Welcome to WRI 227

This page is where I'll post the basics of what we covered in class on a given day and anything I assigned for homework or that needs to be prepared for next class.

I'll stack the most recent class day's post above the rest of the posts in reverse chronological order so you shouldn't have to scroll around. Instructions, submission portals, and evaluation rubrics for major assignments can be found in our course Canvas shell.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at jessamyn.birrer@oit.edu.

(Please do not email me just to tell me how dorky this website is. I haven't built a website since 1995, and I'm having to reteach myself html and learn css from scratch. It's almost impossible to do this and teach four writing-intensive courses at the same time. Thanks for your patience.)

6 January 2025

Week Seven, Wednesday

In Class Today: "Reclaiming Your Topic." Introductions and Background sections for formal reports. Comparing two sample student reports to distinguish more and less effective ways to meet requirements and audience needs. Free time to write.

Homework: Write a rough draft of just the Introduction and Background sections of your formal report. Sign up for an (optional, but encouraged) one-on-one conference to discuss your report and progress.

19 February 2025

Week Seven, Monday

In Class Today:Understanding the components of a technical report and related activity on "norming" evaluations of a technical report's success (activity will be available in Canvas course shell). Using and designing graphics for technical reports.

Homework: Read Technical and Professional Writing: Reports (you can skip the section on progress reports, as we've already covered that material). Make a decision about the organizational pattern you think the discussion of your report should follow (problem-solution, compare-contrast, or etc.) and make a list of the things your audience would need to understand for context for your planned report (any recent history, legislation, background, terminology, etc.).

17 February 2025

Week Six, Wednesday

In Class Today: Peer review of the Progress Report and Annotated Bib assignment. Lecture on using sources in technical and professional writing (in-class practice activity deferred to next class due to time constraints). When to use direct quotes vs. when to paraphrase or summarize source material. Basics of citation. Outlining as a process of classifying and categorizing: Coordinating vs. subordinate ideas; headings and heading levels; the Table of Contents as highly specific outline. Outline walkthrough of the Sample Student Tech Report. "ABC" structure for technical reports.

Homework: Please read this brief handout featuring an overview of the Required Components of the Formal Tech Report and this chapter on using graphics in technical reports. Type up a rough but complete draft of either a full-sentence outline or a highly specific Table of Contents for your final report.

12 February 2025

Week Six, Monday

In Class Today: Reminders regarding the Progress Report: Annotated Bib assignment. Analysis and writing activities on page layout and design for technical and professional documents (click here to access the full text of the in-class worksheet and click here to access a place to post your in-class revision example). Overview of the Final Report assignment (if time). Note: You can click here to access a sample student tech report to review how font, spacing, headings, heading levels, and other layout and design choices work to make a technical report more readable.

Homework: Complete the rough draft of your Progress Report: Annotated Bib assignment and bring either a hard copy to class or a shareable link to an online copy for in-class peer review.

10 February 2025

Week Five, "Snow Week"

Outside of Class This Week: You should all have received my feedback on your presentations, including topic approvals and advice, and be working on continuing your research for the upcoming annotated bibliography and progress report. Because the university is still determining how to mitigate the loss of class days/contact hours, our remaining schedule is a little up in the air, so I'm going to refrain from assigning you significant work over this weekend in case I need to reimagine our course activities for the coming weeks.

Homework: I'm just asking you to read this relatively short (and very easily skimmable) chapter on Informative and Analytic Reports. The information on informative reports includes the "ABCs" of writing progress reports (yours is currently due, along with an attached annotated bibliography, on Wednesday, but we can discuss a possible extension when we meet in class), and the information on analytic reports gives you more information on potential organizational structures you could use to guide you in writing your final reports later this term. We will discuss that information, as well as information from the previously assigned reading on Page Layout and Design, next class.

03 February-05 February, 2025

Week Four, Wednesday

In Class Today: Oral presentations of students' Informal Proposal speeches. If time: Reviewing the requirements for the formal report.

Homework: Read all the topics in this online chapter on Document Design. Review the assignment instructions for the Progress Report: Annotated Bib and the Formal Tech Report to focus your current sense of your goals in the course. Begin collecting research/sources for your final report.

