LMC 3403, Technical Communication
LMC 3403 B | MWF 11:05-11:55AM | Hall Building, 103
Instructor: Dr. Jason W. Ellis | Office: Hall Building, 009 | Office Hours: MWF 1:00-2:00PM or
by appointment | Contact: jason.ellis@lmc.gatech.edu | Twitter: @dynamicsubspace
Class Description:
As you will learn from our first unit exploring Donald A. Norman’s Living with Complexity, we
can think of Technical Communication is a way of managing complexity. Using rhetoric,
research, and process, we can make complex information, tasks, and technology far easier to
understand, accomplish, and use. In order to accomplish these things, we need to focus our use of
WOVEN (written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal) modes of communication on the needs
of our readers. However, we must base our strategies and approaches on clearly articulated goals
and firmly established research; we must test our deliverables for usability; and we must revise
our deliverables to meet our clients’ requirements. Above all else, as technical communicators,
we must follow professional and ethical codes of behavior. In this class, you will learn about
these important aspects of technical communication through daily exercises, hands-on activities,
and collaborative service-based projects.
Required Texts:
Anderson, Paul V. Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach. 8th edition.
Boston: Wadsworth, 2014.
Norman, Donald A. Living with Complexity. Cambridge, MIT Press, 2011.
Other readings made available by email or on T-Square under Resources.
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Required Resources:
Lego Pink Brick Box (4625) or Lego Farm Brick Box (4626) [available @ Lego, Target,
Amazon, etc.] or ~200 Lego bricks that you already own
Laptop: Unless directed otherwise, you should bring your laptop to class each day.
Software: Office suite of applications capable of producing files in DOCX, PPTX, and PDF
formats.
Ability to print color and b/w documents and print poster size material (easily available in the
library and the Multimedia Studio)
Recommended Resources:
WOVENtext is Georgia Tech’s Writing Program official handbook—you have five years of
access to this when you purchased it for ENGL1101/1102 (http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/gatech).
Lynda.com is a high quality training resource that Georgia Tech provides access to students.
Journals in the field available through the library: Journal of Business and Technical
Communication, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Technical Communication,
and Technical Communication Quarterly.
Usability.gov is an important website from the Department of Health and Human Services that
provides information and methodologies for improving user experiences (UX).
Grading Policy
Due dates are provided for assignments on the tentative schedule. Instructions for these
assignments will be given to you with plenty of time to discuss them with me or your peers
before they are due. Should you have any questions, concerns, or issues about an assignment,
you MUST speak with me BEFORE an assignment is due, because ALL GRADES FOR THIS
COURSE ARE FINAL. This means that I will not entertain student arguments for grade changes
after an assignment is completed. Also, failure to complete any major assignment in the course
may result in the failure of the course as a whole. Should you find yourself having trouble, you
MUST speak with me BEFORE an assignment is due. I will not listen to any arguments after an
assignment is completed. Your work will be assessed holistically according to the programmatic
rubric available here: http://goo.gl/zili5L.
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Major Assignment Grade Distribution
Unit 1: Introduction to Technical
Communication
Unit 2: Technical Communication
Foundations: Reader-Centered and
Process-Driven
Unit 3: Getting a Job and
Communicating in the Workplace
Unit 4: Service-Learning Research
Project
Final Portfolio
Participation
Deliverable:
Proposal for managing a complex problem
with technical communication.
Deliverables:
Multimodal set of instructions for a Legobased model of your design
Deliverables:
Job application portfolio, mock interview
report, and collaborative presentation
Deliverables:
Each team proposes, researches, creates,
tests, revises, and presents a deliverable that
addresses a campus or community need. The
deliverable might be a poster, brochure,
video, website, etc.
Deliverables:
The final portfolio collects examples of your
work and contributions to team-based
assignments from the entire semester. You
will revise your work and write reflections
that explain your process, progress, and
accomplishments.
Attendance, timeliness, and engagement are
expected of students for success in this class.
In addition to my observations of your inclass contributions to discussion and
teamwork, I will base this grade on daily
assignments, quizzes, and other indicators of
extended class-focused involvement and
activity.
Total
10%
15%
20%
30%
15%
10%
100%
Teaching Philosophy and Standards for Professor Performance
I understand the value of a Georgia Tech education and I know the challenge involved in
achieving it, because I graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Science, Technology, and
Culture (STAC). My experiences as a Tech student inform, in part, the way that I design and
teach classes. This means that I choose intellectually interesting and exciting source material, I
encourage students to engage and participate in discussion and in-class exercises, and I make
myself available as a mentor to my students. I have a tremendous amount of hard-won
knowledge that I enjoy giving to my students. You should also know that I extensively draw on
my research interests in American literature, postcolonial literature, neuroscientific discourses,
digital literacy, and computer history in the implementation of my courses.
