Module Overview for Week of July 9: Introduction to Technical Writing
Technical writing is any kind of writing you might be called upon to produce for an audience in your particular workplace, whether you are training to be a technical writer, computer scientist, an electrical engineer, a biochemist, a financial consultant, or something else. The term refers not only to complex, lengthy, heavily-illustrated documents like reports and user guides, but also to shorter pieces of writing like memos, letters, and progress reports.
The Society for Technical Communication Links to an external site., a professional society to which many professional and technical writers belong, defines such writing as
- Communicating about technical or specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or environmental regulations.
- Communicating by using technology, such as web sites, help files, or social media sites.
- Providing instructions about how to do something, regardless of how technical the task is or even if technology is used to create or distribute that information.
Technical writing tasks might extend—depending upon your career—to designing user documentation, producing white papers for a product or service, or setting up and maintaining web sites, from text to visuals to code. Technical writing is anything you do as a writer in your field, regardless of whether you are a scientist, an engineer, an architect, or a high school teacher.
This module introduces you not only to the concept of professional writing in general but also to several foundational principles upon which your writing for this course should be built: the characteristics of technical communication, audience analysis, and ethics.
Objectives for this Module
After completing this introductory module, you will be able to
- Analyze the intended audience for your written communication. (CLO 1)
- Determine rhetorical strategies for persuading your intended audience. (CLO 1)
- Evaluate the ethical implications of your communications. (CLO 1, 2)
- Explain and apply the principles of plain language to your written communications. (CLO 1)
Note that you can find the full text of the Course Learning Objectives on the Syllabus.
Readings for the Week of July 9
Please complete all readings before beginning the quizzes for this module. This material introduces concepts you will need to successfully apply the objectives stated above.
- Analysis of Writing in Your Field (Major Project Assignment)
- Markel & Selber, Ch. 1: “Understanding the Technical Communication Environment”
- Characteristics of a Technical Document (extra summary of list from the chapter)
- Markel & Selber, Ch. 2: “Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations”
- Principles for Ethical Communication (extra summary of list from the chapter)
- Markel & Selber, Ch. 3: “Writing Technical Documents”
- Markel & Selber, Ch. 5: “Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose”
- Determining the Important Characteristics of Your Audience (extra summary of list from the chapter)
- Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs)
- #TuesdayTutorial: Resources on How to Use Canvas (available 07/09)
- #WednesdayWrite: What Counts as Academic Dishonesty? (available 07/10)
- #ThursdayThought: F-Shaped Reading Pattern (available 07/11)
- #FridayFact: Centered Text Is Harder to Read (available 07/12)
Activities for the Week of July 9
Time Required: 12–16 hours, including reading time
Available Points: 1400
Due Dates:
- Thursday, July 11 at 11:59 PM: Rough Draft due for those who want individualized editing or revision feedback.
- Friday, July 12 at 11:59 PM: All activities and drafts due.
- Monday, July 15 at 11:59 PM: Grace period ends for all work.
Daily Discussion Posts Activities
(75 minutes—4 posts @ ~15 minutes each plus self-assessment @ ~10 minutes)
- Contribute to any or all of the following Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs) in Canvas:
- #TuesdayTutorial: Resources on How to Use Canvas (available 07/09)
- #WednesdayWrite: What Counts as Academic Dishonesty? (available 07/10)
- #ThursdayThought: F-Shaped Reading Pattern (available 07/11)
- #FridayFact: Centered Text Is Harder to Read (available 07/12)
- Complete the DDP Self-Assessment for the Week of July 9 Quiz to report the work you did and record your score (100 points). Be sure to read the self-assessment at the beginning of the week so that you understand the expectations.
Writing Activities
(~9 hours, including time to write)
- Complete the any or all of the following Major Writing Project activities (900 points total).
- These activities contribute to the first Major Writing Project in the course, Analysis of Writing in Your Field.
- Research Writing in Your Field (50 points)
- Brainstorm on Workplace Audiences (50 points)
- Analysis Project: Rough Draft (200 points)
- Check for Parallelism (50 points)
- Check for Professional Design (50 points)
- Check for Content Completion & Documentation (50 points)
- Editing and Proofreading (50 points)
- Analysis Project: Final, Finished Draft (400 points)
- These activities contribute to the first Major Writing Project in the course, Analysis of Writing in Your Field.
- Complete the Writing Activities Self-Assessment for the Week of July 9 quiz to report the work you did (other than the rough draft and final, finished draft) and record your score. I will grade your Rough Draft and Final, Finished Draft, according to the expectations listed in the assignment.
Other Activities
(80 minutes—4 quizzes @ ~20 minutes each, excluding reading time)
- Complete the Readings Quizzes.
- These quizzes cover the readings shown above and are designed to assess your familiarity with concepts you will need to know to produce deliverables for this module. These quizzes are the following:
- Ask any questions about the course in the General Q and A Discussion (0 points) in Canvas.
- Check the General Q and A Discussion for answers before posting.
- Asking a question is not required. Use the Inbox tool in Canvas for questions about grades or personal information that should not be shared with the class.
Photo credit: null by Beryl Chan on Flickr Links to an external site., used under public domain.