Technical and Prof. Writing, ENG111
Mesa Community College Online
Summer II 2012, Section 0001, Class 12054
Syllabus

London:
Where English Came From
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If you have questions about class not addressed on this page, please let me know.

 

SYLLABUS

This syllabus is your class contract. If this is your first time here, read the entire document. Later you may use the links above right to access specific sections.

Also note that this website is independent of Canvas. Bookmark this page (or the home page linked above) to return to class. Do not rely on Canvas to access these pages.

Finally, refresh any pages you visit to ensure the latest content.

Overview

Important: Make sure you are enrolled in one of the class sections noted in the upper left corner in MCC BLUE and that your payment has been processed. If you are purged for non-payment or through some other fault of your own, I will not reinstate you. No overrides. Also note that sections for each semester are combined on Canvas for webboard and gradebook, so you might appear under a different class number there from the one you registered under. Therefore, verify your class number with MCC Registration and not Canvas.

Class description
ENG111 is an entry-level technical writing class that covers basic principles, namely identifying a specific rhetorical situation and designing a document that targets that situation. You will work individually and as part of a team. You will consider both verbal and visual components of technical communication. You will analyze other documents and create your own. And you will explore different genres, including: résumé, process description, instructions, and proposal. You will be allowed to create your own situations and choose your own topics, but you will also be expected to obtain my approval and to clarify or to revise your plans if necessary to that end.

Rhetorical situation
An important consideration of this class is rhetorical situation. Almost everything you do will refer to this concept in some way, so you need to understand what I mean by it. Simply put, "rhetorical situation" describes the circumstances that should drive every consideration of the document: author, purpose, audience, genre. In other words, who will read the document, why is it being written, who is writing it, and what form does it take? Asking these questions should be the first step in technical writing, not an afterthought. The answers affect a document's content, organization, tone, design, and many other factors.

Prerequisites and expectations
You must have successfully completed ENG101 to take this class. You are therefore expected to know and to use standard edited American English for class. Being completely online, this class requires self-discipline: you are expected to turn work in on time, to keep up with readings, to ask questions when necessary, to check your email several times during each week, and to reply promptly when asked. You are also expected to exercise courtesy when dealing with me and with your peers.

Instructor information
My name is Jeremy Venema. You may call me either Jeremy or Professor. I have taught technical writing since 2001. I have a PhD from ASU, have worked as a corporate trainer, and also teach composition, creative writing, screenwriting, and literature. My office is EO8, and office hours will be posted. I urge you to email me if you want to meet, so that I may better accommodate your schedule. You may reach me by phone, 480-461-7604, but the best way to contact me is by email: jeremy.venema@mesacc.edu. I try to respond to most emails within 24 hours; however, I do not check messages on weekends. (Response time to assignments is addressed under Grading.)

Class delivery
This class is completely online: you can take it from anywhere in the world that has reliable Internet access. All class information is on one website, which exists independent of Canvas (so if Canvas is not working, you can still get to the class pages); however, you will need Canvas to participate in discussions. I might (or might not) provide additional advice or information via MCC email, so you should check it frequently. Specific assignments are listed and linked on both the Assignments page and the Calendar page.

Words of advice
This class is not hard, but it is challenging. The information is there, it's organized, but you need to digest and apply it. You also need to be able to learn from mistakes and keep challenging yourself to do better. Ask questions, accept constructive criticism, and stay in touch by checking email frequently. If you do these things, and have a positive attitude, a sense of humor, and a desire to learn, you should do well. Don't procrastinate, but do strive to work well with others. And remember that everyone can write, but good writing depends on thoughtful revision, and this is where everyone can improve as a writer.

Objectives

This class aims to make you a better, more confident technical and professional writer. Specifically:

Each student should complete ENG111 able to do the following.