29 January 2025

Week Four, Monday

In Class Today: Review of Different Report Purposes and basic questions proposals answer in technical writing. Outlining the Informal Proposal/Oral Presentation (in-class guided writing activity; if you'd like a template to do on your own, please email me). Practicing strategies and getting comfortable with conventions of public speaking. If you've not yet taking COM 111z, you can review some basics of public speaking in this textbook (you'll need to scroll to the chapters on Presenting the Speech).

Homework: Create a short outline or speaking cards for your informal presentation and practice your speech at least twice (out loud to a friend or a video camera) to help your ideas come across most clearly and our presentation day go smoothly.

27 January 2025

Week Three, Wednesday

In Class Today: Style, tone, and inclusive language in technical and professional writing. Collaborative editing activity: See how many problems you can identify in this Completely Awful Memo (set up and context covered in class). Revising technical and professional writing. Citation styles for technical reports. Peer review of Rhetorical Precis assignment.

Homework: Polish your peer-reviewed rhetorical precis and submit it by next class along with a brief paragraph in which you explain at least five reasons the source you chose would be valid for both a technical/professional audience in general and the proposed audience for your tech report in particular. (You can find this and all assignment submission portals in our Canvas course shell.)

22 January 2025

Week Two, Wednesday

In Class Today: Conducting valid research for WRI 227 and for technical and professional writing in general. Instructions and tips for using general and discipline-specific databases to find secondary research sources.

Homework: Using the OIT Library online databases, find a secondary source relevant to your research question in a discipline-specific database and write both a full APA reference citation and a rhetorical precis for that source. (Note: You may need to log in to your OIT account to access the linked databases or library pages.) Bring a hard copy (printed) to our next class. You can use the "Mad Libs"-style fill-in-the-blank template for this if you wish (if you do not, be sure you still follow the correct formula for a rhetorical precis).

15 January 2025

Week Two, Monday

In Class Today: Aristotle's Three Mistakes of Ethos. Definitions of (and uses for) Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary research. Moving from topic/problem to research question. Closed vs. open-ended questions. Developing a research question (activity). The Rhetorical Precis and its uses for research and annotation. How to write a rhetorical precis and document your research. (Click here for a downloadable document giving a detailed overview of the in-class lecture/discussion. and here for a "Mad Libs"-style worksheet on precis writing.) Using highly specific language to strengthen your ESP in technical writing.

Homework: Formalize your starting research question and come up with a list of at least 7-10 keywords/phrases to jump-start your research process. Bring a device (computer or phone) to our next class for some in-class activities involving research. Read ahead: Assignment instructions for the Informal Proposal and the Progress Report with Annotated Bibliography.

13 January 2025

Week One, Wednesday

In Class Today: Brainstorming topics for the term-long research report project. Recap/review of assigned readings. Types of audiences for technical and professional writing (you can click here for a review/overview on audience if you need one). Identifying audiences for specific problems by technical expertise and decision-making authority. Review of the assignment sheet for the Memo of Introduction assignment (full instructions and grading rubric available in Canvas).

Homework: Read Style in Technical Writing (note: the brief section on gender is largely dated and can be ignored). Write your Memo of Introduction and complete the accompanying assigned worksheet.

08 January 2025

Week One, Monday

In Class Today: Introduction to the course and review of the course syllabus. Introduction of the term-long research and report project. The differences between academic writing and technical and professional writing. The ABCs of organizing information for technical and professional documents. Using strong "ESP" for technical writing. "Getting Something Done" and solving problems through technical writing" (click for a short information sheet recapping our class lecture and activity).

Homework: Click to download and read William Pfeiffer on Organizing Information in Technical Writing (the "ABCs" and etc.) and Process in Technical Communication. (Note, there is a combined "short version" of these readings I am linking here for you to refer to as a shortcut, but you'll get more detailed information in the original chapters.) Review this handout on strong ESP for technical writing. Start thinking about a topic in your field and a potential problem to solve for your term research and report project.