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PBDS 606
Creating Technical Documents

NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.

Approach

In this course, we will explore different genres of technical writing, with a focus on creating pieces that are effective for their intended audience and purpose and are written in a clear, crisp style.

Focus on Audience: We will hone our ability to analyze the audience, purpose, and context for technical documents. The goal is to create documents that people can easily read and use for various purposes,to figure out a feature in a software program, to set up a coffeemaker, to operate machinery, to understand the differences between allergy drugs,in various contexts,under deadline, with a short attention span, in the kitchen, on a highway construction site.

Focus on Style: We'll do lots of writing in this course, from short, informal pieces to longer reports and proposals. We'll use Joseph Williams' book, Style, as a guide in honing our own writing style, and we'll get practice with different genres of technical writing with several brief writing tasks and three major assignments.

Focus on Professional and Personal Experience: Some of the most instructive elements of this course will be the experiences, ideas, and questions you bring as professionals and astute designers and writers. Our class discussions and assignments will combine what we know from our experience with theory and direction from articles and textbooks. We'll spend considerable time finding (out of class) and discussing (in class) samples,ones that you've created and ones that you find at home, at your workplaces, and through research.

Materials: Primarily, we'll use Writing for the Technical Professions by Kristin Woolever. I will also provide supplemental readings helpful in explaining topics, demonstrating effective strategies, or keeping up with what's current in the field.

Goals

The goals for our readings, discussions, and assignments are designed to help you:

• Gain experience writing and analyzing a variety of elements used in technical documents

• Develop a mode of analysis that you can use in the creation of technical documents, whatever role you play (writer, designer, or team leader) or whatever media you use

• Develop a clear, concise, crisp writing style and an ability to recognize and revise unclear or wordy writing

Expectations

Presentation of Your Work: Though we will move quickly this semester through a lot of material and writing tasks, I expect that everything you write, the samples you gather, and your discussion in class are all thoughtful, thorough, clean, and clear.

Collegial Discussions and Critiques: I expect that we will learn from each other,and, to do so, we all must be prepared for class, be willing to speak up about our ideas and experiences, and be willing to learn from each other. Periodically, we will engage in peer reviews of our writing, which will require the same kind of openness about your work that you'd have in a design critique.

Time: Throughout the semester, we'll need to find a balance between time constraints and the many topics in the course. I am willing to work with you to strike this balance.

Communication With Me

I am happy to meet with you to discuss our work in this course in person, on the phone or via e-mail. As an adjunct professor, I will be on campus late afternoons and evenings on Tuesdays and available to meet in person before class by appointment and after class for short discussions. For a discussion at another time, call or e-mail me.

Grading

I will evaluate your participation and work products using the same criteria a client or supervisor would use. Professional quality work is thorough, thoughtful, timely, and accurate, and includes credible explanations of anything out of the ordinary (such as inability to fulfill the assignment guidelines).

Assignments will be weighted as follows:

Several weekly (shorter) assignments and class participation 40%

• Short memos reporting on interim steps for larger projects

• Exercises on style

• Document analysis

• Definition revision

• Web site analysis and architecture

• Visual displays of information

• Portfolios

Three larger (comprehensive) assignments 60%

#1: Software documentation (group project using task analysis,
instruction writing, and user testing) (15%)

#2: Proposal (15%)

#3: Report (a piece that uses several of the technical communication
strategies studied during the course) (30%)

Grading Scale

The larger assignments will be graded on a 1-5 scale, and the weekly assignments will be graded using a 1+, 1, or 1-. You have the option to revise weekly assignments that receive a 1- . The larger assignments may also be eligible for revision.

Class Schedule

January 28	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #1	Course Introduction
February 4	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #2	Technical communication	Woolever (p. 1-7) Gurak supplement (p. 4-13)	Short explanation on the audiences and purposes of the most common documents you currently create
	Understanding Readers	Janice Redish, "Understanding Readers" Woolever (p. 13-16) Checklist: Writing in Context
	Introduction to Style	Lessons One and Two in Style Woolever (skim chapter 5 as a preview of our discussions on style for the semester)
	Discussion of samples	Bring in two sample technical documents from your workplace, home, the Web, or another profession

February 11	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #3	Adjusting to readers	Burnett supplement (p. 76-83)	Document analysis (Analyze the effectiveness of one of four documents based on strategies for meeting the needs of readers)
	Organizing for Readers	Chapter 3 in Woolever
	Definitions and Descriptions	Burnett supplement (p. 327-348)
	Style: Actions	Lesson Three in Style	Exercises 3.4 and 3.6 in Style
	Discussion of samples	Bring in two examples of technical definitions: one for experts and one for nonexperts Bring in one work sample (of your own from your workplace or from a class) suitable for analysis by a classmate	Exercises 3.4 and 3.6 in Style

