Course Resources
Course Schedule
Unit 1 – Writing and Your Career; The Reader-Centered Approach
Week 1 :: Project 1 Assignment Sheet
9/4 :: Course intro.; review syllabus; minutes sign-up sheet, reading summary sign-up sheet
Week 2
9/9 :: In-class writing and the Purdue OWL's email etiquette and email etiquette for students; read TC ch. 1, the syllabus, and the Project 1 Assignment Sheet
9/11 :: Service-learning team sign-up sheet; syllabus quiz; read the Project 3 Assignment Sheet for Individual work and for the Team project, and read the service-learning project checklists at the top of this page; read TC ch. 2; bring in your job ad; read the Purdue OWL’s resources on the rhetorical situation and audience analysis; you may want to start ch. 1 from Give and Take now – it’s long
Week 3
9/16 :: Read author-centered Cover Letter and Résumé, reader-centered Cover Letter and Résumé, Nick’s Letter; review cover letter and résumé checklists
9/18 :: Finish reading ch. 1 from Give and Take (use link above); reading questions: 1. What are Grant’s main points, and what is he arguing? 2. Were your impressions of success in the workplace changed at all? If so, why, if not, why not? 3. What are some connections you see between Grant’s points and professional writing and argument?; bring your answers (they can be a few sentences) to class for discussion
Week 4
9/23 :: Bring in your audience analysis draft; read TC ch. 3 and Bridget Ahrens’s dad’s notes on job docs and interviews
9/25 :: Bring in first drafts of your cover letters and résumés for workshop 1; read the Purdue OWL’s resource on the Paramedic Method and the Five Principles of Readability
Week 5
9/30 :: Reflection 1 due; read TC ch. 19 and ch. 21
10/1 :: Extra Credit Event - Loyola’s Commitment to Justice Panel: “Baltimore Health Justice in Action,” 7 PM, 4th Floor Program Room
10/2 :: Read Tuckman’s stages of group development; bring in second drafts of your cover letters and résumés for workshop 2; read Dubinsky’s “Service-Learning as a Path to Virtue.” Reading questions: 1. What are Dubinsky’s main points, and what is he arguing? 2. What are some ways that Dubinsky claims classical rhetoric influences professional writing? 3. What are the similarities and differences between service-learning and client work, and why do you think we need some form of experiential learning in professional writing? You may also want to read ahead for next week; bring your answers (they can be a few sentences) to class for discussion
Unit 2 – Reader-Centered Research
Week 6 :: Project 2 Assignment Sheet
10/7 :: Project 1 due; read the Project 2 Assignment Sheet; read “Stasis Theory as a Strategy for Workplace Teaming and Decision Making” originally published in the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 38.4 (2008): 363-385. Reading questions: 1. What are the article’s main points? 2. What is stasis theory? 3. What (if any) are the connections between stasis theory and technical writing? 3. How might you use stasis theory to help you begin research for your information report? Bring your answers (they can be a few sentences) to class for discussion
10/8 :: Extra Credit Event - Rebecca Makkai: Craft Talk, Writers at Work Series, Tuesday, October 8, 4:30 pm, Fourth Floor Programming Room
10/9 :: Read TC chs. 4 and 5; read Project 2 assignment sheet above; service-learning team read about the work other students have completed and the article on the York Road Commercial Plan (skim the original Baltimore City Anchor Plan from 2013 above)
Week 7
10/14 :: Read TC chs. 6 and 7 and the Stasis Worksheet; read Stasis Theory, and Stasis Methodology; in-class mid-term study session (mid-term grades due by 3:00 on – U = unsatisfactory, S = satisfactory)
10/16 :: Class canceled
Week 8
10/21 :: Mid-term exam
10/23 :: Read TC ch. 8, as well as the Purdue OWL’s resource on logic in argument; begin reading ch. 1 from The Purpose Economy; read the Declaration of Independence
Week 9
10/28 :: Read TC chs. 9 and 24; finish reading ch.1 from The Purpose Economy; read this resource on B Corporations
10/30 :: Read TC chs. 10 and 11
