Technical Writing

Spring 2017

Dr. Daniel P. Richards

Email: dprichar@odu.edu
Office: BAL 5032 / 2019
Hours: TR 8:00am-9:30am

Overview
Technical writing (or technical communication) refers to both a field of academic study as
well as a mode of writing. Thus, to learn about technical writing means to think critically
about the ways writing takes place in technical contexts as well as to become more astute
and proficient with writing in a technical fashion. We will broach both branches by
working with relevant and preparatory projects, genres, and technologies through the lens
of guiding rhetorical theories and industry-based principles developed in the field.
Course Website & Blackboard
This course has its own website: engl334w.wordpress.com. It is in the students best
interest to bookmark this site in his or her web browser as this will be the main source of
lecture delivery, assignment descriptions, and readings. Blackboard will be used only for
the submission of assignments/quizzes and access to grades and professor feedback.
Required Texts & Materials
Alred, G. J., Brusaw, C. T., & Oliu, W. E. (2012). Handbook of technical writing. 10e. Bedford.
Johnson-Eilola, J., & Selber, S. A., Eds. (2013). Solving problems in technical communication.

University of Chicago Press.
Sword, H. (2016). The writers diet: A guide to fit prose. University of Chicago Press.

Department of English Old Dominion University Spring 2017

Academic Honesty
Plagiarism will result in the failure of the assignment and possibly of the course. Students
cannot use work completed for credit in previous courses to count towards this course nor
can they lift ideas or content from a print or online source without proper citation.
Accommodations
In accordance with university policy, a student who wishes to receive some instructional
accommodation because of a documented sensory and/or learning disability should
contact the instructor to discuss this accommodation. Any student who has a concern or
needs to make special arrangements for meeting the requirements of the course is
encouraged to speak with the instructor. The instructor must be notified in the first two
weeks of the course of any students requiring accommodations. If you have questions
about assistance, please contact the Office of Educational Accessibility at 757-683-4655
or visit odu.edu/educationalaccessibility.
Student Athletes
If you are a student athlete, please provide your travel schedule and game schedule
indicating when you will need to participate in athletic events. While travel for athletics is
acceptable, the student will need to make up any missed work.
Submitting Assignments & Late Policy
Assignments are due by 9:29 a.m. of the due date specified in the syllabus. If there are
issues with Blackboard submissions, it is the students responsibility to send the work via
email to the professor as backup. Late assignments will receive a third of a letter grade
penalty per day late, including weekends. Extensions will not be given except for dire
circumstances accompanied with documentation.
Weighting Scale
Letter grades will be assigned for each assignment and are enumerated as such:
A (92.5-100)
B+ (87.5-89.9)
C+ (77.5-79.9)
D+ (67.5-69.9) F (<59.9)
A- (90-92.4)
B (82.5-87.4)
C (72.5-77.4)
D (62.5-67.4)



B- (80-82.4)
C- (70-72.4)
D- (60-62.4)
Withdrawal
A syllabus constitutes a contract between the student and the course instructor.
Participation in this course indicates your acceptance of its content, requirements, and
policies. If you believe that the nature of this course does not meet your interests, needs
or expectations (amount of work involved, class meetings, assignment deadlines, course
policies, etc.), you should drop the class by the drop/add deadline, which is indicated in
the ODU Schedule of Classes.

Department of English Old Dominion University Spring 2017

Assignments
The assignments build on each other and are aimed at improving students ability to write
technically through composing genres and engaging in projects relevant to workplace
communication across all fields. The assignments are loosely based upon the three broad
work patterns identified in chapter two of our textbook: (i) content management, (ii)
information design, and (iii) user advocacy. Each assignment will be assessed using a
rubric on Blackboard, accessible by clicking on the assignment link.

Weight
Technology
Weekly Reading Notes & Activities
10%
Google Drive
Project 1: Technical Editing

20%
Microsoft Word
Project 2: Voting Document Redesign 20%
Adobe InDesign
Project 3: UX Project

40%
UserTesting, Wireframe, Xtensio
Project 4: Professional Portfolio
10%
WordPress



Weekly Reading Notes & Activities
Students will be expected to keep notes based on assigned readings and class lectures as
well as activities completed in and/or outside of class. All notes and activities will be
archived in the students own Google Drive folder, shared with the professor. There will
be one folder for each of the 15 weeks of the semester. Within each weekly folder there
will be at least one page of single-spaced notes based upon the readings and one
document showing evidence of completing a weekly activity (assigned in class). These
shared folders will be assessed twice: once at midterm, and once at the end of the course.
Technical Editing Project
One of the key skills of a technical writer is editing, which largely means occupying the
position between something that has already been written and seeing it through to
publication. More than just adding or subtracting commas and checking spelling,
technical editing involves attending closely to the formatting, organization, and usability
of a given document or set of documents. Your assignment in this project is to take a copy
of instructions for a given audience to use a technology and edit to move towards
publication. Students will use the Handbook of Technical Writing and other resources to help
complete the assignment. Students will also submit an editing rationale (2 pages).
Voting Document Redesign
Many technical writers do work not only in business contexts but in public contexts as
well, responsible for communicating critical information to public audiences. This project
has students select a piece of documentation related to voting and elections meant for a
public audience and redesign the documentation to enhance accessibility, usability, and
clarity. Students will apply principles of effective information design as outlined in course
texts and the Center for Civic Design website to compose an audience-centered document
that ethically communicates information facilitating democratic processes. Students will
also submit a metacognitive reflection (2 pages) and design rationale (2 pages).
Department of English Old Dominion University Spring 2017

