Fall 2007
English 5364: Technical Writing Theory and Pedagogy
CCH209, 7:00-9:30 W

Syllabus

Dr. Catherine Quick
FC 274B, 825-3025
catherine.quick@tamucc.edu

Office Hours for Fall 2007: MW 1:30-2:30; TR 3:30-5:00; and by appt.

Course Home Page: http://falcon.tamucc.edu/~cquick/eng5364home.htm

Course Description:

From the catalog: "Exploration of theories and practice in technical and professional writing, with emphasis on analyzing documents and their contexts." As a field within English studies, technical writing is a bit unusual in that it has both an academic community and a fairly well defined practioner community outside of the university setting. This course will give you the opportunity to explore and practice in both aspects of the field.

Course Objectives and Outcomes:
Students will:

• Explore the history and theoretical foundations for the field of technical writing
• Participate in the ongoing conversations in technical writing theory and pedagogy
• Understand the complexities inherent in defining and classifying "technical writing" as a term and as a field
• Explore, observe, and evaluate technical writing pedagogical practices
• Develop their own technical writing skills
  

Required Texts and Materials:

• Johnson-Eilola, Johndan and Stuart A. Selber. Central Works in Technical Communication. New York: Oxford UP, 2004
• Garza, Susan Loudermilk. Every Audience Has a Different Purpose: New Ways to Engage in Technical and Professional Writing. Fountainhead Press, 2005. (Note: If you do not find this book under English 5364 in the bookstore, check English 3301.)
• Library reserve readings
• Portable electronic storage medium to save your work (disk, flash drive, etc.)

Assignments & Grading
See Assignments page for information about each assignment.

1. Daily Responses & Discussion Leading (20%)
2. Class observation project (20%)
3. Book Review (20%)
4. Final Project & Presentation (40%)

Submitting Assignments: We'll be relatively paperless this semester. Any written work, unless otherwise instructed in class, must be submitted online via WebCT. We'll demonstrate the mechanics of this in class. For this to work, you must: 1) use MS Word for all documents; and 2) name the file you send to me with your last name and an abbreviation of the assignment name. For example, the book review might be: QuickBookRev.doc (using your own last name, of course!). Any files sent for grading that are not named according to these instructions will be returned to you ungraded.

Graduate Studies Standards
(adapted, with permission, from Dr. Etheridge)

The instructor assumes that seminar members are good-faith graduate students. Bona fide graduate school behavior is distinguished in at least four ways:

• Students read all assignments on time and come to class with serious response and willingness to discuss
• Students do not assume that an assignment is legitimate only if it will be "tested." The work is done for its intrinsic learning value. All work is completed on time with attention to quality and thoroughness.
• Students expect that they will attend 100% of the time and not assume there are a certain number of allowable absences. Like readings and coursework, students attend and participate because the shared learning experience is the basis of graduate education.
• Students assume that open and equitable discussion and critique is the soul of a graduate seminar. Everyone participates. Everyone is respectful of others' thoughts. Students don't put the burden on the teacher or on other students to originate and maintain discussion. They take on the responsibility to keep some seminar members from dominating others, and they do it by offering their share of talk.

A good graduate seminar on a daily basis is lively, engaging, and somewhat unpredictable. But it's up to each student to take part in creating this atmosphere.

Academic Honesty/Plagiarism

The university will not tolerate plagiarism or any other form of intellectual/academic dishonesty. This course will abide by University policies in regard to academic conduct. Please refer to the current TAMU-CC Catalog for information.

Student with Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. This legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment which provides reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you require an accommodation, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at 825-5816 or visit the office at Driftwood 101.