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Lecture Notes for Technical Communication, 15th Edition

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    Instructor’s Resource Manual For Technical Communication Fifteenth Edition John M. Lannon, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth Laura J. Gurak, University of Minnesota Prepared by Lee Scholder

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    iii Contents Table of Master Sheets v The Composition Instructor as Technical Writing Instructor 1 Using the Masters for Classroom or Online Instruction 3 Annotated Bibliography of Resources for Instructors 5 General Suggestions 8 The Workshop Approach 10 Working with Service-Learning Projects 13 Using the Objective Test Questions 15 Grading Procedure 16 Sample Syllabi 17 Part I Communicating in the Workplace 24 Chapter 1 Introduction to Technical Communication 25 Chapter 2 Meeting the Needs of Specific Audiences 33 Chapter 3 Persuading Your Audience 46 Chapter 4 Weighing the Ethical Issues 60 Chapter 5 Teamwork and Global Considerations 79 Chapter 6 An Overview of the Technical Writing Process 90 Part II The Research Process 104 Chapter 7 Thinking Critically about the Research Process 105 Chapter 8 Evaluating and Interpreting Information 118 Chapter 9 Summarizing Research Findings and Other Information 124 Part III Organization, Style, and Visual Design 128 Chapter 10 Organizing for Readers 129 Chapter 11 Editing for a Professional Style and Tone 163 Chapter 12 Designing Visual Information 207 Chapter 13 Designing Pages and Documents 228 Part IV Specific Documents and Applications 235 Chapter 14 Email 236 Chapter 15 Workplace Memos and Letters 238 Chapter 16 Résumés and Other Job-Search Materials 250 Chapter 17 Technical Definitions 264 Chapter 18 Technical Descriptions, Specifications, and Marketing Materials 268 Chapter 19 Instructions and Procedures 277 Chapter 20 Informal Reports 283 Chapter 21 Formal Analytical Reports 287 Chapter 22 Proposals 299 Chapter 23 Oral Presentations and Webinars 305

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    iv

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    v Chapter 24 Blogs, Wikis, and Web Pages 310 Chapter 25 Social Media 314 Objective Test Questions 317 Answers to Objective Test Questions 347 Answers to Chapter Quiz Questions 349

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    vi Table of Master Sheets Sheet Numbers Title Page 1 How a Document Is Evaluated 28 2 Chapter 1 Quiz 30 3 Deciding on a Document’s Level of Technicality 37 4-6 Audience and Use Profile Sheet 39-43 7 Chapter 2 Quiz 45 8 Standard Shape for an Argument 53 9-10 A Sample Audience Analysis for Additional Team Assignment 55-57 11 Chapter 3 Quiz 59 12-17 Paraphrasing Source Material 65-75 18 Ethics Site Analysis 77 19 Chapter 4 Quiz 78 20 Team Pledge 83 21 Sample Form for Evaluating Team Members 84 22 Team Evaluation Form 85 24 Chapter 5 Quiz 88 25 How a Document Is Composed 91 26 A Flowchart of the Writing Process 92 27 Decisions in Planning the Document 94 28 Decisions in Drafting the Document 96 29-30 Decisions in Revising the Document 100-02 31 Chapter 6 Quiz 103 32 Examples of Research Topics 111 33 A Flowchart of the Research Process 113 34 Chapter 7 Quiz 114 35 Chapter 8 Quiz 123 36 Chapter 9 Quiz 127 37–44 Examples of Sequencing 134-48 45-46 The Purpose of Classification and Partition 150-52 47 Example of Classification 154 48 Example of Partition 156 49 Using the Topic Sentence for Orientation 158 50 Common Transitions and the Relations They Indicate 160 51 Chapter 10 Quiz 162 52-53 Efficiency and Your Documents 166-68 54–71 Responses to Chapter 11 Exercises 170-204 72 Chapter 11 Quiz 206 73-80 Responses to Visuals Exercises 209-23 81 Examples of Visuals for Emphasis 225 82 Chapter 12 Quiz 227 83 A Flowchart for Decisions in Page Design 230 84 Ineffective Page Design 232 85 Effective Page Design 233 86 Chapter 13 Quiz 234 87 Chapter 14 Quiz 237 88 Summary Memo in Email Format 242 89 A Complaint Letter About a Political Issue 244

