ENGL 406
Advanced Technical Writing
ENGL 406. Advanced Technical Writing
Three hours lecture (3).
Prerequisite: Completion of English general education requirements, junior or senior standing and English 306.
Teaches students to master the advanced technical writing skills required to write professional reports, proposals, manuals and other communications studied in the course. Individual and team-written projects assigned.
The course builds on the content of ENGL 306 (“Professional Writing”) with additional instruction and assignments in writing for non-academic audiences. Students prepare different types of assignments designed for different audiences. Students write a formal analysis of an article on a scientific or technical subject, analyzing rhetorical devices such as its opening and closing, its strategies in presenting scientific/technical material, its pace, and its use of graphics. In addition, students write software documentation to meet an actual need for user instructions. Students also write at least one article on science and/or technology designed for publication in a specific journal.
Students use a variety of texts, including a textbook on scientific and technical writing, newspaper and magazine articles, government documents, and corporate publications. Students analyze print and online documents involving science and/or technology, and read in the textbook, to prepare to discuss effective strategies for presenting technical information to the general public, such as how to write openings that encourage readers to read on and how to explain scientific and technical material to lay readers. The students may also research a newspaper's circulation, distribution, and coverage of science and technology, and share the information with the class. Or students may evaluate a complex website such as NASA’s that presents information to different kinds of audiences; this evaluation is shared with the class.
Peer review of the drafts of the writing assignments helps students develop their ability to offer substantive recommendations for revision of a document in a manner that is positive and supportive.
Lecture, instructor-led discussion, peer review of the drafts of the writing assignments, and student-led discussion of technical articles and other documents.
Students who have successfully completed this course will be able to:
The user documentation, newspaper articles, article analysis, and the student-led discussion are graded to determine the student’s progress and his or her final grade for the course.
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