Course Documents
Course Resources
Course Schedule
Unit 1 – Technical Writing and the Reader-Centered Approach
Week 1
1/13 :: Course introduction, class minutes and chapter summary sign-ups, read the Purdue OWL email etiquette resource and send me a hello message following those guidelines
1/15 :: Read chapter 1 of Technical Communication Today (TCT) and read the Project 1, Project 2, and Project 3 assignment sheets above; choose which track (service-learning or traditional) you will follow this term
Week 2
1/20 :: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, no class; read ahead in TCT to prepare for 1/22
1/21 :: Extra credit event: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II’s “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” presented for the 27th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation, Reitz Arena, 7 p.m.
1/22 :: Read TCT chapters 2 and 5; read author-centered Cover Letter and Résumé, reader-centered Cover Letter and Résumé, Nick’s Letter; review cover letter and résumé checklists; bring in your ad and some effective examples of job documents similar to the ones you will be composing
Week 3
1/27 :: Read TCT chapter 8, in-class instruction activity
1/29 :: Homework due; read TCT chapter 17
Week 4
2/3 :: Read TCT chapter 18, bring an effective and not-so-effective set of instructions to class
2/5 :: Read TCT chapter 16, the Purdue OWL’s Paramedic Method, and the Purdue OWL’s Five Principles of Readability
Week 5
2/10 :: Read about the group of Federal Government employees who support the use of plain language and the non-profit organization established to help organizations use plain language; read Flesch-Kincaid readability measures, and read-able.com; use these tests to ensure that all of your documents this term are between a Flesch-Kincaid Readability score of 7.0-8.0 and a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70; read this article on why we have to be careful when using readability scores; here’s the research article
2/12 :: Read TCT chapter 14; bring draft of instructions for workshop
Unit 2 – Technical Writing and the Workplace
Week 6
2/17 :: Project 1 due; re-read Project 2 assignment sheet and TCT chapter 15; review the Kellogg Logic Model above and read about Gantt charts ; service-learning team: read TCT chapter 3
2/19 :: Read this chapter about summaries
Week 7
2/24 :: Reflection 1 due; mid-term in-class review
2/26 :: Mid-term exam
2/28 :: Midterm grades (S or U, not A-F) due by 3:00 PM
Week 8
3/2 :: Spring break, no class
3/4 :: Spring break, no class
Week 9
3/9 :: Read Dubinsky (Dubinsky summary) and Ornatowski (Ornatowski summary)
3/11 :: Read TCT chapters 11 (chapter 11 summary) and 13 (chapter 13 summary) - Class cancelled
Week 10
3/16 :: Read Durack (Durack summary) and read about Aristotle’s three branches of oratory (rhetoric) from Silva Rhetoricae - Class cancelled
3/17 :: 4:30 PM Zoom test run
3/18 :: Read “What Makes a Successful Online Learner”; discuss chapter summaries from TCT chapters 11 and 13 as well as summary of Durak. Read and discuss summary of Katz’s “The Ethic of Expediency“; write down any words, terms, or concepts that you’re confused about; 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? Send your answers to me and be prepared to discuss them during our online session on 3/23
Week 11
3/23 :: Read TCT chapter 4 (chapter 4 summary); read enough of these overviews or from reputable sources you find to gain a formative background on the enhanced interrogation techniques used by the U.S. after 9/11; read the CIA torture memo (give yourself some time; it’s long) (CIA memo summary) and answer these reading questions: 1. From the Johnson-Sheehan reading on ethics, 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 (please write at least one page) to class for discussion; in-class ethics case study assignment
3/25 :: Reflection 2 due; continue CIA memo discussion
Week 12
3/30 :: Bring project 2 drafts for workshop. Email your draft to your writing team and to me; read Usability.gov’s “Methods” pages: Planning a Usability Test, Running a Usability Test, Reporting Usability Test Results; email me one question on career paths and workplace writing for Dr. Hurter Brizee’s guest lecture on 4/1
4/1 :: Everyone login at 4:30 PM ET for the guest lecture on career paths and writing in the workplace from Stephanie H. Brizee, PhD, Loyola University Maryland Director of Planned Giving; read the testing process sheet and the testing protocols sheet, re-read the Project 3 sheet
Week 13
4/6 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET. Project 2 due - email them to me by class time using this file name protocol: wr326.lastname.project.2; prepare your testing protocols for and your Project 2 for testing; you will be running your tests with your writing teams, so they will need a copy of your Project 2. Run your first few usability sessions during class and finish them outside of our class sessions. Here is the usability test process we will follow
4/8 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET; testing continued; read the coding and analyzing data handout; online session for coding and analyzing
Week 14
4/13 :: Easter break, no class
4/15 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET; testing continued if necessary; coding and analyzing; re-read TCT chapter 19 and this Politico article on Loyola’s efforts to address Baltimore’s food deserts; in light of our recent discussions on the ethic of expediency, here’s an op/ed piece from the The Washington Post on the moral implications of ignoring health experts’ guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19; no grammar and mechanics exam
Week 15
4/20 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET; coding and analyzing continued; open work day for Project 3 - read an example of a previous student’s usability report. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good. For instance, major sections could be split between pages more effectively, and when you do your report, you shouldn’t use the Step 1., Step 2. organization. Just follow the IMRaD structure.
4/22 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET; project 3 outline due; read the Visual Literacy Presentation, the presentation checklist, and the workplace attire handout to prepare for your presentation; read TCT chapter 20
Week 16
4/27 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET; project 3 draft due for workshop; presentations, course evaluations - we’re not doing presentations this term
4/29 :: Everyone login at 4:30 ET; project 3 draft due for workshop 2; last day of class, class wrap up: what worked, what didn’t work, what should be revised? presentations, con’t. - we’re not doing presentations this term
5/8 :: Final exam at 9:00 AM on Zoom. Project 3 and your revised project (if you choose to do one) are due on exam day. 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