21W.732
Introduction to Technical Communication
Calendar

September

October

November

December

 Chinese rainbow bridge

Detail of Qingming Festival on the River showing a Chinese rainbow bridge. The painting is from the Song Dynasty, by Zhang Zhe Duan. A bridge like this was recently built in Jinze, China under the direction of Professor Tang Huan Cheng, a retired engineer, and Professor Bashar Altabba of MIT, in part to discover whether the structure funtions as a beam or an arch.

September

Date

In Class

Assignments

Sept. 11

  • Intro to the class and requirements

  • introductions

  • embarrasing ice-breaker activities

  • conference sign-ups.

Reading: Handouts on "Science as a Social Enterprise" and "Forums For Communication"
Exercise: Identify 4 journals and/or conferences associated with your major or field of interest; copy or printout their submission guidelines and bring them to class on the 13th.
Writing: After doing the reading, consider the writing goals you identified for yourself in class. Do you have further or different ideas about what you need to learn? What seems the most difficult aspect of technical writing to you now, and why? Write about 350 words.

Sept. 13

  • Discussion of readings, audience and rhetorical considerations

  • Discussion of instructions

  • Assignment of small groups

Writing: Each group will create their own short set of instructions for a device or system that will be useful to the class. The instructions should be 350-500 words and must include illustrations and further resources; draft due Sept. 18.
Reading: Christopher Lasch--"The Lost Art of Argument" handout

Sept. 18

  • Discussion of reading

  • Peer feedback on instructions

Reading: Kenneth Burke handout. Section 2.3 on Lit Reviews in Mayfield--accessible online here: https://web.mit.edu/21.guide/www/home.htm. Requires an MIT web certificate. Writing: Write back to Burke—engage with his ideas about science and ethics and respond. Keep in mind the ideas discussed by Lasch about argumentation.

Sept. 20

  • Discuss Reading

  • Discuss Effective Instructions

Reading:Overview of Thomas Kuhn, go on to read the synopsis of The structure of Scientific Revolutions
Writing: Revise Instructions—due Monday.

Sept. 25th

  • Discussion of Kuhn's ideas

  • Discussion of problem identification

  • Begin Lit. Review research

Reading: Select three articles, or two articles and another form of communication in your field, on the same topic and read them. Bring the articles to class on the 27th.

Sept. 27th

  • Discussion of rhetorical strategies

  • Identify the audience intended by the author of each article, the author's purpose, and the strategies they employ to achieve this. Are they successful? Why or why not?

  • Time permitting, begin drafting Lit. Review

Reading: "Reviewing Prior Research"
Writing: Complete draft of Lit. Review for Oct. 4th

October

Oct. 2nd

  • Discuss Reading

  • Work on Lit Review.

Writing: Complete draft of Lit Review. Write explanation of your own rhetorical strategies and cite specific examples. Bring the articles you discuss to class along with the draft.

Oct. 4th

  • Peer feedback on Lit. Review drafts

  • Discuss revision strategies

  • Time permitting, Research appropriate journals in which to publish your review.

Exercise: finish research on journals
Reading:"What are Scientific Revolutions?" --Thomas Kuhn
Writing: Respond to Kuhn's ideas. In particular, discuss how his views have changed over twenty years and how his ideas have been reflected or not in the research you did for the Lit. Review.

Oct. 9th

No Class For Columbus day weekend.

Oct. 11th

  • Discussion of Kuhn

  • Further discussion of revision and work on second draft of Lit. Review

Complete second draft of Lit. Review

Oct. 16th

  • Discussion of visual design and oral presentation issues

Second draft of Lit. Review due

Oct. 18th

Write abstract of lit review in class, get feedback.

Revise and email it to me by midnight.

Oct 23rd

Oral Presentations

Choose topic for next assignment

Oct. 25th

Oral Presentations

Conference sign-up; write up one page pre-proposal

Oct 30th-Nov 1

Conferences instead of class

Work on background research and methods for Grant Proposal

November

Nov. 6th

Review of NSF guidelines, start 1st draft of Research Narrative

Finish 1st draft

Nov. 8th

Lecture on arguments and persuasion, peer review of 1st draft

Email summary over the weekend, write 2nd draft

Nov. 13th

2nd draft of narrative due, Summary draft returned, work on summary revision in class

Work on biographical sketch, and finish 2nd draft of summary

Nov. 20th

Final draft of everything due--optional to work in class on final touches

Over the Thanksgiving break, try to get some rest

Nov. 26th

Discussion of communicating a general/popular audience. Arrangement of oral presentations

Short writing assignment, TBA

Nov. 28th

Discussion of international collaboration, possibly watching a video

Short writing assignment, TBA, and start of Portfolio Review

December

Dec. 4th

work on portfolio review

Oral Presentations

Dec. 6th

work on Portfolio review

Oral presentations

Dec. 11th-- last day of class!

Celebration!

Sign up for final conferences