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    vii

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    viii Table of Master Sheets, continued Sheet Numbers Title Page 90 An Effective Claim Letter 246 91 Chapter 15 Quiz 248 92 Letter Openings: Good and Bad 255 93 Letter Closings: Good and Bad 257 94 A Job-Hunting Assignment 259 95 A Group Assignment in Job Hunting 261 96 Chapter 16 Quiz 263 97 Chapter 17 Quiz 267 98 A Product Description 272 99 Chapter 18 Quiz 274 100 Three Ways of Making a Peanut-Butter Sandwich 280 101 Chapter 19 Quiz 282 102 Chapter 20 Quiz 286 103 Refining the Analytical Question 290 104-105 Additional Topics for Analysis 294-96 106 Chapter 21 Quiz 298 107 Proposal Topic Ideas 302 108 Chapter 22 Quiz 304 109 Peer Evaluation for Oral Presentations 308 110 Chapter 23 Quiz 309 111 Chapter 24 Quiz 313 112 Chapter 25 Quiz 316

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    ix Revel Revel is an interactive learning environment that seamlessly blends the author’s narrative, media, and assessment, enabling students to read, practice, and study in one continuous experience. Informed by extensive research on how people read, think, and learn, Revel is designed to boost students' understanding, retention, and preparedness across an expanding range of discipline areas for less than the cost of a traditional textbook.

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    1 The Composition Instructor as Technical Writing Instructor Technical Writing’s Practical Focus In a technical writing class, you don’t need to struggle for answers to the student’s implied question on each assignment: “Why are we doing this?” Because students choose subjects with observable limits, and because they write for a specific reader in a specific situation, they are able to make the connection between writing in the classroom and writing in the workplace. And with high motivation, skills improve quickly. Students learn to master rhetorical strategies by writing about subjects of primary or immediate interest. The issues are more substantive than abstract. A report analyzing why the campus has no day-care center may require these expository skills: classification, definition, description, narration, and persuasion, in addition to strategies for summary writing, outlining, primary and secondary research, and letter writing. Along with obtaining valuable writing practice, then, students in this course develop a clear sense of purpose because they write about problems that touch them and their community. The range and variety of topics are infinite, with repeated emphasis on highly informative writing. Writing is taken out of the rarefied English classroom and based in the real world. As an act of communication for a specific purpose to a specific audience, writing becomes more a cognitive than an affective task, more than an exercise in creative self-expression. Justification for such assignments is both implicit and explicit. With practice in thinking and writing for a tangible situation and purpose, for an audience who will use the information, students in any major leave the course better prepared to think and write incisively about any subject. A report-writing assignment is, in effect, an instructor ’s call to “teach me,” rather than “discover yourself.” The practical purpose for writing is always clear. Unlike the rhetorical errors in more personal writing, deficiencies in a factual message can be identified readily; moreover, a summary, an expanded definition, a set of instructions, a physical description, or a proposal provides common ground for student-teacher discussion of content, arrangement, and style. Technical Writing as a Point of View For the skeptical newcomer, technical writing’s greatest liability is its name. The term “technical,” often misleading for both instructors and students, leads to misunderstanding about what goes on in a technical writing course. It is one thing to discuss a technical subject (a specialized subject, usually mechanical or scientific); it is another to discuss any subject, technical or not, from a technical point of view (an informed and precise perspective from which the writer sees the related particulars of a subject). Even the most abstract subjects are discussed from a technical point of view if interpretations and conclusions are predicated on demonstrable evidence and if the writing has utility beyond self-expression; literary criticism

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    2 is an example. In technical writing, the cognitive tasks of observing, interpreting, and reporting discourage any tendency to make absolute or sweeping statements. And, because guidelines for structure and format include an explicit and inclusive title, a clear statement of purpose, a detailed outline, and relevant headings, students maintain a sense of direction consistent with purpose. Far from enforcing mindless, mechanical transcription, technical writing assignments elicit thought and expression that are deliberate; volition rather than chance shapes the message. Because of its concrete subject matter, technical writing encourages analytical thought. Students learn to pose imaginative questions, to answer them by precisely interpreting factual evidence, and to communicate their findings in a “professional” format. The approach is empirical, not mechanical. Students see that they are writing for a reason and that good writing is the product of a good plan and a clear sense of the specific reader ’s specific needs. Written assignments, oral reports, and class discussions about analogues in the real world— evaluating your college’s internship program, establishing a student-operated food co-op, comparing four popular wood-burning stoves, analyzing safety devices at a local nuclear power plant—all have practical translations, are easy to justify, and are carried out with enthusiasm. Ideally, a student report will also satisfy an assignment in another course. Assignments with a Purpose As a major course project, the analytical report can evolve from shorter assignments in summary writing, definition, description, and the like. Students are motivated when convinced that they are not performing an exercise in busy work or philosophical rambling; instructors are pleased to learn something informative instead of suffering the usual thankless and bleary-eyed plodding through unmemorable essays. In short, teaching technical writing is one way in which instructors can make the required conceptual and practical adjustment from education for its own sake to education with a visible purpose. Such a change hardly means settling for second best. This kind of teaching, as many continue to discover, offers the occasion for growing professionally and for actively involving our students in reciprocal teaching and learning.

