Catalogue Course Description and Course Overview Intensive study o.docx

Catalogue Course Description and Course Overview
Intensive study of and practice in professional writing. Focus on
the types of documents necessary to make decisions and take
action on the job, such as proposals, reports, instructions,
policies and procedures, e-mail messages, letters/memorandums,
and descriptions of products and services. Practice of individual
and collaborative processes involved in the creation of ethical
and effective documents. Prerequisite: ENGL 1301, ENGL 1302
and have met Texas Success Initiative (TSI) standards in
Reading and Writing.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be
able to do the following:
1. Recognize, analyze, and accommodate diverse audiences.
2. Produce documents appropriate to audience, purpose, and
genre.
3. Analyze the ethical responsibilities involved in technical
communication.
4. Locate, evaluate, and incorporate pertinent information from
reliable and ethical sources.
5. Develop verbal, visual, and multimedia materials as
necessary, in individual and/or collaborative projects, as
appropriate.
6. Edit for appropriate style, including attention to word choice,
sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling.
7. Design and test documents for easy reading and navigation.
Course Textbooks and Materials
Lannon, John M. and Gurak, Laura J. Technical
Communication, 14e. Boston: Pearson, 2017.The book can be
obtained at the following locations:
1. The Brookhaven College Bookstore (ISBN: 0134118499)
Bound Option (get a used version)
2. Ebook, can be purchased through www.vitalsource.comwith
this ISBN: 0134118588. There are two options here: 180 day

access or non-expiring.
3. The BHC Library Book Loan Program—best option because
it is free.
4. Any other resource as long as you have the text by the end of
the first week of classes.
Letter to Students:
Welcome to English 2311, Technical and Business Writing. I
am Rhonda Bitner, your professor and guide through this
technical writing course. I am pleased to be able to offer the
course to help you fulfill one of your prerequisites and more
importantly to help you communicate more clearly in your
career and with your world.
We have a lot of material to cover in order to accomplish our
goals. For this reason, you must know how to reach into the
course materials, draw out the essential information, and apply
it to your assignments. I have provided a brief explanation on
How to Get the Most out of Your Textbook located in the
Announcements section of the Black Board course.
I hope you find the course well organized, informative, and
most importantly--useful.
Assignment Formats MAY Include:
2
7
·
Note: The instructor reserves the right to alter (add, delete
from, or revise) this syllabus/course materials. Students will be
notified of any such changes in announcements and/or the
Coffee Shop forum.
Note: The instructor reserves the right to alter (add, delete
from, or revise) this syllabus/course materials. Students will be

notified of any such changes in announcements and/or the
Coffee Shop forum.
· discussions
· written assignments
· chapter quizzes or tests
· web-based projects
· videos/presentations
· others
Projects and Grading:Your grade will be determined as follows.
UNIT 0: COURSE ORIENTATION
Upload a photo to e-Campus
25 pts
Complete Introduction Forum
25 pts
E-Mail Notice of Understanding to Professor
50 pts

TOTAL POINTS THIS UNIT
100 POINTS
UNIT 1:
Unit Test
50 pts
Discussion Forum Agenda Questions
25 pts
Professional Email
100 pts
175 POINTS

UNIT 2:
Unit Test
50 pts
25 pts
Definitions & Description
100 pts
175 POINTS
PROGRESS REPORT
100 pts

UNIT 3:
Unit Test
50 pts
25 pts
Instruction Set
100 pts
175 POINTS
UNIT 4:

Unit Test
50 pts
25 pts
Resume and Letter of Application (50 pts each)
100 pts
175 POINTS
FINAL REPORT
100 pts
TOTAL POINTS THIS COURSE
1000 POINTS

G
RADING SCALE
Letter Grade
Point Range
Grade Explanations
A
900-1000
Demonstrates superior work
B
800-899
Demonstrates above average work
C
700-799
Demonstrates average work
D
600-699
Demonstrates below average work
F
0-599
Demonstrates a non-effort
Technical Communication
Unit
Unit Dates
Unit Topics

