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Updated 9 September 2010 Please report malfunctioning links to
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Course Syllabus, Instructions, and Important FormsInstructions for Revised Student Submissions Assignment 1 Directions For help with
Blackboard, USF email, OASIS, or other USF technology tools see http://it.usf.edu/, send an email (help@usf.edu), or call
866-974-1222. Course TextbooksREQUIRED TEXT: The Longman Guide to Technical Editing, by Carolyn D. Rude, Longman Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 978-0321365798, $24.95 (list). Available at amazon.com and other sites, including bookstore on Sarasota campus. Search using Google “Shopping” link. REQUIRED TEXT: Levels of Edit (Jet Propulsion Lab, Calif. Institute of Technology) (free PDF download) REQUIRED TEXT: Empirical Mathematics: Numerical Data and Models by Prof. Roger Cooke, Univ. of Vermont (free PDF download). Author’s website. OPTIONAL RESOURCES Guide to Technical Editing by Anne Eisenberg (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1992). ISBN 0195063066 Editing Technical Writing by Donald C. Samson, Jr. (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1993). ISBN 0195063511 Technical Editing, 4th Ed. by Carolyn D. Rude (New York: Pearson Longman, 2006). ISBN 032133082X Magazine Editing for Professionals by J. T. W. Hubbard (Syracuse NY: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1989). ISBN 0815624638. The Copyeditor's Handbook: A
Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn (Berkeley CA: Univ. of California
Press, 2005). ISBN 0520246888. How Grammar Works: A Self-Teaching Guide by Patricia Osborn (2nd edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999). ISBN 0471243884. See on Amazon.com The
Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law by Norm Goldstein (New York: Basic Books, 2007).
ISBN 9780465004898. The Chicago Manual of Style by Univ. of Chicago Press Staff (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2003). ISBN 0226104036. Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications (Third Edition). (Especially useful for IT majors and others pursuing a career in information technology and related fields). Available on Amazon.com at this link. Artful Sentences: Syntax and Style by Virginia Tufte (2nd Printing 2007; Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press LLC, 2006). ISBN 0961392185. (See reviews here.) Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage, by William and Mary Morris.
Harper Collins, 1988 (reprint of original 1975 publication). ISBN 006181606X
or 978-0061816062. Hardbound, about $12.00 at Amazon.com. Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A
Bullfighter's Guide, by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky. Free Press,
2005. ISBN 0743269098. Hardbound, about $15.00 at Amazon.com. The Dictionary of Corporate Bulls**t: An A to Z Lexicon of Empty, Enraging, and Just Plain Stupid Office Talk, by Lois Beckwith. Broadway, 2006. ISBN 0767920740. Paperback, about $10.00 at Amazon.com. Schedule of ENC 4931 Assignments - Fall 2010
Assignments are usually graded and returned within
one week of submission. Assignment instructions will be announced via
lectures and email. Course Content and Lectures
INSTRUCTIONS: Lectures consist of a spoken audio recording in MP4 format
and a set of PowerPoint slides. It is important to download both files and
listen to the spoken audio as you see the slides on your computer (the audio
includes cues for advancing from one slide to another. To hear MP4 files on a Windows computer, download free
Quicktime player here.
Alternatively, you may use the free VLC Media Player, to be found here: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. Then,
each week, right-click on the PowerPoint link, choose SAVE TARGET AS, and
download to your computer desktop. Do the same with the MP4 link. Open the
PPT file first and then the MP4 file. As you listen to the MP4 audio, you
will hear cues to advance to succeeding slides. If you lack PowerPoint on
your computer, you may download a free PPT viewer here. You should
save all lecture files in the same ENC_4931 folder in which you keep your
written assignments and emails related to the course. Also, back-up this
folder regularly onto external media such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, or
online archive. This folder will contain the core of what you are paying for
and learning in this course -- treat it accordingly. IMPORTANT: Listen to and take notes on lectures as they are posted --
they provide essential information needed to perform assignments
successfully. You must read the PowerPoint slides and hear the audio
recording simultaneously. If you are unable to hear a lecture, contact the
instructor immediately. Send me an email (by the deadline stated in the
syllabus) noting the audio code words mentioned in the recorded lecture.
Failure to do so will result in penalty to your final semester grade. Lectures will be posted on or before Wednesday or
Thursday for the week in question, beginning before Aug. 23. Please do not
ask for a lecture to be posted in advance. They are custom-prepared every
semester. Lectures ready to download are noted in orange text below. I welcome questions raised by the lectures and other communications.
