Communications Studies (COMS) 363 - Lecture 07
Professional and Technical Communication
Winter 08

Lectures/Labs will be held Saturdays on the following dates:

Jan 19, 26 Feb 2, 9, 23 Mar 1, 8, 15, 29 Apr 5

In SH 268 (Lecture) from 0800 - 1000

and then in SS020 (Computer Lab) from 1015 - 1200

Note: Lecture and Lab times may occasionally vary contingent to course content and activities. The instructor will announce time and location changes in advance on Blackboard.

 

 

Instructor:	Patricia Babinec
Office Location:	SS209
Office Phone:	210-7680
E-Mail:	pmbabine@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:	N/A
Office Hours:	By appointment

Additional Information

The instructor will receive comments and answer questions via by e-mail at any time. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response. Unless otherwise indicated, assignments submitted by e-mail will not be accepted.

Blackboard

This class will use Blackboard as the main hub for information regarding course assignments, in-class exercises, announcements, exemplars of assignments, power point presentations and so on. There are two methods to access Blackboard: 1) myUC portal 2) blackboard.ucalgary.ca.

myUCportal method

1)        Go to https://myucalgary.ca/

2)        If you haven't created your eID, follow the creation link under the sign on boxes

3)        Once signed on to myUofC, click the Blackboard link on the right side

4)        Remember to sign-off (log-off) all applications used through myUofC

Check Blackboard often for announcements, clarification and lectures on power point. Bring a copy of the outline and check for announcements prior to the first class. 

Course Description

This class takes a rhetorical and practical approach to understanding professional and technical communication. Emphasis is placed on how workplace communication is situated not only within distinct corporate cultures, but also in wider socio-cultural contexts. Students will gain knowledge and skills in writing across genres through inquiry-based learning strategies which include both field and documentary research methods. This theory-driven class will teach students communication strategies that can be applied to a variety of workplace and everyday situations.

Course Design

The course is designed to facilitate an inquiry-based approach to learning. This means that the instructor cannot provide recipes, but will provide guidance. Ultimately, students will have to figure out how to complete the assignments to the best of their abilities. Working your way through uncertainties is part of the inquiry process and that you are not alone. The instructor welcomes and encourages questions however and can give you feedback on your progress.

Objectives of the Course

By the end of this course students will have learned how to:

• Think and read critically
• Adapt to a given communication situation based on a rhetorical analysis of audience, context, purpose and content
• Communicate effectively through oral presentations and written documents
• Research problems and situations individually and collaboratively
• Refine composition, revision and editing skills including organization, document design, peer review, style, grammar and diction   
• Gain awareness of how people become socialized to the workplace through communication

Textbooks and Readings:

• Custom course pack of readings, available at the U of C Bookstore
• Lannon, John M. and Klepp Don (2006). Technical Communication, 3^rd Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson Longman.

 

Additional Learning Resources

• Effective Writing Centre - Students are encouraged to consult writing resources available through the Effective Writing Center. Some of the resources you may access include information on proper ways to document sources, punctuation basics, report writing, revision checklists, slide design and preparing effective presentations. The Writing Center also offers free, individual tutorial help for University of Calgary students who want to improve their writing. You may also ask for advice from writing center tutors by e-mail.  Please see the website http://www.efwr.ucalgary.ca/ for details

 

• Library Liaison - To perform well on assignments, students need to develop competence in performing secondary research. In addition to class instruction, students may contact Chris Thomas, the Communication and Culture library liaison for additional advice on finding secondary research resources in the library. Please contact Chris by phone, fax or e-mail as shown below.

 

Chris Thomas
Liaison Librarian, Sociology, Communications Studies and Culture
Libraries and Cultural Resources, University of Calgary
Phone: (403) 220-7737  Fax: (403) 282-6024
E-mail: cthomas@ucalgary.ca
MSN: UofC_librarian@hotmail.com
http://www.ucalgary.ca/hardplay
http://comslibrarynews.blogspot.com/
http://soclibrarynews.blogspot.com/

 

 

Assignments and Evaluation

To receive a passing grade for this course all assignments must be completed.

• Checkmark Exercises and Participation (15%). Checkmark exercises are typically assigned and completed during lectures or labs. Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions is expected

 

• Summary of Journal Article for Technical Audience-memo format (10%) Due February 2, 2008
  
  
• Summary of Journal Article for General Audience-newsletter format (10%) Due February 2, 2008
  
  
• Interview Report (15%) Due February 16, 2008

 

• Group Proposal and Work Plan (10%) Due March 8, 2008

 

• Group Presentations of Document Revisions (10%) April 5, 2008
  
  
• Final Group Project Report (20%) Due April 5, 2008

 

• Final term reflection (10%)

 

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

Note: Please hand in your work 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.

 

Group Work

This course incorporates collaborative work to simulate, in part, the workplace environment. Assignments state that all group members will receive the same grade on all components of team projects unless the group contract provides grounds for doing otherwise. Students are given opportunity to account, in writing, for the performance and contributions of themselves and their team mates. In the event of team breakdown or when accounts do not cohere, the instructor may assign unequal marks. She will take the team contract and available evidence from individual members, as well as class attendance and participation into consideration, for example, to do so. It is very important for students to make the instructor aware of team difficulties earlier rather than later. 

 

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 may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

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.

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. 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 any 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. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Feel free to discuss your ideas with others and to have someone review your written work to point out weaknesses and typos. These practices are common in the workplace and do not constitute plagiarism as long as you do the corrections and the rewriting. All of the following, for example, constitute plagiarism:

• passing off the work of others as your own
• submitting work that you have done previously (or that you are now doing for another course) as if it were new work done for this course
• borrowing wording from published material without using quotation marks
• using wording, ideas, information, or graphics from published material or from the internet without acknowledging the source.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

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/su

"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.

Ethics

This course has obtained course based ethics approval from the faculty research ethics committee. Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines. Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and approve of your research. For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see the U of C Research Ethics "Information for Applicants", sections 3.0 top 9.0 inclusive: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/research/html/ethics/info_undergrad.html

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

 

To be announced on Blackboard in early January. Please bring a copy to the first class along with a copy of the Course Outline.