February 18	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #4	Instructions and Task Analysis	Riordan supplement, "Sets of Instructions" (p. 259-286)	Definition revision (Revise a poorly written definition using the strategies in the Burnett reading)
	Collaboration	Woolever, Chapter 14 Mirel et. al., "Collaboration Between Writers and Graphic Designers"
	Discussion of samples	Bring in one example of effective instructions for a household item, workplace process, or something in your field Bring in another example of poorly written instructions
	Introduction of assignment #1, Software Documentation

February 25	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #5	Writing and Formatting Instructions	Woolever, Chapter 7
	Online Help	"Differentiating Between Print Documentation and Online Help" in Intercom, STC
	Style: Characters	Lesson Four, p. 53-64	Exercises 4.1 and 4.2

March 4	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #6	Task Analysis	Riordan supplement, "Sets of Instructions" (261-263, "Analyze the Sequence)	Task analysis for software documentation project
	Software documentation project,groupwork
	Document Design	Schriver supplement, "What is Document Design?" (p. 1-11) "Revealing Your Hidden Value" in Intercom, STC, February 2003, p. 18-19
	Style: Characters	Lesson Four, p. 65-75 ("The Objective Passive" through the end)	Complete two exercises in 4.3, 4.4, and 4.6.

March 11	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #7	Software documentation project,groupwork		Individual assignments for group project as determined on March 4
	User Testing	Schriver supplement (read p. 448-455; review examples on p. 460-469)
	Integrating Text and Visuals	Woolever, p. 95-109 Gurak supplement Schriver supplement (p. 407-411 and examples 1-4 on p. 414-415, examples 1-3 on p. 416-417, "Setting the Wrong Stage" on p. 428-430)
	Style: Cohesion and Coherence	Lesson Five, p. 77-88 (read through "Integrating Principles")	Complete both exercises in 5.1 and 5.2.

March 18	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #8	Visual Functions	Burnett supplement	Create a visual display of information for an admissions office brochure
	Creating Graceful and Effective Visual Displays of Information	Tufte supplements
	Discussion of samples	Bring in two examples of visual displays of information,one that is effective and one that needs improvement
	Software documentation project,groupwork
	Style: Cohesion and Coherence	Lesson Five, p. 88-94 ("Beginning a Sentence Well")	Complete exercises #1 and #2 in 5.3.
	Introduction of Assignment #2, Proposal

March 25
No Class,SPRING BREAK

April 1	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #10	Software documentation project,revise document based on user testing		Memo on results of user testing
	Proposals	Woolver, Chapter 11 Andrews supplement	Memo on your proposal topic, who you will interview, and a list of 3-5 interview questions
	Interviewing Memos	Woolever, p. 48-50 Woolever, review p. 141-153
	Style: Concision	Lesson Seven, p. 115-123 (through exercise 7.3)	Complete three exercises from 7.1, two from 7.2, and 7.3.

April 8	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #11	Wrap up software documentation project		Software Documentation, Assignment #1
	Argument as a rhetorical convention	Woolever, p. 264-265 Re-read your document analysis assignment (from Feb. 11). Bring the graded copy and a clean original.
	Peer review of proposal draft (in-class workshop)		Draft of proposal
	Technical reports	Woolever, Chapter 10 Review sample reports (TBD)
	Introduce Assign. #3, Report

April 15	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #12	Wrap up proposal assignment		Final proposal, Assignment #2
	Online Presentation of Information Web Architecture	Woolever, Chapter 12 Supplemental materials TBD	Analyze a Web site according to the guidelines on p. 362-363 of Woolever
	Page Design	Woolever, p. 88-90 Schriver supplement (p. 326-359) "Page Design" in Intercom, STC, June 2002 (p. 7-9) Review page layout in sample reports used on April 8
	Discussion of samples	Bring in two sample documents: one with an effective page design and one that needs improvement

April 22	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #13	Abstracts and Executive Summaries	Woolever, Chapter 9
	Report assignment,Review plan for report and outline executive summary	"Designing a Table of Contents" in Intercom, STC, Nov. 2002 (p. 18-22)	Table of contents and full list of elements for report
	Portfolios In class workshop on portfolio descriptions	Woolever, p. 470-471 "The Ten Commandments of Effective Portfolios" in Intercom, STC, June 2002 (p. 10-12) "Developing a Web-Based Portfolio" in Intercom, STC, Nov. 2002 (p. 4-7)	Draft portfolio descriptions
	Web Writing and Web Architecture	Review Woolever, Chapter 12 Supplemental materials TBD	Site map and one page of a Web site created from a print report (TBD)

April 29	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #14	Report assignment, In-class workshop on executive summary and page layout		Draft executive summary for report assignment Sample piece of the report showing page layout
			Revision of proposal (optional)
	Style: Concision	Lesson Seven, p. 123-134 ("Metadiscourse" through the end)	Two exercises from 7.4 and two from 7.5.

May 6	Class Topic	Preparation for Class	Due
Week #15	Report assignment, In-class workshop on full draft		Full draft of report
	Wrap up work on portfolios		Final portfolio descriptions

May 13

Class Topic

Preparation for Class

Due

Week #16

EXAMINATION WEEK

Wrap up report assignment

Final report,
Assignment #3