Unsubscribing from the Course Website and Twitter Updates

If you subscribed to the course website at the beginning of the term, you probably want to unsubscribe now. Look for an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email message that you get from the course website.

If you were following the course Twitter account (@HokieTengrrl), just go the the page in Twitter and click the Unfollow button.

Moving Forum Posts

I’ve moved the forum posts to a private archive, so that students in the future won’t find your work and get confused. Only people who were in the course can see those messages now. The messages are no longer available to the general public.

Readings for August 14 &15

If you need a refresher, please review the following:

• FAQs on the Google Drive system.
• Guidelines on “Organizing a Memo” in Markel, on p. 232.

Work for August 14 &15

There are two parts to submitting Project 1:

• Writing your transmittal memo.
  As I explained in the assignment, the transmittal memo is your chance to tell me anything you want me to know about your project. I will read your memo before I read your bio.

• Sharing your project link.
  For this project, your transmittal memo will give me the link to your biography statement on Google Drive (or wherever it is). Since you may have worked on LinkedIn or elsewhere, your link for this project may not go to the Google Drive.

Writing Your Transmittal Memo and Submitting Your Project

Follow these instructions to submit your work:

1. Go to the Assignments tab on the left menu in Scholar.
2. Choose “P5: Completion Report (Final).”
3. Scroll down to the text box below the headings Submission and Assignment Text. You will write your transmittal memo in this box. (Alternately, you can write in a word processor and copy/paste your text into this box.)
4. Add your memo headers (To, From, Subject, and Date). For your transmittal memo, you’ll use the following:
• Address your memo to me (Traci) and from you (use your name).
• Add a subject line that indicates this is your transmittal memo and which project it is for.
• Add the current date.
5. Insert a horizontal divider line under the headers (using the button indicated with the red arrow in the image below):
   
6. Introduce your project:
   • Tell me anything I need to know before I read your completion report.
   • Explain what grade you aimed for and how well you think you met your goals.
7. Make sure that your document is a Google Doc (and not a PDF or Word Docx file). See the tips below for information on how to convert your files if necessary.
8. Add the Share link to the document on your Google Drive. Use the instructions for how to get the Share link on the FAQ site if you are unsure how to share documents (see the tips below).
9. Agree to the Honor Code by clicking the checkbox at the bottom of the page in Scholar. You cannot finish submitting the project without clicking that checkbox.
10. Submit your Project, and save a copy of the confirmation and submission ID. If something goes wrong in Scholar, you can contact 4HELP with that information.

Tips on Using Google Drive

The FAQ site has step-by-step instructions for tasks you will complete with your Google Drive, including converting your document if you have worked in another word processor, adding comments, and sharing your documents are all included.

To make sure that you can submit your first project smoothly, pay attention to the following FAQs:

• If you worked in something other than Google Drive, you can use your preferences to automatically convert files you upload to Google Drive automatically.
  This step is important so that I can use the commenting features in Google Drive.
• If you already uploaded a document to Google Drive, check the format of your files and manually convert the files on Google Drive if necessary.
• Follow the instructions on how to set permissions and get the Google Drive Share link to get a link that will allow me to read and comment on your document.

Note that if your documents are in the wrong format or the permissions do not allow me to comment, I will return your work ungraded.

Today you will read some example self-assessment documents and consider how they use word choice.

Readings for August 13

For today’s session, please read the following:

• National Guard self-assessment brochure.
• USDA self-assessment document.
• Denver County Public Schools Employee Brief.

Work for August 13

• Analyze the self-assessment documents you have read for today for Powerful Word Choice. Post your responses in the forums:

  • Forum Post on National Guard Self-Assessment Brochure
  • Forum Post on Denver Schools Self-Assessment Statement 
  • Forum Post on USDA Self-Assessment Statements 

• If you have any questions about the assignment, go to Questions about Project 6 in the forum and add them.

• Details on how to submit Project 5 will be posted tomorrow (8/14). Your final is due by 11:55 PM on Saturday, 8/15. There is no grace period.

• Complete the Course Evaluation, if you have not done so yet (more details below).

Course Evaluation

Please fill out the Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) survey for this course. I do not see the feedback until after grades are submitted, and your comments are anonymous.