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You can expect me to:
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Be professional inside and outside the
classroom.
Treat you like an adult in a professional
and respectful manner.
Be prepared for class.
Attend class regularly.
Respond promptly to email
communication.
Adhere to my policies and standards.
Be available for student meetings with
an appointment.
Maintain a positive attitude.
Be a problem solver.
Offer thoughtful, constructive criticism
on your work.
Be a coach, instead of a “sage on the
stage,” in the classroom.
Be a mentor.
You should not expect me to:
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Accept notes or other documents from
third parties excusing you from class or
other activities.
Respond favorably to excuses of any
kind.
Answer emails or phone calls from
parents, guardians, or other third
parties.
Be available outside my office hours
without an appointment.
Respond favorably to any argument for
missing my class or leaving my class
early because of activities in another
class.
Make exceptions to my policies and
standards.
Grant make-ups.
Accept late work without a prearranged extension.
Answer emails on the weekends.
Standards for Student Performance
Another important aspect of the Technical Communication class is developing your
professionalism. Expect to be held to these professional standards in our class:
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Respect deadlines. In the workplace, you will be held to a high standard of making and
meeting project deadlines. I do not accept late work unless the student speaks with me
about arranging an extension. I do not guarantee extension, but I often grant them if there
is a documented, compelling need that is identified before an assignment is due.
Do not expect make-ups. In the workplace, there are consequences for poor performance
or incomplete projects. Likewise in our class, you should not expect any make-up
opportunities for late or incomplete work. Students who participate in school sanctioned
absences (e.g., in-season athletics) are a possible exception, but it is the responsibility of
those students to meet with me before assignments are due to discuss and establish a plan
for the individual student.
Arrive on time for class and stay for the duration of class. Being late or leaving early
can be disruptive and are disrespectful in any situation, especially in the workplace. I
assign partial absences to students who arrive late or leave early, because those students
miss a portion of the class lecture, exercises, or team participation. Students who are
perpetually late run the risk of receiving a failing grade in the class.
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Respect others. Following a workplace example, we will treat our class as meetings.
This means that you should not disrupt class with texting, phone calls, or unnecessary
computer sounds. Furthermore, you should respect the people who you work with in class
on daily assignments or major projects. Give one another your full attention, your
attention to detail, and your vast wealth of expertise. In addition, be receptive to
constructive criticism and provide it in full measure to your classroom colleagues.
Maintain a positive attitude. Many of your projects will be collaborative. Having a
negative attitude can influence your and your teammates’ performance and success. Put
your best foot forward regardless of any situation’s challenges.
Be a problem solver. This is the best strategy for maintaining a positive attitude. The
workplace is replete with problems, miscommunications, and difficulties. In any job or
situation, we should work toward solutions, compromises, and successful
communication. This involves identifying where the problem lies, figuring out a solution,
applying the solution, evaluating its success, and revising if possible until the problem is
fully resolved (or as resolved as possible). This class gives you many opportunities to be
a problem solver in preparation for the higher stakes of the workplace.
Communication
The best and most efficient way to contact me is by email. Please feel free to email me with your
questions about the readings, assignments, or anything else pertaining to the class. While I am
not an official advisor, I can offer first-hand advice and I can point students toward Georgia Tech
resources for student success. I will not discuss grades by email, but I will be happy to discuss
student grades in person during my office hours or by appointment. Please feel free to stop by
during my office hours, but please send me an email beforehand so that I can prepare for what
you would like to discuss. I will send official announcements to the class by email. Each student
is expected to check her or his email prior to class.
Office Hours
I encourage students to meet with me outside of class to discuss their classwork and other
university-related matters. Before meeting with me during my office hours, I appreciate
receiving a brief email letting me know the time and topic of our conversation. If you cannot
attend my office hours, please include your weekly schedule in your email so that I can pick a
time that we can meet on MWF when I am on campus.
