calendar-Fall2010

Calendar of Assignments

Fall 2010

toc This calendar supplements the print handout you received at the beginning of the semester and which you can access through the content section of the [|class D2L page]. For major project assignment sheets, you should also see the D2L page. NOTE: TCTC = our course textbook: //Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century//.

Unit I
 * CONCEPTS IN PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION**

UNIT PROJECT DUE: Friday, September 10 Completed wiki profile, first blog response comment, first blog post

=WEEK 1= Writers at Work: Purpose and Audience


 * M Aug 20**


 * IN-CLASS: Introduction to writing that works


 * W Sep 1**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 1: “Technical and Professional Communication in the Workplace”
 * SKIM: TCTC, “Real People, Real Writing” profiles at the beginning of each chapter; find one that interests you and come prepared to talk about the communication demands and challenges of that job.


 * F Sep 3**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 2: “Rhetoric and Technical Communication” (only need to read pp. 22-23 and 28-37)
 * POST: first response comment to course blog, Writing That Works; at [|http://writingthatworks.wordpress.com]/. Respond to the entry I posted on Monday, August 30, called "Writers at work: Fall 2010." To register with the blog, see [].

=WEEK 2= Readers at Work: Designing for Action


 * M Sep 6**

NO CLASS


 * W Sep 8**


 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 18: “Technical Instructions”
 * BRING: Good/bad examples of technical instructions -- i.e., one good, and one bad example that you have run across recently. This could be anything that purports to show you how to do something: assembly instructions for furniture you just bought, a guide to using a piece of software or resolving some technology problem, instructions from teachers or other offices at Marquette on how to set something up or accomplish something, etc.
 * POST: profile of your professional self to class wiki; at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/class-members


 * F Sep 10**


 * IN-CLASS WORKSHOP: We'll establish our working groups and begin work on the Group Proposal project (Project #2)
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 17: “Websites and Online Environments”
 * POST: first full post to course blog (by 5:00 p.m.); login to WordPress at []; then, when you're ready, click on the "New Post" button at []. If you run into any snags, there are further technical instructions for contributing to the blog at []. And, beyond looking at some of last semester's posts to get a feel for what a contribution should look like, you might also want to review the expectations I outlined on the hard copy version of the assignment sheet I've made available for this unit, Project 1 (handed out in class, but also available through D2L).

Unit II
 * CHALLENGES IN PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION**

UNIT PROJECT DUE: Monday, September 27 Group Proposal

=WEEK 3= Running the Changes


 * M Sep 13**


 * ALL GROUP: Work Plan due for Group Proposal assignment - see detailed instructions below, or in the e-mail I sent out last Friday, September 10.
 * GROUP #1 (Joe Fulce, Danielle Maher, Mike Hurley) will lead class on TCTC, Ch. 5: “Technical Communication in a Transnational World”
 * Group #1 post your notes to the class wiki at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/chapter-notes

Since the rest of the class will not be reading the chapter, leading class will mean pointing out key concepts in the textbook chapter, having us discuss some of the examples they present (or others you'd like to bring in yourselves), and possibly working through one or more of the exercises they include at the end of the chapter. Your call.

I'd like you to post whatever notes you produce in the course of planning (such as outlines, ideas for examples, discussion questions, etc.) to the wiki at the link provided above.

WORK PLAN

I passed out the **assignment sheet** for the first major graded project of the semester, a group project in which you will propose a set of instructions for use by the Service Learning client with whom we'll be working for the next two assignments, Project RETURN. (If you don't have the assignment sheet, it is available in the content section of the course D2L page.)

For **Monday, September 13**, I'm asking your group to turn in a **work plan** - in print form - outlining the schedule by which, as a group, you will work on and complete the project by its due date on Monday, September 27. Your work plan should take the form of a memo (see TCTC p. 349 for basic memo formatting) and will work something like an informal "progress or status memo" as described on p. 352-354, though mostly I'm just looking for a list of dates and progress goals for each date.

We will be meeting with a representative from **Project RETURN** soon, but in the meantime, I strongly advise you to familiarize yourself with their mission and their **web site** at []. As a group, you will be looking for a need to fill with the instructions you write for Project RETURN's clients or for Project RETURN themselves (including things like their online presence and/or communication strategies).


 * W Sep 15**


 * GROUP #2 (Jillian Ellwood, John Hren, and Pat Foley) will lead class on TCTC, Ch. 3: “Technical Communication and Electronic Technologies”
 * Group #2 post your notes to the class wiki at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/chapter-notes

Since the rest of the class will not be reading the chapter, leading class will mean pointing out key concepts in the textbook chapter, having us discuss some of the examples they present (or others you'd like to bring in yourselves), and possibly working through one or more of the exercises they include at the end of the chapter. Your call.

I'd like you to post whatever notes you produce in the course of planning (such as outlines, ideas for examples, discussion questions, etc.) to the wiki at the link provided above.