The feedback helps the department make important decisions about teaching methods, course content, and faculty promotion. Written comments help me decide what to keep or change the next time I teach the course.

Today, you will read through the assignment for the final exam, read related information from the textbook, and post any questions you have.

Readings for August 12

• The assignment for Project 5: Course Completion Report (the final exam).
• Information on progress and status reports (which are similar to a completion report) on pp. 302–311 in Markel.

Work for August 12

• Review the Forum Posts and Participation page, which includes the goals you will report on in your final project. Note that the quantity requirements for participation will not change, and all forum posts must be submitted by 11:55 PM on the last day of classes, August 13.

• Begin gathering data on your participation in the course by reading your posts in the forums and finding your best work.

• If you have any questions about the assignment, go to Questions about Project 5 in the forum and add them.

Today you will submit your fourth project.

Readings for August 11

For today’s session, please read (or review) the following:

• FAQs on the Google Drive system.
• Guidelines on “Organizing a Memo” in Markel, on p. 232.

Work for August 11

There are two parts to submitting Project 1:

• Writing your transmittal memo.
  As I explained in the assignment, the transmittal memo is your chance to tell me anything you want me to know about your project. I will read your memo before I read your bio.

• Sharing your project link.
  For this project, your transmittal memo will give me the link to your biography statement on Google Drive (or wherever it is). Since you may have worked on LinkedIn or elsewhere, your link for this project may not go to the Google Drive.

Writing Your Transmittal Memo and Submitting Your Project

Follow these instructions to submit your work:

1. Go to the Assignments tab on the left menu in Scholar.
2. Choose “P4: Genre Analysis Report.”
3. Scroll down to the text box below the headings Submission and Assignment Text. You will write your transmittal memo in this box. (Alternately, you can write in a word processor and copy/paste your text into this box.)
4. Add your memo headers (To, From, Subject, and Date). For your transmittal memo, you’ll use the following:
• Address your memo to me (Traci) and from you (use your name).
• Add a subject line that indicates this is your transmittal memo and which project it is for.
• Add the current date.
5. Insert a horizontal divider line under the headers (using the button indicated with the red arrow in the image below):
   
6. Introduce your project:
   • Tell me about the analytical report you are submitting for your project.
   • Explain what grade you aimed for and how well you think you met your goals.
7. Make sure that your document is a Google Doc (and not a PDF or Word Docx file). See the tips below for information on how to convert your files if necessary.
8. Add the Share link to the document on your Google Drive. Use the instructions for how to get the Share link on the FAQ site if you are unsure how to share documents (see the tips below).
9. Agree to the Honor Code by clicking the checkbox at the bottom of the page in Scholar. You cannot finish submitting the project without clicking that checkbox.
10. Submit your Project, and save a copy of the confirmation and submission ID. If something goes wrong in Scholar, you can contact 4HELP with that information.

Tips on Using Google Drive

The FAQ site has step-by-step instructions for tasks you will complete with your Google Drive, including converting your document if you have worked in another word processor, adding comments, and sharing your documents are all included.

To make sure that you can submit your first project smoothly, pay attention to the following FAQs:

• If you worked in something other than Google Drive, you can use your preferences to automatically convert files you upload to Google Drive automatically.
  This step is important so that I can use the commenting features in Google Drive.
• If you already uploaded a document to Google Drive, check the format of your files and manually convert the files on Google Drive if necessary.
• Follow the instructions on how to set permissions and get the Google Drive Share link to get a link that will allow me to read and comment on your document.

Note that if your documents are in the wrong format or the permissions do not allow me to comment, I will return your work ungraded.

Because Project 4 is a larger project, I have opened up peer review on Friday, so that those of you who want more time can complete your peer review and revision during the weekend. Details are below.

Readings for August 7 & 10

For this week, please review the following, as necessary:

• Editing and Proofreading tips and skim Appendix B of Markel.
• FAQs on the Google Drive system.

Work for August 7 & 10

• Complete the peer review activities (full instructions):
  • Post the share link to your draft for Project 4 in the forums by 9 AM on Monday, 8/10. You may post earlier.
  • Respond to two students in the forums by 11:55 PM on Tuesday, 8/11.
  • Revise your Project based on the feedback.