Week 10 :: Project 3 Assignment Sheet - Individual Work; Project 3 Assignment Sheet - Team Work
11/4 :: Bring four (3) copies of your Project 2 rough drafts for workshop; read the Project 3 assignment sheet above, TC ch. 15, and read about the Plain Language Act
11/6 :: Bring an electronic version of your Project 2 draft to class; read the Flesch-Kincaid Readability tests, and www.read-able.com; use these tests to ensure that your reports are between a Flesch-Kincaid Readability score of 7.0-8.0 and a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70; also read this article on why we have to be careful when using readability scores
11/8 :: Extra Credit Event - Kathleen Hall Jamieson, “Cyberwar: Coping with the challenges posed by trolls and hackers,” Friday, November 8th at 5 PM, McGuire Hall
Unit Three – Ethics
Week 11
11/11 :: Project 2 due; reflection 2 due; read about Aristotle’s three branches of oratory (rhetoric) from Silva Rhetoricae
11/13 :: Read Katz’s “The Ethic of Expediency“; reading questions: 1. What are Katz’s main points, and what is he arguing? 2. What are some ways that Katz claims classical rhetoric influences professional writing? 3. As contemporary workplace writers, why should we be concerned with the issues Katz discusses? 4. Write down any terms/concepts/words you don’t understand to discuss in class. Bring your answers (they can be a few sentences) to class for submission
11/13 :: Mission Centered Fair: Non-profs, government, etc. 11 AM - 2 PM, McGuire Hall
Week 12
11/18 :: Read enough of these overviews to gain a formative background on the enhanced interrogation techniques used by the U.S. after 9/1; read Johnson-Sheehan on ethics
11/20 :: Read the U.S. Department of Justice Memo and read the latest findings on these techniques from an article on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Reading questions: 1. From the Johnson-Sheehan reading, which area of ethics covers this issue? 2. What would you do if you were a technical writer assigned to edit the Department of Justice memo? 3. Why would you take that course of action based on what you read in the Johnson-Sheehan excerpt on ethics? 4. What are some connections/disconnections you notice between the Katz article and the Department of Justice Memo on enhanced interrogation? Bring your answers (they can be a few sentences) to class for discussion
Unit Four – Visual Literacy and Oral Presentations
Week 13
11/25 :: Read TC chs. 12 and 13 (summaries on 12/2); please schedule a meeting with me so I can see you project 3 drafts. Guest lecturer Dr. Stephanie Hurter Brizee will give a talk on delivering professional presentations. Bio: Dr. Hurter Brizee works for the U.S. Agency for International Development where she coordinates the U.S. government’s foreign policy and development objectives for U.S. civilian foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Previously, Dr. Hurter Brizee worked for the Department of State and George Mason University where she developed and led a series of democracy and human rights projects, as well as public history and digital humanities websites. Dr. Hurter Brizee received her PhD from George Mason University in American political history. In-class work day for presentations.
11/26 :: Thanksgiving break, no class
Week 14
12/2 :: Grammar and Mechanics Exam; read TC ch. 14 and the Visual Literacy Presentation, TC ch. 18, the presentation checklist, and the workplace attire handout to prepare for your presentation; read the Purdue OWL’s Visual Rhetoric resources
12/4 :: Presentations, course evaluations
Week 15
12/9 :: Presentations, reflection 3 due, last day of class
12/18 :: Exam Day – Read this article from The Washington Post on leading a happy life to connect back to The Purpose Economy; Project 3 and your revised project (if you choose to do one) are due on exam day. Meet at 1:00 PM in MD Hall 240. Attendance at your scheduled final exam time is required to pass this class. Please obtain university permission and let me know in advance if you need to reschedule your exam due to exam scheduling conflict.