APSC1213
Technical Communications


 

This page is the coordinating site for all information relating to the Technical Communications Course. It will provide:

Course Outline

Instructors

NAME TELEPHONE E-MAIL
Paul Arnold 902-585-1499 paul.arnold@acadiau.ca

Meeting times and places

Lectures/Labs: Monday 13:30 - 16:30, Room CAR 325
 
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10:00-13:30

Objective of the course

This course is designed to familiarize students with business documents, technical writing and communications strategies necessary for success in the workplace. A number of electronic tools, including Hypertext Markup Language, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, will be introduced and employed. At the end of the course the student will be able to identify his/her audience, to design and compose an appropriate document, and then to deliver it in a confident and articulate manner.
Required materials

Markel, Mike. 1998. Technical communication: situations and strategies. 5th ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Available in the DalTech Bookstore (soon). One copy will be on reserve in the DalTech Library.

A dictionary
A thesaurus

Course requirements

Class participation (10%). Your regular attendance and active participation, including completion of class and lab assignments, are essential for success in this course. If you cannot attend a class, please send a memo or e-mail explaining your absence to Helen Powell, Course Coordinator.

Midterm (10%) There will be an in-class midterm exam, but no final exam and, hence, no supplementary exam.

Memo (5%) Memos and e-mail are basic communication tools. Today’s organizations depend on them to convey information in a clear, concise way.

Resume and application letter (15%) A well designed resume and an effective application letter are essential first steps in the job search.

Home page with resume (10%) Each student will design and construct a home page on which your resume will be mounted.

Oral presentation (15%) Working in small groups, you will use PowerPoint to prepare and deliver an oral presentation.

Report outline (5%) An outline of the formal report will be required 6 weeks before the report is due.

Formal report (30%) This is a collaborative, small-group project.

A note on Writing Assignments

All out-of-class assignments must be typed. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. No late assignments will be accepted unless you have prior permission to hand them in late. Such permission must be requested in writing by memo or e-mail.

Grading proportions

The final evaluation will be made up of:

Class Participation 10
Midterm 10
Memo 05
Resume and application letter 15
Home page with resume 10
Oral presentation 15
Report outline 05
Formal report 30

TOTAL 100

Class Schedule

Schedule for CPST 2000, winter 1998. Subject to change.

5 Jan
introduction, course outline, biographical essay

7 Jan
intro to reports
assign: term project

12 Jan
finding, evaluating, using information; record
bibliographic information

14 Jan
audience analysis
the outline

19 Jan
memo, e-mail
assign: memo and e-mail

21 Jan
letters, resumes
assign: letter and resume
due: phase 1 of project

26 Jan
grammar day
writing skills

28 Jan
definitions and descriptions

2 Feb
instructions and manuals
due: memo, e-mail

4 Feb
begin oral presentations module

9 Feb
oral 2

11 Feb
oral 3

16 Feb
oral 4
due: letters & resumes

18 Feb
begin home page module
due: outlines

23 Feb
Winter Break

25 Feb
Winter Break

2 Mar
home page 2

4 Mar
home page 3

9 Mar
reports - front matter

11 Mar
reports - back matter

16 Mar
mid term

18 Mar
guest speaker
due: home page

23 Mar
documentation, plagiarism, bibliographies

25 Mar
graphics in documents

30 Mar
document design elements

1 Apr
report wrap up

6 Apr
2 orals
due: reports

8 Apr
2 orals

Assignments

Assignment #1 - Term Project

Assignment #2 - The Memo

Assignment #3 - The Cover Letter and Resume

Assignment #4 - Resume on a Web Page

Class Notes

7 Jan. Term Project

12 Jan. Research: Finding, Evaluating and Using Information

14 Jan. Audiences and Outlines

19 Jan. Writing Tips and  Memos
Sample Memo

21 Jan. Writing Effective Letters
Sample Resume
Sample Cover Letter

26 Jan. Job Application Letter
Grammar Review

2 Feb. Instruction vs. Process Descriptions

4 Feb. Organization of Content of Oral Presentations

9 Feb. Improve Your Listening Skills

12 Feb. Oral Presentation Delivery Skills

16 Feb. Design and Use of Visuals

18 Feb. Introduction to the Internet
Home Page Lab #1: Telnet and FTP Exercise
Essential FTP Commands
Essential Unix Commands

2 Mar. Basic HTML Tags Elements and Tags

4 Mar. Common HTML Errors and Web Style Hints
Setting up your IS2 account for the WWW
Getting files to your IS2 account

9 Mar. Proposals

11 Mar. Reports: Front and End Matter

25 Mar. Graphics

30 Mar. Page and Document Design

Oral Presentation Schedule

Announcements

Wednesday, April 1, 1998
Technical Report

The due date for the final Technical Communications project, the Technical Report, has been extended to Thursday April 9 at 500 p.m.

Please refer to the class notes available on this page and your textbook for guidance. For tips on designing your reports, consult the notes for 25th and 30th of March, which deal with Graphics and Page/Document Design along with Chapters 11 and 12 of your text book.

The Report Writer's checklist that you received in class will help as well.

If you have any questions please contact me by email (richard@tuns.ca), phone (420-7700) or in person in the DalTech Library.