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Digital Activities and Resources
In our class, all of your major projects and daily assignments will have some kind of electronic
component. Therefore, students will need their laptop in class each day unless otherwise
instructed. For some of your projects, you will need to use software and online technologies to
create videos, presentation slideshows, and websites. I do not require you to own the software
and equipment that you will need to accomplish this. While you will likely use a camera or
iPhone as your video camera, you can also check out equipment such as mini-DV camcorders or
iPads from the library’s Gadgets and Multimedia Equipment
(http://www.library.gatech.edu/gadgets/). The library’s Multimedia Commons also has the
Adobe Creative Suite including Dreamweaver, which you can use to build your website. The
library provides on-going workshops on the software you will need to use in our class
(http://www.library.gatech.edu/calendar/libclasses.php). Additionally, Georgia Tech has
institutional access to Lynda.com, the technology tutorial website. This is an invaluable resource
that I highly recommend.
Programmatic and Shared Policies
Go to http://goo.gl/zili5L for common LMC 3403 policies on Learning Outcomes, Evaluation
Equivalencies, Evaluation Rubric, Attendance, Participation in Class, Non-discrimination,
Communication Center, Accommodations, Academic Misconduct, Syllabus Modifications,
Week Preceding Final Exams (WPFE), and Reflective Portfolio.
Tentative Schedule
I believe that classes should be organic and adaptive for each group of students. Therefore, I
reserve the right to alter the following tentative schedule depending on the needs of the class as a
whole. However, major assignment due dates will remain unchanged. If you have suggestions for
supplemental readings or viewings, please share them with me. If you have questions about the
course content, please speak with me.
Week
Day
Date
Reading/Announcements
Work
Due
UNIT 1: Introduction to Technical Communication
1
M
8/19
Syllabus on T-Square
W
8/21
Technical Communication (TC)
Chapter 1: Intro
Class introductions and discuss
syllabus. Discussion: What is
technical communication?
Discussion: Technical
communication: rhetorical,
reader-centered, multimodal
(WOVEN), dynamic, ethical,
and solving problems.
F
8/23
Living with Complexity ch 1-3
Discussion: What is complexity
Print out and
sign the syllabus
policy and use
forms on the
last page of
syllabus.
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and (perceived) simplicity?
2
M
8/26
W
8/28
Introduce Unit 1 Deliverable
Project.
Living with Complexity ch 4-6
TC Chapter 24: Writing ReaderCentered Proposals
Living with Complexity ch 7-9
Discussion: Why should we
follow a user-centric/readercentric focus?
Discussion: Managing
complexity with technical
communication.
UNIT 2: Foundations of Technical Communication: Reader-Centered and Process Driven
3
4
F
8/30
Unit 2 Project: Learning
Technical Communication Basic
Skills Building Brick-by-Brick
with Lego
Bring Lego bricks to class. Build
model of your design to
assignment spec. Write brief
proposal for instruction manual.
Submit Unit 1
deliverables TSquare before
class.
Take a photo of
your Lego model
and upload it to
T-Square during
class.
M
W
9/2
9/4
Official Holiday, No Class
TC Chapter 17: Revising Your
Drafts
Proposal draft workshop.
Submit your
proposal to TSquare. Bring
three printouts of
proposal for
workshop.
F
9/6
M
9/9
TC Chapter 28: Writing ReaderCentered Instructions
TC Chapter 18: Testing Drafts
for Usefulness and
Persuasiveness
Visit: usability.gov
Bring your Legos to class.
Instructions workshop.
Bring your Legos to class. Test
your instructions with
classmates. Conduct interviews.
Revise instructions as needed.
W
9/11
TC Chapter 23: Writing ReaderCentered Letters, Memos, Emails, and Digital Exchanges
Discuss and begin project
summary memo.
Submit your
draft instructions
to T-Square.
Bring
instructions
deliverable to
class (print or
online for new
media).
Bring copies of
your proposal,
photo of Lego
model,
instructions, and
interview
questionnaire
results.
Unit 3: Getting a Job and Communicating in the Workplace
F
9/13
Unit 2 Major Project: Job
Application Portfolio
TC Chapter 2: Obtaining a Job
Discuss job application portfolio
and job advertisements.
Submit Unit 2
Deliverables to
T-Square.
Create LinkedIn
account and add
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5
6
7
M
9/16
TC Chapter 3: Defining Your
Communication’s Goals
Resume workshop.
W
9/18
TC Chapter 4: Planning Your
Persuasive Strategies
Cover letter workshop.
F
9/20
M
W
9/23
9/25
F
9/27
M
9/30
W
10/2
Collaborative presentations.
F
10/4
Collaborative presentations.
Reading: TBA
TC Chapter 19: Creating
Communications with a Team
TC Chapter 20: Creating and
Delivering Listener-Centered
Oral Presentations
instructor as
connection.
Submit resume
draft to TSquare. Bring
three print copies
to class for
workshop.
Submit cover
letter draft to TSquare. Bring
three print copies
to class for
workshop.