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    3 Using the Masters for Classroom or Online Instruction This manual includes master sheets associated with each book chapter, which you might use in a number of ways. You can copy and distribute this material as handouts. You can also integrate these into your presentations during class by projecting them right from the digital version of this instructor ’s manual, integrating excerpts into your PowerPoint or other digital presentations, or projecting them via document cameras or transparencies. If you are teaching an online or hybrid course, you can also extract these as PDF files and distribute them via email or your learning management system (LMS). For Quizzes No book will do students any good unless they read it. To ensure that your students have (1) done the reading and (2) understood what they have read, you might use the quiz at the end of each chapter discussion section. Each quiz has ten questions that can be answered in ten to fifteen minutes. You can reproduce the quizzes directly from the PDF of this manual. You may also enter the questions directly into the quiz tool of your online learning management system. For Writing Samples In addition to quizzes, many chapter discussions are supplemented by master sheets of visuals and writing samples. In the discussions of the letter and short-report chapters, master sheets of student writing illustrate successful responses to exercises in order to complement many of the on-the-job examples from the textbook. For Syllabi and Course Description Either of the two sample syllabi, the course specifications, and the description of a grading system can be reproduced directly. Advantages of a Visual Format Besides enhancing class discussion and lectures and improving students’ attention, routine exposure to visuals is valuable preparation for students’ careers. Research suggests that, in any presentation, speakers who use visuals are regarded as better prepared than speakers without such aids. How Master Sheets Are Distributed in This Manual To follow the same principles of efficiency set forth in the textbook, Master Sheets have been deliberately omitted (except for quizzes) from some chapters. Most of the Master Sheets are found in Part I (to enhance discussions about the writing process) and in Part IV (to provide guidance in planning and revising typical documents). For Part II, documents produced by your own students should provide abundant examples.

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    4 As a quick survey of the Table of Master Sheets suggests, the emphasis in this material is on the process , not just the product. Instead of merely showing sample responses to this or that assignment, many of the masters illustrate the writing process as a thinking process. In addition to the Master Sheets, you might also consider using the electronic Revel version of the textbook to project examples and visual representations of various aspects of the writing process. A wide variety of examples is provided in the textbook for you to draw upon.

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    5 Annotated Bibliography of Resources for Instructors Bibliography of Resources for Instructors Instructors of technical communication come from a variety of backgrounds. While many instructors have degrees and experience in technical writing and communication, workplace/business writing, or professional communication, still others may come to this course with credentials in English composition or literature, creative writing, journalism, communication studies, law, engineering, science, and other fields. Especially for those who do not have a technical communication background, this bibliography offers resources and readings that provide history and context for technical communication theories and practices. History Connors, R. J. (2004). The rise of technical writing instruction in America. In J. Johnson-Eilola & S. A. Selber (Eds.), Central works in technical communication (pp. 3-19). New York: Oxford University Press. (Original article was published in the (1982) Journal of Technical Writing and Communication , 12(4), 329-52). O’Hara, F. (2001). A brief history of technical Communication. STC’s 48th Annual Conference Proceedings (pp. 500–504). Arlington, VA: Society for Technical Communication. Journals and professional societies Journals affiliated with a professional society are typically included as part of the membership dues (some offer discounted rates for students). Many of these organizations have regional meetings as well as national/international conferences. Search on these titles to find the organization or journal’s Web site and social media feeds. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication . Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Professional Communication Society (ProComm). Journal of Business Communication . Association for Business Communication. Journal of Business and Technical Communication . Sage Publications. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research . Taylor & Francis Group. Journal of Mass Media Ethics . Taylor & Francis Group. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication . Sage Publications. Technical Communication. Society for Technical Communication (STC). Technical Communication Quarterly . Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). User Experience Magazine and Journal of Usability Studies. User Experience Professional Association (UXPA).