 * F Sep 17**


 * GROUP #3 (Sam Pohl, Rose Gregory, Matt Zuknik) will lead class on TCTC, Ch. 4: “Ethics and the Workplace Writer”
 * Group #3 post your notes to the class wiki at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/chapter-notes

Since the rest of the class will not be reading the chapter, leading class will mean pointing out key concepts in the textbook chapter, having us discuss some of the examples they present (or others you'd like to bring in yourselves), and possibly working through one or more of the exercises they include at the end of the chapter. Your call.

I'd like you to post whatever notes you produce in the course of planning (such as outlines, ideas for examples, discussion questions, etc.) to the wiki at the link provided above.

=WEEK 4= Proposing and Presenting Alternatives


 * M Sep 20**
 * IN-CLASS WORKSHOP: group presentations
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 20: “Proposals and Requests for Proposals”
 * DUE: Progress Report on Group Proposal. This should take the form of an informal "progress or status memo" as described in our TCTC textbook on p. 352-354, telling me what you've accomplished so far, your plans for accomplishing the rest, and identifying any areas of difficulty or questions that I can help you with.


 * W Sep 22**
 * Group Presentations: **all three groups** should plan on being ready to present on this day and should, as described in the assignment sheet more fully, be an informal presentation (please keep it to **15 minutes** or less, so that we can fit all three presentations in). The idea is to "pitch" your proposal in such a way that your immediate **audience of your peers** would be inclined to vote for your proposal. Keep in mind that we may also have an **external audience** for these presentations: a representative from Marquette's Service Learning Office and/or from Project RETURN.


 * F Sep 24**

CLASS CANCELED to enable you to spend more time with your groups working on the final written version of the proposal. I will still be in our classroom from 9:00-9:50 to consult with any of you who might want to meet with me at that time (and, as usual, I will have an office hour in 333 Coughlin in the 10:00-10:50 slot). If you would like to use the space, you are also more than welcome to come to our classroom to work.

Unit III
 * GENRES IN PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION**

UNIT PROJECT DUE: Wednesday, October 20 Midterm Portfolio of Everyday Professional Genres

=WEEK 5= Information and Usability


 * M Sep 27**


 * DUE: Group Proposals. Be sure to sign up for a live grading session.

We will use this class period 1) for a quick review of the three proposals up for consideration, 2) to decide which one we would like to implement, 3) to begin making plans to implement it.


 * W Sep 29**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 11: “Usability” and Ch. 12: “E-mail, E-Messages, and Memos”


 * F Oct 1**
 * BRING: Good/bad examples of routine informative documents. Each student should bring one good and one bad example. This can be anything you have yourself received or sent in a work, classroom, consumer, citizen, student group, or volunteer context, or something you've otherwise come across.

=WEEK 6= Reader-Centered Writing and Unwelcome Information


 * M Oct 4**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 13: “Letters”


 * W Oct 6**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 10: “Revising, Rewriting, and Editing”


 * F Oct 8**
 * BRING: Good/bad examples of documents containing unwelcome news

=WEEK 7= Persuasion


 * M Oct 11**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 23: “Presentations”


 * W Oct 13**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 8: “Visual Rhetoric and Technical Communication”


 * F Oct 15**
 * BRING: Good/bad examples of persuasive documents

=WEEK 8= Portfolio work

Meeting scheduled with Project RETURN for 9:00-9:45.
 * M Oct 18**

NO CLASS - PEER REVIEW of Midterm Genre Portfolio rescheduled for Monday, October 25.
 * W Oct 20**

NO CLASS - Fall break
 * F Oct 22**

=WEEK 9= Occupational Outlook


 * M Oct 25**
 * PEER REVIEW of Midterm Genre Portfolio. Bring two copies of your current draft.


 * Unit IV**
 * YOUR PROFESSION IN PROFESSIONAL WRITING**


 * UNIT PROJECT DUE: Monday, November 22**
 * Critical Research Report on the Future of Writing in Your Intended Profession**


 * W Oct 27**


 * DUE: Midterm Genre Portfolio
 * IN-CLASS: We will look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, //Occupational Outlook Handbook// (OOH) at []


 * F Oct 29**
 * READ: Bureau of Labor Statistics, //The Employment Situation -- September 2010//, at []. Read the first three pages (which is, essentially, the executive summary of this report). Flip through the remainder to get a sense of how this news release document is put together as a Report
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 22: “Formal Reports.” Read with an eye toward thinking about how you'll be structuring your own Formal Report.

=WEEK 10= Critical Research Methods

Library Instruction Session I with Sue Peacock - Raynor Library 227 NOTE that we are NOT meeting in our usual classroom
 * M Nov 1**
 * LOOK OVER: The "Report Resources" page I've created on the course wiki, at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/report-resources. Look around at these resources with an eye toward thinking about what types of sources and what methods of research are going to be of most use to you in this Formal Report. Be sure to visit the research guide that I mention under Library Resources: this is a page that our Instruction Librarian, Sue Peacock, has created for us, and you'll want to familiarize yourself with it before class.
 * POST TO WIKI: Topic description for Formal Report. Please post this to the class members page at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/class-members. Follow the guidelines you'll find there under the "Formal Report Topics" heading for what to write and how to write it.

