**Beyond our textbook, supplemental readings and handouts will be distributed in class and posted online. * * * Course Requirements

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1 ENG 259: Technical Writing Section 0914 (11574): TU 10:30 AM 12:45 PM, TH 10:30 AM 11:30 AM Spring I 2013 Richard Dragan, Ph.D. Office: M- 111G Office Hrs.: M 12:00 pm 1:00 pm, TU 1:15 pm 3:15 pm, (& by appt.) Phone: E- mail: rdragan@lagcc.cuny.edu (for all papers) 1 Course Description (College Catalog) ENG 259: Technical Writing This course will focus on the role of writing in engineering, mathematics and computer science. Topics will include practical formats within technical writing, expository and periodical writing on scientific and technological subjects, and other compositional and rhetorical strategies that develop and improve students'ʹ abilities in effective written communication. Students will write essays based upon readings in their textbooks and professional essays and articles. Required Text: Markel, Mike. Technical Communication. 10 th Edition. This book should be available in the bookstore and on the Internet, including used copies. You must buy / rent the textbook for this class (or Xerox individual chapters from the copy On Reserve at the LaGuardia Library, but this is time- intensive). Obtaining a physical copy of the textbook is highly recommended. **Beyond our textbook, supplemental readings and handouts will be distributed in class and posted online. * * * Course Requirements Attendance and Class Rules As per LaGuardia policy, more than four (4) hours of unexcused absence will reduce your grade; excessive absences will cause you to fail the course. To be clear, since our class is 2 hours long, that means you should not miss more than two classes. If you are ill or are otherwise unable to come to class, please send me an e- mail before our class meeting. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be marked Late. Two (2) late s equal one hour of absence. Out of respect for your classmates, please try to be on time for class, especially for our one- hour Thursday meetings. No eating food, texting or making phone calls in class. Active Participation in Class and Online Besides regular attendance, I expect that you contribute to class discussions and especially to in- class and group work. IMPORTANT: Unlike other classes in other departments in which the professor s lecture can guide your reading, for our capstone seminar, you must read the assigned readings BEFORE each class.

2 Written Work 2 Besides occasional freewrites (in class) and your tech blogs (see below), every student will write several formal technical writing assignments including a professional memo, a technical description, an abstract and a recommendation report. Tech Blogs Every student will create a personal tech blog (online journal) using Google s free Blogger package. This will be the place to post your responses to short assignments, about words each. Together, these essays will let you think critically about the readings and ideas from our course, as well as formulate your own responses and comment on each other s ideas. Questions will be distributed in class (on paper) and online so that you can keep up with these writing assignments. Group Presentations Every student will sign up for one group presentation (with 3 or 4 members) on pre- assigned topics. Each member of the team will speak for 5 to 7 minutes with the help of notes or, optionally, a few PowerPoint slides (or similar). IMPORTANT: Please do not read your presentation word- for- word. Becoming comfortable presenting technical ideas before an small audience is an essential skill for professional success in technical or scientific careers. Quizzes There may be several announced reading quizzes on the material for this class, which will be part of your class participation grade. If I sense that our class is not reading the assignments from our syllabus, there may be additional pop quizzes on the reading material. Plagiarism Plagiarism is the theft or unattributed submission of another writer s work, including work written by or with the help of someone else (including online sources). It is also the accidental or intentional use of another author'ʹs words or ideas (or facts) without quotes or attribution. This kind of Internet plagiarism sometimes happens when you copy material from Wikipedia or another online source and forget to quote or cite it correctly. Because the Internet is filled with technical information, it is important that you do not cut- and- paste content directly without quote marks and APA citations. Since one of the goals of this course is the creation of assignments that use engineering research, we will go over the correct way to cite the work of others using the APA style. Plagiarism is an offense that can severely impact your academic and professional life. I WILL REPORT EVERY INSTANCE OF PLAGIARISM THAT I FIND. Committing plagiarism is a quick way to fail this course, so please avoid it. Deadlines For class assignments, work will be accepted up to one week after the deadline with a late penalty (- 3%, or one step lower on the grading scale: A becomes A-, B+ becomes B, etc.). After more than two weeks, papers will be accepted only at the discretion of the instructor with a - 10% late penalty. (A becomes B, B becomes C, etc.) Rewrites Besides incorporating editing and revision into several assignments, after a) sending an e- mail with a revision proposal or meeting with the instructor and b) working with a Writing Center (B- 200) tutor, you may re- write any assignment up to 10 days after it is returned to you (i.e., after it is graded).

