Technical Writing 1

TR 12:00-1:15—Room: 232

English 3153 Technical Writing

Instructor: Dr. Will Kurlinkus E-Mail: wkurlinkus@gmail.com Website: English3153b.wordpress.com Office: Gittinger 307A Office Hours: 11-12, 1:-30-3 TR

Overview

From the most basic lab report to medical aftercare instructions, from museum displays to airplane safety guides—in English 3153, students learn to analyze and produce technical documents across a variety of settings. In particular this course will take a user-centered research approach to writing for science, workplace, and consumer settings.

Goals

! Learn to produce technical communication genres, ! Learn to respond to the rhetorical situations of professional

settings, designing documents in specific ways for specific audiences,

! Learn to work, write, and present collaboratively.

Attendance, Participation, Late Work

Attendance is vital to your ability to understand course material. Each unexcused absence after four will result in the lowering of your participation grade by a half a letter grade. Six unexcused absences will automatically result in failing the course. There will be an attendance sheet passed around each day of class. It is your responsibility to sign it each day. Late submission of a final assignment will result in the deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade for each day late. Skipping a peer review will, similarly, result in a 1/3 deduction.

Access

Students requiring academic accommodation should contact the Disability Resource Center for assistance at http://www.ou.edu/drc/home.html Any student who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me personally ASAP so we can discuss accommodations to ensure full educational opportunities.

Materials

! Steve Krug: Rocket Surgery Made Easy

! Notebook ! Other readings made

available online

Assignments

1. Application Packet: 20%

2. Genre Instruction Set: 25%

3. Popular Translation: 15%

4. Usability Test: 25%

5. Participation: 10%

6. Journals, Quizzes, etc.: 5%

Tips

1. Attend All Classes

2. Ask Questions

3. Come to Office Hours

4. Listen

5. Take Studio Time Seriously

6. Take Journals Seriously

7. Imagine the texts you produce in this class as writing samples for a future career.

!

! ! !

!!!!!! ! 1!!

Introduction

T!8.25! “When!Patients!Read!What!Their!Doctors!Write”;!http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229818;!!

! http://www.fastcodesign.com/3021394/evidence/theHsecretsHofHaHmemorableHinfographic!

! ! ! Rhetoric,!tech!writing,!and!userHcenteredness!

! ! Create!infographics;!Create!WordPress!

!

R!8.27! "What!are!the!Work!Patterns!of!Technical!Communicators?"!Bill!HartHDavidson!

! UserHCentered!Document!Design:!Dual!Streams,!Headings,!and!Bullets:!

http://www.copyblogger.com/scannableHcontent/!

! Practice!scannable!practices;!scannability!and!resumes;!!

! Introduce!Assignment!1!

!

Unit 1: Application Packet

T!9.1! “How!to!Get!a!Job.”!Philip!Kolin:!159H174.!!

! ! Job!search!discussions;!finding!and!analyzing!job!ads;!CV!production!

R!9.3! “Obtaining!a!Job.”!Paul!Anderson:!22H45;!Non$Designers:!15H48.!! ! Resume!production;!analyzing!resumes;!visual!rhetoric!

!

T!9.8! “Writing!Your!Job!Application!Letter.”!Anderson:!46H58;!Non$Designers:!49H78.!! ! Cover!letter!production;!analyzing!cover!letters;!showing!vs.!telling!

R!9.10! “Going!to!an!Interview.”!Kolin:!205H212;!“ReaderHCentered!Letters.”!Anderson:!470H481.!

! ! Interviews!and!followHups;!EHSignatures;!professional!Emails!

T!9.15!! [DUE]:'Peer!Review.!Draft!of!1!resume,!1!cover!letter,!and!1!thank!you!letter!

Unit 2: Genre Instruction Set'

R!9.17! “Using!Genres!to!Read!Scenes!of!Writing.”!Devitt,!Reiff,!and!Bawarshi:!48H73!&!93H94.!

Introduce!Assignment!2.1;!Genre!scavenger!hunt;!parts!of!genre!analysis!!

T!9.22! “Intertextuality!and!the!Discourse!Community.”!James!Porter:!86H97.!!

