Winter ’18 | Lecturer Benjamin |T/TH 1:40 - 3:00 PM | Olson 21

cjbenjamin@ucdavis.edu |Email Me In Canvas

Office: Basement of Shields Library RM 87
Office Hours: T/TH 3:00 to 4:30PM or by appt.

What is this class? Lecture/discussion—3 Am I ready for this

hours; extensive writing. Prerequisite: course 1 or English 3
or the equivalent and upper division standing. Communi- class?
cating effectively about technology and other technical
subjects to varied audiences for varied purposes. Suitable • Satisfactory completion of
for students entering professions that require communi- the Subject A requirement
cating technical information to subject matter experts, managers, technicians, and non- and a passing grade in one
specialists. GE credit: Wrt (cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition of the following: UWP 1,
requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously). Not open for credit to students ENL 3 or its equivalent.
who have completed course 104A prior to Fall 2012.—I, II, III (I, II, III.) • If you’re enrolled in the
College of Letters and Sci-
What are the goals of the course… Like what am I going to ence or in the College of
learn/do? Engineering you must
• Understanding differences between academic and technical writing have completed a mini-
• Analyzing contexts, purposes, and audiences to determine appropriate writ- mum of 84 units before
ing style (technical, semi-technical, non-technical), as well as content, organiza- enrolling in UWP 101.
tion, and design choices, for technical documents
• Still not sure? Consult your
• Learning strategies for testing the usability and overall effectiveness of a doc- academic advisor
ument
• Writing clear, concise, consistent, and accurate prose
• Employing writing as a process, from researching a problem to organizing
and drafting a document to testing, revising, and editing that document But, I’m already a
• Practicing strategies for effective collaboration on large writing projects good writer, why is
• Employing rhetorical strategies for effective visual and document design
• Addressing ethical, cultural, international, and political issues related to writ- this class required?
ing Writing is a skill and an art
that can always be improved.
Furthermore, humans are
Which Resources Do I Need To Be Successful? writing more now than ever.
Clear, concise, coherent and
Tebeaux, Elizabeth,
persuasive writing is one of
and Sam Dragga. The the key skills needed in to-
Essentials of Technical day’s information economy.
Communication 4th or This course will help you be-
3rd Edition. Oxford come an experienced and
University Press marketable writer, so gear up
to practice and refine your
Publisher Link writing skills.
Barnes & Noble Rent
What are the assignments? In this course we will
focus on how to write and organize complex information into
easy to understand and concise communication. We will com-
plete a unit on creating job documents to help explore basics of
technical communication: style, sentence construction, audi-
ence awareness, rhetorical choices, and document design. We
will then focus on writing instructions and on digital writing
techniques.

What are the Job Docs I’ll Write? You will conduct a for-
mal job search and find 2 job ads for positions you would like to
apply to. You will conduct a Rhetorical Analysis of the job ads
stating what choices you would make in regards to your Re-
sume and Cover Letter for each job ad. You will then select 1
job to apply to and complete a resume, cover letter, and thank
you letter for that job. Additionally, you will conduct a company
profile of the company offering the position and you will com-
plete an informational interview for the position.
Which major projects will I
complete in this course?
What is the Instructions Unit? During the instructions
unit, you will get to play with building toys. You will partner Job Documents
with two other students to construct an artefact out of legos,
tinker toys, erector sets, knex, etc. You will then write a user Job Ad Analysis
manual that teaches a user how to construct the same artefact.
After you complete your instructors, you will test their usability Resume
by conducting a usability test. You will then write a report Cover Letter
about the effectiveness of your directions, what you learned
from the usability tests, and then what changes you would Thank You Letter
make to your instructions. Additionally, you will then re-
Business Profile and Interview
mediate your written directions into a digital format (html
webpage, video, flash, etc). You will write a two page report
stating why you chose the digital format and what that format
allows your user to do that a paper manual did not. Instructions Unit
Instruction Manual
What is the Information Design Project? Usability Report
The information design error problem asks you to identify a UC
Davis related website that you believe does not meet user Remediation & Justification
needs. We’ll study Jacob Nielsen’s 10 Web Usability Heuristics.
You will draft a heuristic report according to those 10 heuristics.
Then you will create a sitemap for the webpage as it stands. Information Design Project
You will then create a new sitemap and reorganize information Heuristic Evaluation Report
to make it more efficient. You will also complete a logo rede-
sign. Site Map and Redesign
Logo Redesign
What about the final? The final is a take home exam and
will test your skills/knowledge about business writing incorpo-
rating skills and techniques we studied through the semester.
How will my work be assessed?
A B C D F
You submit work that Your work meets all of Your work meets the Your work requires sig- Your work does not re-
excels at responding to the requirements of the basic requirements of nificant revision. Often, spond to the needs of
the assignment require- assignment at a high the assignment. The D assignments lack clear the assignment. May be
ments. You demon- level. Though your as- assignment may have organization, require off-topic or incomplete.
strate originality and signment still needs some organizational further development of
sophistication. Your revision, it presents lapses, but is logical content, and/or have
papers are stylistically complete, appropriate overall. The style is mechanical and stylistic
accomplished, carefully content, is well- straightforward with a errors that impede the
edited and free of organized and demon- few lapses, but may be reader’s understanding
grammatical and me- strates a clear attention repetitive or unremark-
chanical errors. to stylistic issues. able.