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    6 Edited collections Conklin, J., & Hayhoe, G. F. (Eds.). (2011). Qualitative research in technical communication . New York: Routledge. Johnson-Eilola, J., & Selber, S. A. (Eds.). (2004). Central works in technical communication . New York: Oxford University Press. McKee, H. A., & Porter, J. E. (Eds.). (2017). Professional communication and network interaction: A rhetorical and ethical approach . New York: Routledge. Spilka, R. (Ed.). (2010). Digital literacy for technical communication: 21st century theory and practice . New York: Routledge. St. Amant K., & Sapienza, F. (Eds.). (2017). Culture, communication and cyberspace: Rethinking technical communication for international online environments . Amityville, N.Y.: Baywood. Selected articles and books Andersen, R. (2014). Rhetorical work in the age of content management. Journal of Business and Technical Communication , 28(2), 115-157. Breuch, L. K. (2018). Involving the audience: A rhetoric perspective on using social media to improve websites . New York: Routledge. Lauer, C., & Brumberger, E. (2016). Technical communication as user experience in a broadening industry landscape. Technical Communication, 63(3), 248-264. Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2018). Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety, and health risks (6 th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-IEEE Press. Miller, C. R. (1979). A humanistic rationale for technical writing. College English , 40(6), 610- 617. Reyman, J. (2008). Rethinking Plagiarism for Technical Communication. Technical Communication, 55(1), 61-67. Rude, C., & Eaton, A. (2011). Technical Editing . New York: Pearson. Sarker, S., Ahuja, M., Sarker, S., & Kirkeby, S. (2011). The role of communication and trust in global virtual teams: A social network perspective. Journal of Management Information Systems, 28(1), 273-310. Sun, H. (2006). The triumph of users: Achieving cultural usability goals with user localization. Technical Communication Quarterly , 15(4), 457-481. Blogs and social media The U.S. Department of Labor publishes a Web site called the Occupational Outlook Handbook . Go to that site and from there, search on “technical writers” to see median pay for that year, number of jobs, and the job outlook for the coming year. The Society for Technical Communication’s Web site offers a wealth of information including webinars and other content; salary information and trends in the field; professional activities including local chapters and the annual international STC conference. TechWhirl is a Web site popular with technical communicators, especially those involved with content management. The site offers information from “educational and research content to the latest news, features, and commentary.”

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    7 The Web site usability.gov describes itself as “the leading resource for user experience (UX) best practices and guidelines, serving practitioners and students in the government and private sectors.” This site is popular with academics and practitioners alike.

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    8 General Suggestions Background Reading Because technical writing is (at least by one definition) applied rhetoric, a new instructor’s preparation should build on a solid foundation in classical rhetoric. For this purpose, a concise and comprehensive source is Edward P. J. Corbett’s Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (Oxford University Press). Classroom Layout A technical writing class works best in the workshop format. In a classroom without computers, the optimal set-up will include several tables large enough for students to work in small editing groups and have plenty of room for paper shuffling. In computer classrooms, the “pod” configuration works well, with four to six computers arranged around a large table. In this environment, students are able to work together or separately on the computers while also having desk space for working with hard copies. Scheduling Although sometimes difficult to schedule, two meetings a week seems to work best for a workshop. Because technical writing students are generally well motivated, they will easily tolerate 75-minute classes. These longer periods provide more continuity to the small-group and full-class sessions. Hardware All of the exercises and activities in the textbook can be delivered in a classroom equipped with only an overhead projector (or document camera) and a permanent screen. This equipment is also useful for class discussion of student papers and other specimens. Internet access is essential for demonstrating research techniques, analyzing publicly available documents, and accessing a course Web site or online learning management system during class time.

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    9 Learning Management Systems Colleges and universities across the country are increasingly delivering courses, including technical writing, through distance education. Hybrid (or blended) courses, those that combine classroom and online sessions, are also popular. For these courses, a functional online learning management system (LMS) is vital. An LMS allows instructors to deliver all course materials electronically as well as to lead class discussions via forums. Private communication spaces can be created for individual students as well as teams, and students are able to upload their papers into an assignment submission tool. The advantages for an instructor are clear: less paper to manage, a convenient one-stop location for accessing student work and communicating with students, and an easy method for tracking students’ progress and participation. The challenges are equally clear: developing a relationship with students, explaining difficult material, encouraging vibrant class discussion, and implementing the workshop approach. Seeking the advice of experienced LMS users will help you overcome these challenges as will workshops offered by your university’s distance education unit. Guest Speakers Invite speakers from business and industry (the director of communications at your local power company, a digital communications specialist at a local business, or the head of a local engineering firm, for example). Companies that strive for good public relations, such as utilities, are especially cooperative. Campus librarians who specialize in scientific, engineering, and business disciplines can provide students with valuable research strategies. If your campus library is equipped with a learning lab, holding a class session there is ideal.

