft #3.
• More group work. Here your goal is to evaluate the introduction and to examine the appearance of your group members' drafts. You'll use the information you receive from your group to revise and produce Draft #4, your FINAL DRAFT.
• Self-evaluation, using models I will provide.
  

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Project III: The Report

The Report Situation: Now that you've written your proposal (Project II), you discover that the "powers that be" at HalCorp aren't in any hurry. You are to write a report, including many details about the furnishings for your office that you didn't put in your proposal/bid. Here's where you get to do some research--and to furnish explanation that (1) establishes your authority as a technical writer, (2) justifies the purchase of equipment for your office, and (3) serves as your first real technical document for HalCorp. The company's V.P.D.A.P. plans to hire a number of technical writers to fill new positions in several departments; as we discovered during Project III, he knows diddly about tech writing, and he wants you to do the leg-work for him.
The Report Purpose: The V.P. wants a report that explains why specialized equipment is needed for a technical writer's office. He isn't interested in why the office should have a desk, or clock, or chair--he wants information about the considerable amount of equipment (and money) that HalCorp will have to commit to each such office. You've impressed him with your proposal; he considers you qualified to write this report, and expects you to furnish him with valuable data. You will take information from your bid, combine that information with research you conduct on the Internet, and relate your data in an efficient, usable way. Expect your group reviewers to comment on the usability and style of your document.
The Report Audience: Primarily the V.P.--and, as we've established, that's me. The level of discourse should be formal, moderately technical, and detailed.  
The Report Type: This is a solicited, internal, analytical report (see Chapter 24 in your text).

Step I: Gleaning. Here you'll "strip" the information you need from your proposal/bid, and you'll determine what additional information you'll need. Remember the M.A.P. points we've discussed. This information constitutes very Rough Draft #1.
Step II: Establishing Authority. Your report won't be believable if you don't establish yourself as qualified to give it--in other words, you must become an authority. You've already convinced the V.P. that you're qualified as a technical writer; now you'll convince him that you're an authority when it comes to purchasing equipment for a tech writer's office. Using information from your textbook (and form the Internet and lectures), you'll put together an introduction to your report. This will be Rough Draft #2.
Step III: Creating the Format.  Using material from the "General Model for Analytical Reports" (pg. 529 in your text), you'll form the sub-headings for your report. You'll also begin to distribute data among the sub-headings. You'll print out this information (with the previous stuff) as Rough Draft #3.
Step IV: Inserting Graphics. This project requires at least two graphics--you can "borrow" them from the Internet, or you can scan them from your own samples. In this step you'll determine the nature of your graphics; find and copy them; and add them to your work. This constitutes Rough Draft #4.
Step V: Polishing Your Draft. At this point you should have a draft of the entire report. You'll distribute your draft to your small group, garner and evaluate their input, and make necessary changes. It's very important, here, that you and your group examine each draft for readability, using the guidelines in your text (and the information I provide in lecture).
Step VI: Aesthetics. If Step V is analogous to washing your car, this step represents the wax job. You and your group will examine drafts for balance; grammar, usage, and mechanics; placement, size, and design of graphics; and other things that might interfere with visual coherence. You'll pretend that you're printing this draft on very nice paper--actually, you'll be using what we have on hand in the lab. The result of this effort will be your Final Draft.

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Project IV: The Multi-Media Presentation

The Report Scenario: We're entering a time warp, here. You've been with HalCorp for 10 years now, and have received very high ratings on your employee evaluations. Your work has been so good that Dr. Haley, who has worked his way up to C.E.O., has decided to send you to a conference in your field. You've got to come up with something to present; however, Dr. Haley's connections ensure that any topic you choose will be accepted for presentation.
The Audience: The conference will be attended by technical writers from a variety of fields; you may be the only expert in the area of your presentation.
The Report Type: Your multi-media presentation will be of no less than 8 and no more than 10 minutes. You must use the LCD overhead display, and you must have at least one handout. In this project you'll extend the information you gathered in Project III, incorporating that data into Microsoft PowerPoint and presenting it to the class. To spell it out, your presentation should conform to the following:

• You must use the LCD overhead display
• You must have at least one handout
• You must use at least two graphics; one of these may, but need not be, something you've scanned in the lab
• You must use MS PowerPoint presentation software (remember, if you work on this project outside of the lab, to save your work in PowerPoint 95 format).
• You must present the project, as you would at a professional conference. This means you'll dress for the occasion and, as an audience member for other student presentations, you'll play the part of an informed, interested colleague.
• You must submit, with your written materials for Project IV, a disk (floppy or CD-R but not CD-RW) containing your PowerPoint presentation and any graphics you used.

Using the Technology: For this presentation you must use Microsoft PowerPoint (available on all the computers in the lab, and on most of the computers in labs across campus). You will receive guidelines for using graphics (at least two external–not "clip art"–graphics are required). We'll discuss a variety of other options that you may use (but you're not required to use them).
The Portfolio Packet: When we begin work on this project, you'll receive a list of materials that must be placed in your Portfolio packet for Project IV. These materials include, but are not limited to, (1) the drafts and outlines of your emerging project, (2) a bibliography of materials, both textual and graphic, you use in the presentation, (3) a disk containing your PowerPoint presentation and any graphics that accompany it.

Click this button to see the evaluation rubric for this project.
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Web Site Review Form
Read these instructions carefully BEFORE filling out your form.

Roughly every three weeks, you'll complete and submit a Web Assignment. Eash assignment is worth 10 points, and the assignments will become part of your Portfolio (and will be evaluated with the other Portfolio materials at the end of the semester).

• Fill in ALL the information before you add the form to your portfolio.
• You must complete 10 reviews over the course of the semester. At the end of the semester I will evaluate all of your reviews as a single document (translation: the more thorough you are, the more likely you are to get the full 10 points). Quality counts as much as quantity, here.
• Refer to your handouts, Chapter 20 in your text, and your copious lecture notes for more information about the proper content for this form.
• Good Luck!

The following is a rough description of the assignments; you'll receive more information at the appropriate times:
Web Assignment 1: Web Page Evaluation
You'll be given a form to complete, and you'll submit the form manually.
Web Assignment 2: Web Site Evaluation
As in Assignment 1, you'll complete a form. This time you'll send it via email.
Web Assignment 3: A Personal Web Page (in HTML)
Web Assignment 4: Layout for a Commercial Web Site
Web Assignment 5: Revision of Assignment 4, with a "Front Page" in HTML

Click here to see a printable web page review form
Click this button to see some examples of web page types


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Tentative Evaluation Form for Multi-Media Presentation
(Scale: 1-5 points, ascending qualitatively)

Process: 1. Began with Clear Purpose 2. Command of Material 3. Creativity of Approach 4. Integration of Handouts/Visuals 5. Gave Sufficient Information 6. Clarity of Conclusion 7. Cited Sources

Product: 8. Quality of Handouts 9. Quality of Visuals 10. Gave Sufficient Information 11. Clarity of Instructor’s Copy

Presentation/Style: 12. Confidence/Relaxed Pose 13. Pronounced/Spoke Well 14. Good Posture/Eye Contact 15. Appropriate Gestures, etc.

Of the TOTAL POINTS for this project, 75% are from the actual presentation (determined by the above rubric) and 25% from your instructor's evaluation of this project and the accompanying materials in your Portfolio. Of the final 25%, points will be distributed as follows:

Superior (21-25 points)
Acceptable (16-20 points)
Marginal (11-15 points)
Possible/Provisional (6-10 points)
Unacceptable (0-5 points)

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