Course Syllabus

Summer 2024 | ENG-2135-VO02 - Technical Writing & Research

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Karen Tokat
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cindy Swanson

General Education Requirements

CCV Writing and Research

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course examines the principles and methods of technical writing. Students explore a variety of methods and approaches for creating technical texts, including documents that demonstrate proficiency in the writing of reports, correspondence, manuals, proposals, articles, and specifications. Students must complete a final research paper achieving a grade of C- or better in order to pass this course. This course fulfills the research and writing intensive requirement. Prerequisite: English Composition.

Essential Objectives

1. Explore a broad range of texts and published articles from a variety of sources modeling technical writing through reading, writing, and critical discussion.
2. Generate, draft, and revise a variety of technical reports, proposals, graphic aids, manuals, and correspondence, including memos, emails, resumes, and manuals.
3. Critically examine, analyze, and evaluate underlying strategies related to technical writing and communication across different professions and applications, such as instruction and manual writing in manufacturing, or procedural documentation in nursing.
4. Develop strategies and implement skills for addressing the needs of both specific and multiple audiences across different technical rhetorical situations.
5. Apply the principles of technical writing to the student’s chosen field of study, including preparations for workplace interviews, presentations, and reports.
6. Incorporate layout integration and document design into technical documents, including page-design elements suitable for both electronic and print materials.
7. Work collaboratively to produce a group conceived, drafted, and edited technical document.
8. Evaluate completed documents in real-world settings and reflect on their practical application.
9. Demonstrate information literacy skills: distinguish between and utilize both primary and secondary sources; perform library and web-based literature searches; and evaluate data and resources for credibility, reliability, and validity.
10. Demonstrate the ability to apply either APA or MLA citation styles in academic writing by parenthetically citing sources in the text and correctly compiling them in the relevant end sources page.
11. Design, create, and revise a final technical document project, such as—but not limited to—a technical manual, report, or analysis that integrates five or more scholarly and professional sources, including primary and secondary evidence as needed, to address an academic research question or professional issue and demonstrate writing proficiency by achieving a grade of C- or better.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

I have no problem with your using generative AI to do assignments. It can be a valuable tool. My writing format requirements are very defined and you need to apply the AI to meet those requirements. AI can help you write the work as I dictate it, only you can understand the structural stipulations.

Methods

Lots of writing - both brief and long

Lots of reading

Lots of research

Lots of class discussions

Evaluation Criteria

Overall, you will have approximately 20 grades. There are 3 types.

1. WEEKLY GRADES: Each week you will have between 3 and 5 skills assignments which are averaged for a weekly grade. I believe you will find that the work is easy, but that there is a lot of it. Staying organized and getting your work done on time are to your great advantage (OK - I know you already know that). There will be 13 or 14 weekly grades

2. BIG-DEAL RESEARCH PAPERS: You will have three or four larger research writing assignments. Each will be a grade equal to a weekly grade.

3. FINAL PAPER: You will have a major final research paper which I use to evaluate your skills around the work we have done. This will count as 3 grades. Additionally, you must get a minimum of a C- on this paper to move to the next English level.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Weekly skills,and formal writing assignments have somewhat casual deadlines because 1. I understand what complicated lives you have and 2. If you do a poor job on an assignment, I want you to have the chance to redo it. If you have done it poorly, you haven't learned the material.

Every few weeks, however, I remove the chance to makeup or redo past work.

Despite my casual deadlines, I find that students who get behind soon find themselves unable to get caught up. Be organized.

There is NO flexibility in Discussions and other group assignment deadlines, however. These are interactive and peers can't interact if you aren't present in a timely manner.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity