4 9/18 & 9/20 Topics: Forming writing teams and planning collaboration. Designing Effective Project Management Strategies. Creating a Team Charter and Task Schedule. Selecting research sites and drafting the Letter of Inquiry (cont.). Writing due: Final draft of Exploratory Essay Reading due: Team Writing, Chs. 1-4 (3-48). Topics: What do technical communicators need to know about collaboration? Writing due: Draft of Team Charter. Reading Due: SPTC, Ch. 18 by Burnett, Cooper, and Welhausen (454-78). 5 9/25 & 9/27 Topics: How can technical communicators manage projects? Peer review writing workshop: Letter of Inquiry, Team Charter, Task Schedule. Writing due: Draft of Letter of Inquiry. Draft of Team Charter and Task Schedule. Reading due: SPTC, Ch. 13 by Dicks (310-32). Topics: Project management (cont.). Understanding what ethnographic research is and how it can lend insight on the practice of professional writing. Reading: From FieldWorking: “Understanding Fieldwriting” (65-92, posted to Canvas). 6 10/2 & 10/4 Topics: How can technical communicators study work contexts? Understanding what field notes are, why they are important, and how to compose them Writing due: Writing due: Letter of Inquiry, Team Charter, and Task Schedules (NOTE: Upload as separate files to Canvas.). Reading: SPTC, Ch. 11 by Spinuzzi (262-84). From FieldWorking: “Field Topics: Data collection methods: Gathering and analyzing texts. Drafting the Ethnographic Research Proposal. Reading: From FieldWorking: “Understanding Texts” (117-139, posted to Canvas).
notes” (93-110, 112-115, posted to Canvas). 7 10/9 & 10/11 Topics: What do technical communicators need to know about writing? Drafting the Research Proposal (cont.). Reading due: SPTC, Ch. 15 by Blakeslee and Savage (362-85). Topics: Peer review writing workshop. Revising with your writing team. Creating Team Conditions for the healthy, respectful debate of ideas. Writing due: Draft of Ethnographic Research Proposal. Reading: Team Writing, Chs. 5 and 6 8 10/16 & 10/18 Topics: How can technical communicators work in an ethical and legal manner? Gathering and Analyzing Texts (cont.). The Ethics of Ethnographic Research. Readings: SPTC, Ch. 9 by Scott From FieldWorking: “Getting Permission” and “Reading the Cultural Artifact” (140-66, posted to Canvas). Topics: Data collection methods: Conducting interviews. The Ethics of Ethnographic Research (cont.). Writing due: Ethnographic Research Proposal. Reading: From FieldWorking: “The Collaborative Listener” (237-71, posted to Canvas). 9 10/23 & 10/25 Topics: How can work tools shape and organize technical communication? Conducting Interviews (cont.). E-Portfolio contents, design, and structure. Reading: SPTC, Ch. 6 by Swarts From FieldWorking: “From Details to Verbal Portraiture” and Topics: Data collection methods: Capturing oral and written language in field notes. E-Portfolio contents, design, and structure (cont.). Reading: From FieldWorking: “Researching Language” (from 307-39 and 352-57, posted to Canvas).
“Revisiting Your Stories” (302-306, posted to Canvas). 10 10/30 & 11/1 Topics: What do technical communicators need to know about genre? Organizing and analyzing your research portfolio. Reading: SPTC, Ch. 14 (Henze), pp. 337-61. From FieldWorking: “The Research Portfolio: Definition and Purpose,” “Establishing a Voice,” and “Reflection” (56-58, 58-63, uploaded to Canvas). Topics: Revising and contextualizing documents. Recognizing Communication Styles and Valuing Team Diversity. Defining, Evaluating, and Solving Team Problems. Analyzing professional writing genres (cont.). Reading: From FieldWorking: “Options for Reading,” “Learning from Your Data,” “Reflective Documentation,” and “Synthesis” (167-169, 220-232, 300-302, 352-354, posted to Canvas). Team Writing, Ch. 7 and 8 (80-123). 11 11/6 & 11/8 Topic: What do technical communicators need to know about information design? Analyzing data and writing it up. Writing due: Annotated Research Portfolio, URL posted to Canvas Readings: SPTC, Ch. 16, pp.386-427 (Schriver). From FieldWorking: “FieldWriting: From Down Draft to Up Draft” (419-46, posted to Canvas). Topic: Rhetorical strategies for composing ethnographies. Reading: From FieldWorking: “Published and Unpublished Sources” and “Culture on the Page” (169-173, 447-459, posted to Canvas).
12 11/13 & 11/15 Topic: How can rhetorical theory inform the practice of technical communication? Rhetorical strategies for composing ethnographies (cont.). Reading: SPTC, Ch. 5 (Porter), pp.125-145. Topic: Rhetorical Theory in Professional Writing (cont.). Peer review writing workshop. Writing due: First draft of Professional Writing Ethnography. 13 11/20 & 11/22 Topic: What do Technical Communicators need to know about new media? Peer review writing workshop. Writing due: Second draft of Professional Writing Ethnography. Reading: SPTC, Ch. 17 (Wysocki), 428-53. THANKSGIVING RECESS - NO CLASS 14 11/27 & 11/29 Topics: Getting feedback: responding to and revising portfolios. Writing due: Professional Writing Ethnography – Final Draft Topic: What is the Future of Technical Communication? Adding to and reshaping your research and writing e-portfolio. Writing due: First draft of Annotated Research E-Portfolio. Reading: SPTC, Ch. 8 (Mehlenbacher), 187-208. 15 12/4 & 12/6 Writing workshop Writing workshop 16 12/11 Course wrap-up & student evaluations Writing due: Annotated Research E-Portfolio and Reflective Essay