Course Schedule
Unless otherwise noted, readings refer to Technical Communication Today. This course schedule is
subject to revision during the semester, and I will announce any changes to you in class.
NOTE: Assignments are due on the day they are listed before the beginning of class, i.e. the readings and
assignments listed for Tuesday, Jan. 21st, are to be completed before the beginning of class that day.
Date
Week 1
T 1/ 12
Th 1/14
Topics and Assignments
Due
Class introduction and orientation
Discuss: Writing in the Workplace, Rhetorical Situation, Readers and
Contexts of Use
Read: Chapter 1; Chapter 2
Activity: Profiling Readers
Week 2
T 1/19
Introduce: Business Correspondence Project
Discuss: Writing Business Correspondence
Read: Chapter 5
Th 1/21
Activity: E-mail Drafting; Memorandum Editing
Discuss: Writing Business Correspondence (cont.)
Read: Basford et al. Do You See What I See? Perceptions of Gender
Microaggressions in the Workplace; Gefen et al. Gender Differences in
the Perception and Use of E-mail: An Extension to the Technology
Acceptance Model
Activity: Assessing E-mails; Memorandum Drafting
Week 3
T 1/26
Discuss: Writing Business Correspondence (cont.)
Read: Lan and MacGregor English in Tiers in the Workplace: A Case
Study of Email Usage; Review Chapter 2
Th 1/28
Activity: Business Letter Drafting
Discuss: Document Review
Read: Chapter 19
Due: Draft of
Business
Correspondence
Portfolio
Activity: Document Review Email, Memo, and Business Letters
Week 4
T 2/2
Introduce: Employment Project and Job Skills Inventory
Discuss: Fundamentals of a job search; Assessing and articulating
employment skills; Translation in composing employment documents
Read: OWL at Purdue (ALL SUBSECTIONS): Job Search Writing,
Tailoring Employment Documents For a Specific Audience, Tips and
Terms for the International Students Job Search, Writing the Personal
Due: Business
Correspondence
Portfolio
Statement, Job Skills Checklist, Example Employment Documents
Th 2/2
Activity: Job Skills Articulation & Rendering Inferences
Introduce: Job Advertisement Analysis
Read: Chapter 11
Discuss: Rhetorical strategies for assessing job advertisements;
Connecting job skills to job advertisements
Activity: Job advertisement analysis exercises
Week 5
T 2/9
Introduce: Resume
Discuss: Fundamentals of Resume Preparation; C.A.R.P. document
design principles; Categorization; Organization; utilizing Job Skills
Inventory
Due: Drafts of
Professional
Skills Inventory
and Job
Advertisement
Analysis
Read: Review Chapter 11; Read Chapter 17
Th 2/11
Activity: Document Review of drafts; Planning your resume
Introduce: Application Letter
Discuss: Application letters as a resume extension; utilizing Job Skills
Inventory
Read: Review Chapter 11; Review Chapter 17
Due: Final Drafts
of Professional
Skills Inventory
and Job
Advertisement
Analysis
Activity: Application Letter speed drafting
Week 6
T 2/16
Activity: Speed conferences
Due: Draft of
Resume &
Application Letter
Th 2/18
Activity: Speed conferences
Due: Draft of
Resume &
Application Letter
Introduce: Informational Report Project: Informational Report,
Research Plan, & Business Correspondence
Due: Final Drafts
of Resume and
Application Letter
Week 7
T 2/23
Discuss: Working in Teams; Report Writing
Read: Chapter 3; Skim Chapter 9; Skim Chapter 10
Th 2/25
Activity: Team Building; Review Sample Reports; Picking Student
Organizations
Discuss: Planning Research for Report Writing; Primary Research
Practices for the Workplace
Read: Emerson et al. In the Field; Chapter 12; Chapter 14
Activity: Brainstorming and Composing a Research Plan; Speed Draft
Introduction E-mail
Week 8
T 3/1
Discuss: Putting research plan into action; Report design
Read: Review Chapter 12; Review Chapter 14
Th 3/3
Activity: Research Plan Document Review
Discuss: Making Use of Primary Research
Read: Review Chapter 12; Review Chapter 14
Due: Introduction
E-mail & Draft of
Informational
Report Research
Plan
Due:
Informational
Report Research
Plan
Activity: Primary Research of Web Presence; Drafting Organization
E-mail
Week 9
T 3/8
Th 3/10
Week 10
T 3/15
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
Discuss: Creating and Using Graphics/Visuals
Read: Read Chapter 18
Th 3/17
Activity: Creating visuals in Excel, Word, and Piktochart
Discuss: Creating and Using Graphics/Visuals (cont.); Attribution in a
business setting; Document Collaboration
Activity: Informational Report Research Memorandum Document Review
Week 11
T 3/22
Th 3/24
Week 12
T 3/29
Activity: Open Report Workshop Day & Conferencing
Due:
Organization
E-mail
Due: Draft
Informational
Report Research
Memorandum
Due:
Informational
Report Research
Memorandum
Activity: Open Report Workshop Day & Conferencing
Introduce: Proposal Project
Discuss: Proposal Writing
Due:
Informational
Report
Read: Chapter 8
Watch (In-Class): Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and
listen!
Th 3/31
Activity: Extending Collaboration
Discuss: Proposal Writing (cont.)
Read: Review Chapter 8; Read Chapter 13
Activity: Partitioning Proposal Subject Matter and Outlining
Week 13
T 4/5
Discuss: Conducting Secondary Research; Source Credibility; Source
Attribution
Read: Review Chapter 14
Activity: Finding Secondary Sources
Due: Proposal
Research Plan
Th 4/7
Discuss: Connecting Primary & Secondary Research; Writing
Annotations
Bring at least
one secondary
source to class
Read: Review Chapter 6; Review Chapter 14; Review Chapter 15
Activity: Writing Annotations
Week 14
T 4/12
Discuss: Proposal Presentation; Creating Effective Presentations
Read: Read Chapter 20
Th 4/15
Week 15
T 4/19
Th 4/21
Week 16
T 4/26
Th 4/28
Due: Proposal
Research
Memorandum
Activity: Creating a Presentation Outline
Activity: Open Proposal Workshop Day
Activity: Open Proposal Workshop Day & Conferencing
Activity: Open Proposal Workshop Day & Conferencing
Activity: Presentations
Activity: Presentations
Due: Proposal &
Secondary
Research
Annotated
Bibliography
