Author: Jason W. Ellis

• Brief Introduction
• Beginning of Class Writing Assignment
  • Click on the heading of this blog post title above–“Week 5,” scroll down to the comment area, and write at least 250 words in response to this week’s readings. You can summarize the readings, you can relate the readings to your own experience or something else you have read or learned about, etc. Any writing of 250 words or more that are related to the readings are fair game for this weekly assignment at the beginning of class.
  • Post your comment after 15 minutes even if you don’t reach the 250 word minimum threshold.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you organize your thoughts before discussion and it gives you regular writing practice.
• Discuss the readings assigned for Week 5.
  • NYC Metro Chapter of the Society of Technical Communication (STC)
• Discuss internships
  • Where is everyone at in work or applications?
  • Write It Forward
    • IPG Health’s Write It Forward Internship Program.
• Weekly Log
  • Remember to add an entry to your logbook for each week until the end of the semester and keep all of your logs in a single file (Google Doc, Word docx, OpenOffice odf, etc.). Include the first date of a given week for each entry at the top of the page. Write at least 250 words about your current or past experience as appropriate. For example, if you are currently in an internship, your logs should record your experiences, thoughts, challenges, solutions, etc. that you find significant each week. Or, if you have completed your internship, your logs can be about experiences, projects, interactions with people in the workplace, challenges, solutions, etc. based on your past experience. And, if you are continuing in a new internship for additional experience, you can write about that, too. The point is to write at least 250 words per entry with one entry per week about your experience in the internship.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you articulate your work experience so that you may better reflect on, consider, remember, and act on those experiences as you transition into the workplace. Additionally, it gives you extra writing practice, which research shows will automatically improve your writing ability.
• Review readings and homework for next week.

• Brief Introduction
• Reminder for everyone to apply for graduation this week. Deadline is Friday, Mar. 3.
• Beginning of Class Writing Assignment
  • Click on the heading of this blog post title above–“Week 4,” scroll down to the comment area, and write at least 250 words in response to this week’s readings. You can summarize the readings, you can relate the readings to your own experience or something else you have read or learned about, etc. Any writing of 250 words or more that are related to the readings are fair game for this weekly assignment at the beginning of class.
  • Post your comment after 15 minutes even if you don’t reach the 250 word minimum threshold.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you organize your thoughts before discussion and it gives you regular writing practice.
• Discuss the readings assigned for Week 4.
  • NYC Metro Chapter of the Society of Technical Communication (STC)
• Discuss internships
  • Where is everyone at? (Amy: Abby?) (Kahini: charity?) (Sergio:?) (Maria:?)
  • Write It Forward
    • We’ll spend time during class to let everyone apply for IPG Health’s Write It Forward Internship Program.
• Weekly Log
  • Remember to add an entry to your logbook for each week until the end of the semester and keep all of your logs in a single file (Google Doc, Word docx, OpenOffice odf, etc.). Include the first date of a given week for each entry at the top of the page. Write at least 250 words about your current or past experience as appropriate. For example, if you are currently in an internship, your logs should record your experiences, thoughts, challenges, solutions, etc. that you find significant each week. Or, if you have completed your internship, your logs can be about experiences, projects, interactions with people in the workplace, challenges, solutions, etc. based on your past experience. And, if you are continuing in a new internship for additional experience, you can write about that, too. The point is to write at least 250 words per entry with one entry per week about your experience in the internship.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you articulate your work experience so that you may better reflect on, consider, remember, and act on those experiences as you transition into the workplace. Additionally, it gives you extra writing practice, which research shows will automatically improve your writing ability.
• Review readings and homework for next week.

