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Syllabus
English 379: Technical Communication: 3 credits
South Dakota State University
Fall 2013-Online
April Myrick, Instructor
Phone: (605) 688-4686 (o)
(605) 697-1735
Email: Internal Email System (D2L)
Tech Support: (605) 688-6776
Office: 122 West Hall
Hours: TBA
“When something can be read without great effort, great effort has gone into its writing.”
~Enrique Jardiel Poncela
TEXTBOOK
Handbook of Technical Writing (10th ed.) by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu
(ISBN 978-0-312-67945-3)
As described in the Undergraduate Bulletin, 2012-2013, this course is a “[s]tudy of and practice in writing of
a technical nature” (297). Prerequisite: English 201. In this course, you will learn and apply techniques for
effective communication in the workplace by preparing a variety of professional documents (business
letters, memos, reports, etc.), participating in peer review sessions, and engaging in discussions with other
class members. Specific objectives for this course include the following. Students will:
1) develop skill in producing practical, persuasive, and accurate documents,
2) apply course material to improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and
3) develop an awareness of communication in a global / intercultural context.
This course also satisfies SGE (System General Education) Goal #1 by meeting the following SLOs
(Student Learning Objectives):
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SLO #1: “Write using standard American English, including
correct punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure
[assessment based upon your performance on various
exercises and responses and on the major essays]”
Objective met through a series of major writing assignments
(letters, memos, reports, etc.) and in class exercises
addressing sentence structure, verbal style, word choice, and
other relevant issues.
SLO #2: “Write logically [assessment based upon your
performance on the major essays]”
Objective met through each of the major writing assignments,
including business letters, memos, reports, etc.
SLO #3: “Write persuasively, using a variety of rhetorical
strategies (e.g., exposition, argumentation, description)
[assessment based upon your performance on the major
essays]”
Objective met through major writing assignments, especially
the complaint letter, cover letter / personal statement, and
professional portfolio.
SLO #4: “Incorporate formal research and documentation
into their writing, including research obtained through
modern, technology-based research tools [assessment
based upon your completion of the research component of
the major essays and various documentation exercises].”
Objective met through the career communication memo and
formal analytical report (both requiring the use of source
material).
WRITING AND COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS
Save your assignments as Word documents or in rich text format. Always save your work as . doc or
.rtf, as this makes it easier to access and grade. Write in Times New Roman or a similar style font (12
point). Use the computer’s default margins (approximately one inch). Do not use larger font sizes or larger
margins—I will dock points for this.
When you revise your work, I strongly encourage you to print out a hard copy, as it is difficult to carefully
review and revise a document while staring at a computer screen. Remember, also, that you should not
rely on the spell checker function to catch all errors; you must carefully proofread all your writings.
E-MAIL AND DISCUSSIONS
In general, emails and discussion postings will probably be somewhat informal, but we will show courtesy
to each other; remember, we are striving for a professional environment. Rude or inappropriate
communications would not be acceptable in the business world, and they are not acceptable in this course.
Because this course emphasizes clear, effective writing, you also need to carefully proofread your emails
and discussion posts for any grammatical or mechanical errors.
We will have five class discussions worth 10 points each. You can find the scoring rubric under ContentUnit 1 on our D2L course page.
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Check your email on a daily basis, so you are aware of announcements, instructions, and assignments.
You must participate in all discussions and submit all assignments; failure to do so will negatively affect
your grade. Since this is an internet course, you must be responsible for keeping up to date with the course
material. If you are unable to participate due to emergencies or illness, please let me know as soon as
possible.
GRADING
Please note that I will use the 90/80/70/60 grading scale. The major assignments for the course include the
following (tentative list):
Introductory Survey
Introduction to Classmates
Grammar/Style Exercise
Career Communication Memo
Complaint Letter
Cover Letter / Personal Statement
Electronic Communication Exercise
Technical Definition
Product Description
Instructions
Technical Marketing Exercise
PowerPoint Analysis
Outline for Analytical Report
Formal Analytical Report
3 Review Workshops (worth 15pts. each)
5 Discussions (worth 10pts. each)
15pts.
10pts.
20pts.
25pts.
20pts.
25pts.
25pts.
30pts.
30pts.
30pts.
25pts.
30pts.
15pts.
50pts.
45pts.
50pts.
Please note: I will penalize late work by docking one-fourth of the assignment’s total value (thus I would
deduct 7.5 points from an assignment worth 30 points or 12.5 points from one worth 50 points), except in
the case of extenuating circumstances, such as a medical emergencies or university excused activities. (I
will only accept late work up to a week after the original deadline.)
If you have questions regarding your grade, just let me know.
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
The English Department will not tolerate plagiarism—representing another’s work as one’s own—in any
form. Students must abide by the principles governing academic research and writing, the first and
foremost of which is honesty. Students who willfully violate this principle will fail the assignment and the
course. They also will report to the Dean of Student Affairs and face possible expulsion from the university.
Dishonesty is not acceptable in the business world, nor is it acceptable in this class.
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Willful violations of this policy include the following:

Submitting another student’s work as your own. Both students will fail the assignment.

Incorporating material from sources—data, analysis, organization—without providing appropriate
documentation.

Fabricating sources of information.
TURNITIN (THROUGH D2L)
Turnitin tools are now available through the D2L Dropbox, including the “originality check” function. The
purpose of this function is three-fold:
1) to help you identify and address any documentation issues in your assignments
2) to protect you from possibly having to compete with students who have not composed their own
work
3) to protect the integrity of the program
For more information on this feature, please see the “TurnItin Guide” under Content—Unit 1 on our D2L
course page.
FREEDOM IN LEARNING
Students are responsible for learning the content of any course of study in which they are enrolled. Under
Board of Regents and University policy, student academic performance shall be evaluated solely on an
academic basis and students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any
course of study. Students who believe that an academic evaluation is unrelated to academic standards but
is related instead to judgment of their personal opinion or conduct should first contact the instructor of the
course. If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may contact the department head and/or dean of
the college which offers the class to initiate a review of the evaluation
ADA STATEMENT
Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact
Nancy Hartenhoff-Crooks, Coordinator of Disability Services (605-688-4504 or Fax, 605-688-4987) to privately
discuss your specific needs. The Office of Disability Services is located in room 065, the Student Union.
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