Communications Studies (COMS) 363 - Lecture 23
Professional and Technical Communication
Winter 2007
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:00-12:50  

Instructor:	Prof. Lisa Bryce
Office Location:	SS 347, shared office
Office Phone:	shared phone 220-3239, cell 708-9201
E-Mail:	bryce@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:
Office Hours:	by appointment

Additional Information

Please do not send email attachments unless you have my explicit permission to do so.

Course Description

This course is an introduction to effective communication in the most common genres of professional and technical writing and speech. You will learn the processes involved in planning, composing, and delivering of technical communication for a variety of audiences and rhetorical contexts. Guided practice and peer review will assist you in developing expertise in visual, electronic, print, and face-to-face communication.

Objectives of the Course

At the completion of this course, you will be able to demonstrate written and oral communication skills so that the professional and technical information you are conveying can be easily understood by people both inside and outside your area of expertise. To this end, we will study the principles and techniques of professional and technical writing, focussing on both written and oral ommunication skills. You will enhance your writing, editing, and speaking skills, in addition to learning to generate effective professional and technical documents. You will also increase your abilities to read and think critically and to rhetorically analyze professional and technical documents.

Textbooks and Readings:

G.J. Alred et al. (2006). Handbook of Technical Writing (8th edition). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Assignments and Evaluation

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.

NOTE: All out-of-class assignments and the two class presentations MUST be completed to receive a passing grade in this course.

Audience Analysis: 10% Monday, January 22, 2007 (individual)

Team presentation on grammar topic: 10%: selected days throughout the term: these days will be announced (team)

Report Project Proposal: 10% Friday, February 16, 2007 (team)

Letter: 10% Monday, March 5, 2007 (individual)

Instructions: 10% Friday, March 23, 2007 (individual)

Final Report Project Peer Review: no grade, but final report will lose one full letter grade if this assignment is not completed. Monday, April 9, 2007 (marked in class)

Final Report Project: 30% Friday, April 13, 2007

Oral Presentation on Final Report Project: 10% approximately March 23 to April 13, 2007

*In-class Assignments and class participation: 10% ongoing (no set dates)

*NOTE: In-class assignments CANNOT be "made up" at a later date.

Class participation is graded on the quality of the in-class assignments that are completed. In addition, intellectual participation is required: physical presence in the classroom is not enough to receive a "C" for class participation.

Note: Please return assignments directly to the instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination: No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline (beginning of class on the date assigned) will be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day or portion of a day late.

Late assignments will be graded but not marked. Assignments more than 5 working days late will not be accepted. In the case of illness, you must submit a doctor's note with your late assignment. For any other circumstance that prevents you from submitting your assignment on time, you must give appropriate documentation to your instructor.

Please note that because all assignments (including the presentations) must be completed to receive a passing grade in this course, it is essential that you hand in assignments no later than 5 working days after the due date. Presentations must be done on the dates assigned. Any circumstances that prevent you from presenting on the date you are assigned must be supported with documentation.

Your instructor will not take responsibility for assignments not handed in to her personally in hard copy (paper).

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you wish help with your writing at any stage, including drafts, you are invited to contact your instructor or the Writing Centre, SS110, 220-7255.

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. Information borrowing includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources. The sources for graphics that you have not created yourself must be documented.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS110) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Additional Information

Because you are responsible for all material transmitted in class, attending all classes is strongly recommended.

Overt acts of rudeness, such as using a cell phone during class, are not tolerated. Please see the University's policy on non-academic misconduct in the 2006-2007 University Calendar; this is conduct that "seriously disrupts the lawful educational and related activities of other students and/or University staff.

(Please note that abusive emails are considered non-academic misconduct and will not be tolerated.)

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

To be handed out in class.