Discuss interviewing and
networking strategies.
Mock interviews.
Discuss social media as technical
communication.
Discuss collaborative
assignment.
Collaborative assignment
workshop.
Submit Unit 3
deliverables to
T-Square.
Unit 4: Service-Learning Research Project
8
9
10
M
10/7
W
F
10/9
10/11
M
W
10/14
10/16
F
10/18
M
10/21
W
10/23
F
10/25
TC Chapter 21: Managing
Client and Service-Learning
Projects
Team assignments announced.
TC Chapter 6: Conducting
Reader-Centered Research:
Gathering, Analyzing, and
Thinking Critically About
Information
Fall Recess. No class.
Team research project
announced.
Team building exercise.
Project proposal planning
session.
Class pitches.
TC Chapter 7: Using Five
Reader-Centered Research
Methods.
TC Chapter 11: Beginning a
Communication
TC Chapter 27: Writing
Reader-Centered Progress
Reports
TC Chapter 12: Ending a
Last day to
drop individual
courses with a
“W” grade.
Submit draft
proposal
including
schedule to TSquare.
Research project meetings.
Discussion and exercise. Team
studio time.
Discussion. Team studio time.
Discussion. Team studio time.
Submit team
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Communication
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
progress report
to T-Square.
M
10/28
W
10/30
F
11/1
M
11/4
W
11/6
F
11/8
M
11/11
W
11/13
F
11/15
M
W
F
11/18
11/20
11/22
Presentation workshop.
Presentation workshop.
Team presentations.
M
W
F
11/25
11/27
11/29
Team presentations.
Team presentations.
M
12/2
W
12/4
F
12/6
Final exam
week, 12/912/13
TC Chapter 8: Drafting ReaderCentered Paragraphs, Sections,
and Chapters
TC Chapters 8-9: Drafting
Reader-Centered Paragraphs,
Sections, and Chapters, and
Using Nine Reader-Centered
Patterns for Organizing
Paragraphs, Sections
TC Chapter 10: Developing an
Effective, Professional Style
Discussion. Team studio time.
TC Chapter 14-15: Creating
Reader-Centered Graphics
TC Chapter 16: Designing
Reader-Centered Pages and
Documents
Telepresence meetings with
team members. Instructor will
participate in each meeting
virtually.
TC Chapter 22: Creating
Reader-Centered Websites
TC Appendix A: Documenting
Your Sources
TC Chapter 10: Developing an
Effective, Professional Style
Discussion. Team studio time.
Discussion. Team studio time.
Discussion. Team studio time.
Submit team
progress report
to T-Square.
Discussion. Team studio time.
Videoconferences.
Submit team
progress report
to T-Square.
Team studio time.
Team studio time.
Team studio time.
Submit team
report to TSquare.
Submit Unit 4
deliverables to
T-Square.
Thanksgiving Holiday. No class.
Final Portfolio
WPFE.
Portfolio workshop.
WPFE.
Portfolio workshop.
WPFE.
Portfolio workshop.
Final portfolio due on T-Square by the end of your section’s final exam period. No
late portfolios will be accepted. Carefully note your section’s deadline below.
LMC 3403 B, MWF 11:05-11:55: Dec 13 (Friday), 8:00am-10:50am
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions about the class at any time
during the semester. And remember to hang in there:
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Composite image created by Mark Warbington.
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Syllabus/Policy Acknowledgment and Permission Statement
PLEASE READ, SIGN, AND RETURN THESE STATEMENTS BY DAY, DATE.
I affirm that I have read the entire syllabus and policy sheet for ________________ and
understand the information and the responsibilities specified.
____________________________________________
print name
____________________________________________
signature
____________________________________________
date
DIRECTIONS: Read carefully and check all that apply.
o I give my instructor, JASON W. ELLIS, permission to use copies of the work I do for
this course, as examples in this and other courses, as examples in presentations, and in
print and electronic publications.
o I do NOT give my instructor, JASON W. ELLIS, permission to use copies of the work I
do for this course, as examples in this and other courses, as examples in presentations,
and in print and electronic publications.
Please indicate whether you want to be acknowledged if your work is used:
o Please use my name in association with my work.
o Please use my work, but do NOT acknowledge me.
If your instructor decides to use your work, he//she may wish to contact you. Please provide your
contact information below:
_________________________________________________________________________
print name
_________________________________________________________________________
signature
_________________________________________________________________________
email address
_________________________________________________________________________
phone number
_________________________________________________________________________
print permanent address
_________________________________________________________________________
print campus address
_________________________________________________________________________
date