Foreword Because CMU s Department of English now offers its writing courses across multiple regional campuses, the Fayette faculty offers this

Transcription

1 EN306 Technical Writing Instructor s Handbook

2 Foreword Because CMU s Department of English now offers its writing courses across multiple regional campuses, the Fayette faculty offers this Instructor s Handbook as a means of standardizing instruction. Instructors may achieve course objectives in a number of ways, but all instructors must meet the same course objectives and must assess the same course competencies as part of the General Education Common Core Curriculum at CMU. 2

3 Table of Contents What is the EN306 course description?... 4 What are the EN306 course objectives?... 4 What formal assignments must be included for all EN306 students?... 6 Designing effective writing assignments... 6 What do we know about academic writing?... 6 What characteristics make writing assignments effective and successful?... 6 Required assignments (totaling around 20 pages of prose)... 7 Recommended assignments... 7 Research assignments... 8 Academic honesty... 8 Who may teach EN306?... 9 Who may enroll in EN306?... 9 Which textbooks are used in EN306? Why require a writing handbook? How can instructors obtain desk copies? How should students obtain their course textbooks? What online resources are available for EN306 instructors? Is EN306 available as an online course? English Common Final Examination Why require a Common Final Examination? What is the examination? Who writes the examination prompt? Who must take the examination? When must the instructor administer the examination? On what paper should students write the examination? May students type their responses? Should students write their names on the blue books? How should the instructor ship examinations for scoring? Should the instructor include the examination in the overall course grade? Who scores the examination? When do instructors get results from the examination? How will the Fayette faculty evaluate examination results? What is the ideal examination score? Scoring Rubric (English Common Final) Contact information Appendix A: Protocol for Cases of Plagiarism Appendix B: Sample Course Materials

4 What is the EN306 course description? Beginning with the course catalogs, the course description will be as follows: EN306 Technical Writing. 3 hours. This advanced course is designed to relate to the specific needs of upper-level students in technical fields with an emphasis on work-related forms. Technical writing is a mode of information management designed either to prompt action (persuasive documents such as proposals) or to enable action (instructions and informative reports). EN306 introduces students to different forms of technical writing (and not necessarily business writing) and to critical thinking and communication skills. Students will write memos and business letters as well as lengthy, detailed, and researched documents, proposals, and reports. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to analyze the purpose for and audience for documents produced in technical fields and will be able to manage information in order to produce clear, effective technical documents. Either EN305 or EN306 is required of all students. Prerequisites: EN120 (or EN110/111) and junior standing. Fall and Spring. What are the EN306 course objectives? In Spring 2008, the CLAS faculty approved the new General Education Core Curriculum, part of which requires courses in Foundations, wherein students will develop skills to help them achieve academic and professional excellence and a foundation for lifelong learning. This section of the Common Core includes Information Fluency, Oral and Written Communication, Math Fluency, and Wellness. In Spring 2009, the CLAS faculty approved EN306 Technical Writing as meeting the Foundations competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Below, the left-hand column lists the official Foundations competencies for the General Education Common Core; the right-hand column indicates how instructors assess these competencies. Competencies Information Fluency 1. Students will find existing sources of information on a topic using print and electronic resources. 2. Students will evaluate the accuracy and validity of information presented in a wide variety of media. 3. Students will cite sources in a standardized format and in accordance with CMU s Academic Honesty Policy. How will EN306 instructors assess these competencies? We assess this competency through repeated library exercises using the online library catalog and databases and through students use of such sources in several written essays and exercises. We assess this competency through repeated library exercises using the online library catalog and databases and through students use of such sources in several written essays and exercises. We assess this competency through repeated library exercises using the online library catalog and databases and through students use of such sources in several written essays and exercises. 4

5 Oral and Written Communication 4. Students will write a logically developed, organized document or presentation using standard grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling. 5. Both orally and in writing students will articulate ideas clearly and logically for varied audiences and purposes. We assess this competency through students exercises, workshops, and research essays. At semester s end, we require students to write the Common Final Examination along with students in all CMU writing courses. We blindly score this impromptu essay examination according to a rubric of competencies and levels of competencies. AUDIENCE ANALYSIS: Students analyze the purpose for and audience for documents produced in technical fields. We assess this objective through written exercises, essays, proposals, reports, and presentations. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: Students manage information in order to produce clear, effective technical documents. We assess this objective through written exercises, essays, proposals, reports, and presentations. DOCUMENT FORMAT: Students cite sources in a standardized format and in accordance with CMU s Academic Honesty Policy. We assess this competency through repeated library exercises using the online library catalog and databases and through student s use of such sources in several written essays and exercises. Students also document their research materials in the documentation style appropriate to their declared majors. ARTICULATE WRITTEN ENGLISH: Both orally and in writing, students articulate clearly and logically for varied audiences and purposes. We assess this competency through students exercises, workshops, and research essays. At semester s end, we require students to write the Common Final Examination along with students in all CMU writing courses. We blindly score this impromptu essay examination according to a rubric of competencies and levels of competencies. 5

6 What formal assignments must be included for all EN306 students? To meet the course objectives and competencies, EN306 instructors must include the following assignments as part of the graded course materials. Wherever possible, instructors should require that students write their assignments on topics, subject matter, and issues relevant to each student s declared major. Designing effective writing assignments What do we know about academic writing? Writing comprises a significant portion of students academic output. Ideally, writing is a relatively permanent record of a student s personal, deliberate, sustained, evaluable thought processes. While writing often is mediated electronically, the process must include personal, careful examination by a trained reviewer. Writing s permanence requires prolonged commitment to one s exploration of ideas and invites an equally deliberate process of review. What characteristics make writing assignments effective and successful? Effective writing assignments state the instructor s expectation of communication in standard written English. Effective writing assignments have a clear purpose linked to course objectives. Effective writing assignments have clear grading standards. Effective writing assignments have a clear audience designated for the writers. Effective writing assignments generally require objectivity. Effective writing assignments often ask students to explore issues, not mere topics. Effective writing assignments allow students to choose or design their own topics only with the grading instructor s guidance and review. Effective writing assignments rely on varied or slightly different topics from semester to semester because effective writing assignments include the instructor s expectation of plagiarism and how to detect it. Effective writing assignments have models available for students to review or emulate. Effective writing assignments provide a sufficient timeframe for completion. Effective writing assignments are not punitive. Effective writing assignments require in-progress drafts reviewed by the grading instructor. 6

7 Effective writing assignments detail research expectations that are then reviewed on the final outcome. Effective writing assignments entail a clear sense of the process through which the student must work to achieve the desired outcome. Effective writing assignments clearly designate expectations of writing modes. Effective writing assignments state the grading instructor s format expectations. Effective writing assignments have been tested and revised and tested and.... Required assignments (totaling around 20 pages of prose) 1 Memos, cover letters, business letters (Assessing competencies 1, 4, and 5) Fayette faculty include a job-application letter for which the writer must research the company to which the writer is applying. Other letter-writing assignments include memos or business letters accompanying written proposals and accompanying final reports. Proposal (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Process essay/instructional manual (approximately 5-10 pages of prose) (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Description/Definition essay (approximately 5 pages of prose) (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Formal presentation (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Report (approximately 7-10 pages of prose) (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Bibliography assignment (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Common Final Examination (must count for at least 5% of course grade) (Assessing competencies 4 and 5) Recommended assignments Examinations over grammar, usage, and punctuation (Assessing competencies 4 and 5) Drafts of all major written assignments (whether individual or group work) (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) Workshops with groups of students for all major assignments (Assessing competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) NOTE: EN306 instructors often have assigned job-placement materials such as a résumé and a cover letter responding to a particular job advertisement. While the Fayette faculty does not discourage inclusion of these materials in this course, we recommend limited attention to these assignments and much more attention to formal technical documentation. If given the choice, 1 What constitutes a page? For purposes of consistency, a page equals a single, 8-1/2 x 11-inch, double-spaced sheet containing approximately 250 words typed in 12-point Times New Roman font. 7

8 we prefer that instructors assign an application letter and leave résumé production to the individual student in consultation with campus career development personnel. Research assignments The CMU Smiley Library website offers faculty and student access to a number of valuable databases for research. Instructors should require, when appropriate to an assignment, that students use these online CMU databases to obtain and use a number of credible and relevant refereed professional journal articles rather than using Google or other popular online search engines. Instructors should teach students to use these online CMU databases productively. Students should learn to discriminate between commercial website information (as opposed to information from news sources, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and refereed journals), and students should demonstrate this knowledge repeatedly throughout the semester. Academic honesty EN120 (or EN110 / EN111) are prerequisites for EN306, and instructors of those classes (or their equivalents at other institutions) are expected to cover academic honesty (including plagiarism) in those courses; therefore, EN306 instructors must enforce this policy on all assigned work and should not casually allow students second opportunities to rectify blatant cases of academic dishonesty. At the earliest possible point of each semester, instructors should carefully review the CMU Academic Honesty Policy and should carefully explain how all work throughout the semester must adhere to this policy. All cases of academic dishonesty should be handled in conjunction with CMU s Associate Dean for the College of Graduate and Extended Studies (CGES). See Appendix A (Protocol for Cases of Plagiarism). 8

9 Who may teach EN306? Only English faculty who have earned at least a Master s degree in English (and preferably a Ph.D. in English) may teach EN306 on the Fayette and regional campuses. Each prospective faculty member must be approved by the Writing Program Coordinator and/or the Chair of the Division of Humanities. All English faculty, regardless of the campus on which they teach, must meet the same personnel standards required of the English faculty at the Fayette campus. If the Chair of the Division of Humanities approves offering a section of EN306 at a regional campus, faculty instructing that section must submit for approval all syllabi and assignments prior the start of each term. Additionally, the Writing Program Coordinator and the Department of English faculty periodically will observe and assess regional faculty and their instructional materials. Continued approval to teach EN306 will be contingent on periodic teaching observations, on assessments, and on students performance on the Common Final Examination. Who may enroll in EN306? EN306 enrollment is limited to students who are juniors (as of the start date of the class), and who have passed EN120 or its equivalent (or EN110/111 or their equivalents). 9

10 Which textbooks are used in EN306? The English faculty agrees that one of the following paired texts must be required for all EN306 instructors and students: PAIR A: Dobrin, Sidney I., Christian R. Weisser, and Christopher J. Keller. Technical Communication in the Twenty-first Century. 2 nd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice- Hall, ISBN-13: $96.67 new Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 6 th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin s, 2008, ISBN $30.95 new PAIR B: Markel, Mike. Technical Communication. 9 th ed Boston: Bedford / St. Martin s. ISBN-13: $89.95 new Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 6 th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin s, 2008, ISBN $30.95 new The Fayette faculty has extensive experience teaching EN306 and has deliberated just as extensively over textbook selection for the course. Certainly, expense is a key factor in the faculty s selection, but when we have selected inexpensive textbooks in the past, we have found those textbooks wanting. Technical Writing requires specialized textbooks, and quality textbooks are not inexpensive. If EN306 instructors have alternative suggestions for required textbooks, please contact the Writing Program Coordinator to discuss these suggestions. Why require a writing handbook? In an effort to provide consistent writing guidance, the Fayette faculty requires a writing handbook for all writing courses. The current handbook selection (Hacker s Rules for Writers) provides reliable guidance for grammar, punctuation, document format, and guidelines for MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) documentation and citation formats. How can instructors obtain desk copies? Any instructor who wants a desk copy of the required textbooks should contact either the publisher s representative or Writing Program Coordinator at the Fayette campus. Allow at least three weeks for desk copies to arrive from the publisher. 10

11 How should students obtain their course textbooks? Unless there are extenuating circumstances, all EN306 instructors should have their local campus bookstores order requisite student copies for the course. What online resources are available for EN306 instructors? Instructors should use MyCMU, a resource that is especially valuable for courses that meet once weekly. MyCMU support students and instructors in a number of ways: Instructors can offer timed quizzes or examinations. Instructors can build test banks. MyCMU offers automatic grading of quizzes and examinations. Instructors can post downloadable assignments and handouts. Students can upload typewritten assignments for grading. Instructors can upload students work for online or classroom workshopping. Instructors can upload graded course materials. MyCMU s grade book allows multiple configurations for instructor s needs. Instructors and students can use the online chat feature. Group ing is easy and quick. Tutorials for MyCMU are available online For further assistance, contact the CMU Helpdesk via at helpdesk@centralmethodist.edu. Is EN306 available as an online course? By the end of Fall 2009, the Fayette faculty will have developed an online EN306. The Writing Program Coordinator will oversee production of this online course. Any qualifying instructor wishing to instruct this online course should contact the Writing Program Coordinator; we may create a rotation of instructors throughout the academic year. 11

