ENGL 334W: Technical Writing | Spring 2015 | 1

Technical Writing

Old Dominion University ENGL334W.wordpress.com

Spring 2015

Dr. Daniel P. Richards Department of English dprichar@odu.edu Office: BAL 4054 Hours: T+R 3p-4p

Technical writing—also known as technical communication, business writing, or professional writing—is a broad field of study with many avenues of research and practice in a variety of workplace settings. From the more traditional writing of user manuals and research reports, to the more contemporary applications in public relations, visual rhetoric, and social media, the type of work technical writers do depends more on the individual organizational context than a universal job description. In asking students to think deeper about workplace communication, this course explores the patterns and boundaries of technical writing as a field within English but more importantly aims to help students cultivate the skills required to be an effective and marketable technical writer, namely critical thinking, collaboration, clear written, visual, and oral communication, argumentation, reading comprehension, technological proficiency, and problem solving. This course, then, requires students to assume two different roles: an academic undergraduate student studying technical writing and a technical writer who is actively working to solve real problems. These aims will be facilitated through inquiry and practice, as we pose and continually circle back to the following questions:

• What does it mean to be a technical writer? • How does rhetorical theory inform technical writing practice? • What are the patterns of practice shaping the field? • What makes for effective technical writing?

By the end of course, students will walk away with:

• Knowledge of theories of technical writing • Ability to apply these theories of real technical writing projects • Technical proficiency in technologies used most commonly by technical writers • Research skills in and about technical writing

Course Delivery This course blends collaboration, lecture, workshop, and reflective modes of learning. You will be given time during each class to work on your projects. Having time to work in class is not, contrary to popular belief, a time to slack off; rather, it is a crucial time for you to work with technologies you might only have access to at school and to work on high stakes projects with peer and professor assistance. Here is the specific time-based breakdown of each class this semester:

1:30—1:55 Activity 1:55—2:20 Lecture 2:20—2:45 Workshop/Reflection

Course Website & Blackboard This course has its own website: engl334w.wordpress.com. It is in the student’s best interest to bookmark this site in their web browser as this will be the main hub of information delivery, assignment access, and readings. Blackboard will be used for the submission of some assignments and for access to grades and feedback. As we all continue to learn about technical writing this semester, we will discuss the reasons driving the decision of an instructor to create a separate, standalone course website in addition to the institutional learning management system (LMS).

Textbook The Essentials of Technical Communication (3e). Eds. Tebeaux and Dragga. Oxford UP.

Student Work Expectations Each student will be expected to work approximately an average of 5 hours per week outside of class time. This follows the general rule of thumb in university that students are expected to spend twice the amount of hours outside of class on work as there are lecture hours. Thus, if you spend 2.5 hours in class, you will work 5 hours per class. If a student takes 5 courses, then that is 7.5 hours per week per course, for a total of 37.5 hours per week. Hence the notion of a “full time” student. In terms of our class specifically, you will be given time in class to work on your own projects. This is not meant to replace work outside of the class, as it does not mean that whatever you get done in class is sufficient. The expectation when I grade is that you are working on your projects outside of class throughout the entire semester while using the time granted to you in class productively.

Attendance Attendance is required. You can miss two classes; missing a third class affects your final grade. Consistent lateness can also count towards an absence. Intellectual absences are also a thing, as those who choose not to follow instructions or participate in a given class are at risk of being assigned an “absent” for that day.

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Technology Requirements Not having used WordPress is not an excuse in this class. You will be consistently challenged this semester to engage in digital writing technologies that may be difficult and challenge you. This requires a certain degree of patience and professionalism towards the learning process, as we are all in this together. I have accounted for the high amount of technological work involved in this course by lowering the word counts for the course overall. Specific technology requirements are as follows:

• Old Dominion email account and the ability to attach files • WordPress account • A thumb drive with a lot of free memory • Working knowledge of an Internet browser, a word processing program, and the ability to

convert files to PDF

Here is a list of the technologies we will learn how to use this semester: • Mac Operating System (OS) • WordPress • Google Drive • Social media platforms appropriate for sharing portfolio content • Bookmarking and annotating tools for web browsers

Much if not all of your work will be public, so be sure to think about your ethos and self-presentation on the web before composing any content.