(Topics in Bold relate directly to the deliverable and should be
applied)
Readings& Assignments
0
First Day of Class
ORIENTATION
Due:
· photo upload
· introduction forum
· email
1
8/27-9/23
(1) Intro to Tech Comm
(2) Meeting Audience’s Needs
(4) Weighing Ethical Issues
(6) Tech Writing Process
(14) Emails & Text Messages
Review:
· Chapters 1, 2, 4, 6
Read:
· Chapter 14
Due:
· Agenda Questions
Due:
· Professional Email
2
9/24-10/21
(7) Research Process
(10) Organizing for Readers

(13) Document & Page Design
(17) Technical Definitions
(18) Technical Description
Review:
· Chapters 7, 10, 13
Read:
· Chapters 17 & 18
Due:
· Agenda Questions
Due:
· Definitions &Description
Any time between
10/20-10/23
PROGRESS REPORT
(ABOUT YOUR PROGRESS IN THIS CLASS)
Read:
· Chapter 23
Due:
· Progress Report
3
10/22-11/18
(8) Evaluating & Interpreting Info
(9) Summarizing Information
(11) Editing for Professional
Style/Tone
(12) Designing Visual Info
(19) Instructions & Procedures
Review:
· Chapters 8, 9, 11, 12
Read:
· Chapter 19
Due:
· AgendaQuestions
Due:
· Instruction Set
4

11/19-12/9
(16) Resumes & Job-search Mats
(24) Blogs, Wikis, Web Pages
Review:
· Chapter 24
Read:
· Chapter 16
Due:
· AgendaQuestions
Due:
· Resume&Letter
12/11
RECOMMENDATION REPORT
(PROFESSIONAL REPORT, NOT A COMPLAINT VENUE)
Read:
· Chapter 23
Due:
· Final Report
No unit assignments are accepted after the last date for each
unit. The RecommendationReport will not be accepted after
Midnight on its due date. This is for grading purposes and my
own sanity.
MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS BY UNIT
Unit 1:
Email Assignment
You will be required to write a PROFESSIONAL email.
Unit 2:
Technical Definitions & Description
You will choose three terms related to your field of study or to
a topic that interests you and write a (one-sentence) definition
for each of these 3 terms--IN YOUR
OWN WORDS.
Midterm Progress Report
In this report, you will report and reflect on your progress in

this course.
Unit 3:
Instructions Set
This is a set of instructions that you create for a specific
audience (determined by you). You can instruct users on how to
build something, use something, or how to complete a task.
Unit 4:
Employment Materials
This assignment consists of a one-page resume highlighting
your knowledge and skills and an application letter (you may
already have a resume that you revise for this assignment, or
you can build one from scratch).
Recommendation Report
This is your final deliverable for this course. You will reflect
back on this course and write a recommendation for the course.
For specific instructions in completing these assignments, see
the unit instructions in your eCampus course.
AGENDA QUESTIONS BY UNIT
Unit 1:
How is technical writing different from essay writing?
What forms does technical writing take?
Who writes technical content?
Unit 2:
Why is locating quality research materials important to you (the
engineer/nurse/detective/etc), your employer, and your
audience? Begin your response with, “as a
(nurse, radiologist, engineer, policeman, etc).”
Why is document design important to your audience? What are
the different types of definitions and how are each used?
What are the two different types of descriptions and what are
the main components of a description?
Unit 3:
Instructions
What is the importance of instructional documents in the

workplace (in your field of study)? How are they used?
What are the basic features of instructional documents?
How do graphics support the written text?
What is the purpose of conducting a usability test?
Unit 4:
Employment Materials
What types of jobs are available in my field of study? What
types of skills do professionals in my field need to have at an
entry-level position?
What are some of your favorite job-search websites, resume
building tips, and/or good places or companies to work for when
you graduate? Start with your area.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME AS YOUR
INSTRUCTOR
Feedback/Assessment:
· Feedback is provided within 2 weeks of an assignment’s due
date for major assignments and 1 week for minor assignments.
· Assessment of major documents:
1. Part of what I look for when assessing your work is that you
take the new knowledge gained from the textbook and other
materials presented in this course and apply it to your
assignments. If you do not apply that knowledge, your grades
will suffer.
2. I read everything you submit, often twice. Do Not Submit
Blank Files or Corrupt Files that I cannot open. It is your
responsibility to check your submissions after posting them.
3. I comment heavily making notes and suggestions on how to
improve your technical writing abilities.
4. I comment more heavily than any other professor I have ever
met. You are encouraged to take those comments and apply
them as “fixes” to your later documents in an effort to improve
yourself.
5. If I find that you are not reading and using my suggestions, I
will stop commenting on your documents and merely assign a
grade to them because it would be a waste of my time and
extreme effort to try to help you improve as a writer if you are