Send your inquiries and comments to me via email (thorsdag [at] comcast dot
net). If your question and my response appear to be of general interest and
value to the class, I will send my message to all students. ACHTUNG: Look for a posted lecture only after
you have received an email notification from the instructor, not before. The
lecture posting schedule will vary in terms of workload and other factors. (Aug 5) Week 1, Course Introduction (PPT Slides) (Sep 1) Week 2, The Big Picture (PPT Slides) (Sep 9) Week 3, Career
Benefits (PPT Slides) Sep 15 - Week 4 Sep 22 - Week 5 Sep 29 - Week 6 Oct 6 - Week 7 Oct 13 - Week 8 Oct 20 - Week 9 Oct 27 - Week 10 Nov 3 - Week 11 Nov 10 - Week 12 Nov 17 - Week 13 Nov 24 - Week 14 Dec 1 - Week 15
(final lecture) Software/Hardware HelpConvert any printable document to PDF (free program) IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT MS OFFICE 2007 Microsoft Office 03 and 07 Help (Univ. of Wisconsin) Open Office (free alternative to MS Office) Create a GANTT chart in Excel (Windows) Create a GANTT chart in Excel (Macintosh) Tutorial on GANTT chart in Excel (YouTube video) Microsoft Word for Windows Support Center How to Set Headers/Footers in Word Download MS Works-To-Word converter (1.5 MB) Alternative: SAVE YOUR FILE IN .rtf (Rich Text Format) Convert .WPD (Word Perfect) to .DOC (MS Word) How To Build a Website in MS Word How to Save a Web Page as a File in Windows Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Support Center Apple ... The Computer for the Rest of Us Advice to Students: Pack A Mac (BusinessWeek) Microsoft Support for Macintosh (Mactopia) |
Important Sites and Pages
Blackboard (my.usf.edu): all student grades are posted on Blackboard OASIS (main portal for class schedules and related information) USF Information Technology Resources USF E-Campus Home Page (Distance Learning) USF Undergraduate Catalog (2010-2011) (see pages 48-60 for USF policy on Academic Dishonesty; all students are required to read and follow this policy) Students’ Changing Views of Plagiarism Professional & Technical Writing at USF Sarasota-Manatee The Writing Internship at USF Sarasota-Manatee Writing Internship Application Main Web Portal for USF Sarasota-Manatee USF
Sarasota-Manatee Career Center Instructor's Professional Website ENC 3250, Professional Writing Evaluations of Past Courses by Students
Click here for evaluations (numeric scores and comments) by students in courses taught by Mr. Roberts from Fall 2003 through Spring 2010. (Updated 20 July 2010) Writing Correctly and Effectively
USF Sarasota-Manatee Writing Resource Center Online Grammar and English Handbook Purdue Univ. Online Writing Lab (OWL) American Heritage Reference Collection Language Errors to Avoid (Roberts) How to Eliminate Passive Voice Websites for Students of English as Second Language Common Errors in English (Paul Brians) MLA Documentation Procedures (Purdue) MLA Parenthetical Documentation Rules Easy Documentation Tool (MLA Format) Six Steps for Learning Difficult Subjects Quickly Use of Articles in English (especially useful for foreigners) Websites for Students of English as Second Language Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar Tech Writers, Grammar and the Prescriptive Attitude Assignment 5, Option 2: Wikipedia Editing“Editing” as Defined by Wikipedia YouTube Instructions for Submitting a Wikipedia Entry Google Search: “Editing Wikipedia” Professional & Technical Editing ResourcesInternational Association of Business Communicators Society for Technical Communication The Slot: A Spot for Copy Editors (blog by Bill Walsh) Breaking Into Corporate Editing Corporate Writer and Editor (online newsletter) The Logistics Handbook (instructor editing example) Florida Turnpike 2007 Annual Report (STC prize-winner) Entering the Field of Technical Editing San Francisco Bay Area Editors’ Forum Turn Your Blog Into a Best-Selling Book! Why Are Precision and Accuracy Important in Technical Writing? Specialized CommunicationsAdobe RoboHelp 8 (technical documentation) A Revived Future for Adobe RoboHelp The User Manual Manual : How to Research, Write, Test, Edit & Produce a Software Manual Ebooks for Mac Users (good examples of tech writing that works) Information on Usability Criteria and Techniques Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) Writing Effective Requirements Specifications Resume and Cover Letter / Job-Hunting
Resume and Interviewing Advice (updated 4 Apr 2010) Alternatives to College Education (June 2010) Tiny Typos on Resume Can Sink Your Job Hunt Ten Resume Mistakes (posted Feb 2010) Using Social Networking in a Job Search Job-hunters: Beware of Social Networking Sites Scams to Avoid in Online Job Search Federal Resume Handbook (2002) Basic Tips: Landing the Next Job (2008) USF Sarasota-Manatee Career Center Post Your Own Job-Hunting Website Job Search Innovations (video resume + interview) Web-Based Job Hunting (Feb 08, Wall St Journal) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Outlook for Professional Writers Career Summaries from Princeton Review Sarasota Craig’s List - seeking writers and editors New Directions in Online Job Search (Feb 2010) Dream Jobs: College Students Get Real (BusinessWeek, 8 May 2010) The IRS Targets Independent Contractors (BusinessWeek, 8 May 2010) Getting in the Game: From Freelancer to Employee (Wall St Journal, June 2010) The MBA Marketing Machine (BusinessWeek, 14 June 2010) College Drop-Outs
Become Billionaire Entrepreneurs? (BusinessWeek, 11 June 2010) Bureau of Labor Statistics: Outlook for Professional Writers Success as a Freelance: More than Just Landing Assignments Eight Tips for Job Hunting During the Recession Innovative, Iconoclastic ThinkingHunting the Hidden Dimension (PBS video on fractals) Communicating Across Cultures (MIT Open Course) Cyberinfrastructure: Leveraging Change at Our Institutions Creating a Culture of Ideas (Nicholas Negroponte) Article on Autodidacticism (Wikipedia) What Life Asks of Us (NY Times Op-Ed essay) Mediocracy: Inversions & Deceptions in an Egalitarian Society Why Pundits Get Things Wrong (Newsweek) Did You Know? (facts about now and the future) Writing, Typing, and Economics - John Kenneth Galbraith Humor
Snoots, Language Nazis, and Other Pleasantries Oddities of the English Language Sharp Points (usage peeves from copy editor Bill Walsh) Need an Outrageous Ad Agency? Try This One. Demotivational Art from Despair, Inc. Andy Borowitz - Humor & Satire Pop Talk Is Totally Everywhere Like, Why Do So Many People Like Saying "Like"? Five Weird Ways to College Success (Washington Post) Stanley Bing Blog: How to Be Machiavellian and Funny |