Email Policy Being a student in an upper-level English course only heightens your responsibility to communicate with your peers and professor with utmost professionalism in all forms of electronic communication. All emails sent to the instructor must have the following characteristics: pertinent title, appropriate greeting, clear sentences, concise paragraphs, and a signature indicating your full name. I reserve the right to not respond to any email that does not fulfill the above characteristics or that asks questions about the timeliness of grading and/or information presented clearly presented in the syllabus or website (you can ask for further clarification).

Do Do Not Check your email every weekday Check it once a week Expect response within 48 hours Expect a response outside of the 8am-5pm block Think of your teacher as an academic Think of your teacher as a customer service agent Write about concerns of learning Write about grading timelines

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Academic Honesty and Plagiarism Plagiarism will result in the failure of the assignment and possibly the failure of the course. Students cannot use work completed for credit in previous courses to count towards this course nor can they lift ideas or content from an online source.

Cell Phones, Laptops, & Computer Lab Etiquette Phones can be used for emergencies only, and ringers must be turned off upon entering class. Students seen attending to their phones for purposes outside of class activities will lose participation points. During class time, your full attention is expected. Lab computers will be used for class activities and work on projects only. Browsing the Internet for personal purposes during class time is strongly discouraged and will affect your participation grade. Please use the allotted break times for personal phone and computer use.

Accommodations In accordance with university policy, a student who wishes to receive some instructional accommodation, because of a documented sensory and/or learning disability, should meet with the instructor to discuss this accommodation. Any student who has a concern or needs to make special arrangements for meeting the requirements of the course is encouraged to speak with the instructor. The instructor must be notified in the first two weeks of the course of any students requiring accommodations. If you have questions about assistance, please contact the Office of Educational Accessibility at 757-683-4655 or visit odu.edu/educationalaccessibility.

Student Athletes If you are a student athlete, please provide me with your travel schedule and game schedule indicating when you will need to miss class to participate in athletic events. While travel for athletics is an excused absence, you will need to make up any missed work.

Submitting Assignments Deadlines are important and it is imperative that you abide by them. Assignments are due by either (a) 1:30pm in class as a hard copy or (b) 11:59pm on the specific due date to the appropriate drop box on Blackboard unless otherwise stated. If for some reason there are issues with uploading online, it is your responsibility to send a link via email to me as backup. Late assignments will receive a third of a letter grade penalty per day late, including weekends. Extensions will be negotiated on a situational basis, but permission must be sought in advance.

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Deliverables Jo Allen (1990) argues, quite justifiably, that technical writing is one-third working collaboratively, one-third writing proficiency, and one-third solving problems. The weight of the deliverables this semester reflects this idea, as

• 30% of the final grade is allocated to working collaboratively (Participation, Class Project), • 30% of the final grade is allocated to writing proficiency (Portfolio), and • 30% of the final grade is allocated to solving problems (Public Problem)

The remaining 10% is allocated towards marketing these skills, specifically through a project focusing on the development of important employment materials (cover letters, résumés, and online profiles). As a final note, all deliverables must be completed in order to pass the class. 1

15% Class Participation Students will be assessed holistically based upon their level of participation and their completing and submitting of assigned activities and tasks. At the end of the semester, students will be assigned a letter grade based on the combination of: attendance, intellectual attentiveness, completion of in-class activities (especially peer review sessions), engagement with assigned readings, and collaborative attitude. Some of these factors are of course highly subjective, but use this to your advantage—make yourself a memorable and substantive contributor to the highly participatory class culture.

15% Class Collaborative Project: Developing a User Manual Each member of the class will be a part of the team developing “A Composition Instructor's Guide to Google Drive.” This is a service-learning project aimed at the development of a technical user guide for teachers implementing portfolios into their classroom. Students will receive individual grades and will be working on specific tasks towards the larger goal of the project. Students will engage in different forms of project management, a key skill in technical writing, and will be assessed not only on their completion of the task but on their ability to engage in these project management techniques. Tasks will be assigned based upon previous experience, skill sets, and student preferences. The tasks are as follows:

1) Interviews (x2) 2) Online surveys 3) Document design 4) Structure and organization 5) Process description content writing (x2) 6) Image capturing 7) Usability testing (x2)

Students can sign up for a preferred task on the course website, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please review the descriptions and the course schedule below before making an informed decision.

A “deliverable” is just another word for “thing that needs to be turned in.”1

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1) Interviews (x2–3) Interviews can be a crucial component to technical writing, since conducting primary research is often the best way to get at the heart of the real issue. Because interviews are so important, there will be two students assigned to this task. These two students will: (a) Create the interview questions in order to find out more information about the meaning and context of the project; (b) Conduct interviews with the main stakeholders; and (c) Report back to the class on the main ideas, concerns, and obstacles.

