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English 300, section 90 -- Writing in the Professions [This is an online course]

Overview and Objectives :: Homework & Schedule :: Assignments & Grading

Overview:
You will learn the difference between academic and workplace writing through reading, research, and writing for specific needs.

This course will --

• require reading texts which will provide a basis of strategies for producing similar texts and documents.
• encourage consideration of an audience's system of aesthetics, values, and ethics.
• require responses to supplemental texts and provide strategies for producing responses through oral, written, and electronic responses.
• provide students with strategies for developing and supporting various professional communication modes.

The course objectives include equiping students with a wealth of strategies for lifetime writing situations in their chosen field of study. The student will be able to:

• develop their processes for critical reading and writing [Syllabus response, Analytical report]
• develop strategies for "reading" audiences and analyzing texts [Annotated bibliography, Analytical report]
• differentiate your professional communication strategies in oral, written, and electronic formats [Class discussions, Progress report, Letters, Memos]
• discriminate personal strategies for using visual communication [Syllabus response, Progress report]
• identify audience for sharing research [Letter of transmittal]
• develop and fine tune interaction with groups and project teams [Class discussions, Evaluate 1st draft of analytical reports]
• understand a method of presenting samples for coursework, for employment, or for additional education [Resume, CD course portfolio].

If you need to contact me by e-mail at "fidallas@svsu.edu," the subject line should contain your last name, course and section number [for example, using my name the subject line would be: Dallas, English 300-90] to prevent your e-mail from being misplaced as possible spam.

NOTE: All responses and work for the course (course portfolio) will be burned to CD and turned in at the final exam period. Documents should be saved as .RTF files. Include your resume on the CD.

Required Texts--please bring them to all in-class sessions:

• Porter, Sullivan, and Johnson-Eilola. Professional Writing: Custom Edition for Saginaw Valley State University. ver. 2. Pearson, 2007. ISBN 0536322937
• Williams, Mark A. The 10 Lenses. Capital Books, 2001. ISBN 1892123592

Other resources:

• Online student support webpage here
• Student Technology Center, 2nd Floor, Zahnow Library here
• The Writing Center, 3rd Floor, Zahnow Library here
• Research assistance at SVSU Zahnow Library here and here
• Information Technology Services @ SVSU here
• Your local public library *elsewhere*

Course weekly schedule:
Activities are DUE on the date indicated by the course schedule. Please review to plan your time wisely. Presentations are linked below--including audio component. If you are not able to make all the in-class sessions, you may wish to consider taking another section of this course.

Notes
Texts: PW=Professional Writing; TTL=The 10 Lenses
Presentations: Online presentations are visual links with audio narration.
Assignments: "Dallas1.rtf" sample name for assignments--you will replace my last name with your last name when turning in your assignments. Your assignments should be saved as "RTF (rich text format) files.

Each response will be typed for this class. The cover page of the document should be formatted as such:

[your name]
English 300-90
Dr. Dallas
[date]

Then start your response on the next page. The documents will be typed, single-spaced, with one-inch margins. Use Arial 12 point, Bookman Old Style 12 point, or Century Gothic 11 point fonts.

When directed, upload your paper to VSpace assignments. You should name your file by this format: [lastname+assignment number], or "Dallas1.rtf" (Examples are listed in the assignment schedule above). Please ensure your original file has the same name, or change it in the Properties box in the document. Your assignment should be saved as an RTF (rich text format) document, and not a DOC, DOCX, or WPD file. I will deduct one point for incorrectly named files.

The online assignments are due by 5 p.m. on the date indicated. For each day (or portion thereof) that your assignment is late, two (2) points will be deducted. Check the clock on your computer.

Syllabus response -- 5 points:
Read over the webpages to the online syllabus and formulate a response (see above specifics) in the following format:
~ Structure--one page and at least 300 words covering the Content and Question sections below:

Annotated bibliography -- 15 points:
This is a ten-citation bibliography for a research paper or analytical report, with 100- to 150-word summaries of each article read. Included in the summary is a comment on the usefulness of the articles read. The summaries are single-spaced, and follow the reference cited. There should be a minimum of ten sources, seven print and three electronic (not Library databases) sources, and should not be books, dictionary, or encyclopedia references. No more than three sources should be from the same journal or magazine--"research" means looking at widely varying sources. These sources should not come from prior research. The three electronic sources should not come from wikipedia.com. Additional information is provided through the online presentation (above) and on VSpace.

Genres - Progress reports -- 10 points:
This report will provide information on your status on the reseach paper.

Discussions -- participating -- 10 points:
Each student will be expected to contribute to the message board discussions on The 10 Lenses. The specific message response format will be discussed in VSapce. Minimum discussion will be reflected in minimum points.

Genres - Letters and memos -- 5 points each; total of 20 points:
This writing will provide guidance for the preparation and structure of many typical business, educational, governmental, and public documents. Guidance will consider audience composition, audience feedback, and organizational constraints. The structure of these documents will be in the form of responses to chapters in The 10 Lenses. See the assignment instructions at VSpace for details.

Genres - Analytical report -- 20 points:
This is an in-depth research project that reflects research in your field. Research will be conducted in the Zahnow Library and online to locate resources within your respective disciplines. A research paper or proposal that reflects academic style for your discipline or the workplace may be written for this course. The final paper will be a five-page document that may use some visual graphics and figures, but is primarily a research venue for a topic of interest. (Your visual images should not constitute the majority of your paper) This paper will be an individual effort, but collaborative discussions and feedback on the first draft will show how writing is always social in nature.

The first draft is due week 5 and will be peer-reviewed by your classmates. It should be at least one and one-half pages, single-spaced, and include the annotated bibliography of at least ten sources (seven print and three electronic). Bring three copies for this review. This is worth 10 points.

Make sure you save a copy of your draft separate from your revised final version.

The final draft of of three pages (five maximum!), single-spaced, will be due at week 7, and should include your annotated bibliography of at least ten sources (seven print and three electronic). These sources are in addition to any assigned text or article for the class that you might cite. This is worth 10 points.

NOTE: Include your annotated bibliography with your analytical report drafts. Please make sure you use the same font type for the report and the annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography is not counted with the requisite page totals for the analytical report.

Genres - Letter of transmittal -- 5 points:
This letter will provide a synopsis of your analytical report.

Course CD -- 5 points:
Turned in at final examination period. See Note above course texts for specifics.

Final exam -- 10 points:
The final exam details will be provided later.