3 Final Grade 3 Grades will be calculated using the following percentages: Professional Memo 15% Technical Description 15% Abstract 10% Recommendation Report (including Preliminary Milestones) 20% Blog Assignments 15% Group Presentation 15% Class Participation (including attendance) 10% % Course Outcomes (from the Course Proposal) 1. Students will learn practical writing formats, and will analyze and discuss expository and periodical writing on topics of scientific and technological interest in order to identify compositional strategies and refine their knowledge of effective rhetoric and structure. 2. Students will study several fundamental essay forms critical to their education and analytic development, which are necessary to communicate within the field of engineering. Students will apply the subject of engineering towards learning to deconstruct, analyze, and effectively write the following types of documents: abstracts, summaries, memos, technical descriptions, project proposals, and critical responses. 3. Students will write pages of graded writing. 4. Students will learn how to plan, compose, edit and revise written work. 5. Students will review the basics of composition: correct verb use, sentence structure, mechanics, thesis statements, coherent and unified paragraph construction, transitions, and supporting evidence. 6. Students will read, think, and write critically, recognizing patterns, making distinctions and comparisons, and responding logically and rhetorically correctly. 7. Students will write concise, efficient summaries and responses to readings. 8. Students will write papers that integrate source material effectively and appropriately, making proper and scholarly use of summary, quotation, and paraphrase, as well as learn and employ correct APA documentation for engineering documents.

4 Schedule of Readings and Assignments (Subject to change) 4 s Week 1 s Tue., 3/5 Course Introduction Introduction to the Course: Course Syllabus Kinds of Technical Writing The Writing Process for Technical Writers DIAGNOSTIC ESSAY Thu., 3/7 Organizing Your Writing I Introduction to the principles of technical writing. Making an argument / persuasion: thesis statements and organization Know your audience: kinds of technical readers Reading: Chapter 1, Introduction to Technical Communication (Technical Communications, pp. 2 16) Chapter 3, Writing Technical Documents (Technical Communications, pp ) s Week 2 s Tue., 3/12 Organizing Your Writing II Grammar Review Techniques for stronger sentences and paragraphs Review of grammar issues ( hotspots from Diagnostic Essays) Reading: Chapter 10, Structuring Effective Sentences (Technical Communications, pp ) Chapter 9, Writing Coherent Paragraphs (section) (Technical Communications, pp ) BLOG ASSIGNMENT #1 DUE Introduce Yourself / Technology and You Every student will create a free account on Blogger ( using an Gmail e- mail address and share the web address with the instructor so we can share our online journals. Thu., 3/14 Professional Memos Description and samples of professional technical memos Reading: Chapter 14, Writing Correspondence (Technical Communications, pp , concentrate on pp for memos) s Week 3 s Tue., 3/19 Abstracts Description and samples of professional abstracts Summary and description for abstracts

5 5 Reading: Chapter 19, Writing Recommendation Reports (Technical Communications, pp for abstracts) (plus handout) Thu., 3/21 BLOG ASSIGNMENT #2 DUE Responding to a Professional Technology Blog in Your Field Peer Editing Session for the Professional Memo Techniques for revision PROFESSIONAL MEMO PRELIMINARY DRAFT DUE FOR PEER EDITING ** Tue., 3/26 ** Thu., 3/28 ** Tue., 4/2 s Week 4 s Thu., 4/4 **************************************** (MARCH 25th APRIL 2nd) **LAGUARDIA SPRING BREAK! ** NO CLASSES ** **************************************** Research for Engineers I Introduction to online databases to find research in technology and science including LexisNexis, EBSCOhost and Academic OneFile Reading: Chapter 6, Researching Your Subject (Technical Communications, pp , concentrate on pp ) (plus handout) PROFESSIONAL MEMO REVISED DRAFT DUE s Week 5 s Tue., 4/9 Research for Engineers II Review of annotations (note taking) and generating citations including software tools Summarizing, quoting and APA in- text citations Reading: Appendix: Reference Handbook, Part A: Skimming Your Source and Taking Notes (Technical Communications, pp ), (plus handout) Reference for APA in our textbook (use as a guide!): Part B: Documenting Your Sources (Technical Communications, pp ) BLOG ASSIGNMENT #3 DUE Share Your Professional Memo Thu., 4/11 Technical Descriptions Writing technical descriptions: samples and strategies Reading: Chapter 20, Writing Definitions, Descriptions and Instructions (Technical Communications, skim pp , read carefully)

