I cannot teach you everything you will ever need to know about writing. Every workplace and every field requires different skills. New writing formats are created all the time. Existing formats change. Without a magic wand, it’s impossible to know what each of you will need in the future.
Instead of trying to teach you every possible way of writing, this course focuses on how to survive in the workplace without a teacher telling you how to write. We will review many kinds of writing, and you will write documents that are specifically important to your career and learn techniques to research kinds of writing on your own. By the end of the course, you should be prepared to figure out how to write anything you need in the future.
Course Requirements and Assessment
Your course grade is comprised of three parts, shown in the following chart. Each portion is described in more detail below the chart.
Major Written Projects (60% of your course grade)
The Work You Need to Do
There are four major projects in this course:
- Analysis of Writing in Your Field
- Design & Visuals/Instructions
- Proposal/Recommendation
- Presentation Materials
How Grading Works
Each assignment includes a rubric that outlines the requirements for the project. All major projects are graded on the default Virginia Tech A/F grade scale with +/-.
Weekly Activities (20% of your course grade)
The Work You Need to Do
Every week there will be 10 to 15 activities that you need to complete. These activities are typically short writing, design, or reading activities, and they will usually be quick to complete, though you will need to do readings to support many of them.
How Grading Works
- You will track these activities and submit a weekly summary of your work each Friday.
- Your work is graded primarily on completion. If you put in your effort and do the work, you get credit.
- Your work should be error-free however. If your work has errors of professional correctness, your grade will suffer.
Each week will have a template that you will use to summarize your work. Weekly Activities are calculated on the default Virginia Tech A/F grade scale with +/-.
Participation (20% of your course grade)
The Work You Need to Do
Your participation in this course is based on the work that you do in discussion posts, writing group conversations, and other informal activities.
You will log your work, noting where and how you contribute to the on-going conversations in the course. At the end of the term, you will write a performance review (as your final exam) that explains what you have done and provides a self-evaluation of your participation.
How Grading Works
You will track your participation and evaluate yourself at the end of the term, based on the criteria outlined on the Participation page. Participation is calculated on the default Virginia Tech A/F grade scale with +/-.
