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Course Description
Intensive study and practice in various forms of technical writing, including formal and informal reports, proposals, and technical correspondence. Emphasis on writing for a variety of audiences, both lay and informed, and on writing within various professional and organizational contexts.
Textbook
Gurak and Lannon. Concise Guide to Technical Communication, 3rd Edition.
Assignments
Customer Letter (10%)
Résumé (10%)
Short Report: Instruction or Procedure (15%)
Proposal (10%)
Wikipedia Assignment (10%)
Progress Report (5%)
Analytical Report (25%)
Presentation (10%)
Exercises (5%)
Course Policies
Grading: Grades on the essays will be based primarily on the quality of the writing. I value clear, focused writing with plenty of examples. The audience for the essays will vary, but I expect all assignments to be written for a specific audience.
Late Assignments: Late papers will lose one-half letter grade per
day unless you make prior arrangements with me.
Revision Policy: The Customer Letter, Résumé, Short
Report, Proposal, and Wikipedia assignmenst may
be revised for a higher grade, but they must be substantially revised.
You cannot lose a grade by revising, but a higher grade is not guaranteed.
I have found that "B" papers
(or higher) are often more difficult to revise, since serious revision
requires thoroughly changing the essay's structure, and "B" papers
usually have a fairly good structure. "C" papers (or lower) often
respond more dramatically to revision, since the major changes they require
are often more straightforward. I recommend revising "C" papers
or lower only. If you plan to revise a "B" paper, please see
All revisions must be turned in by Nov 20th.
Plagiarism: The GMU
Honor code is available online. I will report suspected cases of plagiarism
to the Honor Committee.
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.