HU 3120: Technical and Scientific Communication

Section R06
MTWR 11:05 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Walker 134

Instructor:	Jim Nugent
Email:	jdnugent@mtu.edu
Phone:	487-3273
Office:	Walker 142
Office Hours:	Every day after class (just pull me aside), and by appointment any time.

Course Description

Technical and Scientific Communication is a study of written and oral communication in technical, scientific, and professional environments. It emphasizes audience, writing processes, genres of scientific and technical discourse, visual communication, collaboration, professional responsibility, and clear expression.

Required Textbook and Readings

Woolever, Kristin R. Writing for the Technical Professions. fourth edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007.
Additional readings will be provided.

Course Policies

Given that HU 3120 is a collaborative , discussion-based course, I expect regular, timely attendance from all students. More than two unexcused absences will result in your final grade being dropped by one letter (for example, B becomes C, AB becomes BC, CD becomes F). Also, any absences or tardiness will reflect poorly on your social practices when I determine your social practices grade. In-class work generally cannot be made up—even if the absence is excused. Six or more absences is grounds for automatic failure.
If you fail to sign the attendance sheet on a given day, it will count as an unexcused absence.
If you have been absent for a class, do not ask me what you missed. Consult the online course calendar or your classmates instead.
When working collaboratively, your group is responsible for practicing sound data management skills and sharing the most current versions of your work. (You may want to get in the habit of emailing your group's most current drafts to everyone at the end of each in-class work day.) Technology excuses are generally not viable in this class.
Do not hesitate to email me anytime you have questions about the course, course policies, assignment requirements, etc. I reserve the right, however, to not respond to any email posing questions already answered on this webpage.
Late assignments are generally not accepted.
You are responsible for providing a replacement if I lose your work. (This doesn't mean that I will make a policy of losing your work—all it means is that you should keep a saved copy of the major assignments on hand, and be prepared to offer a copy should the unthinkable happen.)
I reserve the right to revise this syllabus throughout the semester.
I expect all work in this class to meet the standards of the university's Academic Integrity Policy.

Assignments

There will be five major assignments in this class, listed below, which are due on the dates listed in the course calendar.

The five major course segments are as follows:

Reading and Composing Scientific Reports
User Documentation Project
Recommendation Report Project
Résumé and Cover Letter
Reading Science and Technology

Grading

I will give letter grades (A, AB, B, BC, C, CD, D, or F) for all graded assignments in this class. The final grade is determined as follows:

15%	Reading and Composing Scientific Reports
20%	User Documentation Project
25%	Recommendation Report Project
15%	Résumé and Cover Letter Assignment
10%	Reading Science and Technology
15%	Social Practices—This grade will reflect your contributions to class discussions, peer review activities, and group work, as well as your commitment to submitting timely and complete work. Needless to say, if you are not in class regularly and on time, you are not participating, so this grade will also partially reflect your attendance.

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