English 202C: Technical Writing

Fall 2015

Section 007: MWF 11:15 am-12:05 pm

143 Stuckeman Family Building

Instructor:
Contact Information:
Office:
Office Hours:
Course Blog:

Alison Jaenicke
[email protected]
128A Ritenour Building
Tuesday 12:30-2:00 pm; Friday 1-2 pm
(and by chance or appointment)
http://sites.psu.edu/202cjaenicke/

Preface
We spend our days on a campus where the atom was first seen, where chemists' research resulted in the first
pure food laws, and where an experimental nuclear reactor has been in operation for over sixty years. University
scientists are currently engaged in research on topics as controversial as hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus
Shale and whether or not pesticides are responsible for colony collapse disorder among bees. While scientific
and medical progress has provided us with many life-saving advances, it has also been the cause of some
environmental crises. Good science writing has never been more important in understanding our world and how
to repair it. This course invites students with a background in the sciences and applied sciences to write about
scientific topics for a variety of audiences.
Course Description
ENGL 202C, Technical Writing, serves students who are studying and preparing for careers in the sciences and
applied sciences, including engineering. This advanced course in writing familiarizes students with the discourse
practices prized in their disciplinary and institutional communitiesand helps them to employ those practices
effectively in their own written work. In this way the course teaches those writing strategies and tactics that
scientists, engineers, and others will need in order to write successfully on the job. Accordingly, students in the
course can expect to:

Invent the contents of their communications through research and reflection.

Arrange material to raise and satisfy readers expectations, using both conventional and rhetorical
patterns of organization.
Reveal the organization of their communications by using forecasting and transitional statements,
headings, and effective page/document design.
Observe appropriate generic conventions and formats for technical documents.
Design and use tables, graphs, and technical illustrations.
Compose effective sentences.
Evaluate their documents to be sure that the documents fulfill their purpose and meet the audiences
needs, revising as necessary.
Collaborate effectively with their peers in a community of writers who provide feedback on each others
work and occasionally write together.
Employ computer technology effectively to solve communication problems.
Communicate in an ethically responsible manner.

Required Texts
1. Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, Mike Markel. Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 1st ed.
ISBN-13: 978-1457609404
2. Style for Students Online: Effective Technical Communication in the Information Age, Joe Schall,
Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (free online resource).
(Please bring your book to class when reading is assigned for that day.)

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Conferences and Communication
See me when you have questions about an assignment, when you would like to try out some ideas before a
document is due, or when you have questions about a comment. You should also see me to get help with
particular writing problems or challenges, to review a draft after your peers have reviewed it, to resolve
differences about grades, or to suggest ways to improve the course.
When emailing me, you should try to use the ANGEL Communicate feature whenever possible (helps me
organize my three courses). In a course that emphasizes professionalism in communication, you should attempt
to practice this communication form professionally whenever you contact me. (See this tutorial on How to
Email a Professor or Schall on Email Etiquette.)

Attendance
You are expected to attend class every day and to have your work with you. Regular attendance is required,
because course instruction depends on your active participation. This is NOT the kind of course where you can
skip class, read the book, do the assignments, and expect to pass. Like an art class or a science lab, it is a
workshop.
Two or three absences will probably not affect your performance too much (unless you miss a rough draft
sessiona major problem), but try to limit it to that. Indeed, why not attend every meeting? Excused absences
are appropriate, of course, but beyond that, let me repeat English department policy: A student whose absences
are excessive may run the risk of receiving a lower grade or a failing grade, whether some of those absences
are considered excused or not. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get assignments, complete work
missed in class, and submit any projects due.
It is particularly important for you to attendand be prepared to participate indraft workshops. The more you
have written before peer-review sessions, the more you will benefit from them. Although your drafts need not be
polished, in general they should be complete enough for you to receive substantial help from your peers. I will
not accept a final version of a document unless I have seen rough drafts.

Assignment Expectations
In this course, I will try to hold you to the professional standards that prevail in your field. For example, of the
requirements listed below, your employer will take some completely for granted, such as promptness, neat
appearance, and correct mechanics.

