You will complete six major projects (14% each), along with related drafts and other artifacts. You must complete all major assignments and requirements in order to pass this course. All work must be submitted online, via Google Docs, the Scholar site, or posted in shared course sites. Each project assignment will include the specific details on how to submit your work.
These projects (listed below) will focus on different kinds of technical communication. For each major assignment unit, you will be asked to submit preliminary drafts to be discussed online by the whole class, and/or by me. You should plan to revise these assignments extensively before the due date. There are no rewrites or revisions after work is graded.
Short Description of Project Assignments
Project 1: Professional Biography Statement. Due Thursday, September 11.
You will imagine that they have taken a new position with a company or organization and have been asked to provide a short biography statement for the company newsletter or the team section of the company website. The underlying goal is for you to introduce yourself to me and the rest of the class. You may be able to use some of this assignment later in the term when you work on your Job Application Materials.
Project 2: Analysis of Writing in Your Field. Due Tuesday, September 30.
You will do a thorough analysis of the writing in your field. You will survey the kinds of writing people in your intended career do and come up with a fairly comprehensive list. You’ll provide a short description of the different kinds of writing, identify the typical audience and purpose, and classify the kinds of writing, matching the items to the chapters in our textbook. Optionally, you can add an in-depth analysis of one piece of writing from your field as well.
Project 3: Informational Report and Proposal on Job Application Needs. Due Thursday, October 16.
You will explore the kinds of documents you need in order to apply for a job, an internship, or a scholarship. We’ll define job application materials broadly to include everything from a traditional resume to something like a personal website or GitHub profile. Based on your findings, your report will propose the job application materials that you will compose for your Project 4.
Project 4: Job Application Materials. Due Thursday, October 30.
You will turn in the job application materials that you proposed in Project 3. This assignment is designed to give you the chance to create whatever you need to pursue your career goals: a resume and cover letter, a personal statement, a LinkedIn profile, a GitHub repository, a clean online presence, and so forth. You can choose a combination of these items, and we will discuss them all in much more detail as you work on your proposal for Project 3.
Project 5: Technical Description, Definition, and/or Instructions. Due Tuesday, November 18.
You will imagine that you are participating in a workplace initiative to bring more diversity to your field of study. As part of that program, you will be shadowed by a student from a local middle or high school. Your writing task is to create a documents that will tell the student about your field and about a task she might do while in the workplace with you.
Project 6 (Final Exam): Course Completion Report. Due Monday, December 15.
You will review your work in the course and write a completion report that outlines what you have learned and done during the term. In particular, you will review your posts on the Forums and point out some of your best work. In addition to grading your report, I’ll use the information in your report to help determine your participation grade for the course. In the workplace, you could think of this report as a performance review.