ENGW3302

Fall 2014

Advanced Writing in the Technical Professions

CRN 14970 sec. 2

Dr. Cecelia Musselman

Office: 441 Holmes Hall
Office hours:
T/F 11:35 to 12:35
W 2:00 to 3:30
and by appointment
Email:
c.musselman@neu.edu
Phone: 617.678.2404
English Department
Main Office:
405 Lake Hall
617.373.4540
This course has 25 class
meetings. The last day of
class is December 3. We
have no final exam and
the Reflective Portfolio is
due on the last day of
class.
Prerequisites:
To fulfill your AWD
requirement with this course,
you must have completed
your First Year English
requirement and completed
64 course (not co-op) units.

Wednesdays & Fridays 11:45 1:25

Forsyth 128

In ENGW3302, students experience the variety of writing and

composing forms used in the technical professions engineering and
computer science. This is a broad task, especially when faced with the
myth that engineers dont write! But technical professions now use
writing for everything from code to stories that underlie games to
marketing pieces to more familiar proposals, lab write ups, and
evaluations. We will begin the semester writing for a scholarly
audience then move on to write for other audiences, examining the
way audience influences how and what we write, and considering some
of the newest situations in which engineers and computer scientists
must communicate in writing. Students will also engage in the kind of
peer review that characterizes writing in many sciences and that shapes
most scholarship conducted in all fields.
Students in this course will be involved in shaping the course itself in
determining the specifics of some grading conventions, in shaping
details of each assignment, and choosing some readings.
The course will move from composing in familiar types of papercentric media to working with newer writing/composing media and
culminate in a multimodal composition for a public audience and an
electronic portfolio. We will inquire into how new media is changing
writing and composing practices in personal, professional, and
academic contexts.
Often, our writing exists only in electronic form. Email, wikis, and
websites now replace interoffice paper documents. Professional and
scholarly journals, books, government information, guidelines, and
reference materials often exist only in e-forms. The citation practices
used in this course will reflect this. The Internet now offers a vast well
of high-quality source materials; students will explore how to find,
evaluate, and use these materials. In Units 2, 3, and 4, students will
work out computer science- and engineering-appropriate citation
practices for current (and future?) source types.

Required Materials
The AWD Toolkit (available on Blackboard)
Tools for writing (pen/paper OR laptop, tablet, or
smartphone that you bring to class consistently)
and consistent internet access
Printing/copying: Past students have printed
approx. 100 pages for this course. Plan for this in
your print quota.

A style manual appropriate to engineering and

computer science, such as the IEEE Guide
www.ijssst.info/info/IEEE-Citation-StyleGuide.pdf
or the Mayfield Handbook
www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/home.htm
or NASAs Correspondence Management and
Communications Standards and Style (doc. NPR
1450.10D, Ch. 2), or one that is more specific to
your exact area of interest.
Access to a print collegiate dictionary such as
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed
(Ask me why we want print.)

Assignments and Grading

Assignments
The work for this course consists of four major Unit assignments and a final portfolio. Each Unit assignment
will consist of two drafts of the Unit paper, a context memo, two peer reviews, a letter responding to the
peer reviews, and a final reflection. In addition, we will do a number of in-class writing pieces in shorter
social sciences writing forms.
Unit 1: Examine a Discourse
Community
(Academic Peer Audience)
1000+ words/4 pgs
Final Due 9/19

Unit 3: Writing for an Online

Collaborative Encyclopedia
~ 1000 words (to be decided by
class)
Final Due 11/4

Portfolio and Reflective Essay

1000+ words
Due 12/2 at 5 pm
(last day of classes)

Unit 2: Scholarly Literature Review

(Scholarly Audience)
2200+ words/10 pgs
Final Due 10/21

Unit 4: Video Explainer

(Public Audience)
1 4 minutes
Final Due 11/19

Peer Review and In-Class Writing

See Grading section
Due shortly after each first draft

Guidelines for Peer Reviews and Response Letters are posted to Blackboard. Your Context Memo and final
reflection for each Unit may vary in form and content and will be explained in your Unit assignment sheets.