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Promptness. In this course, as in the working world, you must turn in your work on time. All projects
are due by the beginning of class on the dates indicated on the syllabus. Assignments turned in late will
be penalized one letter grade for each day late unless you have made other arrangements with me in
advance.
Appearance. All work should be neatly prepared on a computer, using margins and spacing and design
techniques that are conventional for the genre. Whether it is a resume, memo, or report, your
communication should exhibit complete and appropriate format (including page numbers, when
appropriate).
Grammar, Spelling, Proofreading. At work, even a single error in spelling, grammar, or proofreading
can jeopardize the effectiveness of some communications (depending on the rhetorical situation).
Grading will reflect the great seriousness with which matters are frequently viewed in the working
world. If you would like special assistance with any of these skills, I can recommend sources for extra
help.
Revisions. You will receive feedback on your writing at various stages of the writing process. You
should try to apply the comments to improve not only the particular assignment you are currently
working on but also your strategies for writing in general.
Appropriateness. When publishing text online, you will need to consider the broad spectrum of possible
audiences your writing may reach. The blogging platform allows you a high level of personal control,
and you should be creative in your design of that space; you should also be aware, however, of the
public nature of Web texts. Possible audiences for your blogging sites include, but are not limited to:
potential or future employers, professors, and University administration. Please design the content of
your site accordingly.

Other Expectations
In addition to the requirements outlined above, you are expected to:

check your emails regularly (daily);

work until the class period has ended;
complete all reading assignments on time;
help your classmates learn by your responses to their writing;
choose projects that require significant research and analysis;
spend at least six hours per week out of class for writing and class preparation; and
behave courteously and considerately.

Courteous and considerate behavior includes resisting the lure of your cell phone or the computer for such
personal use as Facebook, ESPN, texting or online shopping. I will ask you once to refrain from texting in
class or visiting personal websites such as Facebook. After that, I will mark you absent for the day.

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Grading Philosophy
When grading each of your assignments, I will ask one overriding question: Does this document do its job
successfully? That is, would your communication have the intended effect on the reader you are addressing. I
will, of course, recognize the difference between a competent performance (a C) and good and excellent
performances (B and A). A competent performance is one that stands a chance of succeeding; an excellent
performance is one that seems assured not only of success but also of winning praise.
The assignment sheets for all major assignments clearly specify the objectives and grading criteria for the
assignment. When evaluating an assignment, I use a grading rubric that reflects these objectives and criteria.
This goes partway in communicating what works and what doesnt in a piece of writing.
Every semester, though, I get questions such as, What did you dock me for on this paper? or What did you
take off for? These are fair questions, I suppose, but they reflect a basic misunderstanding of how I (and many
writing teachers) view and assess pieces of writing. Grading the success of a piece of writing is a complicated
process that requires more of a holistic assessment than a formula. How to compare an ambitious and original
piece of writing that has 5 grammatical errors with a dull, unoriginal but grammatically spotless piece? Its not a
matter of taking off points for errors but of building up points for precise, insightful, targeted writing that does
its job. Im always pleased to discuss your writing with you in an office conference if youd like more feedback
on the strengths and weaknesses of a projecta conversation usually yields much better understanding than I
can provide with a rubric or a written comment.
Your final grade will be determined by the grades you receive on written and in-class assignments, according to
the following weighting:

Rhetorical Analysis
Job Application Package
Blog and Professional Website*
Instruction Set
Proposal
Assertion-Evidence Slide Presentation
Homework/Reading & Editing Quizzes
Class Participation/Professionalism

10%
15%
20%
15%
15%
10%
10%
5%

Instructions for each assignment will be explained in detail as we approach the project. See ANGEL and course
website for assignment sheets and other details.
Grading Scale
I apply letter grades to assignments, and then translate that into a numerical equivalent:
Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
B-

Numerical Equivalent
100
95
92
88
85
82

C+
C
CD
F
No credit

78
75
72
65
55
0

Each letter grade you are given on an assignment is multiplied by its weighted averagefor example, the
Job Application Package counts for 15% of your final grade so the multiplier is .15.

