English 2311: Technical and Business Writing

Transcription

1 English 2311: Technical and Business Writing Instructor contact information Instructor: Heather Mitchell Office: Online Course Phone: Day/Time available outside of class: Can meet at Katy Campus by appointment Monday-Thursday Course information Course English 2311 Semester and Year: Fall, 2017 Number: Section Class Days & 14- week Online Number: Times: Credit Hours: 3 Class Room Location: 14-week Online English 2311 overview Hurricane Harvey Statement: Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, please notify the professor if you are comfortable in doing so. Course Description: Intensive study of and practice in professional settings. Focus on the types of documents necessary to make decisions and take action on the job, such as proposals, reports, instructions, policies and procedures, messages, letters, and descriptions of products and services. Practice individual and collaborative processes involved in the creation of ethical and efficient documents. Learning Outcomes: Recognize, analyze, and accommodate diverse audiences. Produce documents appropriate to audience, purpose, and genre.

2 Analyze the ethical responsibilities involved in technical communication. Locate, evaluate, and incorporate pertinent information. Develop verbal, visual, and multimedia materials as necessary, in individual and/or collaborative projects, as appropriate. Edit for appropriate style, including attention to word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Design and test documents for easy reading and navigation.

3 Course requirements Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 Co-requisites: none Required Textbooks:, 14 th Edition John M. Lannon ISBN: th Edition MLA Handbook or Online Resource (Purdue Owl) Instructor policies Attendance for Online Classes: Online courses need to be accessed multiple times per week in order to keep up with announcements, changes to assignments, discussion board requirements etc. Your activity will be assessed through the User Progress feature to ensure you spend a minimum of three hours a week within the course. Otherwise, missed discussions about assignment requirements can and will impact your Project grades and overall course average. Discussion Board Requirements: These discussion boards make up 50% of your total course grade and take the place of quizzes, test, and other activities. You CANNOT PASS the course without participating by posting AND READING posts of others. You must post 4 times to each discussion board link topic I set up including General Questions (if you have no questions, offer tips and advice based on your textbook reading). Your posts must be AT LEAST 4 SENTENCES OR LONGER EACH FOR CREDIT. You cannot just put I agree, Great idea etc. as these will not count toward your graded discussion posts. You must also read at least 75% of the total posts made by all or more to get full credit. All students must answer questions about the readings as posted in the discussion link prompts IN QUALITY FORM using full sentences with correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization etc. No posts can all be made on one day to one link no matter what the day is in the project timeframe. You must demonstrate regular and consistent participation. All students for A level points should at least every few days THROUGHOUT the project timeframe and to EACH LINK SET UP. NO CREDIT WILL BE AWARDED if the following above policies regarding discussion boards are not followed as these are equal to 50% of your total course grade and take the place of course discussion, quizzes and other meaningful class activities linked to reading and understanding the readings.

4 Late Paper/Missed Assignment Policy: No Late Work of Final Drafts Accepted AND NO FINAL DRAFTS TAKE VIA ATTACHMENT. All final drafts must be successfully uploaded to the Final Draft Assignment link within the course. If you are short on length or do not participate in Rough Draft Due dates, you will have 20 pts. deducted from that final project grade. Academic Integrity Policy: If clear evidence of academic dishonesty is found for any assignment, a 0 (0 points) for the assignment will be recorded. If a second incident of academic dishonesty occurs, an F for the course grade will be recorded. Assignment information Assignments: See Assignment Guidelines documents online. GRADE DETERMINATION: Your grade will be determined by the following Project 1-Job Materials Project 2-Informational Page Project 3-Instructions Project 4-Project Proposal Project 5-Formal Research Recommendation Discussion Boards Details Length Point Value Prewriting, 2 ½-page draft, final draft job posting Prewriting, rough draft, final draft and works cited page- Improvement and progress notable from Project 1 for full credit. Prewriting, rough draft, final draft and works cited page- Improvement and progress notable from Project 2 quality for full credit. 3-page report explaining purpose and audience as well as the timeline for your research or feasibility report project. Prewriting, rough draft, final draft of at least pages not including graphics and works cited page. Minimum posts of 4 or more to each link I set up and read at least 75% of total posts. See detailed policies above. 3 pages 100 pts. 2 pages 100 pts. 24 Steps 100 pts. 3 pages 100 pts. 12 full pages of text not including graphics Varying lengths 100 pts. 500 pts.

5 LETTER GRADE ASSIGNMENT: Letter Grade Final Average Total Points A B C D F Instructor guidelines and policies No Exceptions will be made to these policies. Please Read Carefully. To receive a passing grade in this course, I must submit all written papers, and they must be the designated minimum length required. Otherwise, the student will receive a failing grade in the course. NO LATE FINAL EXAM MATERIALS WILL BE ACCEPTED. ALL FINAL EXAM MATERIALS ARE DUE AT THE MINIMUM REQUIRED FINAL DRAFT LENGTH AT THE TIME THE FINAL EXAM is due. Not uploading your rough draft in full content form for Project 1-4 and on time will result in 20 points being deducted from your final draft for that assignment. NO ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TAKEN AS ATTACHMENTS IN . I understand that the college District is using a software system called turnitin.com to screen for plagiarism. I also understand that my paper becomes part of this turnitin.com database once a report is generated on my essay and I accept all terms associated with the District utilizing this anti-plagiarism software. Plagiarism Policy: If clear evidence of academic dishonesty is found for any assignment, a 0 (0 points) for the assignment will be recorded and the Dean of the English Department will be notified of the incident and the grade. If a second incident of academic dishonesty occurs, an F for the course grade will be recorded and the Dean of the English Department notified of the incident and the grade. If you do not use 8 th Edition MLA format and provide in-text parenthetical citations and a correctly titled, formatted and content based Works Cited page for Projects, the work will not be graded. I have read and fully understand the information explained in this syllabus. If I do not meet the requirements, and the time frames set for those requirements, my grade will be affected and how it is affected will be at the discretion of the instructor. All due dates and syllabus information are subject to changes, for this syllabus is a tentative listing of what will occur on particular dates. Please realize you will always submit your Final draft and works cited page to the Assignments link and to turnitin.com. Your rough drafts will always be posted by a certain date to the designated discussion board link. You typically will submit the following: Final Draft Rough Draft Peer Response Works Cited (if needed)

6 Turnitin.com Report at 25% or below (this is merged with the dropboxes in Canvas though there is a backup link at turnitin.com) INCOMPLETE WORK = NO RESPONSE = 10% or 20% OF GRADE AT 0 since each Unit and its process materials accounts for this percentage of the students grade. Short on development (will not be given credit or be responded to in total) No MLA 8 th Ed. parenthetical citations throughout the text (no response) No Works Cited No Rough Draft No Peer Response No turnitin.com Report viewable by me by due date and time at 25% or below. Plagiarism, meaning no parenthetical in-text documentation FOR ANY PORTION OF A SENTENCE, SENTENCE, OR MULTIPLES SENTENCES CITED, and/or no Works Cited page, will result in an automatic F for the first offense. The second offense will result in an automatic F in the course. YOU MUST ENSURE YOU USE an MLA resource TO UTILIZE CORRECT MLA DOCUMENTATION WITHIN EACH PAPER AND ON THE WORKS CITED PAGE WHEN USING OUTSIDE SOURCES. Any student retaking this course WILL NOT be allowed to use papers from the previously taken class and MUST write over different essays and different topics for each paper assignment. If the student does use ANY part of a paper from the previous semester during which the course was taken, he/she will receive and F in the course. Students are expected to conduct themselves appropriately while on College property or in an online environment. Students may receive disciplinary action up to and including suspension, if they violate System or College rules, disrupt classes, or interfere with the opportunity of others to obtain an education. THE INSTRUCTOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REMOVE STUDENTS FROM THE ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE CLASSROOMS WHO ARE CONSISTENTLY DISRESPECTFUL TO STUDENTS AND/OR THE INSTRUCTOR. THE INSTRUCTOR DECIDES WHAT IS DEFINED AS CONSISTENT AND WHAT IS DISRESPECTFUL. ONE WARNING WILL BE GIVEN TO STUDENTS REGARDING SUCH BEHAVIOR. THEN, THE STUDENT WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CLASS IF THE BEHAVIOR PERSISTS. Tentative Instructional Outline: Week Number Sept Activities and Assignments Go over syllabus and other documents. Objectives and Details You must review all links to familiarize yourself with the

