English 320, Practical Writing
Please re-read this syllabus on January 9; I have been modifying it during break.

Course Objectives: Students will demonstrate ability to

• Identify several practical genres, their uses, and general characteristics
• Understand theory associated with professional communication and explain its relevance to tasks at hand
• Manage complex research and writing projects
• Conduct research using a variety of methods: interviews, electronic searches, and library resources
• Write clear, concise, well organized documents, including reports, various kinds of correspondence
• Design documents using basic design concepts
• Develop computer skills in basic web design and file transfer protocol besides more basic computer skills of searching the web, word processing, emailing.

Required Texts:

1. Alred, Brusaw, and Oliu, Handbook of Technical Writing 7^th Edition
2. Williams, The Non-Designer’s Design Book
3. Lambrecht, Dinner at the New Gene Café (required if you choose the major project associated with the GM wheat case)
4. Mayfield Handbook of Scientific and Technical Writing, free on line
5. Calvin College KnightCite, free online citation generator for MLA, APA, and Chicago styles
6. several on-line documents, linked in this web site.

Policies

• Papers are to be FTPed (file transfered) to your folder at sullivanfiles.net and notice that you placed a paper there is to be sent to me, dale.sullivan@ndsu.edu. These files must be Word .doc documents (NOT WordPerfect Word Works), .rtf documents, .pdf documents, .xls, .ppt documents, or .html documents.
• Papers are due on the date specified in your initial contract. Late papers will be docked 10% beginning the day after they are due and 20% a week after they are due.
• Although good writing is primarily related to appropriate choice of genre, good material, clear organization, and so on, grammar, punctuation, spelling errors will have a major impact on your grade.

Americans with Disabilities Statement:

Any students with disabilities or other special needs who need special accommodations in this course are invited to share these concerns or requests with the instructor as soon as possible.

Academic Honesty:

All work in this course must be completed in a manner consistent with the NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct. http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/335.htm

Projects and grades

In this class you create your own contract. You can choose projects from the following list (some are required, some are optional).

• to get an A you need to earn 100 points
• to get a B you need to earn 80 points
• to get a C you need to earn 60 points
• to get a D you need to earn 50 points.

About grades, WMA
About grades, MP3
username=english and password=minard

To get full credit for your projects, you must finish them on time. First drafts are due on the day specified in the contract; revised drafts are due on the day I specify when I return unacceptable work for revision. So, for instance, if you hand a paper in that looks like it is a conscientious effort and it is in on the day specified in the contract, you still may earn the full number of points associated with the assignment even if I ask for revisions. However, to earn full credit, your revision must be in on the day I specify, and it must address the concerns I pointed out when I returned it. On the other hand, if your paper comes in a day late based on the contract, you have already lost 10% of the points possible with the assignment; and if it comes in a week late, then you have lost 20%. If the revision is late, it too will be docked in the same fashion. If you want to have the chance to revise a project, it must be in by the beginning of the second to last week of class. It can take me a week to look at a paper, and then you would need another week to revise and resubmit, so plan to have your projects in by the end of the 13th week if possible. Otherwise, I will assign a percentage grade to papers that come in the last week of class or finals week.

Required Assignments (20 points):

1. Contract for class with Gantt chart. Projects must be distributed throughout the semester and not bunched up at the end of the semester. Because this contract needs to be sent in the first week of class and you may not have set up your website yet, you may send it to me as an email attachment. My address is dale.sullivan@ndsu.edu (5 points)
2. Homepage for your web portfolio. Always save a backup. This is to be an HTML page with your own design (I reserve the right to edit and to reject offensive material, so let's keep them looking professional) that will serve as your index page for your work. It should be named index.htm or index.html, and it is imperative that you put it in your folder, not in the main directory or in anyone else's folder. Transfer that file to your folder. Here is a a link to instructions on how to create an .html or .htm file and how to transfer it to the website. The web address for your portfolio will be www.sullivanfiles.net/students/yourfirstname_yourlastname. Test your website to be sure that your homepage comes up. Always remember to send me an email notifying me that you have placed a document on the web and sending me the full URL (address) so that I can click on it from inside my email. (5 points)
3. Progress report in an email. (5 points)
4. Activity report at the end of the semester describing your performance and measuring it against the contract letter you sent me at the beginning of the class. This should be an email report (5 points)

You may select from the following optional projects at your discretion.