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I keep a gradebook on ANGEL both so that you see how each grade you earn affects your overall grade
and so that you can catch any errors I might make.
At the end of the semester, the following grading scale will be used for your final grade:
Final Grading Scale
A
93 - 100
A90 - 92.9
B+
88 - 89.9
B
83 - 87.9

BC+
C
D
F

80 82.9
78 - 79.9
70 - 77.9
60 - 69.9
59.9 and below

Plagiarism (Cheating)
Penn State defines academic integrity as the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and
responsible manner. All students should act with personal integrity, respect other students dignity, rights
and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of
their efforts (Faculty Senate Policy 49-20).
Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated in this course. Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to,
cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by
others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work
previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.
Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions and will be reported to the
Universitys Judicial Affairs office for possible further disciplinary sanction.
Talking over your ideas and getting comments on your writing from friends are NOT plagiarism. Taking
someone elses published or unpublished words and calling them your own IS plagiarism: a synonym is
academic dishonesty. When plagiarism amounts to an attempt to deceive, it has dire consequences, as
spelled out in the English department regulations.

Disability Statement
The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified people with disabilities to participate in its
programs and activities and is committed to the policy that all people shall have equal access to programs,
facilities, and admissions without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or
qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. If you anticipate
needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell me
as soon as possible.

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Course Schedule
(Assignments will sometimes change as we move through the semester. When they do, I will announce the changes
in class, inform you by email, and list them on the Latest Course Schedule page under Lessons tab on ANGEL.
I generally do not change dates for draft workshops and final projects.)

Week 1
Date

Topic

Whats Due by Classtime

M 8-24

Course introduction.

W 8-26

What characterizes technical

communication?

In-class activities.
(please note: if you add into the class after Day 1, you are still
responsible for this workSee ANGEL, In-class Activities.)
Read Chapter 1, Introduction to Technical Communication.

F 8-28

The rhetorical situation.

Audience accommodation.
Assignment #1: Rhetorical Analysis

Find a technical document online related to either hydraulic

fracturing or the California drought or MERS infections.
Then find a recent (last two months) news story about the same
topic. Post your links in the dropbox provided in
ANGEL/Lessons/Homework.
Read Chapter 4, Analyzing your Audience and Purpose.
Be prepared for Reading Quiz #1.

Week 2
M 8-31
W 9-2

F 9-4

Nuts and Bolts of Writing for the

Workplace (and this course)
Highlights of Schall Chapter 1.
Improving Your Style, esp. final
section, Special Stylistic Issues in
Technical Writing. Related exercises.
Writing engagingly about technical
subjects.
The place for metaphor in scientific
writing.

Write email to me via ANGEL, with properly named

attachment (see details of this assignment on ANGEL)
Choose document to analyze for Assignment #1: Rhetorical
Analysis.
Planning Worksheet for Assignment #1

NO CLASS
Looking at drafts.
Discuss concept of secondary review
(3 Qs to professor)
Assignment #2: Job Application
Package

LABOR DAY
Draft of Basic Rhetorical Analysis.

Read Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? (see ANGEL)

Complete quote/note chart related to reading and upload to
ANGEL Dropbox (Lessons/Homework).

Week 3
M 9-7
W 9-9

F 9-11

FINAL Basic Rhetorical Analysis

Week 4
Fall Career Days, 9/15-9/17
M 9-14

Writing resumes.

W 9-16

Looking at drafts.
Design.
Cover letters.

F 9-18

Read Chapter 10, Writing Job Application Materials

(Note that Schall and Penn State Career Planning also offer
helpful and relevant job app resources.)
Job ads for approval (upload to ANGEL).
Draft resume tailored to one job ad.
Planning Worksheet #2

Week 5
Date
M 9-21

W 9-23

F 9-25

Topic

Whats Due by Classtime

Discussion/exploration of reading.
Looking at drafts.
Chapter 9, Writing Correspondence
the difference between letters and
memos.
Organizational patterns.
Coherent titles and paragraphs.
Writing effective sentences.
Reviewing drafts.
Writing memos and editing.

