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Course Syllabus

ENGL 3260 Technical Communication

  • Division: Humanities
  • Department: English & Philosophy
  • Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 0
  • Prerequisites: ENGL 2010 or equivalent
  • Semesters Offered: TBA
  • Semester Approved: Fall 2023
  • Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2028
  • End Semester: Summer 2029
  • Optimum Class Size: 18
  • Maximum Class Size: 25

Course Description

This course focuses on professional, scientific, governmental, and technical discourse, including memos, letters, process descriptions, instructions, reports, and others in both print and digital media. Students will develop skills in audience awareness and rhetorical analysis, clarity and precision of expression, and document/visual design.

Justification

A solid background in technical communication is a practical necessity for any student anticipating a career in business, science, social services, non-profit administration, and many other areas. This course is required as part of the B.S. degree in Software Engineering at Snow College but will be valuable to other students who need a technical writing course as part of their major requirements. We anticipate that this course will articulate easily to other USHE schools. The course is most like ENGL 3120, Writing in the Sciences, at Southern Utah University; ENGL 3010, Writing in the Professions, at Dixie State University; and ENGR 3080, Technical Communication for Engineers, at Utah State University.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will develop their abilities to craft written communication for specific audiences and specific purposes.
  2. Students will develop their abilities to write clearly, cogently, and precisely in a variety of rhetorical situations common to business, professional, and technical settings.
  3. Students will understand the seriousness of plagiarism, especially in professional situations, and how to integrate and cite outside information according to the conventions of the rhetorical situation.
  4. Students will explore ethical issues related to technical communication including source attribution, consideration of safety issues, credibility, and brand management.
  5. Students will manage visual information as part of written communication in ways that account for audience needs and clarity of expression.
  6. Students will consider the different rhetorical choices in digital vs. print media.
  7. Students will learn principles of effective document design and how design choices require consideration of rhetorical contexts.

Course Content

Technical writing will cover elements of rhetoric, genre, audience, purpose, and clarity of expression. Students will plan, draft, and revise a variety of professional style documents. They will also explore writing with visual elements, designing effective documents, and writing for digital and print venues. Students will also be required to present written information in an oral presentation. They will be encouraged to examine problems from multiple perspectives to communicate clearly within their teams and to various audiences.