class activities – English 3764 @ Virginia Tech

Dressing for Your Presentations

Traci — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 15:48:24 +0000

There's no need to dress formally for your presentations. The regular clothes you wear to class are fine. Just use common sense, and avoid anything that your be distracting or somehow undercut your credibility.

Here are 5 things not to wear:

Your Pajama Pants

Your tutu

Your Unusual Hat

Your Bacon Costume or Hulu Skirt

Anything Lady Gaga Would Wear

All In-Class Writing Graded

Traci — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 06:48:21 +0000

All in-class writing has been graded at this point, and the grades should show in the Gradebook. Take a minute to check the information. In particular, make sure that you have credit for Rough Drafts that you posted in the Forums. There is no easy way to ensure that I caught every draft.

Please check the grades and email me by Tuesday, December 3 if you notice any questions.

Final Exam Logistics

Traci — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 06:45:08 +0000

The final exam for this course will work as extra credit. I'll share more details on how it will count during the last week of class. For now, you need to know the following details:

The exam is an optional, extra credit assignment.
The exam is a take-home, online assignment due by the end of your exam period.
The exam will take you 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
The exam will open the last day of classes.

Here are the exam deadlines for both classes:

Final Exams:
CRN #97848 (11:15 MWF section): Due by 12:05 PM on Monday, December 16, 2013
CRN # 93093 (2:30 MW section): Due by 6:25 PM on Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Elements of a Typical Report

Traci — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 06:44:04 +0000

Table 13.1 from Markel, p. 320

At a minimum, your group's report should include the items in boldface.

Section of the report	Purposes of the section	Typical elements in the section
Front matter	to orient the reader to the subject to provide summaries for technical and managerial readers to help readers navigate the report to help readers decide whether to read the document	letter of transmittal (p. 323) cover (p. 323) title page (p. 323) abstract (p. 323) table of contents (p. 324) list of illustrations (p. 325) executive summary (p. 326)
Body	to provide the most comprehensive account of the project, from the problem or opportunity that motivated it, to the methods and the most important findings	introduction (p. 320) methods (p. 321) results (p. 321) conclusions (p. 322) recommendations (p. 322)
Back matter	to present supplementary information, such as more-detailed explanations than are provided in the body to enable readers to consult the secondary sources the writers used	glossary (p. 328) list of symbols (p. 328) references (p. 330) appendixes (p. 330)

Designing Web Sites and Pages Checklist

Traci — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 06:42:06 +0000

These are the starting analysis questions you can begin with as you create the checklist for your section of the DSA website. You’ll need to rephrase them, because they’re written from the perspective of someone making a site. You’ll probably end up adding some questions of your own as well.

Designing Web Sites and Pages

Did you

create informative headers and footers? (p. 169)
help readers navigate the site by including a site map, a table of contents, back-to-top links, and textual navigation buttons? (p. 170)
include extra features your readers might need, such as an FAQ, a search page or engine, resource links, a printable version of your site, or a text-only version? (p. 170)
help readers connect with others through links to interactive portions of your site and to social-media sites? (p. 172)
design for readers with vision, hearing, or mobility impairment? (p. 172)
design for multicultural audiences? (p. 173)
aim for simplicity in Web page design by using conservative color combinations and by avoiding decorative graphics? (p. 174)
make the text easy to read and understand by keeping it short, chunking information, and writing simply? (p. 174)
create clear, informative links? (p. 174)

From page 175 of Markel

Possible Audiences for DSA Websites

Traci — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 06:41:26 +0000

There may be other audiences, but these are the most likely options:

Students
Prospective Students
Alumni
Families of Students
Faculty & Staff
General Public

Tentative Presentation Dates

Traci — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 06:40:19 +0000

As you're planning your schedule for your group's project, you need to know tentatively when the presentations will be due in class. Here is the plan;

11:15 MWF class: Presentations will be Dec 6, Dec 9, and Dec 11.
2:30 MW class: Presentations will probably be Dec 9 and 11 only.

You'll be able to sign up for your presentation slot in class on Monday 11/18.

#4: Oral Presentation Project

Traci — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 06:39:04 +0000

The fourth assignment for the course is posted under the Assignments tab in Scholar, or under the Assignments menu above. Please be sure to read the entire assignment so that you are aware of all the documents your group needs to produce as well as the details on how the assignment will be evaluated.

Be sure that you review the details on the importance of being in class and working on the project from this point on in the term. If you are not in class, you cannot contribute to your group's work.

I'll answer any questions about the assignment in class on Wednesday, 11/13. Remember that from this point on in in the term, your group sets the schedule for what you work on in class. The remaining sessions in the course (from 11/11 to 12/6) will be in-class work sessions. The final week of classes will be dedicated to the oral presentations.

Spring 2014 Courses

Traci — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 06:35:09 +0000

Spring course request is open, so I wanted to share the classes that I'm teaching next term. You won't need the tech writing course, but if you're working on a professional writing minor or just want to learn more about writing online, you might be interested in the Writing and Digital Media course. I've pasted in the course descriptions below with the times that I'm teaching.
Traci

English 3844: Writing and Digital Media (3:30 TH)

This course provides both a theoretical and a practical introduction to writing with and for digital media, including content management systems and social media platforms. The course will cover information organization, search engines, and basic HTML and CSS. You will learn to identify, analyze, and respond to the theoretical assumptions underpinning the development and use of digital media. You will also learn how to navigate, set up, and optimize social media sites for developing and distributing digital content, including digital images, video, and audio.

EDIT: English 3844 does not meet the requirements for any specific CLE area. It is a required course for Professional Writing majors and minors from spring 2015 on however.

3764: Technical Writing (9:05 MWF, 10:10 MWF, and 1:25 MWF)

In this writing-intensive course, you will explore how to communicate technical information to a variety of audiences, ranging from those new to a topic to those who have experience with technical subjects. Assignments will include job application materials, technical descriptions, instructions and documentation, formal reports, and oral presentations. All work for the course will be submitted and graded electronically. You will write during every class session, so please be prepared to bring your laptop or tablet.

10-21 Class Updates

Traci — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 06:15:31 +0000

Updates from class today:

1. No office hours tomorrow, Tuesday, 10/22.

2. I'm shifting the due dates for Assignment #3 to give everyone enough time to work on the project. The new dates are as follows:

Rough Draft for Peer Review: Monday, 10/28
Due Date: Monday, 11/04
Deadline: Monday, 11/11 (last day the assignment will be accepted)

3. Generally, Assignment 3 has four pieces. I'll post more info later this week:

Find a job posting that you want to apply for
Create a resume for that posting
Compose a cover letter to go with the resume
Add your memo to me with any details I need to know