Professor Blain: DBlain@citytech.cuny.edu
Class Meeting: MW 10-11:15
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6132626816?pwd=dTllZlUyY3RObk9FT29WSGxUMkNCZz09
Passcode: 128316
Meeting ID: 613 262 6816
Course Site: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blaineng2575fa2023/
Perusall code: BLAIN-JAJWK
Slack invitation: https://join.slack.com/t/eng2575fa2023/shared_invite/zt-21uqgq27k-55fssl6MOVw5P63Kw1ctDg
Course Description:
An advanced course in effective technical writing techniques, including traditional technical writing forms and internet communication. This course will have students use electronic media such as Internet, presentation, and graphics programs to communicate technical and scientific information to a variety of audiences via written and oral presentations. Students will also analyze readings in science and technology, study technical writing models, and practice collaborative research and presentation. Building on previous writing courses, this course will reinforce clarity of thinking and expression in effective and correct English.
Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Communicate clearly in technical writing and in oral presentations.
- Use, develop, and evaluate technical documents.
- Gather, interpret, evaluate, and apply information from a variety of sources.
- Use professional tools for technical communication, inquiry, analysis, and collaboration.
Required Textbook (this and all readings are available on the course Perusall site):
Anderson, Paul V. Technical Communication: A Reader Centered Approach.
Required Resources
- Access to your campus email account. Use it to create an account on openlab.citytech.cuny.edu during the first week. Join our class on OpenLab.
- Software: Office suite of applications capable of producing files in DOCX, PPTX, and PDF formats.
- Accepted invitation to Slack workspace.
- Join Perusall. BLAIN-JAJWK
Assignments and Course Grades
| Project 1: Summary of Scientific or Technical Article | Using the library’s journals and scholarly databases, find a scientific or technical article from a peer-reviewed journal, and write a 500-word summary of the article using APA style, to be used as part of your team’s project and report. | 10% |
| Project 2: Expanded Definition of a Technical or Scientific Term | Choose a technical or scientific term that is important to your team’s project, and write a 750-1000 word expanded definition of it to be incorporated into your team’s project. Your expanded definition must be supported by scholarly or vetted sources that are properly quoted and cited using APA style. | 15% |
| Project 3: Instruction Manual | Create a 1500-2000 word instruction manual that combines words, images, and design principles to help others accomplish a task. | 15% |
| Project 4: Collaborative Final Project | After forming into teams of students, identify a problem and create these solution-oriented deliverables: a 4000-6000-word analytical research report on the problem, a website describing that problem and promoting your team’s solution to the problem, and a presentation directed at a specific audience and designed to convince them to adopt your solution. As a collaborative project, all team members are expected to contribute equally based on a distribution of responsibilities managed within the team. | 40% |
| Individual Collaboration Report | At the end of the course, you’ll create a private email to send to the instructor giving your overall Reflection about the course and the team project — this will include a Team Evaluation sheet for you to complete and attach to the Reflection email. | 10% |
| Participation | Posting assignments in a timely fashion, being an involved member of a team, communicating with the instructor before or as situations arise. Also includes your team’s evaluation of your contribution. | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Prof Blain’s policies
Grading Policy
This is pretty straightforward: the percentages are listed above. Note, however, that you have an opportunity, and are encouraged, to do revisions to improve your initial grades once you get feedback from me and/or your classmates. Those final revisions are due on the last day of classes, December 20. I will not accept anything after December 20.
The Grade Book is built into OpenLab, and you can find it on the right-hand side of the site.
Participation & Attendance
I have to take attendance, and while there’s no formal ‘penalty’ for not coming, you’ll fall behind fairly quickly if you don’t since this class moves very quickly. A lot of the class meetings will be devoted to working on your own or with groups of people, just like when you’re on a real job. I do keep track of that by watching the work as it turns up in the Google Drive and/or asking other members of your team whether you’re there. If submissions fall off, or your grade starts to drop, it’s likely because of attendance.
That said… I’m pretty understanding about jobs and families and emergencies. All I ask is that you’re straight with me and let me know asap what’s going on, either before class or as soon after as you can.
Required Format for Papers
While there will be exceptions that we will discuss in class, all writing submitted online via our class Google Drive and should follow APA professional style. It should always include a “name block” in the upper left corner, a title centered, and your work done in the format required by each assignment. If you quote or cite writing by others, it should be properly cited and included as an entry on a concluding “Works Cited” list. Search Google for “Purdue OWL APA” for guidelines and sample papers.
Late Papers
Just don’t. The penalties will be pretty severe, including a 10-point reduction from me for every day it’s late, as well as the wrath of your Teammates for throwing the project schedule off; you’ll set policies as a team about how to handle these things.
A final word from me
It’s been a tough few years, and no one has come out of it the same way we went in. Teaching and learning online has had real challenges for all of us, and I get it. I do hope you’ll feel comfortable enough to turn on your cameras — it’s really hard teaching to a screen full of black boxes because I never really get to know anybody! But it’s up to you.
On top of that, things happen. Life happens. The best laid plans almost always fall apart at some point.
So the most important thing is to stay in touch – with me, with your team. I’m here to help as long as you do stay in touch via Slack or email. I’m willing to work with whatever issue has come up just as long as I know about it ahead of time (more or less). So keep communicating!
What matters to me is that you do your best, work had, and stay in touch. If you’re having trouble with time management — or our old friend procrastination — stay tuned. The English department is launching a great website called The Procrastination Station (more about that later).
We’re all here to help each other succeed, and we’ll do our best go help you through it. If you stick with it and really commit to the process, it can be a lot of fun along with a lot of work.
University Policies
Accessibility Statement
City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies and testing accommodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state and city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility or would like to seek accommodation services or academic adjustments, please contact the Center for Student Accessibility at 300 Jay Street room L-237, 718 260 5143 or http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility/.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Statement
Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. In the Resources tab on our OpenLab site, you’ll find an Academic Integrity Pledge which the College would like you to read.
Sanctions for Academic Integrity Violations
In accordance with the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity, NYCCT empowers its Academic Integrity Committee and Academic Integrity Officer to process violations of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy. As stated in the student handbook, all instructors must report all instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Integrity Officer.
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