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Posts from October 2017

The Final Three Major Projects

The Final Three Major Projects published on

This is the post for the week of October 9, 2017.

This week, we begin work on the last three projects you will complete for the course. All of the remaining major projects in the course are connected. Here’s how:

Genre Report Timeline

The take-away message is that you have to decide on your plan for both the proposal and the genre analysis report this week.

Readings for the Week

Everyone
Business Writing Students
Technical Writing Students

Tasks for the Week

  1. By 11:59PM on Monday, October 9, submit your 10/06 Labor Log in Canvas, if you are using the grace period.
  2. By 11:59PM on Monday, October 9, submit your project in the Analysis assignment in Canvas. If you are using the grace period, submit your project by 11:59PM on October 12.
  3. Check out the posts on the rubric for the Bio project and on grades for the project. If you have an Incomplete, remember that you simply need to revise. I have suggested you revise by October 12. If you have a lot of work already this week (I know it’s midterm time), turn it in later. There’s no penalty for turning it in next week.
  4. Review the assignments for the Short Report Proposal (due 10/30) and Genre Analysis Report (due 12/11). The Examples, Cases & Models: Proposal provides some models you can use as you work. There are also examples on the assignment pages. Post any questions you have about the assignments in #general on Slack.
  5. Complete Steps 1 and 2 of the Proposal Assignment:
    • Read Step 1 of the assignment, and consider the advice on how to choose your topic.
    • Examine the kinds of writing you listed in your Analysis Project and, if you completed it, your answers to the #WednesdayWrite: Writing Superlatives post.
    • Choose your focus for the remaining projects, based on the advice and what you know about writing in your field.
    • Complete Step 2 of the assignment to familiarize yourself with the characteristics and features of proposals. You will do so by reading the online texts that are appropriate for your course.
  6. Have a fun day off on Friday, and enjoy the weekend.
    • No Labor Log is due this week because of Fall Break. Continue to track your work as usual. Next week, your Log will cover October 7–20.
    • I will take some time off this weekend too. I will check in occasionally, but I will spend some time away from the computer as well. Look for responses to any questions you send on Monday, October 16.

Note: This image already has a text description, so a transcript is not needed.


 
Last updated on Monday, October 9, 2017

Grades on the Professional Bio Project

Grades on the Professional Bio Project published on
Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Grade
Top Five Ways to Improve Your Grade

I have graded all of the Professional Bio projects. In this post, I’ll comment on how you all did and what you can do if you are not happy with your grade. Please read the information carefully and note the related dates.

Overall Feedback for the Class

  • Complete bios: Most of you did a good job following the instructions in the assignment by including all of the required information and paying attention to document design.
  • Missing project self-assessments: Unfortunately, most of you failed to include the project self-assessment. Because the error was so prevalent, I ignored it for this project. For future projects, it will be required. The self-assessment was explained in Step 6 on the Assignment page.
  • Work on document design: Many projects could be improved with more attention to document design. In particular, review the information on using headings and subheadings create information-rich signposts for readers and on “chunking” text and visual elements.
  • Help from the Writing Center: Remember that anyone can visit the Writing Center in the library for help with projects for the course. Writing Center tutors can help you strengthen your content as well as work on document design and issues with phrasing, grammar, or punctuation. You can read more about the Writing Center and make an appointment at https://lib.vt.edu/spaces/writing-center.html.

Revision Activities for the Analysis Project

I have reopened the assignment so that those of you who want to revise can improve your project. Follow the guidelines below to resubmit your work.

  1. If I made a mistake
    Send me an email message or a private message on Slack with the details. I’ll fix it.
  2. If there were problems with the content or design of your bio
    Revise your project to improve your work, adding whatever is missing or tweaking the design. Resubmit your project, and I will regrade your work.
  3. If you did not submit your work at all
    It is too late. Be sure to turn in all the remaining projects if you want to pass the course.
  4. If something else is going on
    Send me an email message or a private message on Slack with the details. I’ll see what I can do to help you.

Suggested Revision Dates

By 11:59PM on October 12, aim to submit your revision (before you leave for Fall break). It will help you to have the bio done before we dive into the second half of the term.

If you need more time, that is fine. The bio assignment is open until 11:59PM on Saturday, October 28. You do not need to contact me. Just work to submit your revision by the 28th.

