| Class |
Topic/Activity |
Assignment
(due during class) |
| I.
Introduction |
| Week
1 |
| Tu
Aug 25 |
Introduction to
Course: How Writing at Work Differs from Writing
at School With a partner, or in a group of
three, take notes on online case: Exercise
1.1 (part I only).
|
|
| Th
Aug 27 |
Overview of
Reader-Centered Communication: Getting a
Job
- Defining Objectives
- Planning your resumé
Experiential vs. functional resumés
- Drafting your resumé
Text, graphics, visual design
Using a resumé template
- Evaluating your resumé
- Revising your resumé
With a partner, compare your responses to the
case on pp. 48-51. Prepare a role-playing
scenario in which one partner offers feedback and
advice for revision to Patricia Norman. How would
you begin? What would you say to her?
|
E-mail your
introductory memo by noon Wednesday (8/27) to
bridgeto@elmhurst.edu
Read Chapters 1 and 2
Take notes on the case on pp. 48-51,
"Advising Patricia," based on the
advice in Chapter 2.
Begin defining objectives for your
resumé: identify a specific employer and the
qualifications you need for the position you're
seeking
Contact Career
Services for help identifying an employer and
job or internship for this assignment.
Begin planning the content and
organization of your resumé
|
II.
Resumes and Job Application Letters
Overview of Reader-Centered Writing Process |
| Week
2 |
| Tu Sept 2 |
Evaluating Drafts by
Reviewing and Checking Peer Review Session for
Resumes
(see Checklist
for Evaluating Resumés)
- Follow the guidelines for
"Collaboration" on p. 358,
parts a-d. Take careful notes on the
feedback you receive on your resumé,
along with your classmates' observations
about your delivery. Repeat with a second
partner.
- The purpose of this session is to give
and receive feedback on your resume while
practicing your professional
communication skills.
|
Read Chapter 13,
pages 347-358 Bring two printed copies of an
initial draft of your resume (plus a disk copy)
|
| Th Sept 4 |
Learning about
Employers Job Application Letters
Letter Format
Review sample job application letters
|
Revise your resumé
in light of peer feedback Begin planning the
objectives of your job application letter, based
on research into the employer and position (see
guidelines on p. 41).
Decide what information you will include in
the qualifications section. What are your main
qualifications for this position? (Job ads often
include information about specific
qualifications.)
Read Appendix A, Letter Format, pp.
562-567
|
| Week
3 |
| T Sept 9 |
Peer Review Session
for Job Application Letters Creating an
Effective Style
1. Choosing your voice
2. Constructing sentences
Paragraph-
& Sentence-Level Revising
|
Bring two copies of
the first draft of your application letter Read
Chapter 10, and complete exercise 2-6, pp.
259-260 (answers)
After today's class, review Chapter 10's
guidelines for creating your voice, constructing
sentences, and choosing words. Revise your resume
and job application letter in light of these
guidelines. Highlight or underline changes on
your draft. (If you're using Word, choose
"Track Changes" under the
"Tools" menu.) Include a printed copy
of your second draft, with changes highlighted,
in your Resume and Job Letter packet.
|
| Th Sept 11 |
Introduction to
Instructions Project: A User-Centered Perspective
Guest Speaker: Robert R. Johnson, Chair,
Department of Humanities, Michigan Tech
University, and author of User-Centered
Technology: A Rhetorical Theory of Computers and
Other Mundane Artifacts.
|
Ask a working
professional (preferably in your intended field)
to review the revised version of your
letter and resumé and offer feedback. Include
notes on feedback you received and changes you
made in your Resume and Job Letter packet (due
Tuesday). |
III. First
Document Cycle: Instructions
Focus on Defining Objectives, Planning, Visual
Aids, Page Design, Usability Testing, Paragraph
Development |
| Week
4 |
| T Sept 16 |
Preparing a topic
for the
Instructions Project Defining Objectives
|
Read Chapters 3 and
4 Due: Resume and Job Application
Letter
See Appendix C, Project
1 (p. 617) for assignment description.
In-class reflective
writing on Project 1
|
| Th Sept 18 |
Planning for
Usability
|
E-mail topic for
instructions project by 4 p.m. to bridgeto@elmhurst.edu |
| Week
5 |
| T Sept 23 |
Superstructure for
Instructions:
Describing a process In-class workshop: planning
guide for instructions.
|
Read Chapter 22,
Superstructure for Instructions Read pages
196-201 (Pattern for Organizing a Description of
a Process)
Homework: Complete Exercise 1 on page 578.
Include a photocopy of the instructions to hand
in with the assignment.
|
| Th Sept 25 |
Visual Aids for
Instructions
1. General guidelines
2. To show how something is constructed
3. To show how to do something Today's
assignment: Visual Aids for
Instructions
In-class task analysis assignment: draft of
all the steps in your process; include the
headings that will group the steps and plans or
sketches for all the visual aids your readers
would find helpful.
|
Read Chapters 11 and
12 Review the types of Visual Aids in the
Reference Guide on pages 291-319
|
| Week
6 |
| Tu Sept 30 |
Testing Drafts for
Usability and Persuasiveness Planning
Guide for User Tests
|
Read Chapter 14 (NOTE:
This week, you will test your instructions)
|
| Th Oct 2 |
Team Review Session
for Instructions |
Bring two copies of
your instructions, along with all visual aids |
| IV.