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    10 The Workshop Approach Workshops focus on the texts that students themselves have produced. The workshop approach operates on the premise that students can evaluate someone else’s writing better than their own. Designed to take students out of their traditionally passive roles, the workshop involves them actively in evaluating and discussing writing. It helps familiarize students with the challenge of writing for audiences other than their instructor. When first drafts or revisions are due, ask students to proofread and edit each other’s assignments, using the appropriate revision checklist at the end of each chapter as a guide. Ask for a detailed evaluation of each assignment, including specific suggestions for revision. You might ask your students to keep a journal of their most troublesome mechanical and stylistic errors and to submit the journal periodically with a brief progress report. If a general reading audience is assumed, groups at each table should be heterogeneous (assorted majors). If a more specialized audience is assumed, the groups should be as homogeneous as possible. Provide a situational context for each workshop: • For heterogeneous groups: “Assume that you are a customer, executive, or client who needs this information for [the specific purpose for which the assignment is written]. Would the information in this report fully serve your needs? Is it well presented [format, style, mechanics, usage]? What is effective about this piece? What needs improvement?” • For homogeneous groups: “Assume you are a section head who has to approve this piece [instructions, product description, and so on], written by one of your staff, before it is published in a company manual or prospectus. What specific advice would you give the writer for revising and refining the document?” After allowing enough time (20 to 25 minutes) for small-group editing, ask for one or two nominations for outstanding papers to be discussed by the entire class. Display these papers in class using an electronic version projected onto a large screen or a document camera and read them aloud. Invariably, other class members will have additional

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    11 insights and suggestions for improvement. By discussing a paper already recognized as superior, you can avoid damaging the writer ’s ego. Try the “sandwich” method: first discuss the effective components of the document, then identify weak areas, and end with an overall positive comment about the work. Finally, ask students to revise their papers at home, applying their editors’ comments, before they submit them to you for grading. Have them turn in both their revisions and their edited drafts. In addition to marginal notes, require that editors provide a brief evaluation (one or two paragraphs) of the individual features of content, arrangement, style, and page design . All students initial their summaries and receive extra credit for consistently good editing. NOTE: Expect some resistance to the workshop for the first few sessions. Initially, some students feel they have nothing useful to say about a piece of writing. But with cheerleading and guidance on your part, the whole business soon will run smoothly. In fact, once students become accustomed to this approach, you can save class time by asking them to edit classmates’ papers at home. Have students identify a specific audience and use for each assignment. To reinforce the workplace connection, begin early with samples of not-so-good writing from business and industry (memos, letters) that the class can edit together, using the document camera or an electronic document projected onto a large screen, with the software’s track changes function enabled. Here are more suggestions for helping the workshops run smoothly: 1. Give periodic quizzes to ensure that students have read and understood the assigned chapters. For a workshop to succeed, students need to know the assigned reading. 2. Ask students to specify (in writing) an audience and use for each document they submit. 3. Emphasize repeatedly that all editors should assume the role of the writer ’s stipulated audience. 4. You generally should not see first drafts. Ask students to submit their edited draft along with the final draft. 5. Because an uninformed audience usually is a writer ’s biggest challenge, heterogeneous editing groups generally are more effective than homogeneous groups. 6. For full-class discussion of edited documents, use only those nominated as superior. 7. Before having students revise at home, hold at least one full-class workshop on that type of document. 8. For variety, use a projector to show examples from time to time. 9. The workshop’s purpose is to actively involve students in evaluation and thinking. Don’t hesitate to call on members of the silent majority for commentary during full-class sessions. 10. For motivation and perspective, frequently bring in samples of real-world documents, both good and bad—or, better yet, ask your students to submit samples they’ve collected.