12 English Common Final Examination Why require a Common Final Examination? The Fayette faculty established this examination in Fall 2006 to determine whether all sections of composition courses (on all campuses) were meeting course objectives. Students completing our writing courses should be able to write an impromptu essay that demonstrates competent and grammatical written English skills. This examination is an important part of the Fayette campus s overall assessment effort. What is the examination? At the end of the term, students produce an impromptu essay (in response to our prompt). Our faculty then score these essays according to a rubric of our design; this rubric reflects the goals and competencies that we expect students to demonstrate in their writing. Who writes the examination prompt? The Fayette faculty, under the leadership of the Writing Program Coordinator, will design the prompt for the examination. Contact the Writing Program Coordinator early in the semester to make arrangements to obtain the examination prompt prior to administering the examination. Use only the prompt approved by the Fayette faculty for the term in which the course is being offered. We ask that instructors not the share prompt with students at any time prior to administering the examination. Who must take the examination? We administer this examination for all sections of EN110 College Composition I (including dualcredit sections), EN111 College Composition II (including dual-credit sections), EN120 College Composition I & II, EN305 Expository Writing, and EN306 Technical Writing. When must the instructor administer the examination? Instructors must administer the examination during the assigned, end-of-semester final examination period. The examination period should be no shorter than 1 hour and no longer than 2 consecutive hours. The examination may not be given during more than one class meeting. The examination must be proctored. 12

13 On what paper should students write the examination? Have students write their responses in an 8-1/2 x 11 blue book (a blue-covered examination booklet with ruled pages). Have students write in blue or black ink or in pencil. Have students write on every other line and on only one side of a page. May students type their responses? No. Only those students who have verified learning disabilities are allowed to type their examinations. Otherwise, students must write these examinations by hand. Typed examinations pose special challenges for our scoring, and users of wordprocessing software programs have access to electronic spell checkers, for example, which would be an unfair advantage for any student. Instructors might think that students handwriting is difficult to read, but we require that students write their essays by hand. Emphasize to students that they write legibly and that they neatly make necessary corrections between lines. Should students write their names on the blue books? No. Have students write only their CMU student identification numbers on the front covers of the blue books. Ask students to write nothing more on the front cover: students should not write their names, their course numbers, their instructor s name, or their campus location on the front cover or anywhere else in the blue book. For a reliable blind read, we need only CMU student identification numbers on the front cover. How should the instructor ship examinations for scoring? Once an instructor has administered the examination, that instructor should grade her own students examinations but make no marks on the examinations. NOTE: Instructors should not mark the blue books and should not leave any numerical or letter marking to indicate their own scoring or grading for the examination. Once finished with grading, instructors should send the examinations to the Fayette English faculty in care of the Dean. Please return these examinations as soon as possible rather than waiting for the Dean to visit the regional campuses. Once the Department of English has scored and reviewed a set of common final examinations, the faculty will keep students examinations for one calendar year and will then destroy them. 13

14 Should the instructor include the examination in the overall course grade? The Common Final grade must be counted as at least 5% of the course grade. No student who fails the examination should fail the course based solely on that score. Unless an instructor requires the examination as part of the course curriculum and unless the instructor counts the examination as part of the final course grade, students likely will not take the examination seriously. Therefore, please make this examination count for at least 5% of the final course grade. Because the Fayette faculty will not be able to complete all examination scoring immediately, regional faculty should grade their own students examinations and then include that grade in the overall course grade. Fayette faculty will use the blind scoring results for their own students grades. Who scores the examination? The Fayette English faculty will blind score examination responses. When do instructors get results from the examination? The Fayette faculty will score examination responses according to the following schedule: Early September (for Summer courses) Early December (We administer the Fayette campus examination on the first Saturday of the Fayette final examination period.) January or February (for all late-arriving Fall examinations) Early May (We administer the Fayette campus examination on the first Saturday of the Fayette final examination period.) How will the Fayette faculty evaluate examination results? The Fayette faculty will examine scores as part of an ongoing review of instruction. Typically, the faculty will examine test scores by course, by individual sections, by campus, and by instructor. What is the ideal examination score? Ideally, we would want all students to score a 6 ( mature ) on our 6-point scale. Realistically, our goal is to have all sections at all sites performing at or above 3 ( adequate ) on our 6-point scale. 14