7 Week Number Oct 2-6 Oct 9-12 Activities and Assignments Chapter 1-3 Introduction to Meeting the Needs of Specific Audiences Persuading Your Audience Workplace Letters Chapters Resumes and Other Job-Search Materials Chapter Organizing for Readers Editing for Professional Style and Tone Objectives and Details class and print documents such as the syllabus as appropriate. To write technically, we must first understand our writing process and how it connects with the professional world. Our first Project will focus on job materials. This reading assignment will help students grasp the organizational framework for Project 1 as well as shed light on the reader-centered communication process. Full Content Final Draft Due on Project 1 Oct. 8 th Focus on a discussion of Defining Communication Objectives. This reading is Directly linked to understanding the guidelines for Project 2, Informational Pages. We will also discuss how to read for revision and to make substantive Week Number Activities and Assignments Objectives and Details comments as you peer respond to rough drafts.

8 Oct Oct Chapters Designing Visual Information Designing Pages and Documents Part 5 Resources for Technical Writers MLA Documentation Guide Chapters Designing Visual Information Designing Pages and Documents Part 5 Resources for Technical Writers MLA Documentation Guide Chapter 19 Instructions and Procedures Review Chapters as needed. Chapter 19 Instructions and Procedures Part 5 Resources for Technical Writers MLA Documentation Guide We will continue reading and discussion centered upon our Project 2 topic of Informational Pages. Discussion of research writing and finding appropriate sources. What is plagiarism exactly? We will talk about Project 2 readings centered upon how to organize this project, as well as how to let go of a writing assignment and proclaim it as a final draft. Full Content Final Draft Due- Project 2 Oct. 22 nd We will focus on Project 3 writing Instructions by taking a look at the organizational suggestions for this assignment as discussed in the main text. Also, we will continue discussing how to evaluate sources and find sources appropriate to our assignment.

9 Week Number Activities and Assignments Objectives and Details Oct 30-Nov 3 Review Chapters as needed. Chapter 19 Instructions and Procedures Part 5 Resources for Technical Writers MLA Documentation Guide We will continue our discussion about writing Instructions for Project 3 and review sample instructions within this section. Also, we will focus specifically on how to cite sources within assignments as well as on the Works Cited pages. Full Content Final Draft due- Project 3-Nov. 5 th Nov 6-10 Chapters 7-9 Thinking Critically about the Research Process Evaluating and Interpreting Information Summarizing Research Findings and Other Information We will begin discussion of Formal Proposal and Report Writing and cover all specific guidelines for the last three projects, as they are all interrelated. Chapters 7-9 Thinking Critically about the Research Process Evaluating and Interpreting Information Summarizing Research Findings and Other Information We will continue discussion of Project 4-5 Proposal and Research Report Writing and focus on how to write with emphasis and inclusivity as you plan your organizational strategy.

10 Week Number Activities and Assignments Objectives and Details Nov Chapters Proposals Formal Analytical Reports We will continue to discuss concepts related to research writing such as the correct use of quotation marks. Additionally, students will be reading their own source material, reviewing selected sample reports, and preparing a detailed Progress Report linked to Project 5 Research Report Writing. Review Chapters as needed pertaining to report writing, visual and graphic design, research and documentation of sources. Proposals Formal Analytical Reports Students should be consistently reviewing the MLA documentation guidelines as they are working on understanding how to cite sources within the text as well as on the Works Cited page. Also, we will begin discussion of Powerpoint. Nov Chapters 21 Formal Analytical Reports Part 5 Resources for Technical Writers MLA Documentation Guide We will continue to work on improving grammar skills based on individual needs as well as begin the reading and discussion of text and hard copy information for the Powerpoint. Full Content Project 4 Final Draft Due Nov. 26 th