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    12 The Online Workshop Incorporating the workshop approach into online education classes or in online sessions of hybrid courses can be challenging, but not impossible. An online learning management system will make this task easier via creative use of group discussion forums or internal wikis. If your LMS does not include a built-in wiki, one of the free options offered on the Internet will be helpful. Due Dates for Assignments Students should be given specific due dates for first drafts (for workshop editing) and deadline dates for all revisions. It’s a good idea to impose a limit of only one revision for the assignments you have corrected. Besides preserving your sanity, this arrangement helps you avoid the role of instructor as proofreader. Hard Copy and e-Portfolios Have students assemble e-portfolios. This collected work comes in handy during individual conferences. It also ensures that material is retrievable for those assignments that are cumulative. Instructors who grade electronically will benefit from the assignment upload tool offered in a learning management system. All drafts and final versions of assignments will be readily available to both instructor and student. Conferences Schedule frequent conferences. These meetings are especially important early in the semester for students selecting topics for analytical reports (or proposals) and are important late in the semester as they work on these reports. For online classes, a chat tool can approximate the conference experience, especially for discussing topic ideas and addressing specific questions students have. Document Standards Except for complex visuals (Chapter 12), require that all assignments be “camera ready.” Besides providing an occasion for editing and revising, standards help students to develop a sense of professionalism and to anticipate formal requirements on the job. Attendance Policy A workshop arrangement requires regular attendance. Subtracting points from the semester ’s total for each unexcused absence beyond two or three helps keep everyone coming.

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    13 Working with Service-Learning Projects A service-learning assignment enables students to apply, test, and refine their communication skills as they address a specific need in their community. This instructor’s manual suggests service-learning projects in appropriate chapters. Examples of Service-Learning Projects In working with a nonprofit agency, students might complete these types of assignments: • newsletters or other publicity for a local food bank • a series of brochures and news releases for a women’s center • a training manual for volunteers at a local hospital or animal shelter • an orientation guide for commuters to your campus • a Web site or social media campaign for a local environmental group or other advocacy group • a grant proposal for a social service agency • fundraising literature for a public radio or television station • revised and redesigned user manuals for the campus computer labs Additional possibilities for worthwhile engagement are virtually endless. Benefits of Service-Learning Projects Beyond enhancing community welfare, as well as enriching “town-grown” relationships, service-learning projects benefit our students in ways such as these: • Students gain direct experience in writing for “real-world” audiences and in collaborating on projects from an actual workplace. • Students tend to feel motivated and to enjoy a sense of achievement from writing that makes a measurable difference: for example, moving readers to act or to reconsider their biases, increasing readers’ knowledge, broadening their understanding, or winning their support on an important social issue. As opposed to writing for a corporation, writing for a nonprofit agency arguably evokes a greater sense of mission, of dedication to the organization.

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    14 • Workplace interaction calls on an array of social and interpersonal skills: for example, in negotiating entry to an organization, in learning to work collaboratively, and in navigating an organization’s culture and politics. In short, service-learning assignments introduce students to the instrumental role of communication—and to its myriad complexities—within an organization. Avoiding the Pitfalls Despite the promise and potential in a service-learning project, plenty can go wrong: for example, the student might lack commitment to the cause; the fit might be wrong; the client might have unrealistic or vague expectations; the student might feel isolated in the organization or lack the assertiveness and rhetorical skills to negotiate the support she/he needs to get the job done. The reputation of both a school and a program can be damaged by projects that turn out badly. A successful service-learning experience requires substantial preparation on the part of both instructor and student. To avoid problems, consider these suggestions: • Consult the rich array of print and online resources for service learning (beginning with those listed in the following) and assign selected readings for your students as well. • Be sure the student cares about the organization and the issue and has a genuine sense of commitment. Allow students to choose their own agency but try to verify that the student and the agency are a good fit in terms of social, political, and ethical outlook. • Work closely with the agency supervisor to spell out the student’s exact responsibilities, as well as yours and the supervisor’s. Agree precisely on the types of assignments and tasks, deadlines, evaluation mechanisms and criteria, and sources of in-house support and information for the student. Try to identify and address beforehand any ethical issues or conflicts that may arise, say, from the types of claims students may be asked to communicate in an agency’s promotional campaign. • Require a contract with the agency. Also, draw up a set of guidelines that describes the project in detail, answering such questions as: Why have you chosen this project? What are its benefits? What qualifies you for this work? If you’re working on a team, what are your specific responsibilities? Where will you get the information you need? What specific document(s) will you submit to fulfill your project requirement? • Spell out your role in this project. The extent of required faculty involvement may be excessive (say, line-by-line analysis versus “this document is too technical for the intended audience” or “it should be more concise” or “the tone is too informal”). How much feedback should you reasonably provide on drafts of a document? Faculty members should not be expected to be editors or unpaid consultants. • Ask the student for a written assessment of the experience: what worked or didn’t work, what might be done to avoid future problems, and so on.

