In this course, you will learn and practice various communication strategies and genres of technical and professional writing. You will compose and design larger documents like manuals, reports, and proposals as well as smaller documents like memos, letters, descriptions, and instructions. You will learn to use strategies of audience-analysis, organization, style, and page layout to develop documents that address specific rhetorical situations. This course is designed for students who want to study technical and professional writing as part of their career preparation in engineering, business, social service, medicine, science, or other technical fields.

Textbook:Technical Communication Today, Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Longman, 2004 OR Technical Communication, Mike Markel. Bedford St. Martins, 2003. Please check with your instructor to find out which text is being used.

Course Prerequisites: You must have completed English 101 and 102 before taking English 219, unless your ACT or SAT scores exempt you from taking those courses. You have an option to submit a writing proficiency portfolio in lieu of taking English 102 if you received a B or higher in English 101. But in order to take English 219, you must contact Birgit Schmidt-Rosemann by email and she must notify your instructor that you have enrolled in the writing proficiency portfolio. There are no exceptions.

Projects: This class is your opportunity to practice formal and informal writing. You will do formal writing by completing formal writing assignments and will do informal writing by completing in-class writing exercises. Formal writing assignments include:

• Instructions
• Technical Description
• Job Application Packet
• Report
• Proposal