• Skills required: Personable, good listener • Skills preferred: Primary research, interviewing experience • Due date: February 12

2) Online Surveys Of course, there is always more information to be gleaned from a project than just interviews. Online surveys are a great way to elicit responses from the actual users of a given process or product. This student will use Qualtrics, the main Old Dominion survey creation tool, and compose a series of questions for instructors on their experience using Google Drive in their classrooms. This student will also report back their findings to the class in the form of a professional memorandum.

• Skills required: Web browser • Skills preferred: Experience with Qualtrics or similar • Due date: February 12

3) Process Description Content Writing (x2) This task requires two students not only because manuals should take into consideration more than one viewpoint but also because there is the most text with this task. Here, the two students will work together to focus on the actual writing of the manual processes instructions. This includes identifying the sequence for the user and writing clear instructions guiding users along in the process of using Google Drive.

• Skills required: High level writing proficiency, clear writing • Skills preferred: Background in technical/workplace writing • Due date: February 26

4) Document Design This task is best reserved for a student who is proficient or savvy with a specific Word processing program that will allow for effective design for the task at hand. This student is responsible for providing the main design—the overall look and feel—of the user manual, which will provide consistency in design for the entire document. This student will also be the “main key holder” of the document.

• Skills required: High proficiency with Microsoft Word • Skills preferred: Adobe InDesign or similar • Due date: March 3

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5) Structure and Organization This task is more conceptual but also requires some technical expertise, mainly with the formatting of a Word document and the insertion of images into a document. This student, while working closely with the document designer, will ensure that the table of contexts, paragraph structuring, sequencing, and image placement all reflect the principles of effective page design.

• Skills required: High proficiency with Microsoft Word • Skills preferred: Adobe InDesign or similar • Due date: March 3

6) Image Capturing This student will work very closely with the two students in charge of task five, simply because the text and visuals of a user manual are so intertwined with each other. Every effective user manuals consist of visuals that help the user navigate the complex process. This student is in charge of going through the process of Google Drive for instructors and taking strategic screenshots of the process.

• Skills required: Experience with image capturing software, shortcuts • Skills preferred: High proficiency with Microsoft Word • Due date: March 5

7) Usability Testing (x2) This task usually takes place when the product—in our case a user manual—is near completion. Usability testing is simply the act and process of testing out a product on actual users and making observations about the users’ use of the product. This task will require an individual to sit by a computer and observe an actual users use the manual and make note of how and when the user manual is effective and ineffective. These students will report back to the class and suggest revisions that need to be made.

• Skills required: Observation skills, computer expertise • Skills preferred: Usability testing experience • Due date: March 24

The due dates for these tasks above are primarily for the first iteration of the document. Once the usability testing is conducted, students will have to make revisions either to the process, writing, design, or organization of the document. Thus, the due dates are general guidelines that help students see when the main bulk of work will be carried out but are by no means an indication of when the work on this project will end. This document, like most documents, is a continuous project that will continue to be shaped and reformed by new ideas, information, and user experience. Each student will be assessed and graded based upon the expectations for each given task. As such, each student will have different deliverables, deadlines, and overall scope of assessment. Details will be discussed on an individual basis throughout the semester through emails and face-to-face meetings.

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30% Portfolio Each student will use WordPress to create an online, public portfolio. The portfolio is broken up into three separate but closely related categories: aesthetic, substance, and technical. The Aesthetic Each site will have a theme selected that appropriately reflects the nature of the content and the student’s academic and/or professional interests. The overall presentation of the portfolio is an important part of the portfolio as a whole. One of the key features of the site will be the landing page, where the student will introduce visitors/users to the portfolio—this requires an identification of purpose as well as a brief but adequate biography.

The Technical Of course all of this wonderful content will go unnoticed if it is not accessible, usable, and/or easily findable. Each portfolio, in addition to an appropriate theme, a landing page, and content, will need to be presented using the appropriate technical affordances of WordPress. Attention must be paid to: widgets, functional and well-integrated hyperlinks, effective navigation menus and attention to information design, and an overall usable interface.

