Professor Britt’s Technical Writing
Fall 2009
Internet English 2311.085 Call #11325
Basic Course Information:
Instructor: Professor Carol Ann Britt
Office: GH 229D; 210.486.0659; email cbritt@mail.alamo.edu
Office Hours: M-F 9:20-10:00 am 12-1:00 pm, 2:00-2:15 pm; MW 3:40-4:00pm; R 10:00am-2:00 pm and by appointment
Homepage Address: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/cbritt.htm
Course Access: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/default.htm for class syllabus --Required Prior to Class for Internet students: Visit course page and read Access Policies, including taking READI test found at the Strategies for Success for Internet students link. After the initial contact, all course work and correspondence will take place in Blackboard Vista found in PALS
http://sacportal.accd.edu/cp/home/loginf , My Courses Tab, Fall 2009 classes, English 2311.085
Internet Course Delivery: The Internet course will be taught using Blackboard Vista.
Note: Internet students should print the syllabus
posted in Blackboard Vista the Friday before classes begin to have the most current
syllabus.
PALS Issues helpline: 210 485-0555
Helpline: 210 485-0555
Required Text And Materials:
Technical Communication, Eleventh Edition by John Lannon, ablongman, 2008, ISBN-10: 0205559573 | ISBN-13: 9780205559572. You need the text immediately, and may not use an edition prior to the eleventh. The text is mandatory the first week of class.
Access to MS Word for attachments to email (available on campus free) OR ability to change files to MS Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) is essential. Other file types (such as MS Works [.wps] or WordPerfect) cannot be opened by instructor.
Web addresses for purchasing materials: San Antonio College Bookstore: http://www.efollett.com or if you are purchasing before class begins, you may order from the Internet.
Internet
students: Self-sealing envelopes—the kind with the strip to peel off, not brads
or glue—9 full page envelopes (approximately 9” x 12”), self-addressed, and
stamped. (If you plan to pick the assignments up within three days or their
return outside my office, no address or stamps necessary, just the student’s
name on each envelope, but the envelopes are the same.) Please do not get
bubble-wrap envelopes or extra-thick envelopes. They take up too much room. Put
your own address as the return address in case the postage is inadequate. Put a
second ounce stamp on each envelope in addition to the regular stamp. Drop in
GH 123 for Professor Britt, or mail them to Professor Britt, SAC/English, 1300
San Pedro,
Course Description:
Professor Britt’s note: Former students recommend that I give you this advice from them.
• The course requires a great deal of time and attention to detail. Keeping up and carefully reading the instructions are essential. Print out all the requirements for the assignments at the beginning of the semester and organize them into a notebook. Note the due dates for each assignment in whichever calendar you use.
• This course requires several collaborative assignments. You need to establish a group that communicates well over the Internet. Face-to-face meetings are not necessary, but reading email daily is necessary. Students asked Professor Britt to stress the importance of organization and time management within the collaborative groups. Assignments should be ready the day before the due date to allow each member of the group to approve the submission. Students said to be very proactive in forming your groups. The leadership duties can be passed around with each new project. This course is a matter of teamwork. Students who leave the course for any reason should notify their group as well as Professor Britt.
• Remember to participate early in the discussions and reply to other students’ postings. The class discussion can be rote for attendance or useful for class interaction; the choice is up to the students as it is in classroom discussion. Former students encouraged more interaction between students in the discussion area in order to learn from other classmates and give more participation within the virtual classroom.
• While many courses are listed as writing intensive, this course actually is writing intensive. Successful students keep a careful timeline and check email daily.
• The assignments seem overwhelming at the beginning of the course, but after the first few pieces are submitted for grading, students should get comfortable with the workload.
• One student wrote: “Initially, the due dates of the assignments were hard to accept. Many students have families at home, full time jobs, and other classes to attend. As the semester progressed, I understood why the schedule was so demanding. If we, as students, are not able to meet deadlines in class, how do we expect to meet deadlines in our careers? The deadlines set forth in this class were very realistic and attainable.”
• When collecting sources for a project, put them into correct APA format while you are looking at the item.