Read Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future and The Return

of Measles (on ANGEL) and complete Q/N Chart
Draft of cover letter #1.

Style exercises and draft review.

Assignment #3: Blog and Professional
Website
Setting up your blog website.
(Establish blog and email me your link.)
The business of blogs.
Document design and learning theory.
Combining layout, design, visuals.

Cover memo due.

FINAL Job Application Package.

Problems and controversies in technical

fields.
Reviewing draft website pages.
Commenting on blog entries.
Style work.
Ethics and copyright issues.
Avoiding copyright and plagiarism
issues in your website (and your papers).

Read The Great Forgetting (see ANGEL)

Write introductory pages of your blog/website.

Commenting on blogs
Style work.
Effective images.
In-class writing and style work.
Commenting on blogs
Style work.

Blog Post #2Dispatch from the Job Search

Assignment #4: Instruction Set

Nuts and bolts of instructions.
Writing instructions.
Evaluating instructions

Final Blog/Website Due

Read Chapter 14, Writing Definitions, Descriptions, and
Instructions.
Come to class with 3 potential instruction set topics.

Read through Chapter 6, Writing for your Readers and

choose your favorite (or most surprising/illuminating) rule
about sentences. Be prepared to share with class.
Revised cover letter #1 and draft cover letter #2 due.

Week 6
M 9-28
W 9-30

F 10-2

Read Chapter 7, Designing Documents and Websites

Week 7
M 10-5

W 10-7
F 10-19

Blog Post #1Current Controversies in Your Field

Read Chapter 2, Understanding Ethical and Legal
Considerations

Week 8
M 10-12
W 10-14
F 10-16

Read Chapter 8, Creating Graphics.

Review Schall, Chapter 4, Equations, Figures, and Tables.
Blog Post #3Reaction to One of our Readings

Week 9
M 10-19
W 10-21
F 10-23

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Week 10
Date

Topic

Whats Due by Classtime

M 10-26
W 10-28

Personas and usability testing.

Choosing best mode of delivering
instructions to user

F 10-30

Evaluating the effectiveness of video

instructions.

Planning Worksheet for Instruction Set

Read material related to personas and complete homework on
personas (see ANGEL)
Work on Instruction Set
Work on Instruction Set

Week 11
M 11-2

Draft Instruction Set

W 11-4

Reviewing drafts.
Usability Testing of our instruction sets?
Assignment #5: Proposal

F 11-6

FLEX DAY--NO CLASS

Style work.
Work on Instruction Set

Proving the problem in proposals

Researching your topic.
Parts of the proposal.
Review Chapter 6, with an eye toward
writing proposal document
Review style and editing work
(what you need to know for next weeks
editing quiz)

Read Chapter 11, Writing Proposals

Read Chapter 5, Researching Your Subject

Review style and editing work

Finalizing proposal.
The Problem with Powerpoint (Tufte)
Workshop on Preparing Presentation
Graphics (Michael Alley style)
Sign up for presentation day

Work on proposal.
BIG QUIZ on Style and Editing.
Final Proposal

Week 12
M 11-9
W 11-11
F 11-13

Final Instruction Set due by 5 pm Friday, 11-6

Planning Worksheet for Proposal (linked to final project

slidesTEAMS OF 2-3 ENCOURAGED).

Week 13
M 11-16
W 11-18
F 11-20

Thanksgiving HolidayNo Classes 11/22-11/28

Week 14
Date

Topic

Whats Due by Classtime

M 11-30
W 12-2

Planning out the slides you need

Developing slide presentation

Work on Slide Presentation

Read Chapter 15, Making Oral Presentations

F 12-4

Delivering the presentation

Work on Slide Presentation; if you have drafts ready, we will

arrange for with informal peer review in class.

In-class presentations; peer critiques

In-class presentations; peer critiques
In-class presentations; peer critiques

Prepare for presentations

Prepare for presentations
Prepare for presentations
Final Slides due in dropbox by 9 am Monday 12/14/15

Week 15
M 12-7
W 12-9
F 12-11
MONDAY
12-14