not also working to improve (believe it or not, some students do
not try to improve).
· Emails are answered within 24-48 hours during the week and
by Tuesdaysfor those submitted on weekends. Your emails
should be PROFESSIONAL and include the following:
1. a telling subject line
2. an explanation as to why you are contacting me
3. be specific and precise in content and purpose
4. be proofread for grammatical and structural errors (use
Grammarly, at the least)
5. I will not answer emails that are not professionally written
using the 4 bullet-points above
6. I do not accept assignments through email
7. Never send an attachment in a blank email
· Coffee Shop posts are usually answered within 12 hours.You
are requiredto subscribe to this forum.
· Announcements: I will post unit announcements about unit
materials, policy/syllabus/assignment changes, grading updates,
and the like. You are required to read the announcements each
time you sign in to the course. It would be best if you received
these announcements through your regular email.
· Twitter Feed: Also in the announcement’s section, is a Twitter
feed where I post professional information related to the
technical writing field. You are not required to follow the feed,
but you are encouraged to peruse the material for information of
importance to you.
· Zoom: I use zoom for virtual office hours. I will send out a
link via email during the hours that I do not have an on-campus
student in my office. This is also the only way to get extra
credit for this course. WHAT I EXPECT FROM MY
STUDENTS
Minimum Technology Skills: You should know how to . . .
· use a computer and have regular access to a computer
· use the Internet and haveregular access to the internet
· send and receive emails and know
· attach and open documents, files, graphics and how to save

files in different formats
· use Microsoft Word including knowledge of inserting graphics
and textboxes and howto use Word’s paragraph spacing and
columns
· use Power Point
· access & use Library Databasescritically
· access the course in eCampus/Black Board
Plagiarism/Collusion:
These are grave infractions in situations where your audience
trusts you and depends on you for the best quality information
for both themselves and their families. They will not tolerate
plagiarism, or inferior information, and neither will I. I suggest
you use the Safe Assign plagiarism checker to avoid infractions
and assess every source that you intend to use for credibility.
· If you plagiarize any assignment, intentional or not, the first
time I will put a zero on your paper, and ask that you explain in
a professional email how the plagiarism occurred and how you
intend to correct it. The second time, you will simply be given a
zero. The third time, I will refer you to the dean.
· Use BlackBoard’s Turnitin feature to check for plagiarism.
You may have missed a source. If so, Turnitin will let you know
which source or sources you used. Then, cite them in the APA
Reference page.
Grammar:
Grammar is not taught in this class. This is a sophomore-level
English course, and it is your responsibility to proofread and
edit all materials before submitting them for assessment. There
are numerous on-campus, online, and self-help resources for
your use. I have posted numerous grammar guides in the Self-
Help module in eCampus and asked that you use Grammarly.
You may also visit the Writer’s Corner for assistance (see the
resource below). A few hours of dedicated study will often clear
up grammar problems in your writing.
· If I cannot read or make sense of your work, I will return the
assignment, unedited, with a zero and ask that it be

