WR 089 Introduction to Technical Writing 2

Reports 

Papers 

Projects 

In-Class Exams 


Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Use a multi-step (invention, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing) process and web- or lab-based productivity tools to write, format, and edit effective technical reports and related writing tasks and projects relevant to CTE program requirements for a limited number of specific purposes, situations, and audiences. 
2. Evaluate, revise, and edit own and others’ writing with respect to the five characteristics of good technical writing, including clarity, brevity, accessibility of design (layout), audience awareness, and accuracy.
3. Use conventions of standard English and precise language (including domain-specific vocabulary) to achieve clarity and accuracy in writing. 
4. Determine and employ appropriate development strategies (e.g., chronological, spatial, classification and division, comparison, and contrast, etc.) to technical reports relevant to CTE programs. 
5. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources, as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
6. Gather relevant information from multiple print or digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and employing a simple format for citation. 
7. Create, format, and use forms (e.g. cost estimates, evaluations, work orders, etc.); fill out online forms related to career and employment goals (e.g. job applications). 

• Preparing to Write 
  • Strategies for generating ideas/brainstorming
  • Group discussions
  • Surveys, and interviews
  • Readings, graphs, charts, images, case studies, videos, and interactive tasks
  • Models of basic technical writing tasks relevant to CTE courses
    • Informal workplace communication: announcements, memos, emails and attachments, and letters
    • Reports (e.g. project progress reports, incident reports, product comparisons and evaluations, lab reports, etc.)
    • Creation and analysis of workplace forms (e.g. job applications, work orders, work estimates, bids, etc.)
    • Proposals and feasibility studies
    • Process descriptions and instructions (for more complex or unfamiliar processes than those in WR088)
    • Simple web pages (using Weebly, Wix or similar applications)
    • Memoranda (e.g. intra-office requests, change in procedure/policy)
    • Presentations (using PowerPoint, Prezi, Google Docs or similar application)
    • Shop “travelers”
    • Forms (e.g. application forms, evaluations, work orders, etc.) to design, and create
• Writing Process 
  • Using outlines and other graphic organizers 
  • Identifying topics and forming controlling ideas 
  • Identifying appropriate mode of development: narration, analysis, description, comparison, etc. 
  • Identifying and evaluating appropriate support for controlling ideas: examples, details, anecdotes, testimony, data, research, etc. 
  • Identifying and evaluating appropriate format/document layout for writing task
  • Identifying and making basic revisions in content, organization, support, clarity, and formality
  • Reviewing and evaluating word choice
  • Combining, rearranging, and rephrasing sentences
  • Checking for accuracy
• Editing 
  • Editing and proofreading for basic and more complex errors in grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and other conventions of Standard Written English
  • Identifying individual word- and sentence-level errors and strategies for correcting them 
  • Editing tools: rubrics, checklists dictionary, thesaurus, spell-check, grammar-check (traditional or electronic, e.g. MS-Word)
• Research techniques 
  • Locating information in traditional and online sources
  • Avoiding plagiarism and using basic documentation of sources
• Writing contexts:
  • More complex individual projects
  • More complex collaborative projects 
• Resources for writing
  • Word processing: Google Docs/Drive, Microsoft Office Online, Microsoft Office 365, etc. 
  • Photos, diagrams, graphs and tables
  • English “General Service List
  • Academic word list
  • Lab-based or online keyboarding programs 
  • Others identified by instructor
• Campus-Based Resources:
  • Writing center
  • Study skills and tutoring center
  • Career center
  • Library
  • Advising and counseling center
  • On-campus computer labs
  • Others identified by instructor