WORKSHOP: Interviews and other primary research
 * W Nov 3**
 * DUE (print, memo format, in class): First Progress Report for project. See the "Doing the Writing" class handout for details.
 * BRING: TCTC textbook - we'll be looking at the profiles at the beginning of each chapter and thinking about how you'll conduct your own interviews of a professional in your field. Come prepared with one question you will suggest we all ask.

WORKSHOP: Online and other secondary research
 * F Nov 5**
 * BRING: a laptop or other device for conducting online research (if you have one)
 * SKIM: TCTC, Ch. 6: “Researching and Evaluating Source Materials.” Come prepared to point out one thing in this chapter that you think the rest of the class will find useful.

=WEEK 11= Reporting Research


 * M Nov 8**
 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 9: “Layout and Design”
 * POST TO WIKI: Revise your Topic description for the Formal Report based on your current progress. Please post this to the class members page at http://engl3220.wikispaces.com/class-members. Follow the guidelines you'll find there under the "Formal Report Topics" heading for what to write and how to write it.

Library Instruction Session II with Sue Peacock - Raynor Library 227 NOTE that we are NOT meeting in our usual classroom
 * W Nov 10**
 * DUE (print, memo format, in class): Second Progress Report for project. See the "Doing the Writing" class handout for details.
 * BRING: Any materials/files you will need to work on your research using the libraries computers. This session will be for guided individual research.

WORKSHOP: Bibliography
 * F Nov 12**
 * REVIEW: TCTC, Appendix B: “Documentation” (APA Style). Come prepared to demonstrate how to cite and write the bibiliography entry (in APA format) for one type of source, using an actual source you've found.

=WEEK 12= Presenting Research


 * M Nov 15**
 * DUE (print, memo format, in class): (Working) Annotated Bibliography (APA style).
 * PEER REVIEW: Research

WORKSHOP: Report Design & Layout
 * W Nov 17**
 * DUE (print, memo format, in class): Third Progress Report for project. See the "Doing the Writing" class handout for details.
 * REVIEW: TCTC, section on “Standard Parts of Formal Reports” in Ch. 22: “Formal Reports,” pp. 673-678


 * F Nov 19**
 * DUE (print, 1 copy, in class): (Working) Draft of Formal Report
 * PEER REVIEW: Formal Report

=WEEK 13= Formal Report due Monday, November 22

M Nov 22

 * DUE (print, bound, in class): Formal Report
 * PREPARE: 3-minute, informal presentation of your Report research based around a single visual. You should not attempt to summarize the totality of your report. Rather, present one finding that you think will be of more general interest to your peers.

W Nov 24
NO CLASS

F Nov 26
NO CLASS


 * Unit V**
 * You in Professional Writing**


 * UNIT PROJECT DUE: Wednesday, December 8**
 * Job Search Portfolio**

=WEEK 14= Resumes and Cover Letters

M Nov 29

 * READ: TCTC, Ch. 14: “Finding and Obtaining Employment”
 * BRING: Your current resume. If you do not have a current resume, bring the closest thing to it that you do have.

W Dec 1
WORKSHOP: Resume
 * BRING: Job ad for which you’ll write your job application
 * READ: Marquette University Career Services Center Career Guide. Rather than read through the whole book, follow the itinerary that best describes your current needs, as described on pp. 1-6.

F Dec 3
WORKSHOP: Application letter
 * BRING: Draft Resume

=WEEK 15= Wrap-up

M Dec 6

 * PEER REVEW: Job Application portfolio

W Dec 8

 * DUE (optional due date): Job Application portfolio

NOTE: This is the due date ONLY if you want your Job Application portfolio project graded and returned to you by Friday, December 10. If you would like more time, you may turn it in -- in print form -- anytime before the end of the scheduled final exam time Wednesday, December 15, 10:00 a.m. (in which case, you wouldn't find out your grade on the project until the semester grades were turned in). I am also willing to meet with anyone who would like to have a live grading session before that time (in which case, you would find out your grade on the project during the session).

F Dec 10
NO CLASS, though I will be in my office to meet with you if you'd like during this hour. If you turned in your Job Application portfolio on Wednesday, you can pick up my assessment of your work at this time.


 * DUE: Final Reflection on online participation . The Reflection will be due anytime before the end of the scheduled final exam time Wednesday, December 15, 10:00 a.m.

See the assignment sheet on D2L along with the original Unit One handout for details.

=FINALS WEEK=

W Dec 15
All materials -- including your Job Application Portfolio and your Reflection on online participation -- are due by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 15. I will be in my office at that time (333 Coughlin); but materials may also be turned in before then to my mailbox in the English Department offices (across the hall from my office).