Syllabus & Calendar
Course Title: Technical Writing and Editing I
Instructor Contact Information
Instructor: Kathy McTaggart
Contact instructor using Moodle Quickmail class email.
Technical Support
Online Development Team, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo
Email: online@mala.ca
Administrative Support
Lowell Morris, Vancouver Island University, Powell River
Email: lowell.morris@viu.ca
Telephone (toll-free) 877-888-8890 or 604-485-8031
Course Description
Organizational processes, product manuals, project status reports, technical articles, proposals and presentations all flow from the efforts of technical writers, usually in collaboration with subject matter experts. How do you become a technical writer? What kinds of skills does it require?
This course is intended for you, if you want to enhance your current occupational skills in the area of technical writing and editing. To comfortably complete this course, you should be able to use the formatting tools (such as headings, bulleted lists, etc.) in your computer’s word-processing program. However, you don’t need any particular academic prerequisites, or technical knowledge of a particular field. You do need to like to write, because this is a practical course with lots of student input!
The eight-week online course introduces the necessary skills for entry-level technical writing and editing. You will develop a short technical writing project in a step-by-step, systematic fashion—this will show you the process of effective technical writing.
Course Goals
- To introduce you to the roles and tasks of technical writers and editors
- To provide a review of the writing skills required in technical writing
- To give you the self-confidence to take on basic technical writing and editing tasks
Recommended Text
Alred, G., Brusaw, C., and Oliu, W. Handbook of Technical Writing (latest edition) This reference handbook is available from Chapters online (www.chapters.indigo.ca) or Amazon online (www.amazon.ca), and costs about $45, delivered by mail. It is an excellent resource. You will be able to use it throughout the Technical Writing program. I highly recommend purchasing it.
I also recommend you obtain, and use, a good dictionary with Canadian spelling. Word-processor spell- and grammar-checking is useful, but not perfect.
About Kathy McTaggart
I have a M.Sc. in Technical Communication from the University of Washington, and am a member of the Society for Technical Communication.
I enjoy teaching technical writing to both academic and professional students. I taught classroom-based writing, document design, and other related topics for over 10 years, at BCIT in Burnaby, B.C., at the University of Washington in Seattle, and most recently at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. I currently teach only online.
As well as teaching, I participate as an alternate director in my district municipality, and help write and edit my community newsletter (I live in a small, island community). If I can't stand to be inside any more (at the computer or at the conference table), I garden, hike, or sail.
How the Course Works
I will use the Course Announcements forum to communicate general announcements for everyone in the class. Postings of this type on the forum may include:
- current or expected availability of lectures, assignments, feedback and points
- changes in assignment due dates
- general comments about the course and assignments
Each week, I will provide Notes covering the week’s topic. Each set of notes will refer you to relevant websites and other accessible resources. The notes also will contain instructions on that week’s assignment. I normally post the notes in PowerPoint format.
There also will be Weekly Readings, mostly from Intercom, the Society for Technical Communication (STC) monthly magazine. These articles provide a professional viewpoint on many of this course’s topics. STC has provided permission for these articles to be posted in our password-protected course content. I strongly recommend that you browse the STC website for other articles that may be relevant, as well. You’ll find it at http://www.stc.org/ .
Forums host the class discussions as well as my announcements. These discussions are an integral part of your learning. Each week, I will post questions on the Discussion forum, related to that week's content. A special discussion topic area is set aside for assignment clarification and other problems that might arise. If you have a question about how to do a given assignment, use this topic area to ask about it. Chances are, someone else will have the same question.
Participation in class discussion is essential to your success in this class so check this area frequently and join in!
Class assignments will normally be due Wednesday of the week following your introduction to the topic.
You can also contact me privately via course Quickmail. I log onto the course regularly—most often daily or twice daily at the beginning of each week, and less often as the week goes on—usually first thing in the morning or in the evening. I am in the Pacific time zone—so, for those of you in Eastern North America, my “early” is your mid-morning.
Course Grading
97 - 100 points = A+
93 - 96 points = A
90 - 92 points = A-
87 - 89 points = B+
83 - 86 points = B
80 - 82 points = B-
77 - 79 points = C+
73 - 76 points = C
70 - 72 points = C-
65 - 69 points = D
Less than 65 points = Fail
Grade Components
Participation in class discussions: 30 points
You should participate in class discussion by posting your comments each week. For full participation marks, I expect you to contribute at least two thoughtful, quality postings per week (these may include responses to classmates’ comments, but you should be initiating discussion as well). Just logging on and reading other people's postings is not effective participation; neither is mere agreement with others' postings. Your postings on any given topic should be completed within two weeks of the initial discussion posting--leaving them all till the end of the course defeats the purpose of discussion.
Quality of postings is as important as their frequency or length. Criteria for quality include:
- your comments’ relevance to the topic
- clear expression of personal experience or specialized knowledge related to the topic
- factual backup for your opinions.
Feel free to add follow-up questions that you think will add to the class’s understanding of topics.
Quality participation in class discussion also means conveying your experience, research, opinions, questions or commentary in a professional and respectful manner. Disagreements among discussion participants are expected and often valuable, but they should be expressed tactfully and not in a confrontational tone.
Assignments: 70 points
Grading details are listed in the Course Schedule, below.
I will add detailed assignment instructions to the end of each week’s notes. Completed assignments should be submitted by the due date, following the instructions I give for delivery and format. Late assignments will have 5% of their value subtracted for each day late, unless prior arrangements have been made with me for extensions due to extenuating circumstances.
I will normally provide feedback and grades for assignments within one week of the due date for that work, unless I notify you otherwise. If your assignment is late, my response may take longer. Your assignment’s specific feedback will be emailed to you.
You can also check your progress through the 'Grades' area.
Student Conduct
Vancouver Island University students are expected to behave in a responsible manner respectful of the learning environment inside the classroom, whether attending in person on online. This policy applies to all Vancouver Island University campus and off-campus locations where Vancouver Island University sponsored activity is occurring. For further information, link to Vancouver Island University's Student Conduct Code (Policy 32.05), Disruption-Free Learning and Working Environment Pollicy (Policy 31.06), Personal Harassment Policy (Policy 21.05), and Use of Information Technology (Policy 45.01).
Course Schedule for Technical Writing and Editing 1
| Topic | Assignment | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 Meet the class What is technical writing? |
Introducing yourself | S/U |
| Week 2 Special issues in technical writing: - Working collaboratively - Working with subject matter experts - Ethics in technical communication |
Initial draft of project | S/U |
| Week 3 Audience analysis |
Audience/purpose analysis | /10 |
| Week 4 Planning your document |
Outline | /5 |
| Week 5 Document design What is technical writing? |
Design template | /10 |
| Week 6 Writing your document: - Paragraph-level - Sentence-level - Tone - Style - Grammar and mechanics |
Draft 2 | /10 |
| Week 7 Editing your document |
Peer editing | /10 |
| Week 8 Your future in technical writing |
Final version of project | /25 |
* subject to change based on course needs
S/U = Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (not graded but compulsory)
Questions, comments, or concerns? Please contact Instructor via Quickmail class e-mail.
Copyright 2004-2010 © Kathy McTaggart