  • Analyze the relationship between audience and written communication
  • Identify and describe the structure and components required in professional writing
  • Interpret information presented in data and incorporate into work-related projects
  • Incorporate graphics to support and develop documents
  • Demonstrate the principles of collaboration in writing and presenting team projects with peers
  • Find, integrate, and cite sources to support and develop documents
  • Use appropriate voice, tone, diction, grammar, and mechanics to produce documents
  • Identify and apply the principles of writing correspondence
  • Demonstrate the ability to write descriptions of products or processes
  • Identify and apply the principles of writing various types of professional reports

These objectives relate to the official course competencies.

Grading

Points breakdown
Your final class grade is based on 500 points possible, broken down in detail on the Assignments page. Note that late work earns no credit. Points convert to grades in the standard way. In other words, 90% (450 points) or better earns an A, 80% (400 points) or better earns a B, and so on.

Letter grades on documents
I tend to assign letter grades to all assignments except discussions: A, B, C, D, F, possibly with + or - variations. An A translates to 95%, a B to 85%, a C to 75%, etc. An A+ would be 100%, an A- 90%; a B+ would be 90%, a B- 80%, etc. To determine points, translate the letter grade to its percentage and then multiply by the points possible, deducting points lost (hopefully none) for incorrect file format (-5) or title (-5), covered in the instructions. Letter grades allow me to give a succinct indication of your performance: A means excellent, B good, C fair or average, D deficient, and F failure. If you do not turn in a document on time, you get 0 points. I will provide detailed comments with each grade, designed to help you improve on the next document. I will not provide detailed comments on the last report; however, I invite specific questions at any time during class on any document, completed or in progress.

Collaboration
The instructions assignment involves teamwork, so part of your grade will be based on my assessment of confidential peer evaluations. I urge you to form your own team, using the discussion board: you need three or four people. Email me once you have a team. If I do not hear from you, I will put you in a team. Keep in mind that even if you choose your own team, I might need to make adjustments to team memberships. Once you have established a team with me, I will set up a team discussion board for you, either under a name I give you or under a team name that you submit to me and is appropriate.

Webboard discussions
There are 5 of these, each worth 25 points, for a total of 125 points, 25% of your grade. Need I say more about how important discussions are? Posts often require you to do some reading and/or thinking, post a response, and then respond to someone else's post. Also, simply posting does not get you the points. To get full credit, posts must be thoughtful, specific, detailed, complete, and on time. As you read other posts, you should get a sense for which posts are 25-pointers and which are worth less. If your own are the latter, improve. I am the final arbiter of points, so, yes, you need to impress me (at least a little). I will not respond to every post but will monitor weekly participation according to the rubric below. If you have any questions about your performance at any time, email me. Late posts earn no credit, and posts not following instructions will not earn full credit.

late or no contribution
partial contribution:
too brief, too vague, or failing to post response to a peer
satisfactory contribution:
could be better developed or involve better interaction
excellent contribution:
polite and detailed, with thoughtful peer interaction
0 points
15 points
20 points
25 points

Instructions and grading criteria
Detailed instructions and grading criteria for specific assignments, including how to format and submit them, are linked on both the Assignments page and the Calendar page. Work that does not conform to these instructions risks losing credit.

Response time to assignments
I strive to grade most discussions within 48 hours of the due date; documents take a little longer (around a few work days).

Reviewing points
I will post points for each assignment, excluding the last two, to the Canvas gradebook. Review them as you go and let me know right away if you find a discrepancy; waiting to do so may result in my being unable to address the problem.

Final class grades
You may access these via MCC after the class ends. If you want to know your grade a bit early, email me the last week of class; when I have final grades calculated, I will get back to you with yours.

Attendance Policy

Even online, attendance counts: You are expected to submit assignments on time and to respond promptly to emails expecting a response. Check email often. Due dates are in the calendar. Please read the following carefully.

  • A Timely Start Is Essential …
    If I have received no email from you by noon the first Wednesday, I may withdraw you as never attended, and you won’t be reinstated. Any email sent to me should clearly identify your name and class. If you register after class begins, you have 24 hours to contact me via email or you may be withdrawn. (Note: Late work will not be accepted for credit.) Once withdrawn, you may or may not be entitled to a refund; ask Registration. If you want to be guaranteed a refund, be sure to withdraw yourself during the prescribed drop/add period (for which you do not need my permission).

