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Overview of Project 3: Job Application Materials

Overview of Project 3: Job Application Materials published on

This is the post for the week of September 29, 2015.

Readings for the week of September 29

Work for the week of September 29

  • Complete the quizzes on Chapters 10 and 11 by 11:59 PM on Monday, October 5.

  • Begin work on Project 3. Take time this week to explore the various resources on job application materials listed in the readings so that you can make an informed decision about what you will propose.

  • Start writing the proposal for your job application materials and submit it by 11:59 PM on Monday, October 12. Early submisssion is recommended if you are thinking of a job application project that might be unusual. Use the proposal instructions to know what information to include and how to submit your proposal.

  • If you have any questions about the assignments, post them in the Questions about Projects 3: Job App Materials Discussion in Canvas.

 
Last updated on Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Peer Review and Submission for Project 2

Peer Review and Submission for Project 2 published on

This is the post for the week of September 22, 2015.

This week you will complete peer review for the second project and then submit your work by 11:59 PM on Monday, 9/28. If you need more time, use the grace period and turn in your work by 11:59 PM on Monday, 10/5.

Readings for the week of September 22

For this week, please review the following as needed:

Work for the week of September 22

  • Turn in your Project 2 rough drafts for Peer Feedback by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, September 22. Follow these instructions to post your draft:
    • Go to Discussions in Canvas.
    • Choose the "Project 2 Peer Review" discussion.
    • Post a reply to the Discussion (Canvas Documentation) that includes the following information in the body of the message:
      • Tell your readers what your career goal is (e.g., Project Manager for a Civil Engineering firm).
      • Ask your readers to look at anything you are trying to improve. Let them know the kind of advice you need.
      • If relevant, explain anything else you want your readers to know.
    • Attach your table to the Discussion message. Be sure your file is a *.doc, *.docx, or *.pdf file.
  • Respond to the two drafts you have been assigned for Peer Feedback by 11:59 PM on Thursday, September 24, following these instructions:
    • Follow the Canvas Documentation to find the drafts you have been assigned. Note that you must have turned in your draft on time to be assigned peer review partners.
    • Write a response to each of the two drafts (Canvas Documentation) that includes the following information:
      • Check the title of the document, and tell your partner if it is clear and effective.
      • If you notice any spelling errors, punctuation errors, or typos, you can mention them in your comments, but please focus more on the content than editing and proofreading.
      • Add comments on the content of the draft. Comment on at least three things your classmate does well and at least three things that your classmate could improve on.
         
  • Revise your draft based on the peer feedback you received, using the Canvas Documentation to find your peers’ feedback.
     
  • Submit your revised draft by 11:59 PM on Monday, September 28, following these instructions. If you need an extension, take advantage of the Grace Period and submit your revised draft by 11:59 PM on Monday, October 5. Remember that there are no revisions or rewrites after your work is graded.

 
Last updated on Friday, September 18, 2015

Project 2 Overview

Project 2 Overview published on

This is the post for the week of September 15, 2015.

Many of you have turned in your first project. If you are taking advantage of the grace period, have your work in by 11:55 PM September 21. Today, we move on to Project 2.

Readings for the Week of September 15

Tablet, showing a text on screen (indicating a reading)For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for the Week of September 15

  • Hand-drawn open book iconGo to Tests & Quizzes in Scholar, and complete the reading quizzes on Chapters 5, 7, and 9 of Markel by 11:55 PM by 11:59 PM Monday, September 21. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

  • Get started on your second project:
    • Think of your audience as yourself. A year from now, if you were in the workplace, you should be able to come back to this analysis to remind yourself of the features to include in whatever you are writing.
    • Brainstorm a list of all of the kinds of writing you can think of that people in your field do.
    • Search for job descriptions and note the kinds of writing and communication that they mention.
    • Browse through the table of contents for Part IV of Markel (Chapters 9 to 15) and add any kinds of writing you missed. (NOTE: You are NOT limited to the kinds of writing in Markel. Consider the book one resource, but not your only resource.)
    • Don’t panic if you have an empty cell in your table. If a cell is irrelevant for one of the documents, that is okay. You should not have any empty columns however.
    • Use the example table of kinds of Writing Done by a College English Instructor to guide your work. Feel free to change the columns or rearrange them to fit your field. You can even add a column if you want. If you use information from outside sources, be sure to add a column for documentation.
    • See the formatting and grammar tips below to help arrange your table.

  • Have a draft of your project ready to share on Tuesday. You must post your draft by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, 9/22 to ensure that you are paired with two classmates for peer feedback. Canvas will automatically assign peer reviews to everyone who submits on time.

  • If you have any questions about the assignment, post them in the Questions about Project 2 topic in Discussions in Canvas.

Formatting and Grammar Tips

  • Use short fragments as you fill in your table. Don’t worry about writing in full sentences. Focus on clear and concise language.

  • Make sure that all the cells in a column use parallel grammatical structures. In basic terms, parallel structures are structures that match.

    • If you start with a verb, be sure all the items in the column start with a verb.
    • If you are using a noun phrase in a column, make sure that all the items in the column start with a noun phrase.
    • If there is a period at the end of one item in a column, make sure there is a period at the end of every row in the column.

  • Get a larger writing space by changing your document to landscape orientation and changing the paper size to legal (8.5" by 14").

  • Be use the text in your table is flush left and vertically aligned to the top of the cell. This choice is the most readable according to readability studies.


 
Last updated on Thursday, September 17, 2015

Peer Review and Submission for Project 1

Peer Review and Submission for Project 1 published on

This is the post for the week of September 8, 2015.