Grade Distribution
A+ 100-98 4.00
A 97-94 4.00
A- 93-90 3.70
B+ 89-87 3.30
B 86-84 3.00
B- 83-80 2.70
C+ 79-77 2.30
C 76-74 2.00
C- 73-70 1.70
D+ 69-67 1.30 What criteria are used to grade my papers? Your work in
the class is assessed according to the University Writing Program
D 66-64 1.00
Grading Standards. A copy of the full assessment document can
D- 63-60 0.70 be found here.
F 59 and be- 0.00 How can I be sure I earn a passing grade? Writing is a pro-
low cess. You will be required to prepare multiple drafts before a final
will be due. Take your peers’ and lecturer’s critiques seriously,
produce multiple drafts, and don’t wait until the last minute.
Drafts can be worth up to 20% of individual assignments. Submit all work & go to class!!! HINT: “A” students
routinely come to office hours. Note: You must earn a C– or higher to satisfy the Upper-Division Writing Re-
quirement. The requirement also requires that you write 6000-words for the course.
If I don’t submit a major writing assignment, can I still pass the course? No. All writing assign-
ments must be submitted in order to pass this course. Be sure that you submit everything on or before the
due date.
I turned in my daft, am I finished? All writing in this course must be revised. The lecturer will also be
checking the revision history in Google Docs. You should work in 1 single Google Doc during the entire assign-
ment.
What are the course policies I will be expected to follow?
Classroom Conduct?
• Conduct yourself courteously and professionally.
• Treat others with respect and practice good listening skills.
• When it’s your turn to talk, be sure your comments positively contrib-
ute to the classroom experience.
• Respond to questions when asked by Lecturer Benjamin.
• Be attentive and focused on the work in class.

What about plagiarism?

• Your integrity is on the line.
• Academic honesty requires that you submit your own and original
writing for this course.
• Cite all sources you use in in-text citations and include a bibliography.
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated: any suspected dishonesty will be
reported to Student Judicial Affairs.
• For more information about plagiarism, please see this chart: http://
thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2014/09/16/did-i-plagiarize-the-
types-and-severity-of-plagiarism-violations/

Can I turn in late work?

• All work is due at the beginning of class on the day listed in Canvas.
• You must submit your own work on Canvas before the beginning of class.
• Invalid excuses for late work include: writer's block, busy computer labs, uncooper-
ative printers, last-minute technology failures, responsibilities to extra-curricular organ-
izations and activities, a bothersome work schedule, etc.
• For all assignments worth more than 5% of the overall grade, late work will be pe-
nalized one half of a grade per calendar day (not class period) late.
• Minor assignments (in-class work, workshop memos, reflections, etc.) will not be accepted late.
• You must come to class prepared. Failure to prepare for class will result in an unexcused absence.
• Late work ends up at the bottom of the grading pile, so if you submit something late, you will likely re-
ceive a graded version well after your peers do.

Can I keep my cell phone on and check it during class?

• Your phone must be silenced and put away during the entire class period.
• If your phone rings, or you are using your phone, you will be asked to leave the class for the day.
• If you routinely break the no-phone policy, you will be asked to “check in” your phone with the lecturer
before attending any further classes.

Is attendance mandatory?
• Yes! This course is centered around you — your learning and success depends upon your active participa-
tion in the course. Group work and workshopping assignments are essential to your success in this
course.
• Repeatedly missed classes will likely have a negative affect on your grade.
Are there other resources available to me?
Where can I get additional help during the course?
• Come to office hours.
• Exchange your information with a peer and ask them questions about course content outside of class.
• Visit the Student Academic Success Center. The Student Academic Success Center (SASC) is a large, multi-
program Student Affairs department providing essential services, programs, and information for UC Davis
students. Programs include: Academic support services in tutoring, retention, study skills, mathematics,
science, writing/ESL , Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Guardian Scholars Program (GSP), Mathe-
matics Diagnostic Testing Project, Reentry and
Transfer Student Services, Veterans Affairs
(VA), TRiO Scholars Program, MURALS, Inter-
national Student Resources, and Pre-
Professional and Pre-Graduate Advising. In
addition, it employs over 200 students as peer
advisers, student assistants, tutors, and read-
ers. For more information visit http://
success.ucdavis.edu/index.html
• Aslo visit the writing support at Dutton Hall.
Here is their website: http://
success.ucdavis.edu/academic/writing.html

If I have a disability, where can I receive addi-

tional support?
• This course is meant to be inclusive of individuals of
all abilities.
• Please let the lecturer know how he can be inclu-
sive to your particular abilities.
• For additional information on disability services
please visit https://sdc.ucdavis.edu/