This is the post for the week of February 5, 2018.
This week, you will turn in your Professional Bio project and move on to the second major project, which asks you to consider the kinds of writing that people in your field do.
This week there is a lot of prep work to do—primarily reading the pieces that will help you complete the different columns in your table. You will also need to conduct some research on writing in your field.
Readings for the Week
- Analysis of Writing in Your Field Assignment, including the Google Slideshow
- Audience Analysis: Primary, Secondary, and Hidden Audiences from Writing Commons
- Ethics in Technical Writing, Chapter 9 (9.1–9.6) of Technical Writing
- Practicing Intercultural Communication from Writing Commons
- Worldwide Cellphone Etiquette Infographic
Tasks for the Week
- By 11:59PM on Monday, February 5, submit your Professional Bio Statement in Canvas. The grace period ends at 11:59 PM on Thursday, February 8.
- Read the Analysis assignment. You will create a table of the kinds of writing in your field. The project is due on Monday, February 26. The grace period for the project ends on Thursday, March 1.
- Ask any questions you have about the Analysis project in the Analysis of Writing in your Field Questions. If you have any questions, check there first to see if they have already been answered. If they have not, post your question there, and I will answer when I check in. Asking a question is not required.
- Compose your Analysis project in Microsoft Word. Google Docs and Excel will not allow you to format the contents within the table cells in the same way.
- Begin work on the Analysis assignment. Use the suggestions in Step 3 of the Analysis assignment (Research writing in your field) to begin work on your project. Your research can include looking at business writing and/or technical writing textbooks, thinking about things you have written during internships and other related jobs, and interviewing people in the field or professors who can tell you about writing in your field.
- Read the relevant information that will help you with specific parts of your project:
- Find info to help with the Audience column in your project in Audience Analysis: Primary, Secondary, and Hidden Audiences (from Writing Commons). The missing image for Table 1 is available at http://writingcommons.org/images/Audience_Analysis.JPG. For additional information on audience, read the Chapter 2 of Technical Writing: Audience Analysis.
- Find info on ethics. If you are focusing on ethics in your table, check out Ethics in Technical Writing, Chapter 9 (9.1–9.6) of Technical Writing, OR Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 2 (2.1–2.8) of Exploring Business. For either chapter, you need to click through to access all the sections of the chapter.
- Find info on intercultural and global issues. If you are focusing on intercultural and global issues in your table, check out Practicing Intercultural Communication from Writing Commons. The Worldwide Cellphone Etiquette Infographic demonstrates all the intercultural considerations that can go into something as simple as a business phone call. For additional information on intercultural and global issues, read Chapter 18 of Business Communication for Success: Intercultural and International Business Communication and/or “Appreciating Different Cultures” from Wikibooks.
- Check any of the textbooks on the syllabus for information on the specific kinds of writing you will include in your table. The textbooks can especially help with describing the characteristics of kinds of writing.
- By 11:59PM on Friday, February 9, write your 02/09 Labor Log in Canvas. Specific questions for your log are included in Canvas. The grace period for your log entry ends at 11:59 PM on Monday, February12.
Note: Today’s infographic already has a text-based transcript.