Last week, you focused on a technical description of an artifact–what it looks like, how it works, and how you use it.

This week, we’re going to turn our attention to a definition of a technology–what the word or phrase means, how long has the word or phrase been in use, how has the word or phrase potentially changed meaning over time, how the word is used in writing, and how you would define the word or phrase in your own words.

The starting point for this assignment is to use the Oxford English Dictionary (I’ll show you how to find it on the Library’s website–for those of you who might miss class, you’ll need to ask around about how to find it and you’ll need to login using your CUNYfirst login to access it off campus). The OED is the dictionary of record for the English language. It presents definitions of words along with their etymology, or word history. A requirement of this assignment is that your selected technical word must appear in the OED as one of your two required dictionary definitions (the second must be a reputable dictionary such as Merriam-Webster, Macmillan, Collins, Brittanica, or another backed by a publisher/print edition.

Use this Google Doc as a guide for your deliverable.

There is no word count on this assignment.

You need to quote two definitions (from separate sources) and discuss them. You need to quote two sentences using the term (from separate sources–one from a journal article found through the library’s databases and one from The New York Times–or if the term doesn’t appear there, you can use two different journal articles) and discuss them. This constitutes four external, vetted sources for this assignment.

A block-style model for your technical description memo is included below. It should be single spaced with 1″ margins on all sides. Remember to remove extra space between paragraphs using Word’s settings–control everything about your documents. Compose it in Microsoft Word and save it as a Word docx file (or use a word processor of choice that can export in docx format). Name your file using the following convention (SemesterYear-CourseNumber-Deliverable-YourFirstandLastName.docx or for example, Fall2022-ENG2700-TechnicalDefinition-GeorgePBurdell.docx). Then, upload your file here and bring three print outs to our next class for peer review (the print outs are not optional–go to the library or a lab before class if needed–plan ahead and be proactive!).

Following peer review, you will have an opportunity to revise your email deliverable for your final portfolio.

In addition to the Purdue OWL’s APA citation section for in-text and references list, this page shows how to cite entries from a dictionary.