Complicating!genre;!ethos,!pathos,!logos!in!technical!genres;!understanding!short!reports!

! ! [DUE]:'Assignment!1!!

R!9.24! “ReaderHCentered!Instructions.”!Anderson:!572H597.!

! ! Introduce!Assignment!2.2;!userHcentered!instructions;!analyzing!instructions!

!

T!9.29! “Writing!Instructions!and!Procedures.”!Kolin:!267H295.!

Group!instruction!practice!and!test;!comparing!types!of!instructions!

!

R!10.1! Presentation!reading!(watch!3!PechaKuchas);!http://blog.indezine.com/2012/05/10HtipsHtoHcreateHandH

presentHpecha.html;!http://blog.ted.com/10HtipsHforHbetterHslideHdecks/!

! ! InHclass!PechaKucha!analysis!

!

T!10.6! ! [DUE]:'5Hminute!Instruction!Presentations!(Buzzfeed!Style)!R!10.8! ! [DUE]:'5Hminute!Instruction!Presentations!(Buzzfeed!Style)!

!

! ! !

!!!!!! ! 2!!

Unit 3: Popular Translation!

T!10.13! Listen!to!Radiolab!“Colors”!and!!“Making!the!Hippo!Dance.”!(For!more,!listen!to!Space,!Falling,!or!

Emergence)!

InHClass!Radiolab!analysis;!understanding!the!popular!translation!of!technical!concepts;!why!

educate!the!public?!Practice!explanations!and!illustrations.!

' ' [DUE]:'Assignment!2!!

R!10.15! “Converting!Need!into!Demand!or!Putting!People!First.”!Tim!Brown;!Listen:!Euala!Biss!on!AntiHVaccination!

Adler!Pill!Bottle!(Creating!UserHFriendly!Designs);!Adapt,!Adopt,!Refuse:!Working!with!Clients!

(watch!interviews!from!my!chapter!on!design)!

T!10.20! 1!RSA!Animate;!1!TedTalk;!“Writing!ReaderHCentered!Proposals.”!Anderson:!483H506.!

! ! Analyze!RSA!Animate;!Analyze!a!scientific!demonstration!

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/02/flame_challenge_2014_wh

at_is_color_alan_alda_has_kids_judge_scientists.html!

! ! http://grow.cals.wisc.edu/communities/aHfailureHtoHcommunicate!

!

R!10.22! “Feasibility.”!Anderson:!537H559.!

! ! Museum!Field!Trip—FillHout!activity!sheet.!

!

T!11.10! ! [DUE]:'Peer!Review!

!

Unit 4: Usability Test!

R!11.12! ! Rocket/Surgery./Steve!Krug:!13H37.!!“Top!5!Web!Design!Mistakes!Small!Businesses!Make”!!! ! ! Introduce!Assignment!4;!web!design!principles!

!

T!11.17! Rocket//Surgery.!Krug:!39H61;!!! ! Web!design!principles!and!analysis;!userHcentered!methods;!creating!scenarios!

! ! [DUE]:'Assignment!3!!!

R!11.19! Rocket//Surgery.!Krug:!63H89!and!147H153;!“Creating!Communications!with!a!Team.”!Anderson:!394H409.!! ! ! UserHcentered!methods!beyond!usability!tests;!Teamwork!tips!!

!

T!11.24! Rocket!!Surgery.!Krug:!91H119;!“Writing!ReaderHCentered!Empirical!Research!Reports.”!Anderson:!507H

536.!

! ! ! Lab!reports!parts!and!common!errors!1!

! ! ! [DUE]:'Assignment!4.1!! ! !

R!11.26! ! Thanksgiving!Break:!Rocket!!Surgery./Krug:!121H132.!“Memos.”!Kolin:!133H141.!! ! ! !

T!12.1! !“Creating!and!Delivering!ListenerHCentered!Oral!Presentations.”!Anderson:!410H433.!

! ! Lab!reports!parts!and!common!errors!2;!Studio!Time!

! ! ! [DUE]:'Assignment!4.2!!

R!12.3! InHClass!Studio!Time!

T!12.8! ! [DUE]:'Group!Presentations!and!project!4.3!

R.!12.10! ! [DUE]:'Group!Presentations!and!project!4.3!