The Substance The portfolio will consist of three pieces of technical writing and a reflection. You have choice in terms of the content matter:

Object Description (10%): Write an explanatory description of a complex technical object or scientific process to an audience of nonexperts. The description will be one- page, single-spaced with 12-point Times New Roman font and will be composed in Microsoft Word before being uploaded to your portfolio. Object descriptions have the following characteristics:

• Plain or clear language • Clarity of ideas • Concise explanation of jargon and key terms • Audience awareness • Shorter sentences • Ethos of expertise

Unsurprisingly, a strong description requires research, outlining, drafting, peer review, and careful copy-editing before it is considered ready to be read by the appropriate audience. While the final deliverable may be short, the amount of writing and thought required to compose an effective object description is rather substantial. See the schedule below for due dates for outlines, drafts, peer review sessions, and for the final due date.

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How-To Guide (10%): Write a set of instructions using text and visuals that will help users complete a task (based on instructables.com). These instructions must take users through a technical process of at least ten discrete steps and must include an introduction and visuals created or taken by the student. The How-To Guides will be assessed by if and how well they possess the following characteristics:

• A narrative situating the process being described • An understanding of the audience at hand, and what the users might find

particularly difficult (strong anticipation) • A strong attention to detail in visuals • An evident commitment to clear language • An understanding of the function of transitional language • An attention to format and genre

As the object description, this deliverable requires outlining, drafting, and peer review.

Visual (Re)Design (10%): Students will choose an infographic and redesign it using a technology of their choice to either more accurately portray data or use the same data to portray a different argument. The original design and redesign, along with a three- page explanation, will be combined into a single document. This explanation will describe in detail the rationale behind the design and redesign choices and how the portrayal of data in this specific instance is making a particular argument and what exactly the student thinks this argument to be. The technology used to create the infographic is entirely up to the student, although students are encouraged to use a technology with which they are less familiar. Visual design is an increasingly important component to workplace and public communication so it is only fitting that we engage in a type of communication that is most informative and persuasive.

30% Public Problem: A Report Each student will locate, analyze, and recommend a solution to a public communication problem. This falls under the genre of an informal technical report (Ch. 8). All around us there are failures of communication or just ways that public communication can be improved. Take a look at this example of a street sign, or this one on a boarding pass. Part of being an effective communicator is actually seeing the often subtle, nuanced ways that the world can be improved through more effective communication, much of which falls under the heading of technical writing/communication. Each student will take time and locate one such instance of an opportunity to more effectively communication information to the public and think and write about it over the course of the semester. The process of each report requires more submissions than just the final report, however. In addition to the report, each student will write and have graded separately:

• Location of Public Problem: An informational email message outlining the main idea (Ch. 7)

• Update on Research and Writing: One progress report (Ch. 9) • Reflection: Memo on the research process (Ch. 7)

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In terms of the final report, each individual report must do, have, or consist of the following:

• 2000 words in length (approximately 8 double-spaced pages) • Formatted in accordance with the informal technical report genre outlined in our

course text (headings, subheadings, etc.) • Written for a specific audience identified by the student • Contain three visuals (Ch. 6), formatted properly into the Word document • Include a references page with at least 4 research sources (can be primary or

secondary, including print or online)

Overall, the Public Problem Report is worth 100 points and is broken down as such: Location of Public Problem Email 2 points Update on Research and Writing 10 points Final Informal Technical Report 80 points Reflection Memo 8 points 10% Job Materials: Résumé and Cover Letter

Students will submit a résumé and cover letter aimed at responding to a specific job ad the student locates on their own and that is related to their future career trajectory. The résumé must be at least one page and the cover letter should be three substantial paragraphs (introduction, body, and conclusion). Both documents should be informed by Chapter 12 of the course textbook—namely, the documents should composed with consideration of design principles, audience, and ultimately the specific job ad at hand. The résumé and cover letter will be assessed by how well they follow design principles and above all else how well they are tailored to the individual job ad. The full PDF document should include the following, in this order:

• The job advertisement itself, highlighted for key words • The cover letter • The résumé • A 2-page, double-spaced reflection outlining the decisions made in terms of

formatting, style, and choice and framing of content

Note on Revision Policy There will be ample opportunities for revision throughout the semester. Students can choose to revise their portfolio pieces in between the time of original assessment and the due date of the final portfolio. For example, if a student receives a B- on the Object Description due February 12, the student can choose to revise the piece for the April 28 portfolio deadline and receive a higher grade, if: (a) the product is substantially improved, (b) the student followed the feedback given by the instructor, and (c) the revision is accompanied by an email outlining specifically the revisions made to the piece and the rationale behind them.