Required Readings

[BB = posted to Blackboard; Others you will need to locate online or through the library.]
Mayfield Handbook http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/home.htm
Selections from the Wikipedia Engineering Portal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Engineering] and
Wikipedia Manual of Style
Theyre Taking Over by Tim Flannery (from the New York Review of Books. September 26, 2013). [BB]
Communicating the Science of Climate Change by Richard Somerville and Susan Joy Hassol in Physics
Today, October 2011.
When What Animals Do Doesnt Seem to Cover It, by Natalie Angier in The New York Times, July 20,
2009. [BB]
Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination by Chris Hart, Sage, 1998.
NOTE: My copy is on reserve at Snell Library. Chapters 3 & 4 are required reading before Unit 2 and will
be posted to Blackboard as pdfs.
Your favorite piece of engineering/computer science writing (book or article)
Additional readings will be posted as requested/determined by the class.

Grading in This Course

You will receive a single semester grade for the course instead of grades on individual unit papers or other
pieces of writing. I will give formative (not evaluative) comments on each first draft of unit papers, so it is
crucial that your first drafts are as complete as possible.
As a class, we will examine the NU Writing Programs Learning Goals, grading guidelines, and quality
standards in your disciplines and construct specific quality expectations and writing practices that suit the
specific disciplines represented in our class.
Because this course fulfills the Advanced Writing in the Disciplines credit and because the course has a
limited number of class meetings, participation and attendance are crucial to your success. To get credit for a
required writing course, students must get a C grade for the course. To get a C, students must fulfill the
following at a minimum:
Attendance/participation/good citizenship
Attend class regularly, arrive to class on time and ready to participate, and miss only 2 or fewer classes
during the semester.
Participate in in-class exercises, activities, and discussion, including contributing to grading discussions.

Work
Generally submit work on time. Due dates will often be negotiated with the class to address student
concerns about time. Students who contact me at least 48 hours ahead of a deadline may, at my
discretion, have an extension. One piece of work may be up to 48 hours late with no notice.
Submit all required work for the course, including 4 unit papers and the final portfolio with the
following allowances: You may miss up to 2 pieces of in-class writing and one (1) peer review and still
earn a passing grade.
Meet the requirements of genre and length (within 10%) set out in each unit assignment.
Engage fully in the revision process by making substantive revisions (rather than minor edits) to drafts.
Submit final drafts which show that you have worked to reduce or eliminate error and that you have
attempted to meet the standards of your discipline.
Submit a final digital reflective portfolio.
Peer review/community involvement
Engage fully in the peer review process by writing thoughtful, helpful, useful peer reviews that follow
the Peer Review Guidelines and discipline-appropriate expectations of peer review practices.
Have your work reviewed in one Whole Class Review session OR moderate a Whole Class Review session.
Contribute to Whole Class Review discussions.
Wait, what gets an A?
To earn a grade in the B or A range, your own writing will need to exceed the minimum requirements in
quality. Your contributions to class discussions and the peer review process will need to be consistently
constructive and very helpful to your peers in their writing process.
The exact definitions of B-quality and A-quality work will be decided by the class; we might consider things
like:
grammar/mechanics,
ease of reading, clarity,
adherence to engineering and computer science standards,
appropriate design decisions,
willingness to take risks or try something new,
how much the student owns the assignment,
or even some measure of improvement.
Why grade this way?
I have several goals in choosing this grading method. I want to:
Shift student focus away from grades and onto writing practice and process.
Allow for situations in which students have varying types of preparation for the Advanced Writing
course, and so may struggle with meeting quality goals, but who still complete the work of the class and
fully participate in good faith.
Foster a community of writers who will work together toward building and reaching quality expectations
that reflect the discipline of the course and the values of the class.