Unsolicited Recommendation: Focus on Persuasive
Writing Designed to Improve Organizational Policy
or Procedures |
| Week
7 |
| Tu Oct 7 |
Workshop
on Revising Instructions Introduction
to Unsolicited Recommendation Project
|
Bring a second draft
of your instructions that has been reviewed in
light of your user test Read pp. 619-620
(Project 4: Unsolicited Recommendation)
|
| Th Oct 9 |
Planning Your
Persuasive Strategies In-Class
Assignment
|
Read Chapter 5 E-mail
topic for your unsolicited recommendation by
noon on Tuesday to:
mailto:bridgeto@elmhurst.edu
(Your e-mail message should adhere to advice
on "Using E-mail" on pp. 383-386, or
download Paul Anderson's checklist
for effective e-mail messages from the
textbook's web site.)
|
| Week
8 |
| Tu Oct 14 |
Gathering
Information: Interviewing How Reasoning
Works
|
Due: Instructions
As a team, please submit the following:
- Final draft of instructions
- Initial draft(s) of instructions
- Observation sheet for user test (see p.
365)
- Any other planning materials (such as
notes) that will help me to evaluate your
group's writing process
Each individual team member should also submit
a Group Project Evaluation form (handout).
E-mail topic for your unsolicited
recommendation by noon today to:
mailto:bridgeto@elmhurst.edu
(Your e-mail message should adhere to advice
on "Using E-mail" on pp. 383-386, or
download Paul Anderson's checklist
for effective e-mail messages from the
textbook's web site.)
Read pages 152-153, "Interviewing"
|
| Th Oct 16 |
In a small group,
respond to the case on p. 123 ("Debating a
Company Drug-Testing Program.") Complete
worksheet on Defining
Objectives for your unsolicited
recommendation project
Memo format
|
Read Chapter 7
Refer to pp. 585-586 for guidelines on memo
format.
|
| Week
9 |
| T Oct 21 |
Peer Review Session
for Unsolicited Recommendation In-class
writing: Writer's
Memo
|
Bring two copies of
a draft of your unsolicited recommendation (see
assignment description, pp. 619-620). Your
draft should apply the guidelines for persuasive
writing in Chapter 5.
|
| Th Oct 23 |
Introduction to
Client Project Creating Communications with a
Team
|
Read Chapter 18 Write
a brief memo, addressed to me as instructor, in
which you describe difficulties encountered by a
team on which you have worked. Describe
strategies presented in Chapter 18 you employed
in an attempt to address these problems. Also
reflect on things that you could have done
differently that might have overcome the problem.
|
| Week
10 |
| Tu Oct 28 |
Planning to Meet
Your Readers' Informational Needs Ethics and
Service-Learning Projects
|
Read Chapter 19,
"Managing Client and Service-Learning
Projects" Email your proposed topic for
the Client Project by noon today to:
bridgeto@elmhurst.edu
Due: Unsolicited
Recommendation (include draft and Writer's Memo)
|
| Th Oct 30 |
Conducting Research Workshop:
Planning Guide for Research
|
Read Chapter 6,
including Reference Guide: Five Research Methods
(pp. 135-158) E-mail your team's completed
plan for researching the Client Project by the
end of class today (copy to susanss@elmhurst.edu)
Begin conducting first-hand research for
Client Project
|
| Week
11 |
| T Nov 4 |
Superstructure for
Reports |
Read Chapter 20 |
| Th Nov 6 |
Library Information
Session Conducting Research
1. Using the library
2. Searching the Internet
|
Meet in Library
Instruction Room Review Chapter 7 and Reference
Guide
Each team member, bring a rough outline for
your client project
|
| Week
12 |
| Tu Nov 11 |
Drafting Paragraphs
and Sections |
Bring detailed
outline of Client Project Read Chapters 8-9
Each team member, bring a draft of one section
of Client Project (bring a print and an
electronic/disk copy)
|
| Th Nov 13 |
Writing the problem
statement Compiling a collaborative document
using a report template
Attachments and Sources Cited
|
Each team member,
bring a draft of a second section of Client
Project |
| Week
13 |
| Tu Nov 18 |
Creating and
Delivering Oral Presentations In-class
workshop: Using
visual aids to achieve your communication
objectives
Using PowerPoint to prepare a slideshow
presentation
|
As a team, complete
Exercise 1, "Expertise," on p. 419 Read
Chapter 17
Review Chapter 11 and Reference Guide for
Visuals
|
| Th Nov 20 |
Class cancelled for independent
and team work on Client Project |
Schedule an instructor conference to discuss
your team's progress (optional). Bring a list of
questions you want to ask me about oral
presentation and/or report format, organization,
content, and so on |
| Week
14 |
| Tu Nov 25 |
Revising and Editing
Workshop |
Bring current
version of team draft (on disk) |
| Th Nov 27 |
No class
meeting--Thanksgiving Holiday (Be thankful!) |
|
| Week
15 |
| Tu Dec 2 |
Oral Presentations
of Client Project:
- EC Security (Kara and Courtney)
- Progressive Staffing (Tracy and Kristi)
- Foolish Web Pages (Carl, Cathy, and
Marie)
|
Teams that are not
presenting tonight: bring two copies
of your team's complete draft of the Client
Project, including Sources Cited, Attachments,
and Memo of Transmittal |
| Th Dec 4 |
Oral Presentations
of Client Project
- People's Resource Center(Julie and
Michelle)
- Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce (Rosanna,
Larry, and Tasha)
- EC Web Site Usability (Helene, Julia,
Heather, and Mike)
Course Evaluation
|
Teams that are not
presenting tonight: bring two copies
of your team's complete draft of the Client
Project, including Sources Cited, Attachments,
and Memo of Transmittal Client
Project due at my office (HC 031) before 5:00
p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9
|