• Brief Introduction
• Beginning of Class Writing Assignment
  • Click on the heading of this blog post title above–“Week 3,” scroll down to the comment area, and write at least 250 words in response to this week’s readings. You can summarize the readings, you can relate the readings to your own experience or something else you have read or learned about, etc. Any writing of 250 words or more that are related to the readings are fair game for this weekly assignment at the beginning of class.
  • Post your comment after 15 minutes even if you don’t reach the 250 word minimum threshold.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you organize your thoughts before discussion and it gives you regular writing practice.
• Discuss the readings assigned for Week 3.
• Discuss internships
  • Where is everyone at? (Amy: Abby?) (Kahini: charity?) (Sergio:?) (Maria:?)
  • Write It Forward
    • I would like everyone to apply for IPG Health’s Write It Forward Internship Program. We will discuss it during class this week and we’ll spend some class time next week to completing the application. You can apply for this using your resume or LinkedIn Profile (see Prof. Ellis’ LinkedIn Profile as a model).
• Weekly Log
  • Remember to add an entry to your logbook for each week until the end of the semester and keep all of your logs in a single file (Google Doc, Word docx, OpenOffice odf, etc.). Include the first date of a given week for each entry at the top of the page. Write at least 250 words about your current or past experience as appropriate. For example, if you are currently in an internship, your logs should record your experiences, thoughts, challenges, solutions, etc. that you find significant each week. Or, if you have completed your internship, your logs can be about experiences, projects, interactions with people in the workplace, challenges, solutions, etc. based on your past experience. And, if you are continuing in a new internship for additional experience, you can write about that, too. The point is to write at least 250 words per entry with one entry per week about your experience in the internship.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you articulate your work experience so that you may better reflect on, consider, remember, and act on those experiences as you transition into the workplace. Additionally, it gives you extra writing practice, which research shows will automatically improve your writing ability.
• Review readings and homework for next week.

For this week’s class, you read articles about workplace etiquette, preparing for interviews, and the effect of distractions on attentional focus, which we will discuss as a part of today’s class. We also need to establish some of the regular work product that you all will be doing this semester based on each of your unique internship circumstances. Below is an outline for today’s class.

• Brief Introduction
• Beginning of Class Writing Assignment
  • Click on the heading of this blog post title above–“Week 2: Workplace Etiquette, Interviews, and Writing Space,” scroll down to the comment area, and write at least 250 words in response to this week’s readings. You can summarize the readings, you can relate the readings to your own experience or something else you have read or learned about, etc. Any writing of 250 words or more that are related to the readings are fair game for this weekly assignment at the beginning of class.
  • Post your comment after 15 minutes even if you don’t reach the 250 word minimum threshold.
  • Why we are doing this: It helps you organize your thoughts before discussion and it gives you regular writing practice.
• Discuss the readings assigned for Week 2.
• Discuss internships
  • Where is everyone at? (Amy: Abby?) (Kahini: charity?) (Sergio:?) (Maria:?)
  • Potential Internships for Those Who Need Them
    • Nursing Department
    • Writing Center
    • Communications Office
    • Write It Forward
  • Weekly Log
    • Begin writing this now until the end of the semester in a single file (Google Doc, Word docx, OpenOffice odf, etc.). Include the first date of a given week for each entry at the top of the page. Write at least 250 words about your current or past experience as appropriate. For example, if you are currently in an internship, your logs should record your experiences, thoughts, challenges, solutions, etc. that you find significant each week. Or, if you have completed your internship, your logs can be about experiences, projects, interactions with people in the workplace, challenges, solutions, etc. based on your past experience. And, if you are continuing in a new internship for additional experience, you can write about that, too. The point is to write at least 250 words per entry with one entry per week about your experience in the internship.
    • Why we are doing this: It helps you articulate your work experience so that you may better reflect on, consider, remember, and act on those experiences as you transition into the workplace. Additionally, it gives you extra writing practice, which research shows will automatically improve your writing ability.
• Review readings and homework for next week.

I would like to welcome you all to ENG4900, the internship course of the Professional and Technical Writing Program. We’re going to use the beginning of the semester to work on your job search materials, which you will use to obtain an internship to satisfy the 120 worksite hour requirement of the class. And, throughout the semester, we will develop your professionalization as a professional and technical writer beginning to enter the field. Visit our syllabus linked above to find the schedule, grading, and important policies.