Optional Projects Associated with Visual or Document Design (50 points possible).

1. Job application packet (consisting of a email report, a job ad, a letter of application, and a resume). (10 points)
2. Interface of redesign, consisting of a.) a picture of the old design along with a critique of it and b.) a picture of the redesigned interface with a report explaining the changes and the principles governing the new design (10 points). The interface may be either a computer software program or a human-machine interface such as a credit card reader, a bank card cash withdrawal station, a self-serve gas pump with credit card reader, a self-serve check out counter at a grocery store. It is best if you can find two or three variations of the same kind of machine (2 or 3 gas pump interfaces, for example) and compare them in your critique. Then pick one to revise.
3. Company or Organization Package (30 points), consisting of samples of business cards, letterhead and envelopes, flyers, a newsletter, a brochure, a postcard, newspaper ad, and a web site. See pages 87 - 120 in Williams, Non-Designer's Design Book. For this project, you will need to identify a client, write and sign an agreement with the client, work with the client during the semester, deliver the material to the client at the end the course, and ask the client to write me an evaluation. Also, the newsletter and flyer need to have real content in them. The flyer needs to publicize a real event, and the newsletter needs to have real stories drawn from the organization.

1. Revision and critique of administrative letter. (5 points)
2. Analysis of Philemon based on ancient epistle-writing theory. (5 points)

1. Series of exercises covering sentence structure and punctuation. (10 points)
2. Series of exercises covering paragraph, and essay structure. (10 points) This second option can not be taken unless the first one is also taken. In other words the second set of exercies (paragraph and essay structure) are dependent on the first set, and assume that you know the material and system developed in it.

1. Researching the discourse in your disciplinary field with literature review up front on discourse theory. (40 points)
2. Analysis of GM Wheat Case in North Dakota with report on historical case and recommended revision of guidelines and report format. (40 points)

Work Load, Equipment Requirements, and Accounts

Work Load: A normal face-to-face course requires three contact hours per week plus about 6 to 9 hours of outside work. This online course requires between 9 and 12 hours a week to complete The time seems like a lot because you feel like it is all homework, and it is. There is no class time in this course, so that time is made up in reading and homework.

Equipment Requirements: Because we "interface" with each other entirely through the web and email, you need to have adequate equipment. Your computer may be either a PC or a MAC, but files must come in readable by a PC using Microsoft Software.

Although you may get through this course with dial-up internet access, there are some PDF files that are hard to download through such a tiny pipe. If I were you, I would have at least DSL access or, preferably, cable access. You can work in the labs on campus, but that can be inconvenient, and you may not always find a lab available. If you choose the interface redesign project, you will need either a digital camera or a screen capture program. A scanner is optional, but is sometimes useful in this class.

Software Requirements:.

Authoring and Reading Software. Besides having a good internet connection, you need Microsoft Word, a recent version, because all documents sent to me must be Word documents--NOT WordPerfect or Word Works. If you are a MAC user and you don't have Word on your computer, you should save your work as an RTF document and send it to me in that format. RTF (rich text file) documents are the best "cross-platform" documents for all of us. If you have a PC with Microsoft Works--that's too bad. That software isn't compatible with Word. Your best option is to download Open Office Suite available free at www.openoffice.org. You will also need Microsoft PowerPoint or its equivalent to view a couple files, and you should have Excel or its equivalent (Open Office has an equivalent). If you you have Acrobat Reader and the Microsoft Office suite (or Open Office), you should be good to go. You also need a relatively recent version of Acrobat Reader, a free download is available at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software. Because you will create your own website on a webhosting service, you will need FTP software. There are free versions of FTP software that you can download. You can download from http://its.ndsu.nodak.edu/, if you click on "Download Software" (on your left). You will be asked for your username and password; these are the same as for your email. If you are using a PC, I recommend that you download WSFTP. If you are using a MAC, then you should download Fetch. Both are free for educational purposes, and you can download them from other sites besides NDSU by googling them. Also, you might look for WSFTP_95.

Library Account: You will need a current NDSU library account so that you can access e-journals online. If you have not activated your library account, you will need to do that.

In short, you need self-discipline, an NDSU library account, good computer equipment and internet access for this course. You also need to know enough about your equipment to be your own maintenance person. I can't trouble shoot your problems. If you don't have the equipment and the know-how, then you should not sign up for the course. Not having the equipment or command of it will not serve as an excuse for being unable to do assignments.