resubmitted—but only once and must be returned within a week.
After that, it will simply be returned to you.
Late Work:
I do not close assignments, I close entire units. I allow an entire
block of time to complete a unit at the students’ discretion.
Students should use that time wisely.
Extra Credit:
I have never offered extra credit for online classes. However, at
the suggestion of one of my former students, in their
recommendation report, I now offer extra credit for students
who use Zoom to meet with me virtually. You can get 5 extra
points added to your lowest major assignment grade by meeting
with me to discuss that assignment.
Attendance/Participation:
Participation in an online course requires participating in a
substantive manner. It is your responsibility to participate fully
as it may be taken into consideration at the end of the course:
Posting to discussion forums Responding to other student posts
Subscribing to The Coffee Shop
Using The Coffee Shop thoughtfully
Reading and staying up-to-date with announcements
Being helpful and thoughtful to your peers and professor
Professionalism/Etiquette:
Technical writing is for professionals. I expect you to behave as
a professional online and in the classroom (for face-to-face
courses) at all times in both manner and words and to be
respectful of the ideas of others.
PROFESSIONAL Email Requirements:

Quick Tips on Writing a Professional mail. Please follow these
when sending me an email:
1. Always fill in the subject line with a topic that means
something and that relates to the subject of the email.
2. Put your main point in the opening sentence. Tell the
recipient why you are in their inbox.
3. Never begin a message with a vague "This." ("This needs to
be done by 5:00.") Always specify what exactly you are writing
about.
4. Do not use ALL CAPITALS (no shouting!), or all lower-case
letters either (unless you're e. e. cummings).
5. Do capitalize the personal pronoun "I."
6. As a general rule, PLZavoidtextspeak: you may be ROFLOL
(rolling on the floor laughing out loud), but your reader will not
be as they are trying to figure out what you are saying.
7. Be brief and polite. If your message runs longer than two or
three short paragraphs, consider (a) reducing the message, or (b)
providing an attachment. But in any case, don't snap, growl,
bark, or use phrases that may be construed as rude (I am writing
to inform you. . . .).
8. Remember tosay "please" and "thank you." And mean it.
9. Add a signature block with appropriate contact information
(in most cases, your name, business address, and phone number,
along with a legal disclaimer if required by your company).
10. Edit and proofread before hitting "send." You may think
you're too busy to sweat the small stuff, but your reader may
just think you are careless.
11. Never send an attachment in a blank email. Explain why you
are sending an attachment.
12. Finally, reply promptly to serious messages. If you need
more than 24 hours to collect information or make a decision,
send a brief response explaining the delay.
-Adapted from Richard Nordquist, Ph.D. in English
Memorandum of Understanding between Student and Instructor
A Memorandum of Assignment is an agreement between two or
more parties, in this case between student and instructor. As

part of the Orientation Unit for this course, students are
required to complete the assignment of memorandum and email
it to the instructor in a professionally crafted email (see the
email sections above). Also, see the instructions for this
assignment in the Orientation Unit. Student Resources
Summer tutoring schedules vary greatly. It is best to contact the
tutoring facility before making a trip to campus. General
tutoring is available in J122. I recommend that you take
advantage of this free resource. Tutoring for writers will be
available in L351. Drop-in tutoring is available, or you can
make an appointment. These are other resources you may be
interested in:
· Career Development Center S065
· Scholarships and Financial Aid S018
Library in L200
· Multi-Cultural Center S136
· Student Life S201: get student ID & email account
Other Important Resources:
· https://www.grammarly.com/1(Grammar Resource)
· http://libguides.gwumc.edu/(Specific APA Resource)
· http://www.plagiarism.org/(Plagiarism Resource)
· http://brookhaventechwriters.blogspot.com/(Professor’s Blog)
DISTRICT POLICIES: BROOKHAVEN COLLEGE
COMMUNICATION DIVISION SYLLABUS ADDENDUM
LINK
Unit 10 Final Paper
· Synthesizing Theories of Psychotherapy
INTRODUCTION
As you may have seen from your readings so far, many theorists
combine, synthesize, or integrate elements of several previous
theories to create their own approach to psychotherapy. This

