Technical Writing and Communication Course Philosophy
Philosophy: Technical Writing and Communication calls students to exercise writing communication skills in a
manner which handles the demands of workplace writing and communication. (Should we write in anything
about this course being an alternative to English II in some cases?) Technical Writing and Communication
includes the following challenges: conducting audience analyses, writing grammatically correct correspondence
in a concise manner, adapting to APA documentation, building a brochure, creating a current development
report, and compiling a basic research proposal.
Bottom Line: A passing grade in Technical Writing and Communication indicates the student’s mastery of
business correspondence and basic research documentation. Understanding basic research documentation
serves as a critical skill enabling students to avoid plagiarism in their academic and professional careers.
Objectives:
The student will demonstrate an advanced application of the following outcomes expected in ENG 1033.
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Create concise business correspondence for inquiry, transmission, and research
Utilize a variety of writing formats appropriate to the tasks
Employ reader-based writing skills
Practice the art of creating brochures for advertisement purposes
Learn how to write a basic research proposal
Realize the importance of proper source documentation
Assignments:
Instructors will assign sufficient readings, exams, essays, quizzes, and other assignments to enable students to
demonstrate their level of mastery in the objectives above. As a minimum, instructors will assign the following:
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A variety of written correspondence (letter, internal memo, external memo, email)
Two document evaluation exercises
An APA documentation exercise
A brochure exercise
A current development report
A formal proposal (students must achieve a passing grade on the research paper)
A comprehensive final exam
Instructors may assign other assignments at their discretion; however, enough instructors should gather enough
graded work to assess the student’s understanding of the course objectives. Exams should not be comprised of
objective questions only (matching, multiple choice, true & false, etc.) but should include at least some
questions requiring analysis. Instructors should follow closely the set readings for the course to ensure course
consistency. Instructors must provide sufficient constructive feedback to help students improve performance.
Assessment: All instructors must participate in the assessment of the course as directed by the lead instructor.
Contact information:
Division Chair: Dr. Dennis Humphrey (501)882-4406, djhumphrey@asub.edu
Lead instructor: Sheila Chase (501)882-4492, spchase@asub.edu