  • In General …
    If you miss two consecutive due dates, I may withdraw you for lack of attendance. The same is true if you fail to respond to my email requests repeatedly. If you do miss a due date and wish to stay in class, email me at once and let me know, but it will be at my discretion. Once withdrawn, you will not be reinstated.

  • If You Do Wish to Be Withdrawn …
    Email me a request. If you simply stop attending, you could end up with a grade of F instead of a W. I generally grant withdrawal requests, though I may refuse; I consider requests individually.

 

 

Texts and Materials

Required:

  • "The textbook": Mike Markel's Technical Communication, 9th ed.
  • Microsoft Word (or some equivalent that allows you to save, open, and edit files using a .doc file extension)
    • If you have a recent version of Word that produces .docx files, you might need to save as Word 97-03.
  • Internet access, the faster the better
  • MCC email account (required for class email)
    • If you don't have one, set one up here. (Click on Google Apps and you can set up an account if you don't already have one. Your MCC/Maricopa email account should end in @maricopa.edu.)
  • Access to Canvas

Optional:

Note: You will be expected to produce original graphics in this class, but you need not have special software for this; Microsoft Word allows you to create a number of graphics (charts, drawings, etc.) fairly easily. For some assignments it might be helpful to have a camera (even a phone camera), access to a scanner, or other image/design tools, but, again, these are not required.

Support:

Finally, if you encounter any links on this website that no longer work, please let me know.

Other Policies

If the attendance policy is "commandment 1" of this class, these are the other nine.

  1. LATE OR INCOMPLETE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR CREDIT.
    To be accepted, assignments must be time-stamped by MCC email no later than 11:59 PM (AZ time) on the date due. No extensions, no excuses. If you have a dire emergency that renders you late, let me know right away (preferably prior to the due date) and I might consider an exception. However, it is up to you to make sure your work gets to me on time. Therefore, do not procrastinate; do make sure you send work to the right email address and in the requested format; do save your original emails as proof; do check email often, especially right after a due date in case there are any problems with your assignment; do strive to turn work in a bit early. If you enroll late and miss the first assignments, that is the price of arriving late. Please, no whining.

  2. PLAGIARISM IS GROUNDS FOR FAILURE.
    Plagiarism is the use of others' ideas or words without attribution. It can be intentional or unintentional but either way is not acceptable. If caught plagiarizing, you risk failing the assignment and the class, as well as other penalties administered by MCC. If you are not sure if something constitutes plagiarism, ask prior to turning it in.

  3. REGULAR PARTICIPATION IS MANDATORY.
    A significant portion of your grade is based on your involvement in discussions on the discussion board, as well as your prompt response if required to any emails I send you. Failure to participate regularly can negatively affect your class grade.

  4. ROUGH DRAFTS AND REWRITES ARE ENCOURAGED BUT NOT ACCEPTED.
    That is, I encourage you to revise and rewrite your papers (which implies going through various drafts) before turning in final versions. However, I do not accept rough drafts, nor do I accept rewrites (with rare exceptions). If you want advanced feedback, you may email a paragraph to me for comments several days prior to the due date, then apply my comments to your entire assignment. Additionally, I am happy to answer any questions about your assignments as long as you do not wait until the last minute to ask. Regarding rewrites, do your best the first time around, learn from any mistakes, and strive to do better on the next assignment. In most cases, a rewrite would not mean much improvement in overall grade (assuming it even earned a better grade, and there is no guarantee), so I would rather you spend your time improving on the next assignment than waste it on trying to re-do or perfect the previous one.

  5. KEEP COPIES.
    You should not only keep copies of your work but also save sent emails when submitting work. If I cannot locate your assignment, you should be able to forward the original email to prove you sent it on time. I am not responsible for late or missing work.

