English 290 Policy Statement

Introduction to Professional Writing

English 290
Susan Romano
HUM 362
Office Hours W 1-3
sromano@unm.edu
Policy Statement for Fall 2001

policy

Hello and welcome to the Fall 2001 version of English 290.001: Introduction to Professional Writing. Here you'll be studying the sorts of writing that people in the twenty-first century do for pay, and you'll find the range of activities called "writing" both extensive and diverse. Of course, this means you'll be rethinking your notion of what it means to be a writer and deciding whether your talents and interests are sufficiently eclectic to add "writing" to your list of academic and professional credentials. In short, English 290 surveys the field of professional writing as an academic discipline, a professional expertise, and a workplace activity. Course activities aim to ensure your conceptual and practical grasp of the opportunities in the field and to preview the training you must undergo if you intend to credentialize yourself as a professional writer.

texts

Harty, Strategies for Business and Technical Writing
Faigley, The Longman Guide to the Web
Savage and Sullivan, Writing a Professional Life

Williams, The Non-Designer's Design Book

writing assignments and grades

1 Meeting Deadlines (account and page set up, contract, drafts): 10 points

2 Attendance, Quizzes, and Participation: 5 points

3 Makeover: 15 points

4 Professional Writing Paper: 15 points

5 On-the-Job Packet: 10 points

6 Resume Packet: 20 points

7 Course Project: Review Articles Dreamweaver Formatted: 25 points

Point Total: 100

note well

Attend carefully to presentation when you devise your responses to writing assignments. Document design is part of audience awareness in the academic world as well as in the business world.
Be prepared to review the work of your classmates and to submit your work to classmates for review.
As a rule, assignments are due at the beginning of the class period following their announcement on the syllabus.
Be prepared to conduct extensive discussions of our course project (ProPenCity) via the listserv.
Expect to examine the syllabus regularly, as I will adapt it to meet class needs. All changes will be announced in class; it follows that you must be in class to hear these announcements.

attendance policy

You may miss three classes for whatever reason you find appropriate, including illness, car trouble, and family emergency. Please notify me beforehand or immediately after each absence (email is best). If you miss more than three class periods, your ability to keep up with coursework will be in jeopardy, and I'll encourage you to drop the course. If you choose to stay, I'll be obliged to deduct two points for each absence, regardless of the reasons you may have for not attending class.