Your Work: Blackboard, Due Dates, Submitting Work, Technology, Documentation

Blackboard and Due Dates
We will use Blackboard, (http://blackboard.neu.edu), especially for Unit paper and peer review submission.
Please check our Blackboard site regularly for updates. Also, please update your contact information in
Blackboard. Despite its clunky aspects, Blackboard is useful! You can email me or your classmates directly
from Blackboard. I will post assignments, readings, resources, and reference materials to Blackboard. If we
find useful materials as a class, they will also be posted to Blackboard.
Most assignments will be submitted to a Blackboard Discussion Forum, so you will need to know how to
post messages to the Discussion Board and how to attach documents.
Due Dates: Each Unit assignment sheet will give exact due dates. If you are confused about how or when to
turn in an assignment, please ask me. Late assignments will count against your final grade as described in the
Grading Contract. Assignments more than two days late will be considered missing. However, you still must
complete these assignments to meet the minimum passing requirements for the course. My goal with due
dates is to be aware of student needs for time and to handle due dates in a professional manner. In the work
world, due dates are often renegotiated if a contractor or employee looks ahead and sees that more time is
necessary. I will renegotiate due dates if students contact me at least 48 hours in advance of a due date.
Missing Class: If you know you are going to miss a class, please consult me well in advance on what you need
to do to keep up with the class. In most cases, you will be able to submit work via Blackboard.
NOTE: Simply emailing work to me is unacceptable unless we have agreed on this in advance.
On Computers/Technology: This is a tech friendly class. You will need a computer and Internet access. Past
students have also succeeded using tables or netbooks in class, although these make in-class writing and
research slower and more difficult. I dont expect students to be techies or computer experts, but I do
expect that they are willing to experiment and try new things.
If you own your own computer, make sure that your machine is in good working order before a due date
approaches. Computer or printer problems are not an excuse for late work.
If you do not own a computer or you are having trouble with access to a computer, please let me know
as soon as you can. The university has a number of ways for students to get access to computers for
schoolwork and I can help you get connected to these resources.

Form of Submitted Work

Your Unit Papers will be formatted in a style appropriate to the discipline and genre of the Unit. Each Unit
Paper will likely be formatted in a unique way and will be specified in the Unit assignments. When in doubt,
submit your Unit Papers in a standard font (Times New Roman, Garamond, or similar) and use traditional
margins, headers, subheadings, and so forth. You may substitute nontraditional elements if you have a
specific purpose, but you must explain such variations in your Context Memo.
All Unit Papers must include the following information (although the formatting may change): your name,
the correct date, ENGW3308, Musselman, Unit & draft number, documentation style, word count

Name Your Files As Follows Before Uploading Them to Blackboard:

Unit papers:
YourLastName_U1D1.pdf
Peer Reviews:
YourLastName_PeerLastName_U1PR.pdf

Context Memos:
YourLastName_U1CM.pdf
Response Letters:
YourLastName_U1RL.pdf

In each file name, insert correct Unit (U) and Draft (D) number.
I will not review files that are incorrectly named.
NOTE: As a default, submit your work in PDF form to ensure readability and maintain the integrity of your
document formatting and design decisions.

Your Work (continued)

Documentation and Acknowledgements
Academic writing requires that we document (in casual speech, we often say cite) sources and compose
writing according to a discipline-appropriate citation style. Styles can vary considerably from discipline to
discipline. So, you will choose a style appropriate to your discipline at the beginning of the semester and work
with it throughout. Most social sciences use APA style and it makes a fine default, but well look at others, too.
This course will also discuss how citation functions in non-academic contexts. Your first citation challenge
will come in Unit 1; well discuss strategies in class.

If you have not been formally instructed in or introduced to academic source use, please let me know at
the beginning of the semester.
Every piece of writing you submit in this class must be appropriately documented. Every draft of every
unit must have appropriate works cited (or equivalent) sections.
Always document your sources as you write. Attempting to add documentation later is dangerous; its
easy to forget the source of a particular idea or phrase if you dont note them as you write.

