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ICS 139W
Critical Writing on Information
Technology
Lecture 1
Emily Navarro
Duplication of course material for any commercial purpose without
the explicit written permission of the professor is prohibited
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Today’s Lecture
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Course introduction
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“System change” assignment overview
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“Writing instructions” assignment overview
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Course Introduction
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Course Basics
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Course: ICS 139W – Critical Writing on Information Technology
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Professor: Emily Navarro (emilyo@uci.edu)
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TA: Scott Godfrey (sgodfrey@uci.edu)
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Lecture: T Th 5-6:20pm, ICS 180
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Discussion: W 9-9:50 (ICS 259), 10-10:50 (DBH 1423) (attend one
per week)
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Some weeks: required activities
Some weeks: informal consultation hour
Course Website:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~emilyo/teaching/ics139ws2014/index.
html
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Course Basics (II)
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Office hours
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Emily: before or after lecture, by appointment
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Scott: before or after discussion, by appointment
Questions and announcements
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Email or in class
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Class email list
Course materials
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English dictionary and thesaurus
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A writing guide (see UCI Writing Center resources)
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Course Goals
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To give you the opportunity to focus on writing in your
specific academic discipline (CS)
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To help you become comfortable writing technical
documents for a variety of audiences
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To help you become comfortable with giving presentations
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Grading
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Writing Assignments:
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Class attendance and participation, including three or four oral
presentations: 20%
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"Writing Instructions:" 10%
"Influencing Policy:” 15%
"Changing the System Introductory Tutorial:" 15%
"Changing the System Proposal:" 20%
“Changing the System Promo Piece:” 5%
Resumé and cover letter: 5%
Two or three smaller in-class exercises: 10%
Really good reason for absence, let me know beforehand
No exams
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Writing Assignment Requirements
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Submission mechanics
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Submit a hard copy at the BEGINNING of class
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ALSO submit an electronic copy via EEE Dropbox
Intermediate versions
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should be as good as you can make them
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count for 1/3 of your grade on the assignment
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must include marked copies of all earlier versions
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both instructor marks and peer editing marks
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refers to paper submission only
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Writing Assignment Requirements
(II)
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Plagiarism
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DON’T DO IT!
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Plagiarism = presenting someone else’s work as your own
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Cite any resources from which you pull information
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“Two or more” rule of thumb
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All assignments are checked thoroughly for plagiarism
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Plagiarism consequences
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Fail the course
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Offense recorded with Student Affairs
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Writing Assignment Requirements
(III)
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Grammatical/spelling mechanics
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A good command of English syntax, spelling, and punctuation is
assumed
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Course focuses on content, organization, audience, and style
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We will not mark every grammatical error on your assignments
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But they can lower your grade
If you need help with this, the UCI Writing Center has many
resources
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Spelling/Grammar Checkers
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Spell check will not fined words witch are miss used butt spelled
rite!
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Marketing are bad for brand big and small. You Know What I am
Saying? It is no wondering that advertisings are bad for company in
America, Chicago and Germany. ... McDonald's and Coca Cola are
good brand. ... Gates do good marketing job in Microsoft.
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Spelling/Grammar Checkers
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Spell check will not fined words witch are miss used butt spelled
rite!
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Marketing are bad for brand big and small. You Know What I am
Saying? It is no wondering that advertisings are bad for company in
America, Chicago and Germany. ... McDonald's and Coca Cola are
good brand. ... Gates do good marketing job in Microsoft.
Passes MS Word’s grammar checker!
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Writing Assignment Requirements
(IV)
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Counting words and pages
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one page = one standard, double-spaced typewritten page; ~300
words, 10-12 point font
Typography: All papers must be
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Typewritten
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Double-spaced
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Except for
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Influencing Policy letter final version
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Change proposal cover letter
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Writing Assignment Requirements
(V)
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Binding
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Smaller assignments: one staple in upper left corner
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Larger assignments (that include previous drafts): one large
paper clip or purse clip
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Include your name on each piece
For more details see “Writing Assignment Requirements”
linked off the class Website
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“System Change” Assignment
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Basic Idea
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Examine some software system you are familiar with from a
variety of perspectives:
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Introducing new users to the system
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Proposing changes to the system
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Promoting the changed system to its users
You will create documents and oral presentations for each of
these purposes
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Focus on the different audiences
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and how your writing/presenting needs to be tailored to each
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Stage I – Choosing a System
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Can be conventional application software or a Website with
complex navigation/interaction/functionality
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Audience: our class
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Deliverables:
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4/3: Email to Scott
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Name the system
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Describe it if unfamiliar
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Sketch out the changes you are proposing
4/10: 1-2 minute oral presentation in lecture
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Based on feedback from Scott
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Stage II – Introduction for Novices
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Write an introduction to the system for novices
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3-4 pages
High-level description of the system, its capabilities, tasks it performs
Include any necessary background information
Do not include tedious minor details
 E.g., which keys to press, which menu items to choose
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Audience: novices
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Deliverables:
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4/16: First draft
4/17 or 4/21: 2-minute oral version of introduction
4/23: Final version
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Stage III – Proposal for Change
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Write a proposal for changing the system
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5-6 pages plus a single-page cover letter
Address the proposal to whoever is in charge of making the
changes happen
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Produce a proposal that is actually “sendable” to this person
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Audience: decision-makers
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Deliverables:
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4/24: First draft for joint editing in class + presentation slides
5/1: Revision of proposal and slides based on joint editing
5/15, 5/20, 5/22: Final oral proposal for change (~4 min.)
5/20: Final written version + final presentation slides
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Stage IV – Promotion for Users
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Prepare a one-page promotion piece announcing,
describing, and promoting your change to current users
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Flyer, brochure, memo, Web page, etc.
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Can be relatively informal
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Audience: current users of the system
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Deliverables:
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5/29: Draft for editing in class
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6/3: Final version + 2- minute presentation
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Suggestions/Advice
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Choose software that you know/care about
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Be mindful of your audience
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Use graphics effectively
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Cite your sources of information
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For oral portions, do not simply read from a script
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Seek advice from us
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Oral presentation graded on preparedness (not speaking
style, nervousness, etc.)
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“Writing Instructions” Assignment
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Basic Idea
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The premise
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We are used to writing instructions for computers
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Writing instructions for human execution requires a different set
of skills
The assignment
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Build some object using 20-30 Legos, Tinkertoys, etc.
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Premade “kits” not allowed
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Write a manual for building your object using only words (no
pictures)
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Build each other’s objects in class using only the written manual
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Due Dates
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4/9
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Disassembled components of your object and three copies of a
good draft of your manual
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You will build each others’ objects in class and make suggestions
for improvements to each others’ manuals
4/15
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Final revision of your manual
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Disassembled components
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Suggestions and Hints
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Start your manual with a list of components
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Consider describing your object in terms of modules
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Use organizational guides in your manual
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e.g., section headers, table of contents
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Next Time
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Discussion (tomorrow)
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Consultation hour for “Changing System” and “Writing
Instructions” assignments
Lecture (Thursday)
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In-class writing sample
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“Easy” topic
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~300 words
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You may bring a dictionary or other reference work on paper
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Strive for perfect mechanics, grammar, usage, clarity,
organization
Bring a pencil or two
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Next, Next Time
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Lecture (Tuesday)
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Read the two papers on PowerPoint available on the course
Website
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You will write about them in class