• You will submit the share link to your project along with your transmittal memo on Tuesday, 8/11. Remember that you have a two-day grace period if you need an extension. We begin Project 5 (the final) on Wednesday.

Readings for August 5 & 6

Here are the resources for Project 4:

• Assignment for Project 4: Capstone Analysis Report
• Genre Analysis Examples
• Questions about Project 4 in the forums

Work for August 5 & 6

Wednesday and Thursday are work days, so I am posting one combined post for both days.

• Continue working on Project 4, using the Genre Analysis Examples to guide your work.

• Check Questions about Project 4 thread in the forums for some additional tips and information on the project. If you have a question yourself, add it to the thread, and I’ll answer asap.

• Review the Discussing Example Reports post in the forums as well for possible tips and ideas that you can apply to your own report.

• As a reminder, review the Forum Posts & Participation page and assess where you stand for your participation grade. If your participation numbers are not where you want them to be, you need to act now. Note that the quantity requirements for participation will not change.

• Please consider adding your opinions on the topics in the optional forum on Ethics and Technical Writing. I am finding your responses so far very interesting.

Readings for August 4

Read or review the following for today’s work:

• Information on progress reports on pp. 302–311 in Markel (in Chapter 12)
• Example Progress Reports
  • TNG Progress Report
  • Shrek Progress Report
  • Progress of My Research on the Evacuation of the R.M.S. Titanic

Work for August 4

• Continue working on Project 4, using the Genre Analysis Examples to guide your work.

• Post a progress report in the forums (full instructions), explaining what you have done so far and outlining what you still need to do. Your progress report is due by 11:55 PM tonight (Tuesday, 8/4).

• As a reminder, review the Forum Posts & Participation page and assess where you stand for your participation grade. There are only 11 days until the end of the course, so if your participation numbers are not where you want them to be, you need to act now. There is an optional forum on Ethics and Technical Writing with a number of posts you can contribute to if desired. Note that the quantity requirements for participation will not change.

Readings for August 3

Read the following for today’s work:

• Information on progress reports on pp. 302–311 in Markel (in Chapter 12)
• Example Progress Reports
  • TNG Progress Report
  • Shrek Progress Report
  • Progress of My Research on the Evacuation of the R.M.S. Titanic

Work for August 3

• Continue working on Project 4. You will submit a progress report tomorrow, explaining what you have done so far and outlining what you still need to do. Remember to use the Genre Analysis Examples to guide your work.

• After you read the examples and the information on progress reports in the textbook, post any questions you have about writing a report on your progress on Project 4 in the Questions about Project 4 thread. By 11:55 PM tomorrow (Tuesday, 8/4), you will post your progress report in the forums. Instructions for posting your progress report will be available in tomorrow’s post. Please wait for these instructions to ensure your progress report is posted in the right place.

• Review the Forum Posts & Participation page and assess where you stand for your participation grade. There are only 12 days until the end of the course, so if your participation numbers are not where you want them to be, you need to act now. There is an optional forum on Ethics and Technical Writing with a number of posts you can contribute to if desired. Note that the quantity requirements for participation will not change.

Readings for July 31

Read or review the following for today’s work:

• Assignment for Project 4: Capstone Analysis Report
• Genre Analysis Examples (3 example reports)
• Genre Analysis Proposal

Calendar Updates

Project 4 is a bigger project, and you will need more working time to get it done. I’m making some minor changes to the schedule that is posted on the Syllabus:

Work for July 31

• Use the Genre Analysis Examples to guide you as you gather information and draft your own report. You will work on different topics, but you the arrangement and kind of information that they include is similar to what you need to work on. After reading the examples, go to the Discussing Example Reports post in the forums and make two replies, following the instructions that you find in the post.

• By 11:55 PM tonight (Friday), reply to the Published Writing in Your Field topic in the Project 4: Genre Analysis Report forum, in order to do some additional research on writing in your field.

• Continue working on your project. You should be in good shape if you complete most of your research by the weekend. That will give you all of next week to work through your findings and write your report.

• I will reply to your proposals by Saturday evening. Be sure that you check the feedback for any changes that you need to make or advice that may help you with your writing.

• If you have any questions about the assignments, go to the forums and post them in the Questions about Project 4 thread. I’m back in Virginia now, so I will be answering mail several times a day.