During this course, youll be exploring new ways of using sources as well as new kinds of sources to use.
Fortunately, there are two basic principles of documentation that will help you document sources even when
you dont have access to a style guide. These two principles are:
1. Non-ambiguity: Whatever you include in the body of a texta note number, parenthetical reference, or
something elseshould take you precisely to the citation at the end of the text or the bottom of the
page and to no other citation. The citation in turn should take you precisely to the source you consulted
and to no other source.
2. Parsimony: Whatever you include in the body of a text should include the minimal amount of
information needed to satisfy the rule of non-ambiguity. The citation in turn should include only what is
necessary to locate the precise source.
If you have any questions about documentation and source use, please ask! The AWD Toolkit (posted to
Blackboard) has a useful reading on documentation that will be required in the first weeks of the course.

Acknowledgements

Writers often get a many types of help as they write. A lot of this help is not formally published, for example, a
private conference with a research librarian or a good idea from a roommate. Today, it is standard practice to
acknowledge all of the non-published help you receive in an Acknowledgements section. All Unit Papers and
the Reflective Essay must include a section in which you acknowledge, by name, the people who helped you.
I will not read a project that is missing an Acknowledgements section, even at the draft stage.
Keep a running list of all help that you get: Who reviewed your paper? Who proofread it? Did you visit the
Writing Center? Did you consult with experts? Did you talk with a family member? Were you inspired to write
the work by someone you know? If you cant think of anyone to acknowledge, lets talk.

Participation

Because this class functions as a workshop, your participation is essential to its effectiveness. Poor participation
generally leads to poor quality work and failure to meet the Learning Goals so it tends to bring its own
penalty. If you come to class unprepared or unwilling to participate, I reserve the right to mark you as absent.

Respect

Because this class draws from many disciplines in the Social Sciences, we are likely to have a great deal of
academic diversity in class. Other forms of diversity are also likely. Our goal is to form a workshop environment
which welcomes the work and human dignity of all members, regardless of race, color, sex, disability, religion,
national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veterans status, age, physical appearance, or body size.
Expressions of disrespect hurt the community and damage us all, and they will not be tolerated.
When you get this far, post your reactions (even if only as 3 to 5 bullet points) to this syllabus and the 2 posted
articles on syllabi to the Syllabus forum on our Blackboard Discussion Board before class on Friday, Sep. 5 and
this will count in your semester grade. Does anything stand out? Any surprises? What could be cut?

Northeastern University Writing Program Policies

Writing Program Student Learning Goals:
The Writing Program comprises First-Year Writing courses, Advanced Writing in the Disciplines courses,
and the Writing Center. The goals below apply to all three sites, but our expectations for how well and
to what extent students will accomplish the goals vary in each.
1. Students write both to learn and to communicate what they learn.
2. Students negotiate their own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre,
medium, and situation.
3. Students formulate and articulate a stance through and in their writing.
4. Students revise their writing using responses from others, including peers, consultants, and teachers.
5. Students generate and pursue lines of inquiry and search, collect, and select sources appropriate to their
writing projects.
6. Students effectively use and appropriately cite sources in their writing.
7. Students explore and represent their experiences, perspectives, and ideas in conversation with others.
8. Students use multiple forms of evidence to support their claims, ideas, and arguments.
9. Students practice critical reading strategies.
Advanced Writing in the
10.Students provide revision-based response to their peers.
Disciplines Placement
11.Students reflect on their writing processes and self-assess as writers.
Students must work with their
advisors to choose the AWD
Writing Program Minimum Grade Requirement
course that is right for them.
All Northeastern University students must complete an Advanced
Students who wish to enroll in
Writing in the Disciplines course with a grade of C or higher in order to
an ESOL section of AWD
graduate. No transfer credit is accepted for AWD courses. Any student
should contact me in the first
earning a C- or lower will need to repeat the course in order to fulfill the
week of classes.
writing requirement. The instructor makes the final decision with respect
to any grade between AC. Any portfolio receiving lower than a C must
be reviewed and signed off on by a committee of 3-6 Writing Program instructors.

