Class Notes

Intro to Technical Writing

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Today, we begin the first writing assignment and establish the definition of technical writing that we will use for the term.

  1. Get started by going to “Tests & Quizzes” in Scholar and completing today’s in-class writing, “01/27 Characteristics of Tech Writing.” You’ll have about 15 minutes to get your thoughts written down. Your work will be graded for effort and completeness, but minor issues in spelling, grammar, and punctuation won’t matter.
  2. Once everyone finishes the writing, we’ll talk about the three websites in class: American Cancer Society (a nonprofit organization), MTV (a commercial site aimed at young people), and American Chemical Society (the site of a professional society).
  3. Finally, we’ll go over the assignment for Project 1 and talk about how it connects to Chapter 1 of Markel.

Homework

Read Chapter 2 of Markel (“Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations”). Be ready to apply the ideas from the chapter in class on Wednesday.

Class Notes

Class Logistics and Tools

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We’ll spend class today talking about the structure for each class session and going over the tools that we’ll use during the term. Specifically, we’ll set up sharing and talk about how to use Google Drive, I’ll share some tutorials from Lynda.com, and we’ll look briefly at the Scholar site and complete today’s in-class writing.

Google Drive (formerly Google Docs): Google Drive iconYou can get to Google Drive from the VT Start page or use menu on your VT Gmail page. The menu looks like a grid of 3 squares by 3 squares (shown right), and it appears at the top right side of Gmail.

  1. Create a folder named with your name + Tech Writing.
  2. Share the folder with tengrrl@vt.edu and give me EDIT permission.
  3. Create a Document in your folder, and label it “Your Name’s Info.” In the document give me your name and state which section of the course you are in. You can also copy over your blog comment from last period to help me remember who you are.
  4. Use this folder for all your work for the course. This way I will automatically have access to comment on your work as necessary.

Useful Resources:

Lynda.com: Lynda.com is a tutorial site that is free to all VT students, faculty, and staff.

Useful Resources:

Scholar: Our Scholar URL is https://scholar.vt.edu/portal/site/english3764s14

Homework

Read Chapter 1 of Markel’s Practical Strategies for Technical Writing. Be ready to apply the ideas from the chapter in class on Monday.

Class Notes

Welcome to Technical Writing

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Zig Zag instructionsWelcome to English 3764, Technical Writing. This site is the official home for our course. All assignments, weekly and daily activities, and related resources will be posted here. Be sure to bookmark it.

We will use several other sites for the course. We’ll use Scholar for announcements, in-class writing, grading, and the gradebook, and you’ll compose your projects using Google Docs and use its commenting system for peer review and grading. We’ll go over all the details on Friday the 24th.

For today, you have one activity to complete: Go to the post for your section and add a comment to the blog entry, following the instructions in the post:

Before class on Friday, please complete the following activities:

  1. Get familiar with your Google Drive account, which is connected to your vt.edu email address. (If you forgot your password for your VT Google Apps account, follow these instructions.) You’ll use your Google login in class Friday.
  2. Buy a copy of Practical Strategies for Technical Communication. We will begin reading from this book next week, so you’ll want to get it ASAP.
  3. Come back to this site and read through the comments on the Introductions post for your section to get to know a bit about your classmates. Be prepared to talk about the similarities and differences you see among one another on Friday. You can also reply if you like. It’s never too early to start connecting.

1:25 Class

1:25 Class Introductions

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For today, you have one activity to complete: Add a comment to this post that introduces yourself to me and the class, and answers the following questions:

  • Give us some basic facts about yourself—who are you, what’s your major/minor, what do you want to be when you grow up, where are you from, etc.
  • What experience do you have with technical writing? You might talk about reading or writing or collaborating on documents.
  • Tell us something cool, neat, or interesting about you or your past. Give us something memorable to help get to know you.

Before you post, a couple of warnings: (1) Your classmates will see what you write, so don’t include anything intended just for me. (2) This website is public, so use your first name (or a pseudonym) only. Also, please be sure to use your vt.edu email address every time you post to the class website. Once I “approve” your first comment on the site, you will be able to post comments for the rest of the semester without waiting for me to approve them.

10:10 Class

10:10 Class Introductions

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For today, you have one activity to complete: Add a comment to this post that introduces yourself to me and the class, and answers the following questions:

  • Give us some basic facts about yourself—who are you, what’s your major/minor, what do you want to be when you grow up, where are you from, etc.
  • What experience do you have with technical writing? You might talk about reading or writing or collaborating on documents.
  • Tell us something cool, neat, or interesting about you or your past. Give us something memorable to help get to know you.

Before you post, a couple of warnings: (1) Your classmates will see what you write, so don’t include anything intended just for me. (2) This website is public, so use your first name (or a pseudonym) only. Also, please be sure to use your vt.edu email address every time you post to the class website. Once I “approve” your first comment on the site, you will be able to post comments for the rest of the semester without waiting for me to approve them.

9:05 Class

9:05 Class Introductions

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For today, you have one activity to complete: Add a comment to this post that introduces yourself to me and the class, and answers the following questions:

  • Give us some basic facts about yourself—who are you, what’s your major/minor, what do you want to be when you grow up, where are you from, etc.
  • What experience do you have with technical writing? You might talk about reading or writing or collaborating on documents.
  • Tell us something cool, neat, or interesting about you or your past. Give us something memorable to help get to know you.

Before you post, a couple of warnings: (1) Your classmates will see what you write, so don’t include anything intended just for me. (2) This website is public, so use your first name (or a pseudonym) only. Also, please be sure to use your vt.edu email address every time you post to the class website. Once I “approve” your first comment on the site, you will be able to post comments for the rest of the semester without waiting for me to approve them.