15 Scoring Rubric (English Common Final) Level Thesis Development and Support 6 Mature Essay controlled by Well-chosen examples, clear, precise, welldefined persuasive rea- thesis; is soning used to consistently sophisticated in both develop and statement and insight support thesis; causal connections between ideas is evident 5 / 4 Very Competent / Competent Clear, specific, argumentative thesis central to essay; may have minor terms undefined Pursues thesis consistently; clearly develops a main argument with clear major points and appropriate textual evidence and supporting detail; makes effort to link rather than stack ideas Structuring Appropriate, clear and smooth transitions; arrangement of paragraphs seems particularly apt Distinct units of thought in paragraph units; clear transitions between coherently arranged paragraphs Language Uses sophisticated sentences effectively; usually chooses words aptly; observes conventions of written English; makes few minor or technical errors Some mechanical difficulties or stylistic problems; may make occasional problematic word choice or awkward syntax error; a few spelling or punctuation errors or a cliché 3 Adequate General central thesis or controlling idea; may not define several central terms 2 Limited Thesis vague or not central to argument; central terms not defined 1 Seriously flawed No discernible thesis Only partially develops the argument; shallow analysis; some ideas and generalizations undeveloped or unsupported; Frequently only narrates; digresses from one topic to another without developing ideas or terms; makes insufficient or awkward use of textual evidence Little or no development; may list facts or misinformation Some awkward transition; some brief, weakly unified or undeveloped paragraphs; arrangement may not appear entirely natural. Simplistic, discursive; tends to narrate or merely summarize; wanders from one topic to another; illogical arrangement of ideas No transitions; incoherent paragraphing Frequent wordiness; several unclear or awkward sentences; imprecise use of words or overreliance on passive voice; one or two major grammatical errors (subject-verb agreement, comma splice, etc.) Some major grammatical or proofreading errors that interfere (subject-verb agreement, fragments); language marred by clichés, colloquialisms, repeated inexact word choices Numerous grammatical errors and stylistic problems seriously distract from argument 15

16 Contact information CMU Writing Program Coordinator Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) Prof. Jeremy Reed Department of English Central Methodist University 411 Central Methodist Square Fayette, MO phone fax Main page: Sample syllabi and teaching materials: rse-syllabi-and-materials 16

17 CMU EN306 Handbook (approved April 2009) Appendix A: Protocol for Cases of Plagiarism Syllabi must reference CMU s Academic Honesty Policy and must explain the consequences for academic dishonesty in the class. Faculty members who detect student plagiarism should respond by following this protocol. 1. GATHER EVIDENCE: Gather all available evidence in support of an accusation of academic honesty. Do not contact the student at this point. 2. NOTIFY THE ASSOCIATE DEAN OF CGES: From this point forward, copy the Associate Dean on any correspondence pertaining to these matters. Present the Associate Dean with the evidence gathered in support of an accusation of academic honesty. If the Associate Dean concludes that the evidence is compelling, then compose a detailed letter addressed to the student (copied to the Associate Dean and subject to the Associate Dean s prior review) clearly detailing the charges and the consequences (as spelled out in the course syllabus and in the CMU Academic Honesty Policy). Do not send this letter to the student; instead, bring this letter and copies of all evidence to a scheduled conference with the student. 3. CONTACT THE STUDENT: Invite the student to a conference. If at all possible, invite an impartial third party to observe this conference with the student. 4. MEET WITH THE STUDENT: NOTE: Should the student refuse to meet, then skip to step 5. If at all possible, invite an impartial third party to observe this conference with the student. At the conference, review CMU s Academic Honesty Policy and the course policy for academic honesty. Detail the evidence against the student and clearly explain the consequences as expressed in the course syllabus. Ask the student to sign the letter, acknowledging the time and date of the meeting. Inform the student that all relevant correspondence and evidence will go to the Associate Dean for review. Review with the student his or her options, including the option of appealing the charges to the Associate Dean. 5. FORWARD EVIDENCE TO THE DEAN: The Associate Dean will retain copies of all evidence and correspondence in a permanent file. The Dean will review the case and then take appropriate action against the student. 17

18 CMU EN306 Handbook (approved April 2009) Appendix B: Sample Course Materials The Department of English on the Fayette campus has compiled sample course syllabi and assignments: Please contact the Writing Program Coordinator about any questions about these materials. 18