may be because research on psychotherapy outcomes often
shows that no one theory is superior to others and that no one
theory is the best for all clients. As workers in the field, we are
in the process of learning what theories work best for what
kinds of clients, for what kinds of problems, and under what
circumstances.
TOGGLE DRAWERREAD FULL INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES
To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be
expected to:
1. Apply one or more of the four major approaches to
psychotherapy integration.
2. Evaluate theoretical approaches to determine which are most
effective in addressing specific client concerns.
3. Assess theoretical approaches to determine which are most
effective in addressing culturally competent professional
practice.
4. Explain how theory and techniques of theories of
psychotherapy complement a personal philosophy of
psychotherapeutic change.
5. Demonstrate application of basic psychotherapy within the
context of theoretical orientation, client characteristics, and
personal fit.
· LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Collapse All
· Toggle Drawer
[u10s1] Unit 10 Study 1
Synthesizing Theories of Psychotherapy
Readings
Use your Current Psychotherapies text to read:
. Chapter 14, "Integrative Psychotherapies," pages 527–560.
· Toggle Drawer
[u10a1] Unit 10 Assignment 1
Psychotherapy Final
For your final project, you will evaluate and choose 1–2
therapies from those covered in this course (you may apply a

maximum of two, and your selection(s) must be from therapies
covered in this course) that will successfully address a concern
(chosen from the categories indicated in the first bullet point
below) brought by a mock client who identifies with a non-
majority population.
The first part of this project should be 10–12 pages long and
should describe the client's demography and concern; it should
then provide an evidence-based reason for your choice of
therapeutic approach with the client.
You will create a 3–4 page transcript of a fictional session with
the client. The transcript provides you the opportunity to
demonstrate competence and build on the application of both
therapy-specific and basic therapeutic communication skills you
learned and practiced in Units 3, 4, and 6. The transcript must
include a demonstration of the basic communication skills and
at least one technique/strategy that clearly reflects the
therapeutic approach(es) you identified earlier in the paper. For
example, if you wanted to assist a client suffering from
generalized anxiety, you might choose REBT and demonstrate
refuting the client's irrational beliefs.
Instructions
To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to:
. Choose a single disorder that can be ameliorated with
psychotherapy (choose from these DSM-5 categories: depressive
disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma and stress related disorders,
OR substance-related and addictive disorders).
. Identify a therapy or therapies (no more than two) that may be
efficacious for treating that disorder, based on current research.
. Discuss what the research says about the use of this therapy or
therapies with multicultural populations (choose ONE facet to
discuss: race, religion, ethnicity, culture, OR sexual orientation)
you will address. One example might be arguing the usefulness
of Interpersonal Psychotherapy to assist a male suffering from
an anxiety disorder and who identifies as a member of the
Hispanic population.
After the reference section of the paper, add a second section in

which you create a transcript of a hypothetical therapy session
with this client. Allow the fictional session to develop with
appropriate therapist responses labeled on the transcript.
Identify the therapist response in brackets next to the therapist
responses in the transcript as an open-ended question, empathic
statement, paraphrase, or summarization, as well as other
therapeutic responses which align with the approach you will
use to assist your client.
EXAMPLE OF THERAPIST RESPONSE LABELING WITHIN
TRANSCRIPT
Therapist: What are some of the options you have considered to
this point? [open-ended question]
Client: Dropping out of school, moving my children in with my
mother who lives in another state, and during my darkest hours
(voice breaking) taking a bottle of sleeping pills with a quart of
vodka.
Therapist: (Softly) It's difficult when we feel as if there is no
way out of a complicated problem. [empathic statement]
Client: That's right. I want to finish school so that I can provide
for my family and be a good role model, but how do I do that
when I worked 45 hours a week just to keep a roof over their
heads and food on the table? My mom did a terrible job when
she raised me but I try to convince myself that kids are tough
and it would only be for a little while....but if something were
to happen while they were with her I would never forgive
myself. She tells me she has changed and would do a much
better job the second time around, but how can I be sure?
Therapist: On one hand, you want to trust your mom to care for
your children, but on the other, your memories of growing up
were not all that positive. [paraphrase]
Resources
. Psychotherapy Final Scoring Guide.

Catalogue Course Description and Course Overview Intensive study o.docx

Catalogue Course Description and Course Overview Intensive study o.docx

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Catalogue Course Description and Course Overview Intensive study o.docx