This page provides brief overviews of both major & minor course projects.

Major Projects

1. Employment Project (Individual; 20% of course grade.) You will be asked to locate a job for which you are qualified and prepare an application for it. Step 1 of the project asks you to learn about and use various web-based resources for job seekers and then to select one job to pursue. You’ll do a rhetorical analysis/ close reading of the ad for this job. Step 2 asks you to create a resume suitable for such a position. Step 3 asks you to prepare the all-important "Job Application Letter." In Step 4, you will conduct an informational interview and write a thank-you note, letter, or email. Finally, in step 5, you will assess your experience in a "Project Reflection Document." In the process of completing each step, you will work closely with your peers and me to shape your writing so that it represents you and your experience fully and effectively, given the rhetorical circumstances. You will also study and respond to examples from the textbook.

2. Globalization White Paper (or Informative Report) Project (Individual or collaborative; 20% of course grade) The focus of Project 2 is the white paper, a common report genre in the professional world. White papers are used in business, industrial, and governmental contexts to sum up the gist of what’s known about a subject and, sometimes, to market a product. 

During this project you will learn about

• the white paper genre through collaborative or individual creation of a white paper.
• primary (data collection) and secondary (library/ web) research techniques
• collaboration, project management, and strategies for writing and revising.
• producing a text for the web in HTML that integrates visual content, such as screenshots, tables, and flowcharts
• the preparation and delivery of an informal workplace presentation

All those working in groups will keep a project log and submit Collaborative Project Evaluation forms.

Because I have found this project to be most successful if the class works on a shared topic, we will focus on globalization (suggestions for future themes are welcome). This huge and much-discussed topic will give us an umbrella under which to explore a variety of issues, particularly implications of globalization on science, technology, and engineering. We’ll discuss globalization in general terms, brainstorm possible white paper topics, and form groups by area of interest. I also encourage you to consider interviewing an individual affected by globalization.

3. Client-Based Service Learning Project (collaborative, 20% of course grade) For Project 3, you will work collaboratively in project teams on a client-based service-learning project that teaches you to manage complex writing challenges in real contexts that matter. You will learn principles of project management, collaboration, document cycling, usability testing and study, and client-based research. Because you will work with real clients--either in the community or online, you will also learn important principles of professional and ethical communication. The goal will be to produce a user-guide (or similar piece of technical communication) that teaches a critical and (perhaps) complex application of a specific technology to an interested client. You will begin the project by thinking of and contacting clients who may benefit from having such a guide, which will consist of several components, including a short multmedia, web-based presentation.

Short Monthly Assignments (12%)

Monthly assignments will be posted on Monday and will usually be due the next Monday. Select the four opportunities you find most useful or most interesting (that is, plan to do about one assignment per month); you may also do a fifth assignment for insurance or extra credit.

In the monthly assignments, I generally ask you to analyze a sample of technical communication or to practice a genre (memo, instructions, status report) by producing a short (1-2 page) piece of writing. Early in the semester I’ll ask you to review the posted opportunities and propose a new biweekly assignment, which the class will test for usability. 

Weekly Blog Posts (10%)

I will ask you to make posts of at least 50 words to your blog about once a week. These posts are intended to to generate ideas for class discussion, to encourage you to reflect further on issues discussed in class, and just to give you additional informal professional writing experience. They will not be graded on content or writing style; rather, you'll receive one point per post (which means that you do not need to post every single week).   

Participation (18%)

The participation component of this class includes the following:

Class Discussion: This component of the participation grade is based on your contributions to class discussion, not simply on your showing up for class. We'll have both full-class and small-group discussions.   

Peer review: One way to develop your own writing skills is by looking at, discussing, and helping to improve others' work. In addition, the ability to critique others' work is an important critical thinking and managerial skill. Your peer critiques will be evaluated based on their level of thought and effort, as well as their understanding of principles from the textbook. For example, are you familiar with the four levels of editing? design principles? copyediting symbols?