• Plan to work hard, keep up, and remain in constant contact with your classmates to succeed in this class.
• Students should exchange email, phone numbers, and IM ids (or other contact information) immediately when they form a group.
• Students should always inform their group members when a problem arises or when the student decides to withdraw from the class.
• One student wrote: “I wish I had taken this class before I got into my career….The fast pace of this class is not a bad thing. Work schedules are typically that demanding or worse….As a side note, my resume I made in this class has earned me another job offer.”
• Ask Professor Britt questions as soon as they arise (by email within Blackboard Vista).
Links to other parts of syllabus: also found in Weblinks in case these links do not work.
Orientation: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/2311 Orientation f09.htm
Class Schedule by week: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/class schedule f09.htm
Professor Britt’s Policies: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/2311 Policies f09.htm
Course Grade Information: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/2311 Course grade f09.htm
Assignments 2-10: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 2-10 f09.htm
Assignments 11-20: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 11-20 f09.htm
General Instructions 21-28: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/General Instructions 21-28 f09.htm
Assignment 21: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 21 f09.htm
Assignment 22: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 22 f09.htm
Assignment 23: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 23 f09.htm
Assignment 24: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 24 f09.htm
Assignment 25: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 25 f09.htm
Assignment 26: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 26 f09.htm
Assignment 27: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 27 f09.htm
Assignment 28: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Assignment 28 f09.htm
Final Exam: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/2311 Final Exam f09.htm
Extra Credit: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/2311 Extra Credit f09.htm
Due Dates Calendar: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/Due Dates f09.htm
2311 Departmental Syllabus: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/english/cbritt/2311fall/2311 Departmental Course Syllabus.htm
English 2311, Technical Writing, is a writing intensive course. Students will be constantly writing, revising, editing, proofreading, and submitting written assignments. Students will be participating in class discussions. Any questions students have for the instructor should be sent by email. If Professor Britt is in her office, she will take phone calls, but the phone systems does not always record messages promptly.
Professor Britt does not normally respond to the discussions until they are closed. The discussions are found in Blackboard Vista each day. If a student asks a question that needs a response to the entire class, Professor Britt will reply with a message to the entire class. If the question needs a personal response, Professor Britt will reply by email in Blackboard Vista. If a student needs an immediate reply, he or she should email Professor Britt in Blackboard Vista. Professor Britt checks BBV every day.
Reading Assignments: All reading assignments are due before we begin each project. These assignments are listed in Blackboard Vista each week. A Reading Assignment means that students need to read the chapter, including all the subheadings and the first sentence of each paragraph minimum. If students do not understand any portion of the chapter, they should read that portion more carefully and then ask questions.
Each assignment requires careful attention to all
directions. Students must be sure to check attachment conventions such as
naming files and emails. Assignments may be submitted early but not late. This
syllabus may seem overwhelming but Professor Britt has put papers in a logical
order. The assignments are spaced out so that students will work on them
consecutively and can accomplish the desired result of mastery of technical
writing in a short time. After the first two weeks' "grammar and
syntax" review, students will be constantly working on documents with
deadlines. The information we review in the “grammar and syntax” section will
be implemented in the rest of the documents. This course models the working
world, both in types of assignments, pace of assignments, and use of
collaboration. To be successful in the course, students must be organized,
diligent, and thorough, paying attention to all the details. Each assignment
requires careful attention to all directions. Be sure to check attachment
conventions. As in business, assignments are not due on the same day each week,
but Professor Britt has allowed enough time for preparing each assignment.
Also, all assignments are due at
Plagiarism is the use of source material without giving credit. This error is serious and can lead to unpleasant consequences. In the past few years, college presidents and members of government as well as journalists have lost their jobs because they plagiarized, either deliberately or inadvertently. Professor Britt assumes you know how to credit all source material, whether quoted or paraphrased. Those skills are taught in English 1301 and 1302, Composition courses. If you are unsure of what or how to credit sources, ask for help either from Professor Britt or the tutors in the Writing Center. No excused are accepted for plagiarism and students will receive no credit for any paper with plagiarism.
Syllabus revised 8/19/09