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«schedule» Business & Technical Writing
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right arrow Important Dates

Please make a note of the following key dates for Sprinf Semester 2012:

01/09
 First day of class for Engl 3720 students.
01/16
 Martin Luther King Day .
03/01
 Midterm.
03/12-16
 Spring Break .
04/30
 Last day of class.
05/05-11
 Finals.

right arrow Course Outline

Online Discussions:
All Unit Online Discussions require two responses to the prompt. Your first response should directly address my prompt. The next response should address one of your classmate's responses. See Discussion Prompts for more on this.

The first Online Discussion response is due by midnight EST/EDT on Wednesday, the other responses are due by midnight, Sunday . These responses may be completed earlier in the week and are accessed via the Discussion link. Your participation grade depends on completing these discussions.

Quizzes
Unit Quizzes are due on Sundays by midnight US EST/EDT. You will have a 24 hour window to access the Quizzes, starting at midnight on Saturday. Quizzes are timed (1 hour). Access Quizzes via the Assessment link in WebVista.

Assignments
All Unit Assignments are due by midnight US EST/EDT on the dates given below. They are submitted via the Assignments link as attachments (Microsoft Word, or Rich Text Format required) on the WebVista Course Menu.

Finally, since this is a hybrid course, we will communicate both in class and via the Discussion Link on WebVista. Please check in often, and also look for Announcements that will inform you of additional instructions for the course. Good luck.

right arrow Pirate's View Vista

Pirate's View Vista is Armstrong Atlantic State University's course management system, which is accessed via a web browser on the Internet. To successfully complete the course, you must have access to the Internet as well as the WebVista system--and you must be enrolled in the course. You may access Pirate's View Vista at:

Should you have any difficulties gaining access or any other difficulties with WebVista, you are encouraged to contact Pirate's View Vista's 24-hour Support Center . STS operates an orientation for Pirate's View Vista (and other computer applications), which may prove helpful.

right arrowUnit 1 (Week 1 - 01/11)

Introduction(s)

Students familiarize themselves with course textbooks and requirements.

Assignments:
right arrow Unit 2: (Week 1 - 01/13)

Professional Writing (Self) Assessments

"You must find your own voice." This is a familiar expression heard in composition and creative writing courses. The expression has its place in business and technical writing as well, but there is a keen difference. In business and technical writing, the writer's voice is often suppressed or modified at times for the sake of the written document. To do this successfully, it's imperative that writers know who they are as writers, first and foremost.

Assignments:

Homework:

right arrow Unit 3: (Week 2 - 01/16) Monday MLK Day

 
right arrow Unit 4: (Week 2 - 01/18)

What's Business and Technical Communication?

This unit describes the role of business and technical communication in industry and examines its place in higher education curricula. Students are introduced to key legal considerations that affect professional writers and review the writing process as it is practiced in a variety of professions.

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 2

Homework:
right arrow Unit 5: (Week 3 - 01/23)

Letters, emails, memos and the Job Application.

The basics of business letters, proper memo formatting, email communication, and designing the job application and resume'.

          Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 3

Homework:
right arrow Unit 6: (Week 4 - 01/30)

Research and Planning

This unit prepares students to analyze the audience and purpose for the document, the research that is necessary to investigating their topics, and developing and organizing fact-based technical and business documents. That skill set is expanded to touch upon job research, as well.

           Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 4

Homework:
right arrow Unit 7: (Week 5 - 02/06)

Communicating Your Information Persuasively

In technical communication, often your job is to convince a reader of a viewpoint--about what factors caused a situation, for example, or what a company out to do to solve a problem. You will be reinforcing a viewpoint the reader already has, or changing the reader's mind. You are presenting an argument: an arrangement of facts and judgments about some aspect of the world.

           Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 5
  • Take Quiz 2 (due Sunday, 02/12)

Homework:
right arrow Unit 8: (Week 6 - 02/13) ONLINE WEEK - NO F2F CLASS

Documents that Cohere

Students articulate timelines that promote a clear document development plan.

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 9

Homework:

right arrow Unit 9: (Week 6 - 02/20)

Unit 5: Proposals

In this unit, students learn a variety of writing formats, including the business and grant proposals, or plans.

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 6

Homework:
right arrow Unit 9: ( Week 7 - 02/27) ONLINE WEEK - NO F2F CLASS

Proposal

Continue discussion and work on business or grant proposal.

Assignments:

  • Online-class discussion of proposals
  • Participate in Discussion 7

Homework:
right arrow Unit 10: (Week 8 - 03/05)

Definitions and Descriptions

This unit emphasizes the importance of writing clear definitions and descriptions, key components in most technical and business documents.

Assignments:
(Week 9 - 03/12) Spring Break
right arrow Unit 11: (Week 10 - 03/19)

Planning Formal Documents

This unit prepares students for the key component that will be developed and delivered in this course: the Final Business Report (this is not a proposal--it is the report you turn in after you've received approval for your proposal, and have completed the proposed project). The formal document can focus on almost any business or technical subject, so students are persuaded to address a topic that interests them and that they feel compelled to write about extensively.

  • Participate in Discussion 10
  • Take Quiz 3 (due Sunday, 03/25)

Homework:
right arrow Unit 12: (Week 11 - 03/26)

Visual Elements

This unit provides coverage on developing visual elements for your document and creating graphics.

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 11
  • Work on The Report Introduction (Assignment 6), due 04/09
  • Work on The Interim Report(s) (Assignment 7), due 04/09

Homework:
right arrow Unit 13: (Week 12 - 04/02)

Oral Presentation

Students are introduced to the process of preparing and delivering an oral presentation.

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 12

Homework:
right arrow Unit 14: (Week 13 - 04/09) ONLINE ONLY

The Final Report and Executive Summary

         Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 13
  • Work on Executive Summary and Final Report

Homework:

right arrow Unit 15: (Week 14 - 04/16)

Presentations

Students are introduced to presentation strategies and technologies (such as Powerpoint).

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 14

Homework:

  • Work on Final Report with Executive Summary
  • Submit Executive Summary (Assignment 8), due 04/23
right arrow Unit 16: (Week 15 - 04/23) ONLINE WEEK - NO F2F CLASS

Putting on the show

Assignments:

  • Participate in Discussion 15
  • Submit Slide Presentation (Assignment 9), due in class and online by Wednesday, 04/25 at 1:30 pm

Homework:

  • Take Quiz 4 (due Sunday, 04/29)
  • Submit revised Business or Technical Plan Final Report with Executive Summary. Include table of contents. (Assignment 10 ), due 05/02.

right arrow Unit 17 (Week 16 - 04/30)

The End

Assignments:

  • Submit revised Business or Technical Plan Final Report with Executive Summary. Include table of contents. (Assignment 10 ), due 05/02.
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