  6. GRADES WILL BE DISCUSSED ONLY WITH THE STUDENT.
    Not with relatives, friends, parents, spouses, roommates, pets, etc.

  7. YOU MUST USE MCC EMAIL.
    MCC email is free, easy to use, and accessible anywhere; email sent from other accounts might not reach me on time or at all, and if it does reach me, I am unlikely to acknowledge it. (If you have a problem with your MCC email account, you may use another account temporarily, but explain the situation and be sure to get your MCC account working again right away.)     MCC email is also how I send information to the class and to individual students. Know your mailbox limits and do not exceed them or you might miss messages. It is up to you to ensure that your MCC email is working properly. Feel free to request reply receipts when emailing; better yet, you can cc yourself to make sure your message comes across as intended. Please keep email class related and always note in your subject line: your name (first and last), your class, and either the name of your assignment or the purpose of your message. Here's an example: Dawn Smith_ENG111_Intro Email. Avoid ALL CAPS in the body of your email, and separate paragraphs by spacing between them (as I have done between each of these policies). Also, screen your computer regularly for worms and viruses to prevent spreading them; MCC offers tools and support. Finally, note that whatever you send me may be excerpted or otherwise used for the benefit of instructing future students.

  8. USE THE WEBBOARD RESPONSIBLY.
    You may access the webboard through this     portal (and I advise bookmarking the page). A tutorial may also be of use. I encourage you to use the webboard to meet and interact with peers and to ask questions, but exercise politeness and respect and also keep discussion related to class.

  9. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL COLLEGE POLICIES IN THE MCC STUDENT HANDBOOK and the COLLEGE CATALOG.

Finally, three important notifications:

  • If you have or think you have a disability, including a learning disability, please make an appointment with an advisor at Disability Resources (480-461-7447) as soon as possible. They can assist you with appropriate accommodations for you in your classes.

  • Mesa Community College is committed to the success of all our students. Numerous campus support services are available throughout your academic journey to assist you in achieving your educational goals. MCC has adopted an Early Alert Referral System (EARS) as part of a student success initiative to aid students in their educational pursuits. Faculty and Staff participate by alerting and referring students to campus services for added support. Students may receive a follow up call from various campus services as a result of being referred to EARS. Students are encouraged to participate, but these services are optional. Early Alert Web Page with Campus Resource Information can be located at: http://www.mesacc.edu/students/ears.

  • You are responsible for the information in this syllabus. I will alert you of any changes to it.

Document Format

These guidelines apply only to document assignments: résumé, process description, instructions, proposal. Failure to abide by them may result in loss of credit. If you have a reason for an exception, please discuss with me.

  • Pages may be either single or double-spaced as long as you are consistent within a document.
  • All margins must be one inch.
  • Text (except for centered titles) must be aligned left with a ragged right margin. However, block justification is permissible in some situations (for example, if you are striving to mimic the design of a textbook).
  • Font must be readable. Size 12 is recommended. Also, use a conventional style, such as Times or Arial. Again, there are exceptions, but clear them with me beforehand.
  • Paragraphs may be either left-indented or separated by extra line breaks, not both.
  • Pages should be paginated consistently.
  • Documents should be saved and named according to this formula: [Your last name]'s [Name of report (e.g., Description)].
  • Reports should be saved as Word files with .doc file extension (save as Word 97-03); .pdf files are acceptable for some assignments.
  • Any graphics, quotations, paraphrase, or other borrowed material must be cited in a manner consistent with a common documentation style, and an appropriate bibliography included.

Calendar

For your convenience (so you can easily print it out and return to view it), the calendar appears on a separate page, but it is considered part of this syllabus. Please review it. I will alert you of any changes to it.

Now What?

You've read the syllabus and reviewed the calendar. So now what?

  • Bookmark and print out the Assignments and Calendar pages for future reference.
  • Obtain the required materials noted above.
  • Set up or clean out your MCC email account and make sure it works.
  • Start the first assignment.

Let me know if you have any questions. Welcome to class!