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Weighting Scale Letter grades will be assigned for each component of the course. They are enumerated as such:

A 92.5-100 B+ 87.5-89.9 C+ 77.5-79.9 D+ 67.5-69.9 F <59.9 A- 90-92.4 B 82.5-87.4 C 72.5-77.4 D 62.5-67.4 B- 80-82.4 C- 70-72.4 D- 60-62.4

Late assignments will receive a penalty of 1/3 of a letter grade per day, including weekends.

Assessment and Drafts All deliverables will be assessed in accordance with the following system, which is informed by four of the five canons of rhetoric:

• Concept: Purpose, audience, effective research, knowledge of a topic • Structure: Strong thesis, logical and detailed argument, exploration, explanation,

effective paragraph organization • Design: Document design, professional pages, accurate visuals, usable for readers,

technically sound • Style, Grammar, and Mechanics: Sentence-level organization, prose, grammar,

punctuation, mechanics, citation

Students will receive feedback on their work during the drafting phases, one time per portfolio piece and twice per public problem report, in accordance with this system to prepare for the final grading. The feedback window runs for a full week beginning on the date the first copy is due. See schedule for the individual dates of all deliverables.

Withdrawal A syllabus constitutes a contract between the student and the course instructor. Participation in this course indicates your acceptance of its content, requirements and policies. If you believe that the nature of this course does not meet your interests, needs or expectations (amount of work involved, class meetings, assignment deadlines, course policies, etc.), you should drop the class by the drop/add deadline, which is indicated in the ODU Schedule of Classes.

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Course Schedule The course schedule below is subject to change. Follow course site and check email for any updates.

Week 1 Agenda Readings Due Jan 13 Goals, Expectations, Definitions STC —

Jan 15 On Reading Gee WordPress.org Setup P. Malone

Week 2 Agenda Readings Due Jan 20 History of Technical Writing Connors —

Jan 22 Project Task Mgmt: Methods Ch. 1 Class Project Sign-Up Sheet Guest: Daniel Hocutt

Week 3 Agenda Readings Due Jan 27 Audience and Readability Ch. 4 Outline of Object Description Okrent

Jan 29 Information Management — — Guests: Dr. Rodrigo & Ms. Mize

Week 4 Agenda Readings Due Feb 3 Peer Review: Object Description — Draft of Object Description

Feb 5 Emails and Ethos Ch. 7 —

Week 5 Agenda Readings Due Feb 10 The Writing Process(es) Ch. 2 Location of Public Problem Wu

Feb 12 Font Vsauce —

Week 6 Agenda Readings Due Feb 17 Punctuation The Visual… Object Description N. Malone

Feb 19 Instructions Ch. 10 Snow Day Exercise

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Week 7 Agenda Readings Due Feb 24 No Class — Outline of How-To Guide

Feb 26 Instructions, Wireframing Ch. 5 — Lewis

Week 8 Agenda Readings Due March 3 Progress Reports Ch. 9 (p. 255—273) Draft of How-To Guide

March 5 Usability Kamprani Update on Public Problem

Week 9 Agenda Readings Due March 10 Spring Holiday: No Class — —

March 12 Spring Holiday: No Class — —

Week 10 Agenda Readings Due March 17 No Class: Online Peer Review Ch. 8 (p. 181—208) How-To Guide Peer Review

March 19 No Class — How-To Guide

Week 11 Agenda Readings Due March 24 Solving Problems Ch. 8 (p. 181—208) Draft of Public Problem

March 26 Reviewing Class User Manual — —

Week 12 Agenda Readings Due March 31 Visual Ethics Ch. 3 — JLARC

April 2 Visual Rhetoric Ch. 6 Sketch Visual (Re)Design

Week 13 Agenda Readings Due April 7 Revisiting Public Problems — —

April 9 Peer Review of Visual (Re)Design — Draft of Visual (Re)Design

Week 14 Agenda Readings Due

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April 14 The Circulation of Reports — Public Problem Report

April 16 Discussing (Re-Designs) — Visual (Re)Design

Week 15 Agenda Readings Due April 21 Cover Letters Ch. 12

April 23 Résumés Ch. 12 Class Collaborative Project

Week 16 Agenda Readings Due April 28 Reflexivity Schon Final Portfolio Job Materials Reflections

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