NEU Academic Integrity Policy

Northeastern University is committed to the principles of intellectual honesty and integrity:

the NU Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy is found at
http://www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academicintegrity/index.html#Guidelines.
The Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution web site (http://www.osccr.neu.edu/) provides
extensive information on student conduct, the disciplinary process, and the range of available sanctions. All
members of the Northeastern community are expected to maintain complete honesty in all academic work,
presenting only that which is their own work in tests and assignments. In English classes, this definition of
plagiarism applies not only to borrowing whole documents, but also to borrowing parts of anothers work
without proper acknowledgment and proper paraphrasing or quotation. We will discuss effective and
responsible use of sources throughout the semester.

Collection of Student Work for Program Assessment

Your instructor may be asked to submit one or more samples of your writing to the Writing Program
Assessment Committee for the purpose of program assessment. Student work is randomly selected and used
solely for the purpose of program-level assessment. Looking at student writing from a programmatic
perspective helps us improve our program. Student writing collected for this purpose is never circulated
outside the Writing Program for any reason. While we cannot guarantee that all identifying information will
be removed from all materials read by Writing Program evaluators, we report only aggregate data to those
outside the program; no teachers or student are identified in these reports. If you have any questions or
concerns about our program assessment, feel free to contact Professor Chris Gallagher, Writing Program
Director, at c.gallagher@neu.edu or 617-373-2193.

Northeastern University Writing Program Policies (continued)

Attendance

Writing Program policy requires regular attendance at class meetings. Students are allowed three unexcused
absences in classes that meet for three days a week; they are allowed two unexcused absences in classes that
meet for two days. During the summer sessions, students are allowed two unexcused absences. Significant
and/or frequent tardiness may be counted as unexcused absences at the instructor's discretion.
Students also have the right to a limited number of excused
absences due to a religious observance, illness, death in the
family, required participation in athletic events, or other serious
and unavoidable life circumstances. Students are responsible for
notifying instructors when they must miss class for any reason.
Instructors are responsible for determining whether a student will
be excused from the class. Instructors are reminded that
University Health and Counseling Services will not issue
documentation of students illnesses or injuries.

What do you do if you miss class?

If you know about the absence in
advance, contact me to work out
how you will submit your work and
how you will ensure that you are
represented in class discussions in
your absence.
Arrange with at least 2 classmates to
get notes, assignments, and a
reliable recap of class discussion.

Because writing classes are conducted workshop-style and focus

on revision, a student who misses too many class meetings or
falls too far behind in their work, even with a legitimate excuse,
is not earning credit for the same course as the rest of the class.
In that case, the instructor may suggest, but not require, that the student to withdraw from rather than fail
the course.

Getting Help
Northeastern University offers a wide variety of help for students from academic to personal. On Blackboard
under Getting Help, I have listed links and information for the Writing Center, Peer Tutoring, We Care, the
Disability Resource Center and other sources of help. If you find yourself needing help, you are always
welcome to contact me via email or IM. Please contact me before you find yourself frustrated or squeezed for
time. Im happy to help and have many useful resources at hand.

The Writing Center

The Northeastern University Writing Center is located
in 412 Holmes (x4549; for current hours see
www.northeastern.edu/writing-center/)
in the English Department and offers free and friendly
help for any level writer, including help with
conceptualizing a writing project, refining your writing
process (i.e., planning, researching, organization, drafting,
and revising), and using sources effectively. Furthermore,
the Writing Center offers same-day appointments at
136 Snell Library, online appointments, and
asynchronous e-tutoring. You can receive feedback
during regular hours or via online/email response. For
writing tips and updates, follow the Writing Center on
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NEUWritingCenter.
Questions about the Writing Center can be directed to
Michael Turner, Assistant Director
(newwritingcenter@gmail.com) or Kat Gonso, Writing
Center Director, (k.gonso@neu.edu).

The NU Library

Early in the semester, we will hold a library research

session. You must attend this session as it is crucial
to your success in Unit 2 (and Units 3 and 4). I will
introduce you to advanced level electronic
resources and research methods that will be useful
in many situations outside this class.
The Snell Library staff is well informed about the
AWD course and the librarians are eager to assist
students in their projects. Moreover, new
developments in information technology make it
easier than ever to access a wide range of materials.
Our librarians are professionals with graduate-level
degrees; your interactions with them should be
conducted in a professional manner. If a librarian
has been especially helpful, you will want thank
him or her in your acknowledgements. So, please
note the names of the librarians that help you.