11 Nov 27- Dec 1 Chapters 21 Formal Analytical Reports Part 5 Resources for Technical Writers MLA Documentation Guide Dec 4-8 Students will be peer responding to one another to ensure that Project 5, Research Report is a process-oriented writing venture. 6-page Project 5 Rough Draft Due Dec. 5 th FINALS WEEK Dec Project 5 Final Draft Due Dec. 13 th Final Exam Week I have read and fully understand the information explained in this syllabus. If I do not meet the requirements, and the time frames set for those requirements, my grade will be affected and how it is affected will be at the discretion of the instructor. All due dates and syllabus information are subject to changes, for this syllabus is a tentative listing of what will occur on particular dates. Course Description: Intensive study of and practice in professional settings. Focus on the types of documents necessary to make decisions and take action on the job, such as proposals, reports, instructions, policies and procedures, messages, letters, and descriptions of products and services. Practice individual and collaborative processes involved in the creation of ethical and efficient documents. Core curriculum course. 3 credit hours. Prerequisite: ENGL 1301, TECC 1305 or Program Approval. Student Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will: Recognize, analyze, and accommodate diverse audiences. Produce documents appropriate to audience, purpose, and genre. Analyze the ethical responsibilities involved in technical communication. Locate, evaluate, and incorporate pertinent information.

12 Develop verbal, visual, and multimedia materials as necessary, in individual and/or collaborative projects, as appropriate. Edit for appropriate style, including attention to word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Design and test documents for easy reading and navigation. Core Objectives: Given the rapid evolution of necessary knowledge and skills and the need to take into account global, national, state, and local cultures, the core curriculum must ensure that students will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life. Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning. Students enrolled in this core curriculum course will complete assignments designed to cultivate the following core objectives: Critical Thinking Skills to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information. Communication Skills to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication. Personal Responsibility to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making. Teamwork to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal. Student Support Services: Tutoring: The Houston Community College Writing Centers provide a student centered environment where professional tutors support student success for all HCC students. The primary goal of the Writing Centers is to offer free, convenient, and personalized assistance to help students improve their writing at any stage of the writing process required in any courses at HCC. Tutors will also assist students with their job application letters, resumes, and scholarship/transfer essays. Each session lasts about thirty minutes. Students should bring their professor's assignment/writing prompt, any printed rough drafts, their textbooks, and (if necessary) a flash drive. Consult Find-A-Tutor at for Writing Center locations and times. At HCC Writing Centers, each tutoring session becomes a learning experience. Reasonable Accommodations: Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate HCC Disability Support Service

13 (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester. Faculty members are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Ability Support Services Office. For questions, contact Donna Price at or the Disability Counselor at your college. Get more detailed information on Disability Services at HCC here: o Coleman: o Central: o Northeast: o Northwest Katy Campus: o Northwest Spring Branch: o Southeast: o Southwest: Libraries: HCC has a Learning Resource Center at each campus for student use. The library provides electronic resources including an online catalog system as well as numerous databases that contain full-text articles all available at Additionally, many of the required texts are on reserve at the library. Find out library locations and hours here: Open Computer Labs: Students have free access to the internet and word processing in open computer labs available at HCC campuses. Check on the door of the open computer lab for hours of operation. Important HCCS and Course Policies: Repeating Courses: Students who repeat a course for three or more times will face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor or counselor/advisor about opportunities for tutoring and/or other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades. Attendance: Attendance, preparedness, and participation are essential for your success in this course. HCC does not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. If you are not in class, you are absent. HCC Policy states that you can miss up to but not exceeding 12.5% of class hours, which is equivalent to 6 hours. When you miss class, you are still responsible for what happens in class. Keep in mind that whatever the reason for your absence, you will still miss important course work. If you know you must be absent or if you have an emergency, let me know before class and make plans to meet with me in office hours. If you have more than four (4) absences, or what equates to not completing the attendance activities for online courses, before the official date of record, you may be automatically withdrawn from the course. Online course attendance is viewable through tracking summary features, and logging in multiple times per week is required to earn a passing grade.