UX Project
There is no getting around it: thriving professionally means being able to work well
collaboratively with others. The field of technical writing is no different, as often projects
require the coordination and negotiation of several moving parts, parties, and goals. The
major project of this course divides the class roster into groups of 4 or 5 students to work
as team trying to solve an issue of user experience (UX) relating to a university
department website. Several technologies will be used to complete the project, including
Google Drive (to share work with group members), wireframe.cc (to draft a design of the
website), Xtensio (to build personas of typical users of the website), and UserTesting.com
to test the design and functioning of the current website. The project will be broken up
into multiple phases that build off of each other and that model a professional work
sequence in project management. The phases and associated deliverables are constructed
as such:
Research & Analysis
Groups will submit a memo (2 pages) on best practices of departmental web design.
Usability I
Groups will create and conduct a usability test on the current design of the website
and write a brief usability report outlining the findings.
Persona Building
Groups will build three personas of typical users based on survey results.
Wireframing/Drafting
Groups will create a wireframe to propose a redesign for the department website.
Usability II
Groups will conduct another usability test of the redesigned website.
Recommendations
Groups will write for an external audience an informal usability report (8 pages)
outlining the best practices for designing department websites.
Professional Portfolio
This final project is aimed at building connections between work completed in
coursework and potential employment after graduation. In the contemporary economy,
simply possessing an undergraduate degree does not guarantee satisfactory employment.
Students must now think strategically about their own narratives and experiences to build
convincing cases for why they should get hired over another peer, who also possesses the
same degree. This strategy involves the composing of strong employment materials (e.g.,
rsums and cover letters) but also involves showcasing strong, concrete examples of work
produced. As such, students will compose employment materials (1 page cover letter, 1
page rsum) as well as create a professional portfolio using WordPress that archives and
showcases their best work produced in this course (and perhaps elsewhere). Students will
also write a reflection outlining the rhetorical choices made in their design of the portfolio
(2 pages) as well the choices made to tailor their work materials to a specific job
advertisement relevant to their individual goals (2 pages).
Department of English Old Dominion University Spring 2017

Schedule
Readings on the schedule below are abbreviated using the following key:
SP: Solving Problems in Technical Communication | WD: The Writers Diet
Assigned chapters (e.g., SP 14=Ch. 14) or page numbers (e.g., WD 63-73) with above texts
are added to each abbreviation. Supplemental readings outside of these texts are
accessible on the Resources page of the course website. The Handbook of Technical
Writing must be brought to every class. All assignments are due before class begins the date
identified below (i.e., Project 1 is due Feb. 7 before class time, 9:30a.m.).
Week Date
Topic



Readings

Due
________________________________________________________________________
1

Jan. 10

Introduction

Jan. 12

Information Management

WD Intro

Jan. 17

Technical Editing

SP 5

Jan. 19

Technical Editing

WD 1

Jan. 24

Technical Editing

SP 15

Jan. 26

Technical Editing

WD 5

Jan. 31

Technical Editing

SP 14

Feb. 2

Technical Editing

WD 2

Feb. 7

Brochure Redesign

SP 16

Feb. 9

Brochure Redesign

99% Invisible

Feb. 14

Brochure Redesign

SP 9

Feb. 16

Brochure Redesign

WD 3

Feb. 21

Brochure Redesign

SP 6

Feb. 23

Brochure Redesign

Feb. 28

ConferenceNo Class

Mar. 2

UX Project

SP 18

SP Intro, SP 2

Project 1

Project 2

Department of English Old Dominion University Spring 2017

Mar. 7

HolidayNo Class

Mar. 9

HolidayNo Class

10

Mar. 14

UX Project

SP 13

Notes 1-8

Mar. 16

UX Project

11

Mar. 21

UX Project

SP 12

Mar. 23

UX Project

12

Mar. 28

UX Project

SP 7

Mar. 30

UX Project

WD 4

13

Apr. 4

UX Project

SP 3

Apr. 6

UX Project

14

Apr. 11

UX Project

SP 10

Apr. 13

UX Project

WD 63-73

15

Apr. 18

Professional Portfolio

SP 4

Project 3

Apr. 20

Professional Portfolio

Lanier

16

Apr. 25


Apr. 27

Exam WeekNo Class

Exam WeekNo Class

Project 4,
Notes 8-15

Department of English Old Dominion University Spring 2017