PCC/ CCOG / WR

Course Content and Outcome Guide for WR 280A

Date:
30-MAY-2007
Posted by:
Curriculum Office
Course Number:
WR 280A
Course Title:
CE: Technical Writing
Credit Hours:
1 TO 5
Lecture hours:
0
Lecture/Lab hours:
0
Lab hours:
0
Special Fee:
 

Course Description

Offers technical and professional writing work experience is offered for variable credit up to a maximum of five credits. Students receive one credit for every 40 hours of successful work experience. Department permission is required to take this course.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Outcomes for this course require working through multiple drafts of several pieces of writing with time to separate the acts of writing and revising; in addition, the reading outcomes require time to read, reread, reflect, respond, interpret, analyze, and evaluate.
Depending on the work situation, upon successful completion of WR 280A, the student will be able to:
  1. Document work experience in technical and professional communications
  2. Design and produce commonly used types of technical communications
  3. Design and produce technical communications that include visuals and that are accurate, ethical, easy to access and understand, and from which information can be extracted quickly and easily
  4. Design and produce communications specifically tailored to a number of different audiences that have diverse educational, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, and that have various levels of expertise
  5. Work and problem solve effectively using collaborative techniques, respecting the work of colleagues, knowing that seldom is only one communication solution right and all others wrong.
  6. Develop a portfolio

Outcome Assessment Strategies


Assessment tasks will include the following:
  • Evaluation by a workplace supervisor
  • Conference with appropriate Cooperative Education staff

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)


Depending on the work situation, themes, concepts, and issues may include:
  • Appropriate formats and writing styles for various types of technical communication
  • Audience analysis
  • Communication issues with international audiences
  • Document design
  • Documentation
  • Document specifications
  • Collaborative work
  • Editing text and visuals in various media
  • Incorporation of graphics
  • Information gathering, including primary and secondary sources and Internet research
  • Interviewing subject matter experts
  • Legal and ethical issues in technical communication
  • Professional writing organizations and resources for grammar, style, and editing
  • Project planning and management
  • Readability analysis
  • Revision cycle
  • Safety messages
  • Summarizing
  • Usability testing
  • Writing strategies for different media
  • Writing to increase the readability and accuracy of print and online documents that may be translated or accessed by international users
Competencies and Skills
Depending on the work situation, competencies and skills may include:
  1. Understanding different types of print and online technical communication
  2. Adapting writing strategies for different media
  3. Selecting appropriate graphics for print and online communication
  4. Selecting formatting options to create accessible, readable, and visually interesting documents
  5. Editing print and online media for conciseness, precision, accuracy, clarity, safety, liability, and ethical considerations
  6. Gathering information and interview subject matter experts
  7. Documenting sources
  8. Gathering information, including primary and secondary sources and Internet research
  9. Using the resources of professional writing organizations and of grammar, style, and online editing guides
  10. Analyzing audience and purpose and incorporating audience feedback
  11. Writing print and online documents that may be translated or accessed by international users
  12. Selecting appropriate graphics for diverse audiences
  13. Selecting formatting options to create accessible, readable, and visually interesting documents for different audiences
  14. Selecting graphics for print and online documents that may be translated or accessed by international users
  15. Conducting usability tests
  16. Collaborating effectively as a member of a documentation team
  17. Planning and managing projects
  18. Using flowcharts for project management
  19. Creating document specifications
  20. Presenting milestone updates orally using presentation graphics
  21. Developing a portfolio