Technical and Business Writing

Class
Intensive study of and practice in professional settings. Focus on the types of documents necessary to make decisions and take action on the job, such as proposals, reports, instructions, policies and procedures, e-mail messages, letters, and descriptions of products and services. Practice individual and collaborative processes involved in the creation of ethical and efficient documents. Three hours lecture per week.

Humanities Department Academic Integrity Procedure

The Humanities Department requires instructors to check for academic integrity violations. Most instructors use www.turnitin.com. All written assignments of 500+ words will be checked for academic integrity violations. Additionally, all instructors will make the originality reports available prior to the due date, and students will be able to alter the paper until the due date. All written material must be the product of the student’s original work, created specifically for this class. Papers written for other classes (including previous attempts of this course) will not be accepted without the express permission of the instructor.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course students should be able:

  1. To understand and demonstrate writing and speaking processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing, and presentation.
  2. To understand the importance of specifying audience and purpose and to select appropriate communication choices for each audience.
  3. To understand and appropriately apply modes of expression, i.e., descriptive, expositive, narrative, scientific, and self-expressive, in written, visual, and oral communication.
  4. To participate effectively in groups with emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding.
  5. To understand and apply basic principles of critical thinking, problem solving, and technical proficiency in the development of exposition and argument.
  6. To develop the ability to research and write a documented paper and to give an oral presentation.
Required Textbooks
Tebeaux, Elizabeth, and Sam Dragga. The Essentials of Technical Communication. 5th Ed. Oxford University Press, 2020.
ISBN-10
9780197539200
Required Institutional Core Learning Outcomes

Communication (COM), Critical Thinking (CT), Personal Responsibility (PR), Social Responsibility (SR), Teamwork (TW)

Evaluation Standards

80% -- Students will produce at least 4 major projects with a written component. These projects may include multimodal elements. At least one project must include research and synthesis to respond to the assessment requirement.
20% -- Additional other assignments to be determined by instructor—journal, quizzes, peer review, writing process work, and so on.

Disabilities

ADA Statement:

Any student with a documented disability (e.g. learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) may contact the Office on the Weatherford College Weatherford Campus to request reasonable accommodations. Phone: 817-598-6350 Office Location: Office Number 118 in the Student Services Building, upper floor. Physical Address: Weatherford College 225 College Park Drive Weatherford, TX.

Academic Integrity
Academic Integrity is fundamental to the educational mission of Weatherford College, and the College expects its students to maintain high standards of personal and scholarly conduct. Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials including unauthorized use of Generative AI. Departments may adopt discipline specific guidelines on Generative AI usage approved by the instructional dean. Any student who is demonstrated to have engaged in any of these activities will be subject to immediate disciplinary action in accordance with institutional procedures.
Hope Statement
Any student who faces challenges securing basic resources such as food, clothing, or housing and believes this may affect their performance in their course of study is urged to contact the Director of Student Resources, Dr. Deborah Cregger, for support at (817) 598-6444. Her office is on the first floor of Student Services. If the student prefers, they may contact their instructor, who can reach out on their behalf. Weatherford College also provides the Coyote Pantry. The Pantry maintains boxed and canned foods for students in need. The location of the Coyote Pantry is two blocks west of the Weatherford campus at the Baptist Student Ministry (118 E. Park Ave., Weatherford). Pantry hours are Mon-Thurs. 8:30 am-4:30 pm and Fri. 8.30 am-12:00 pm (817-599-6586).
Student Intellectual Property Rights
A student shall retain all rights to work created as part of instruction or using College District technology resources.
Revised
Fall 2021
Last Modified
Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 4:50 PM