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    15 Using the Objective Test Questions Near the end of this manual is a bank of objective test questions that supplement the chapter quizzes. Of course, improvement in students’ writing is the true measure of their progress. But an objective test at midterm or at semester ’s end can be useful: 1. For instructors who choose not to give weekly quizzes, the test helps differentiate weaker writers who have given their best effort from those who have given minimal effort. 2. Early announcement of a test is likely to motivate some students to read the book carefully, instead of merely skimming the chapters and focusing on the models. 3. The test itself is an occasion for students to review—and, presumably, to better absorb— key material. To accommodate the chapter sequences used by different instructors, all test questions are organized and labeled by chapter.

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    16 Grading Procedure To emphasize the mind-set of workplace success as the goal of technical writing, you might consider translating your grades for assignments to more authentic workplace meanings, such as the following. A Your employer would be thrilled with the work product. The writer has exhibited distinguished performance through a particularly well-structured, clearly worded, effectively designed communication meeting the needs of the intended audience. B Your employer would be pleased with this work product, which will generally meet the purpose for the intended audience and does not contain any major missteps that would turn off the intended audience. There are some issues with content, design, or wording, but they do not cause significant damage to the effectiveness. C Your employer would have reservations about having this work product be seen by audience members in or outside the company, as it contains a major problem or a number of smaller problems that could impact its effectiveness and potentially affect the company’s reputation. D Your employer would send this back to you with a request for significant rework because of extensive issues in wording, design, or content that make this unusable. F Your employer sees that this is too far from the mark and asks that this be completely redone.

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    17 Sample Syllabi Each syllabus offered here covers a rigorous—but realistic—schedule of activities and assignments, based on 45 class meetings. Syllabus A—Basic Approach If your students have little technical background (as with career-education students, first-year students in any major in two- or four-year programs, and two-year technical students who will not often be expected to write long documents on the job), you might use some version of this syllabus. Because the textbook chapters are self-contained, you can easily modify the suggested sequence to suit your goals. Students following this syllabus will work on the long report in teams. Syllabus B—Accelerated Approach If your students are juniors and seniors with substantial backgrounds, or sophomores in four- year programs that require many long reports, you might use a version of Syllabus B. The workload is heavy, but the results are gratifying. Syllabus B differs from Syllabus A in that it yields these additional assignments: project proposal, progress report, email, and oral report. Both syllabi have ungraded exercises for the opening sessions, to get students writing early without them worrying about being penalized for poor writing. For weeks when you need more material or activities than what is on the syllabus, consider having students do projects from Chapter 24, “Web Pages, Blogs and Wikis,” as well as Chapter 25, “Social Media.” Library Resources Tour Whatever your approach, try to arrange a tour of your library resources. Since most campus library resources today are digital, a "tour" is possible without physically going to the library. You or a visiting librarian can show students how to use your library's databases and available search options as well strategies for searching the Internet effectively. Ideally, your class will be in a hands-on computer lab so that students can experiment with and receive guidance on the use of these resources.

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    18 Syllabus A Weekly Assignments and Activities Week Topics and Assignments Milestones for Final Project 1 Introduction: Discuss course goals, grading, workshop concept, team projects and final project, graphics and page-design requirements. Read Chapter 1; do General Project 2 and the Team Project. See Chapter 15 for memo elements and format. Read Chapter 6; do the Digital and Social Media Project. 2 Information Delivery: Read Chapter 2; do General Project 1 and the Team Project; workshop. Persuasive Reasoning: Read Chapter 3; do General Projects 1 and 2. 3 Ethical Presentation: Read Chapter 4; do General Project 2. Good Teamwork: Read Chapter 5; do the Team Project; workshop. Read Chapter 7 in preparation for the research project. Begin work on the Chapter 7 General Project, Phase One. Read Chapter 21, “Typical Analytical Problems.” 4 Style: Read Chapter 11; do all exercises. Page Design: Read Chapter 13. Take a tour of library resources. Review assigned sections of Chapter 7. List of possible topics for research project due. 5 Summarizing Information: Read Chapter 9; do General Project 1 and the Team Project; workshop; revised summary and abstract due next class meeting. Definition: Read Chapter 7; do the Global Project and the Team Project; workshop; revised definition due next class meeting. Topic and tentative bibliography for research project due. 6 Organizing for Readers: Read Chapter 10; do the General Project; develop working outlines for the final project. Sign up for team conferences on research project. Page Design: Review Chapter 13; do General Project 3. Tentative outline for research project due. 7 Visual Information: Read Chapter 12; do General Projects 1, 6, and 7; do the Team Project; workshops. Continue work on tentative outlines for final project. Reviewing Findings: Read Chapter 8; do the General Project.