14 Withdrawal Policy: Before withdrawing from the course, it is important to communicate with your professor and counselors to discuss your options for succeeding in the course. If all other options have been exhausted, you may withdraw yourself. Please remember that it is the student s responsibility to withdraw from a course. If you stop attending the class and don t withdraw by the November 13th withdrawal date, you are subject to the FX grading policy. International Students: Receiving a W in a course may affect the status of your student Visa. Once a W is given for the course, it will not be changed to an F because of the visa consideration. Since January 1, 2003, International Students are restricted in the number of distance education courses that they may take during each semester. International students must have full-time enrollment status of 12 or more semester credit hours, and of these at least 9 semester credit hours must be face-to-face on-campus courses. Please contact the International Student Office at or int_student_svcs@hccs.edu, if you have any questions about your visa status and other transfer issues. Final Grade of FX: Students who stop attending class or stop actively participating in class and do not withdraw themselves prior to the withdrawal deadline may either be dropped by their professor for excessive absences or be assigned the final grade of FX at the end of the semester. Students who stop attending classes or who stop actively participating in classes will receive a grade of FX, as compared to an earned grade of F, which is due to poor performance. Logging into a DE course without active participation is considered non-attending. Please note that HCC will not disperse financial aid funding for students who have never attended class. Students who receive financial aid but fail to attend class will be reported to the Department of Education and may have to pay back their aid. A grade of FX is treated exactly the same as a grade of F in terms of GPA, probation, suspension, and satisfactory academic progress. Academic Honesty: A student who is academically dishonest is, by definition, not showing that the coursework has been learned, and that student is claiming an advantage not available to other students. The instructor is responsible for measuring each student s individual achievements and also for ensuring that all students compete on a level playing field. Thus, in our system, the instructor has teaching, grading, and enforcing roles. You are expected to be familiar with the HCC s policy on Academic Honesty found in the catalogue. What that means is that if you are charged with an offense, pleading ignorance of the rules will not help you. Just so there is no misunderstanding, plagiarism (using another's ideas or words without giving credit), collusion (unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit), and other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. To be accepted, all papers require proof of their development. Students who plagiarize, collude, or cheat may face disciplinary action including the grade of 0 for the assignment, an F for the course, and/or dismissal from the college. (See

15 Student Handbook) EGLS3 (Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System): At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is necessary to improve teaching and learning. During a designated time near the end of the term, you will be asked to answer a short online survey of research-based questions related to instruction. The anonymous results of the survey will be made available to your professors and division chairs for continual improvement of instruction. Go to for directions. Title IX Discrimination: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that institutions have policies and procedures that protect students rights with regard to sex/gender discrimination. Information regarding these rights are on the HCC website under Students-Anti-discrimination. Students who are pregnant and require accommodations should contact any of the ADA Counselors for assistance. It is important that every student understands and conforms to respectful behavior while at HCC. Sexual misconduct is not condoned and will be addressed promptly. Know your rights and how to avoid these difficult situations by logging in from your HCC student account, go to Go to the button at the top right that says Login and click. Enter your student number. Open/Campus Carry of Handguns: No Firearms Are Allowed on Campus. If you see anyone carrying a firearm on campus call the HCC Police Department at immediately. Texas House Bill 910 known as the Open Carry law provides holders of a handgun license may now carry their handgun visibly in a waist belt holster or a shoulder holster, but they may not openly carry on or in a college campus or building and they may not openly carry on any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage or other parking area of the college. Open Carry is effective as of January 1, Campus carry and open carry are two (2) separate laws. Texas Senate Bill 11 known as the Campus Carry law will allow individuals who have a valid Texas handgun license to carry a concealed handgun in certain areas on college campuses. The Campus Carry law becomes effective at 4-year institutions on August 1, 2016 and at 2-year institutions on August 1, All information regarding both Open Carry and Campus Carry will be posted at Campus Safety: If you are on campus and need emergency assistance, call or, from any campus phone, Use this emergency number instead of 911, which gets routed back to the HCC Police Department dispatch thus lengthening response time to your emergency situation.