 

Note: This infographic already has a long description, so a transcript is not needed.

 

Credits: Infographic was created on canva.com. Star icon from The Noun Project, used under a CC-BY 3.0 license: rating by Guilhem. Burruss Hall by joepyrek on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.


 
Last updated on Sunday, October 8, 2017

Professional Bio Rubric Added

Professional Bio Rubric Added published on

I added a basic rubric to the professional bio to speed up the grading process. Rather than having to write out comments, I can just click whether you met (or didn’t meet) the requirements for the project.

The characteristics in the rubric came directly from Step 4 of the assignment.

Nothing about how your work is graded changes. Your bio is still either complete or incomplete. If it’s incomplete, you can revise until you meet all the characteristics. Because of the way rubrics work in Canvas, I had to assign a value to each criteria. These numbers are just how Canvas works. Your grade will either be 100 or 0. If it’s 0, all you have to do is revise.


 
Last updated on Saturday, October 7, 2017

#WeekendWatch: Control Page Breaks in Tables

#WeekendWatch: Control Page Breaks in Tables published on

As you are working on your table for the Analysis project, you may find yourself in the situation where a row of information breaks onto two pages. Our #WeekendWatch takes care of that problem. All you need to do is change a checkbox in Word to keep rows of information together.

This Auburn University Writing Center video demonstrates how to change that setting in Microsoft Word for Mac. The process for Windows is similar, so it’s still worth watching the video if you’re a Windows person.

If you use Windows, use the instructions from Microsoft to make the change.

 

 

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript.


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 4, 2017

#FridayFact: Grammar and Style Checkers Are Often Wrong

#FridayFact: Grammar and Style Checkers Are Often Wrong published on

Screenshot of autocorrect on a phone, with the image of a police officer riding a unicornWe all rely on grammar and style checkers to help us find the small errors in our writing. Anyone who has had autocorrect go wrong, however, knows that grammar and spell checkers are not necessarily accurate. Sometimes (as in the case of the unicorn-riding police officer) these tools can change our messages to say things we never intended.

In the same way that you must double-check the changes that autocorrect suggests, you have to pay attention to the grammar and style tools that are available in your word processors. Read the Slate.com article Microsoft Word’s Grammar and Style Tools Will Make Your Writing Worse for lots of examples of how Word can suggest changes that will confuse your readers.

Finally, as long as you are still at Virginia Tech, remember that you have free access to the Lynda.com course Grammar Foundations (below). You can look up any grammar questions you have there.

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript. The screenshot of autocorrect DOES need a text-based transcript however. See the Optional Accessibility Transcript Activity for more details.

 


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 4, 2017

#InfographicInspiration: Punctuation Rules

#InfographicInspiration: Punctuation Rules published on

Lots of handbooks explain how punctuation works, but who wants to read pages of information in a grammar textbook? Today’s #InfographicInspiration won’t eliminate the need to look up how certain rules work; however, it does provide a nice overview of the primary ways that most punctuation marks are used.

I suspect that you will be familiar with a lot of the rules, especially for marks like periods, commas, and exclamation points. Other punctuation marks may be new to you, such as en dashes and em dashes.

If you find anything new to you or need more information on an exclamation, try searching for details on the information on Punctuation on the Purdue OWL site.

 

Note: This infographic needs a text-based transcript. See the Optional Accessibility Transcript Activity for more details.

 


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 4, 2017

#WednesdayWrite: Writing Superlatives

#WednesdayWrite: Writing Superlatives published on

This week’s #WednesdayWrite should be fun and easy for everyone. You probably remember yearbook or senior superlatives from your days in high school. In case you didn’t go to high school in the US, let me explain with some examples.

The word superlative means “the highest degree” or “the highest quality.” Grammatically, there are three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative. Some examples should remind you how they work:

Positive Comparative Superlative
good better best
warm warmer warmest
likely more likely most likely
fast faster fastest

For yearbook or senior superlatives, the class usually votes on which students fit into specific categories, such as Most Likely to Succeed, Best Dressed, and Smartest.

In this activity, you will focus on the kinds of writing in your field, which you should have gathered in your Analysis project draft. Copy the list below and paste it into your comment. Add your answers for the items. After you post your answers, read what others have posted and reply, if you like. Note there’s no right or wrong answer here. You’re just sharing your opinion, based on the evidence you have so far.