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    19 Week Topics and Assignments Milestones for Final Project 8 Memos and Letters: Read Chapter 15 for memo and letter parts, format, design, and tone; do General Project 5 in class. Inquiry Letters: Read Chapter 15, “Inquiry Letters”; do General Project 2; workshop; revised inquiry due next class meeting; mail inquiry letters for research project. Claim and Adjustment Letters: Read Chapter 15, “Claim Letters” and “Adjustment Letters”; do General Project 3 or Team Project; workshop. Begin work on Chapter 7, General Project, Phase Two. 9 Résumés: Read Chapter 16, “Résumés”; General Project 1 and the Digital and Social Media Project; first draft of résumé due next class; workshop; revised résumé due next class. Interview questions and questionnaire due. 10 Application Letters: Read Chapter 16, “Application Letters”; compose the application and follow-up letters in response to General Project 2; workshop; revision due next class session; workshop on outlines. Review Chapter 7 and work on General Project, Phase Two. Read Chapter 21. Detailed outline for research project due. 11 Technical Description: Read Chapter 18; do General Projects 1 and 2 in class; group brainstorming workshop; do a description outline based on Team Project 1; outline workshop; prepare the description; workshop; revised description due next class meeting. 12 Instructions and Procedures: Read Chapter 19; do General Projects 1 and 2; do outline for instructions based on one of the Team Projects; workshop; prepare the instructions; workshop; revised instructions due next class. 13 Formal Report: Review Chapters 7 and 8; begin work in Chapter 7 on the General Project, Phase Three; workshops on material that is volunteered. Supplements: Read Chapter 22, “Front Matter and End Matter Supplements”; discussion and workshop on supplements.

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    20 14 Research Project: workshop Documentation: Read “A Quick Guide to Documentation”; discuss various documentation systems. If you want me to read your best draft of your proposal or long report, you must turn it in by the end of this week. First draft of research report due 15 Final Project: proofreading workshop. Final draft of report due

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    21 Syllabus B Weekly Assignments and Activities Week Topics and Assignments Milestones for Final Project 1 Introduction: Discuss course goals, grading, workshop concept, team projects, graphics and page-design requirements. Read Chapter 1; do General Project 2. Read Chapter 6; do the Digital and Social Media Project. Information Delivery: Read Chapter 2; do General Project 1. 2 Persuasive Reasoning: Read Chapter 3; do General Project 2; workshop. Ethical Presentation: Read Chapter 4; do General Project 2 and the Team Project. Discuss final project (proposal or report). Read Chapter 21, “Typical Analytical Problems,” and Chapter 22, “Types of Proposals.” Look over the General Project in Chapter 21 and General Project 3 in Chapter 22. Collaborative Guidelines: Read Chapter 5. 3 Style: Read Chapter 11; do all exercises. Read Chapter 7 in preparation for final project. List of possible topics for final project due. 4 Summarizing Information: Read Chapter 9; do General Project 1 and the Team Project; workshop; revised summary and abstract due next class meeting. Definition: Read Chapter 17; do the Global Project and the Team Project; workshop; revised definition due next class meeting. Topic and tentative bibliography for final project due. 5 Organizing for Readers: Read Chapter 10; do the General Project. Visual Information: Read Chapter 12; do General Projects 1, 6, and 7; do the Team Project; workshop. Sign up for office conferences on final project. Tentative outline for final project due. 6 Page Design: Read Chapter 13; do General Project 4; workshop on General Project 4. Project Proposal: Read Chapter 22, “Elements of a Persuasive Proposal”; do General Project 2; workshop; revised proposal for final project due next class meeting. Memos and Letters: Read Chapter 15 for memo and letter parts, format, design, and tone; do General Project 5 in class. Reviewing Findings: Read Chapter 8; do General Project 1.

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