Few NU students take full advantage of the

resources their library offers special collections,
the Virtual Catalog, Interlibrary Loan, electronic document delivery, subject specific databases, full-text
databases, citation-linked databases, government documents and reports, repositories of statistical
information, and a range of other technologies and programs.

ENGL3308: Advanced Writing in the Social Sciences

Fall 2014 Schematic Schedule

Note that this is a schematic schedule. Precise due dates will be given on each Unit assignment sheet. I
will change due dates to meet the class need for more (or less?) time.
In general, youll have a reading each week related to the weeks topics or the assignment. I have
already chosen some of these readings; others will be decided with the class.
Week of

Topics

Sept. 3, 5

Course intro; U1 Intro; Exploiting Bad

Research Habits!; Back to Close Reading

Sept. 10, 12

Documentation & plagiarism; Peer review;

Choosing semester topics; Writing quality in
the technical professions: What gets an A?
Effective Source Use; Research Essentials:
Finding the Right Stuff; What is a literature
review? (U2 Intro)

Sept. 17, 19

Sept. 24, 26

U1 Reflection; U2 Research and set-up sessions;

Discussion of quality benchmarks for Social
Science writing
[9/23 Last day to drop with no W]

Oct. 1, 3

U2: Examining citation patterns; Organizing

information/ mapping your topic/mining your
sources for information

Oct. 8, 10

U2: Grammar workshop; Academic style/ tone;

Visual aids; On Argument/Fallacy (readings
from Hart or Penrose & Katz TBD)

Oct. 15, 17

U2: Revision tactics for longer papers; Abstracts

U2 Reflection

Oct. 22, 24

Units 3 & 4 intros; Writing reference materials;

Writing to spec; Establishing credibility in an
online encyclopedia

Oct. 29, 31

U4: Ethics of writing for the public;

Composing with multimedia

Nov. 5, 7

U3 Reflection, Unit 4 Work [Other topics TBA]

Nov. 12, 14

U4 Work [Other topics TBA], Portfolio intro

[11/11 Veterans Day: No Class]
Continue Portfolio work [Other topics TBA];
Share U4 final drafts with classmates
[11/18 Last day to drop with a W]
Thanksgiving Break: No Class
Last Day of Class: Show U4 final projects;
Evaluations

Nov. 19, 21

Nov. 26, 28
Dec. 3

Materials Due
9/3 Read the syllabus
9/5 Bring your favorite piece of
engineering/tech writing
9/10 U1 draft due to Blackboard (BB)
9/12 Whole Class Review (WCR)
9/16 U1 Peer Reviews due
9/17 Reading Hart, Ch 3 & 4 (figures),
In-class revision work on U1
9/23 U1 Final due
9/24 Library session (bring laptop)
9/26 U2 Annotated Bibliography due
(bring hardcopy)
10/1 U2 Practice Passage due (bring
hardcopy)
10/3 U2 full draft due to BB
10/7 U2 Bring hardcopy draft to class;
Hart reading should be finished
10/10 U2 WCR; Peer reviews due
10/15 U2 Write Abstract in class (bring
laptop)
10/17 U2 final due
10/22 U3 work in class (bring laptop)
Physics Today reading due; U3 work in
class (bring laptop)
10/28 U3 draft due; U4 Brainstorming
11/31 U3 WCR; U4 proposal
11/4 U3 Final due
11/5 U4 work in class (bring laptop)
11/7 U4 draft due
11/11 Peer Reviews due
11/14 U4 WCR
11/19 U4 Final due
11/21 Portfolio & Reflective Essay
draft to peers for review
Portfolio due 12/3 at 5 pm

Abbreviations used: WCR = Whole Class Review; BB = Blackboard; U = Unit