  1. Your intended career field
  2. Longest kind of document someone in your field writes
  3. Shortest kind of document someone in your field writes
  4. Most frequent kind of document someone in your field writes
  5. Most important kind of document someone in your field writes (and why)
  6. Most difficult/challenging kind of writing in your field (and why)
  7. Easiest kind of writing in your field (and why)
  8. Biggest surprise about writing in your field
  9. Favorite thing about writing in your field
  10. Hokiest thing you have done (that you can talk about in class)

One final note: The remaining major projects focus on kinds of writing in your field, so this activity should help you decide which kind(s) of writing to work on for the rest of the course.

 

 

Photo credit: Stack of papers by Phillip Wong on Flickr, used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.


 
Last updated on Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Reminder: Your Course Grade in Canvas

Reminder: Your Course Grade in Canvas published on

Friday, October 6 is the last date to drop classes and to change from A-F to P/F, so I wanted to remind everyone how grades work for the course.

Remember that grades are based on labor.

  • If you do the required work, you are guaranteed a B in the course.
  • If you do more than the basic requirements, you can earn a grade higher than a B.
  • If you do not do the required work, you will earn a grade lower than a B.

You can find complete details on the information how grades are tracked in Canvas, how completes and incompletes are indicated, and how to tell how you’re doing in the post How Canvas Grades Works from the first week of classes.

 

 

 

Photo credit: W F LaBar Report Card by Arthur T. LaBar on Flickr, used under Public Domain (CC0).


 
Last updated on Tuesday, October 3, 2017

#TuesdayTutorial: Avoid Centered Text

#TuesdayTutorial: Avoid Centered Text published on

Zig Zag Reading Pattern Caused by Centered TextLast week, I shared design tips that you can use to improve your Analysis table. This week, I am going to share several posts that address proofreading and formatting changes that will make your project even better.

Reading Patterns and Centered Text

Today’s #TuesdayTutorial focuses on the alignment of the text in your document. Remember the #FridayFact in September that explained the F-shaped reading pattern? That idea comes into play with the tip to avoid centered text alignment in your documents.

When you center text, the left margin zig zags back and forth down the page, which makes it hard to read in the F-shaped pattern that people prefer.

Instead of skimming down the left margin to look for the highlights and headings, the eye has to search back and forth for the information on the page, as shown in the image on the right.

Learn More

Watch the following Lynda.com tutorial video, Favor flush-left, ragged-right body text (4m14s), for additional explanations and tips on this important guideline for the way that text is aligned on a page. Remember that Lynda.com videos are free to Virginia Tech students with your VT.EDU login. Start at the VT.EDU login page to access these resources.

Screenshot of the Lynda.com video Favor flush-left, ragged-right body text

Note: This video has closed captioning, so it does not need a transcript.

 


 
Last updated on Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Peer Review & Submission of Analysis Project

Peer Review & Submission of Analysis Project published on

This is the post for the week of October 2, 2017.

Screenshot from the Peer Review:Commenting Strategies video
Screenshot showing strategies from the Peer Review:Commenting Strategies video

This week, you will share a draft of your project with your writing group, give feedback to your writing group members, revise your project as needed, and then submit the project.

Readings for the Week

Tasks for the Week

  1. By 11:59PM on Monday, October 2, submit your 09/29 Labor Log in Canvas, if you are using the grace period.
  2. Review previous posts that can help you improve your Analysis project:
  3. Rewatch the Peer Review: Commenting Strategies video for specific ways to comment on one another’s drafts. I will check for references to these strategies in your group comments.
  4. By 11:59PM on Wednesday, October 4, post a draft of your project in the Group Feedback on Analysis of Writing Projects Discussion in Canvas.
  5. By 11:59PM on Friday, October 6, post feedback on the drafts posted by your group members in the Group Feedback Discussion in Canvas. Be sure to use the strategies from the Peer Review: Commenting Strategies video.
  6. By 11:59PM on Monday, October 9, submit your project in the Analysis assignment in Canvas. If you are using the grace period, submit your project by 11:59PM on October 12.
  7. By 11:59PM on Friday, October 6, write your 10/06 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, October 2.

 


 
Last updated on Monday, October 2, 2017

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