Worlds of Technical Communication

Email (my preferred method of communication): kadkins@missouriwestern.edu; if you email me about class, include “ETC 421" in the subject heading

Savage, Gerald J. and Dale L. Sullivan. Writing A Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job.

Johnson-Eilola, Johndan, and Stuart A. Selber, eds. Central Works in Technical Communication. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. [Buy this. Ask for it as a graduation present. Read it during slow times on the job. It’s a great overview of the important issues in the field.]

Academic Superstore is a good source for software and equipment like scanners and digital cameras. You will need to email them proof of your student status

Alibris is an excellent source for used books, including out of print and rare books. Since you are buying from independent used-book sellers, you should check the information about how long it will take for the book to arrive. Some booksellers use “book rate” to mail your purchases, which can be very slow.

In this class, we will examine the rhetorical expectations of technical communication communities. During the semester, you will prepare to enter the discourse communities of professional technical communicators, of the international marketplace, and of business and industry. We will answer the following key questions:

‒ How do discourse communities define themselves? How can we identify and define them?

‒ How does rhetorical situation influence the stylistic choices made by writers in professional settings?

‒ To what extent are a writer’s choices defined by audience (including an international audience)? By purpose?

‒ How much freedom does a writer have to be “creative” when using restricted forms like technical descriptions or reports?

‒ How do writers become accepted as members of “foreign” discourse communities (e.g. engineering, pharmacology)?

‒ How can an understanding of rhetorical situation help solve the problems writers encounter when preparing a single text for multiple purposes or audiences?

Many of the readings (from Intercom and Technical Communication) will be available to members of STC on line. That is why STC membership is required for this course. Other readings in journals may be accessed through MWSU’s library. Use the alphabetical list of periodicals to find the appropriate journal issue. Articles from the Proceedings are available through TC Eserver, <http://tc.eserver.org/>. I will give you copies of the other readings.

There will be three major assignments. The first will be a research project that will result in a research paper formatted for submission to Technical Communication. Early in the semester, I will ask you to choose a technical communication issue or topic that you would like to learn more about.. Browse past issues of STC publications and past issues of Technical Communication Quarterly to find topics that will interest you. I will also be able to make suggestions. This paper will take the form as a “review of the literature,” and can serve as the theoretical background for your second major assignment.

The second assignment will be a rhetorical and textual analysis of a technical document or a (more traditional) analysis of an issue in technical communication. You will be able to check out a document from the STC library or choose one of your own, with my approval. For example, you may wish to research usability, and apply that to a user’s guide, or you may wish to research visual rhetoric and apply that to a handbook or report. The results of the analysis will be turned in to me as a paper and submittd as a poster for Missouri Western's Mulit-Disciplinary Rsearch Day and will be presented as a PowerPoint at the end of the semester.

Finally, you will be asked to submit a group of documents designed for international audiences, possibly including correspondence, a set of instructions, and illustrations.

English majors with an emphasis in Technical Communication, Journalism, or Public Relations Writing are required to complete a graduation portfolio (EPR/ETC/JOU 401). I recommend that you consider the following assignment from this class for your portfolio:

Participation in class/daily work	20%
Research paper (literature review) on tech. comm. subject (formatted for Technical Communication)	20%
Research paper that combines review of literature with analysis of artifact/issue (formatted for Technical Communication)	25%
Poster session presentation	10%
Collection of documents for international audiences	15%
PowerPoint presentation	10%

I welcome the opportunity to talk to students about reading or writing assignments during my office hours. You don’t need an appointment. If you can’t drop by during my office hours, please make an appointment.

Email is the official medium for communication at Missouri Western. You should check your Missouri Western email account at least every other day. This is how professors will contact you if they need to, and it is how you will receive information about campus events, scholarship and financial aid opportunities, and other important campus information. Some departments have student listservs to announce special events (like speakers or conference opportunities), scholarship deadlines, and the like. When you send an email to a professor or office on campus, you should send it from you Western email account, so that we know it is campus business.

A note on email etiquette: When you write an email to a professor, approach it as correspondence in a professional setting. This means including an informative subject line (at the very least, the course number), complete sentences, correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling, a salutation, and a signature. If you are including an attachment, you should tell the recipient what it is.

Students missing four class periods will have their semester grade lowered one letter grade. If you miss class, check with your classmates (especially your workshop members) to find out what short assignments you missed. You can also find the Schedule of Assignments on line (see below). If you must be absent for a number of class sessions and you know in advance, please talk to me about it; otherwise, talk to me when you return. I understand that many of you have work and family responsibilities, but you should make success in your college courses your priority. Your education is your most important job, so you should arrange your schedule accordingly.

Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty include any instance of plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying documents or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course, or expulsion from the University. When a student’s grade has been affected, violations of academic honesty will be reported to the Provost or designated representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report forms.

Please see the 2007-08 Student Handbook and Calendar on page for specific activities identified as violations of this policy and the student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online.

Papers that have been plagiarized will receive no credit, and the student who submits such a paper will have to meet with me before any other work will be accepted. This is one of the key issues in technical communication, since the documents written by technical communicators are essential to establishing ethos–theirs and their organization’s. Throughout the semester, we will be discussing these ethical issues for writing in professional settings.

Disabilities: Please let me know during the first week of class about any physical handicap or learning disability if you need special help or accommodation in order to do your best work.

Schedule of Assignments: Since I try to adapt each of my classes to the needs and interests of the students, check this often for changes. If for some reason, class is canceled, check this site for the new schedule.