This week you will complete peer review for the first project and then submit your work by 11:59 PM on Monday, 9/14. If you need more time, use the grace period and turn in your work by 11:59 PM on Monday, 9/21.

Readings for the week of September 8

For this week, please read the following:

Work for the week of September 8

  • Turn in your Project 1 rough drafts for Peer Feedback by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, September 8. If you do not submit your draft on time, there is no guarantee that you will receive feedback. Follow these instructions to post your draft:
    • Go to Discussions in Canvas.
    • Choose the "Project 1 Peer Review" discussion.
    • Post a reply to the Discussion (Canvas Documentation) that includes the following information in the body of the message:
      • Tell your readers who you are writing for/where you imagine the bio will appear (e.g., on an engineering firm’s website).
      • Ask your readers to look at anything you are trying to improve. Let them know the kind of advice you need.
      • If relevant, explain anything else you want your readers to know.
    • Attach your bio to the Discussion message. Be sure your file is a *.doc, *.docx, or *.pdf file.
  • Respond to the two drafts you have been assigned for Peer Feedback by 11:59 PM on Thursday, September 10, following these instructions:
    • Follow the Canvas Documentation to find the drafts you have been assigned. Note that people have to turn drafts in before they can be assigned.
    • Write a response to each of the two drafts (Canvas Documentation) that includes the following information:
      • Check the title of the document, and tell your partner if it is clear and effective.
      • If you notice any spelling errors, punctuation errors, or typos, you can mention them in your comments, but please focus more on the content than editing and proofreading.
      • Add comments on the content of the draft. Comment on at least three things your classmate does well and at least three things that your classmate could improve on.
         
  • Revise your draft based on the peer feedback you received, using the Canvas Documentation to find your peers’ feedback.
     
  • Submit your revised draft by 11:59 PM on Monday, September 14, following these instructions. If you need an extension, take advantage of the Grace Period and submit your revised draft by 11:59 PM on Monday, September 21. Remember that there are no revisions or rewrites after your work is graded.

Optional

To get to know your classmates better, you can read through the bio statements in the Discussion. If you notice anything you want to comment on, post a reply.


 
Last updated on Monday, September 7, 2015

Audience and Purpose

Audience and Purpose published on

This is the post for the week beginning September 1, 2015.

Readings for the Week of September 1

For today’s session, please read the following:

Help with Canvas

  • Read the Student Getting Started with Canvas Guide.
  • Use the From Scholar to Canvas – Tool Map to figure how to how do something in Canvas that you know how to do in Scholar.
  • To ask a quick question, click Help at the upper right corner of the screen, and select one of the help options from the pop-up window. Canvas helpdesk consultants are available 24/7 via chat, phone, or through online ticket. 

Work for the Week of September 1

Please complete these tasks:

  • Go to Tests & Quizzes in Canvas, and complete the reading quizzes on Chapters 2, 4 and 6 of Markel by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, September 8. You get an extra 24 hours this week because of the Labor Day holiday. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

  • Go to Discussions in Canvas, and choose the "Analyzing Example Bio Statements" discussion. Analyze the examples for Project 1 using the discussion questions in Canvas. You will be working in small groups again to help manage the conversation.

  • Continue working on the drafts for your bio statement. You will post your draft for peer review feedback on Tuesday, September 8. Project 1 is due on Monday, September 14. The grace period ends on Monday, September 21.

  • If you have any questions (today or in the future) about the first assignment, go to Discussions in Canvas and post them in the Questions about Project 1 discussion. You can skim through this topic for answers as well.


 
Last updated on Monday, August 31, 2015

Intro to Technical Writing

Intro to Technical Writing published on

This is the post for the week of August 25, 2015.

This site is the official home for our Fall 2015 course (CRNs #83186 and #86919). Information on all assignments, weekly activities, and related resources will be posted here. Check this site regularly for the details on what to do for the course.

Readings for the Week of August 25

For today’s session, please read the following:

Work for the Week of August 25

This week is about making sure you understand the course policies, getting set up, and generally touching base with one another. If you have technical difficulty with this week’s class work, don’t panic! Send an email to tengrrl at vt.edu and let me know what you need help with.

Please complete these tasks by 11:55 PM on Monday, August 31:

  • Log into Canvas, using your PID and password. Contact 4HELP if you need assistance with your login. You can find help for Canvas 24/7 by using the Help link on the Canvas site and in the Canvas: Getting Started for Students article.

  • Confirm that your notifications in Canvas are set the way you want them. Note that Canvas uses your notification preferences to determine whether to email you or text you (or not tell you at all) about information in the site. See the section "How do I adjust my notification preferences?" in the Student Getting Started with Canvas Guide for more information on setting up your notifications.

  • Verify that you understand how the course works:
    Go to the Discussions tool (in the left menu in Canvas), and respond to these posts:

    • If you have any questions about the syllabus or course logistics, reply to the Pinned Discussion for "Questions about the Syllabus and/or Course Logistics."
    • Once you understand the information for the course and any questions you have are answered, reply to the Syllabus Verification Discussion to confirm that you have read the Syllabus and information on course logistics.

  • Begin work on Project 1:

    • Go to the Discussions tool in Canvas, and choose the the “Readings for Project 1” topic. Discuss what you read in the Some tips on writing biographical statements with the members of your group.
    • If you have any questions (today or in the future) about the first assignment, reply to the Pinned Discussion for "Questions about Project 1" topic in Canvas Discussions tool and add them. You can skim through this topic for answers as well.

  • Complete the quizzes for the week’s readings:

    • Go to Quizzes in Canvas, and complete the reading quizzes on Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 of Markel. See the policies for quizzes on the course logistics page.

 
Last updated on Tuesday, August 25, 2015

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