Southern State Community College
Curriculum Committee—March 2014
ENGL 2205-Technical Report Writing
Page 1 of 3
I.
COURSE TITLE: Technical Report Writing
COURSE NUMBER: 2205
CATALOG PREFIX: ENGL
II.
PREREQUISITES: Successful completion of ENGL 1101 with a C or better
III.
CREDIT HOURS: 3
LABORATORY HOURS: 0
IV.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
LECTURE HOURS: 3
OBSERVATION HOURS: 0
This course introduces students to the discipline of technical communication.
Preparation of visuals to supplement text, descriptions of mechanisms, explanations
of processes, and writing reports are the major topics included. This course is
designed for students enrolled in technical degree programs and does not fulfill a
humanities requirement.
V.
ADOPTED TEXT:
Technical Communication,
13th Edition.
John M. Lannon and Laura J. Gurak.. Longman, 2011.
ISBN 13: 978-0-205-77964-2
VI.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, students will:
● Understand the characteristics of technical and business writing.
● Understand and follow the stages of the writing process
(prewrite/draft/revise/edit) and apply them to technical and workplace writing
tasks.
● Produce documents related to technology and writing in the workplace and will
have improved their ability to write clearly, concisely, and accurately.
● Understand the basic components of letters, summaries, descriptions, process
explanations, proposals, and other common forms of technical writing.
● Know the concepts of resumes, like functional and chronological, and the basics
of writing a solid resume and cover letter.
● Understand how to use a variety of materials to produce appropriate visuals for
documents, such as instructions, descriptions, and research reports.
Southern State Community College
Curriculum Committee—March 2014
ENGL 2205-Technical Report Writing
Page 2 of 3
● Know how to gather sources for the purpose of producing research in a particular
technical field. They will be able to properly document sources and synthesize
and integrate material from sources with their own ideas in research papers.
VII.
COURSE METHODOLOGY:
Suggested methodologies include lectures, quizzes and/or examinations, grammar
exercises, group projects, research project, specific writing assignments, such as
technical description, instructions or process explanation, and proposal.
VIII. GRADING:
Grading will follow the policy in the SSCC catalog.
A = 90 - 100
B = 80 - 89
C = 70 - 79
D = 60 - 69
F = 0 - 59
IX.
COURSE OUTLINE:
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Week One:
Week Two:
Week Three:
Week Four:
Week Five:
Week Six:
Week Seven:
Week Eight:
Week Nine:
Week Ten:
Week Eleven:
Week Twelve:
Week Thirteen:
Week Fourteen:
Week Fifteen:
Week Sixteen:
Audience analysis
Grammar refresher
Organizing for readers
Weighing ethical issues
Editing for clarity, conciseness, and precision
Letters, memos, and e-mail
Resumes and cover letters
Summarizing information
Process—directions and instructions
Technical description
Designing visuals
Designing pages and documents
Formal reports and research
Oral presentations
Documentation
Finals
Southern State Community College
Curriculum Committee—March 2014
ENGL 2205-Technical Report Writing
Page 3 of 3
X.
OTHER REQUIRED BOOKS, SOFTWARE AND MATERIALS:
Students are urged to acquire a flash drive on which to save their work.
With the purchase of the Lannon/Gurak text, students will have access to
MYTECHCOMMLAB which is an online resource provided by the publisher that
will supplement the text with grammar refreshers, writing activities, and research
information. Faculty teaching this course are encouraged to incorporate content of
MYTECHCOMLAB into their course as they see fit.
XI.
EVALUATION:
● In-class exercises and assignments
● Quizzes and/or tests
● Formal writing assignments
15%
15%
70%
Formal writing assignments should include business letters and memos, informational
summary report, instructions/process explanation, technical description, research
proposal, research report, and resume.
XII.
SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS:
At the discretion of the instructor
XIII.
OTHER INFORMATION:
FERPA: Students need to understand that their work may be seen by others. Others
may see student work when it is distributed, during group project work, or if it is
chosen for demonstration purposes.
Students also need to know that there is a strong possibility that their work may be
submitted to other entities for the purpose of plagiarism checks.
DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities may contact the Disabilities Service
Office, Central Campus, at 800-628-7722 or 937-393-3431.