6 s Week 6 s Tue., 4/16 Research for Engineers III 6 Building a set of references (bibliography) in APA style (plus software tools to automate this process) Examples of research sources with references Reading: Part B: Documenting Your Sources (Technical Communications, pp ) (plus handouts on APA) BLOG ASSIGNMENT #4 DUE Review a Technology Product Thu., 4/18 Peer Editing Session for Process Description / Instructional Document PROCESS DESCRIPTION/INSTRUCTIONAL DOCUMENT PRELIMINARY DRAFT DUE FOR PEER EDITING s Week 7 s Tue., 4/23 Recommendation Reports I Samples and strategies for writing recommendation reports based on research (and observation and hands- on testing) Reading: Chapter 19 (beginning), Writing Recommendation Reports (Technical Communications, pp ) PROCESS DESCRIPTION/INSTRUCTIONAL DOCUMENT REVISED DRAFT DUE Thu., 4/25 Recommendation Reports II Sample recommendation report Reading: Chapter 19 (ending), Writing Recommendation Reports (Technical Communications, pp ) BLOG ASSIGNMENT #5 DUE Brainstorming a Topic for Your Recommendation Report s Week 8 s Tue., 4/30 Lab Reports I Parts of a lab report explained Persuasion, evidence and argument Reading: Chapter 18, Writing a Lab Report (Technical Communications, pp )

7 Thu., 5/2 Lab Reports II 7 Sample successful lab report(s) for analysis and peer critique Reading: (handout) RECOMMENDATION REPORT PROPOSAL DUE (TOPIC WRITE- UP AND 3 SOURCES) s Week 9 s Tue., 5/7 Technical Writing Models Examples of general- interest and specialized technical writing today Some best practices and ideas Reading: (handout, plus online materials) BLOG ASSIGNMENT #6 DUE Sharing and Annotating a Research Source Thu., 5/9 Technical Writing on the Web Today Social media and technology today: the role of blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for technology professionals Reading: Chapter 22, Connecting with the Public (Technical Communications, pp ) s Week 10 s Tue., 5/14 ABSTRACT (BASED ON TWO OF YOUR RESEARCH SOURCES) DUE Writing Persuasively with Technical Information Building a persuasive argument with evidence and critical thinking Avoiding common logical fallacies Reading: Chapter 8, Communicating Persuasively (Technical Communications, pp ) RECOMMENDATION REPORT BIBLIOGRAPHY (5 REFERENCES) AND OUTLINE DUE FOR PEER EDITING Thu., 5/16 Oral Presentations I Strategies for preparing and delivering your oral presentation Effective PowerPoint: some dos and don ts Reading: Chapter 21, Making Oral Presentations (Technical Communications, pp ) BLOG ASSIGNMENT #7 DUE Blogging on Your Research and Writing Plan

8 s Week 11 s Tue., 5/21 Oral Presentations II 8 Practicing your presentation Speaking tips Reading: (handout) RECOMMENDATION REPORT PRELIMINARY DRAFT DUE FOR PEER EDITING Thu., 5/23 Designing Effective Print (and Online) Documents Strategies for page layout, fonts and graphics with some effective examples Reading: Chapter 11, Designing Documents and Web Sites (Technical Communications, skim pp and pp on web page design if you have time!) BLOG POST #8 DUE Sharing Your Recommendation Report s Week 12 s Tue., 5/28 Group Presentations I Tech Talks Student Group Presentations Thu., 5/30 u GROUP PRESENTATIONS 1, 2 & 3 Group Presentations II Tech Talks Student Group Presentations RECOMMENDATION REPORT FINAL DRAFT DUE s Week 13 s Tue., 6/4 u GROUP PRESENTATIONS 4 & 5 Group Presentations III Tech Talks / Course Wrap- Up Student Group Presentations BLOG POST #9 DUE Final Course Reflection u GROUP PRESENTATIONS 6, 7, 8 & 9 *** ALL LATE WORK INCLUDING BLOG POSTS -- MUST BE TURNED IN (OR POSTED) BY WED., JUNE 5TH, 12:00 PM (NOON). PLEASE PLAN AHEAD FOR THIS IMPORTANT DEADLINE!

9 s Final Exam Weeks Tue., 6/11 FINAL CONFERENCES 9 All graded work will be returned. Course grades will be posted on CUNYfirst before final conferences.