Week 1

By Monday, June 9, at midnight

• If you have not done so already, read Welcome to English 421Y, Technical Writing (Distance Learning).
• Complete Getting Started 1: Registering on the Site
• Review carefully the Course Description, paying particular attention to all requirements. It is important that you become very familiar with the course policies so you can understand what is expected of you in this class. It might be best if you read through the course description twice; ignorance of the course policies will not be an excuse for failure to properly complete an assignment. Please do not fall behind on the first day. This course will proceed at a quick pace, so don't wait a few days to get going!
• Read Learning to Navigate the Site. Then explore the class website. Make sure that you login; some class website features are not available to guests. It'll be easier as we move forward if you take the time now to explore. Get familiar with where things are located, which links take you further into the class website and which take you outside to other resources.
• You should have purchased the course textbook already: The Thomson Handbook (Comprehensive Edition), by David Blakesley and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen. Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007. This book is available at local bookstores and may also be purchased online (e.g., through Amazon, here). You can buy the hardcover or paperback versions.
• Familiarize yourself with the content and structure of The Thomson Handbook. Scan the frontmatter (including the the table of contents) and the backmatter (the "Glossary of Web Terms" and the "Glossary of Usage") so that you know what the book contains.
• Read through the rest of this page so that you know when assignments are due the rest of the week.

By Tuesday, June 10, at midnight

• Complete Getting Started 2: Logging in for the First Time and Getting Started 3: Editing Your Account for the First Time
• Review How to Post to Your Individual Weblog and then "How to Post Comments and Replies"
• Please go to this blog post where you can introduce yourself. Post a comment to that post in which you

  describe where you are from
  give your course of study and year
  talk about your career goals
  tell what you would like to get out of this course
  share at least one thing personal about yourself (a hobby, your favorite sport, a favorite activity, etc.

• Read Instructor Blog #1: Welcome to Technical Writing. Post a comment responding to, furthering, or challenging the ideas to the blog. The instructor blogs are designed to serve as short replacements for course lectures, to help explain course concepts, help you on projects, and articulate grading procedures. Please read them carefully and post a thoughtful response. In your response, you are welcome to challenge the ideas in the blog if the response is productive.

Reading: Thomson Handbook Ch 12: Writing For Business and the Workplace

• Reminder: As you work on assignments for this course, always read ahead a few days to give yourself time to ask questions about future assignments.

By Wednesday, June 11 at midnight

• In a new blog entry, post a Reading Response to Thomson Handbook Chapter 12: Writing For Business and the Workplace. For the response, post a blog discussing your expectations for the course and how you hope it will contribute to your academic and professional development. Make sure that reading responses are 300 words in length, and that they reference specifics from the reading. Don't forget to put your reading response in the "Reading Response" category. You can select your category from the list below the title of your blog. Posts that are not tagged will not be graded.
• Don't forget to post 5 comments of 100 words each to other student reading responses by tomorrow night. Your comments should be thoughtful and specific, referencing specifics from the post and building further on those ideas.

By Thursday, June 12 at midnight

• Read the project description for Project 1: Instructions Project. Email the instructor with any questions or post them on the FAQ.
• Don't forget to post 5 comments of 100 words each to other student reading responses. Your comments should be thoughtful and specific, referencing specifics from the post and building further on those ideas.

By Friday, June 12 at midnight

• Read Instructor Blog #2: Email. Post a comment to the blog. You can discuss ideas in the blog, or mention other personal or reported email horror stories (I encourage students to include links to other email debacles like those I list). Remember also that this blog establishes the email principles for the course which I expect students to follow in all emails with me and other students.

Check out Week 2. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

‹ CalendarupWeek 2 ›