Module Overview for Week of September 9: Introduction to Technical Writing, Part 2

Overview

Two women collaborating on a projectYou will submit your first Major Writing project, Analysis of Writing in Your Field. This week you will have time to finish your table and then complete several checks of your draft to ensure that you meet all of the requirements for the activity.

This project asks you to survey the kinds of writing people in your intended career field do and arrange the information in a table (like a benchmarking or comparison table). You’ll provide a short description of the different kinds of writing, identify the typical audiences and purposes, and classify the kinds of writing.

Your audience for this project is yourself. Your goal is to learn about the characteristics of the kinds of writing you will typically do in the workplace. This chart will be a go-to resource once you are in the workplace. You should be able to come back to this analysis to remind yourself of the kinds of features to include in whatever you are writing.

Objectives for this Module

After completing this module, you will be able to

  • Analyze the rhetorical situation and determine the appropriate audience or users of written communication, considering the needs of global audiences and people with disabilities. [CLO 1]
  • Conduct research appropriate to workplace problem solving, such as literature review, evaluation of online resources, interview, and site inspection. [CLO 2]
  • Interpret research findings with understanding of ethical and human implications. [CLO 3]
  • Apply principles of effective visual design for print and electronic presentation, including hierarchical, chronological, and spatial arrangements. [CLO 6]
  • Identify and apply the principles of effective style in the composing of usable, reader-centered written communications. [CLO 7]

Note that you can find the full text of the Course Learning Objectives on the Syllabus.

Readings for the Week of September 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.

  1. Markel & Selber, Ch. 3: “Writing Technical Documents”
  2. Markel & Selber, Ch. 5: “Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose”
  3. Daily Discussion Posts (DDPs)

Activities for the Week of September 9

Time Required: 6–7 hours, plus reading time
Available Points: 700
Due Dates:

  • Friday, September 13 at 11:59 PM: All activities and drafts due.
  • Monday, September 16 at 11:59 PM: Grace period ends for all work.

Daily Discussion Posts Activities
(85 minutes—5 posts @ ~15 minutes each plus self-assessment @ ~10 minutes)

Writing Activities
(~5 hours, including time to write)

  • Complete your Analysis Project: Final, Finished Draft (400 points total).
    • Use the links in the assignment to revise and edit your draft before submission.
    • Check your project against the rubric and criteria listed in the assignment.
    • I will record the points for this assignment, according to the expectations listed in the assignment.
  • 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.

Reading Quizzes
(1 hour—3 quizzes @ ~20 minutes each, excluding reading time)

Photo credit: International Women's Day 2016 by National Assembly for Wales on Flickr Links to an external site., used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.