Grantham Technical Writing – Week #4 Reflection Journal 1

Technical Writing – Week #2 Reflection Journal 1

Week 2 Reflection Journal

One of the most effective ways we can understand what it is we know, what we have learned, and what we still need to know is through reflective writing. While reflective writing is not, by definition, technical writing, this weekly exercise should help you to better assess your progress through the course and course concepts.

This Week’s Journal Topic: Mechanism and Process Descriptions.

For this week’s journal, reflect on the content of chapters 4 and 5 and respond to the following questions:

·           Compare and contrast mechanism and process descriptions. 

o   How are the two descriptions similar?  Be specific.

o   How are the two descriptions different? Be specific.

o   Credit the textbook by title and/or author to support your ideas.

·           In the assignment, you were tasked with writing an introduction to a mechanism and process description. Based on the reading and your personal experience, how confident are you that you could draft a complete mechanism or process description that has an introduction, discussion, and conclusion?

·           What questions do you still have about these two technical writing documents?

Your response should be narrative in style, and it should be from 150 – 250 words in length.

View your reflection rubric.

 

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technical Writing – Week #3 Assignment 1

Informal Proposals

This week’s assignment focuses on informal proposals. There are three parts to the assignment:

1.    Outline a proposal following the outline format presented in Chapter 6 of the textbook.

2.    Write an introduction for your proposal. 

3.    Research:  Finding sources that are relevant to your proposal. 

 

Part I.  Write Outline For a proposal

Using the Outline Format for an Informal Proposal (Chapter 6), outline a proposal.  You may choose your own engineering or information technology topic.  However, you may also choose from the topics listed below.  The topics are general; you will need to narrow and focus your proposal idea. Research may be required.

·         A proposal to address network or computer security issues (firewall, malware, anti-virus

·         A proposal to upgrade an existing application or install a new application

·         A proposal for a Web-based training system (implementing a new platform or upgrading existing platform)

·         A proposal to build some type of flying craft (e.g. drone, quadcopter)

·         A proposal to build some type of robotic device.

·         A proposal to automate a system

·         Information Technology and Management projects at Illinois Institute of Technology

·         Engineering projects from Calvin University

Part II: Write the introduction to your proposal.

This proposal is an informal proposal and it is a solicited proposal.  Your audience is receptive to your proposal. 

Your introduction should clearly state the:

·         Purpose

·         Background (why you are proposing the idea)

·         Scope of the proposal

Be sure to identify your audience – is it a Professor (academic audience), someone in an organization (professional audience)?  Your introduction should clearly state the Purpose, Background (why are you proposing this idea), and Scope of the proposal.

Part III:  Research

Find three sources that provide information on the costs and/or time involved in implementing your proposal.  The Internet or the EBSCO on line library system may be used to find source.  Use the attached Proposal Time & Cost Source Sheet to enter the source information. 

1.    Summarize the content of the sources (2-3 sentences)

2.    State why they are relevant to your proposal.

 

Format Requirements:

1.    One-inch (1”) margins

2.    Double-spaced

3.    Submit two documents: 

·         Proposal Outline and Introduction

·         Proposal Time & Cost Source Sheet

 

Assignment checklist:

·         Part I and Part II: Check content of your outline and introduction against the content elements listed in the textbook. 

·         Part III:  Check to see that your URLs are accurate and that the sources can be accessed before submitting your work.

·         Proofread and spell check your work

View your assignment rubric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technical Writing – Week #3 Reflection Journal 1

Week 3 Reflection Journal

One of the most effective ways we can understand what it is we know, what we have learned, and what we still need to know is through reflective writing. While reflective writing is not, by definition, technical writing, this weekly exercise should help you to better assess your progress through the course and course concepts.

This journal has two parts and the foundations for your discussion are the readings and videos on leadership and the leadership assessment below:

·         A Synthesis of Leadership Theories and Styles. Journal of Management Policy & Practice, 15(2), 97–100. Landis, E. A., Hill, D., & Harvey, M. R. (2014).

·         Ten Leadership Theories In Five Minutes (2013, August 17). 

·         Assessment: What’s Your Leadership Style? West,K. Stixrud, E, & Reger, B. (2015 June 25)

 

Journal Topics: Leadership and Leadership Assessment

Part I: Choose two theories/models of leadership presented in the articles and/or videos that appeal to you.

1.    Summarize the two theories you chose and credit the sources you used.

2.    Be specific as to why you chose the theories. Why did they appeal to you? 

Part II:  Leadership assessment reflection

1.    Take the Leadership assessment.

2.    Did you find that the assessment is aligned with your choice of leadership and teamwork theories?

3.    Why or why not? Be specific and provide examples

General Requirements

·           Between 250 and 350 words in length.

·           Respond to all prompts in the instructions.

·           Use information from the readings or videos to support your ideas and credit (identify) the source(s) used.

·           Proofread to eliminate technical errors (e.g. spelling, grammar, punctuation).

View your reflection rubric.

 

 

 

Technical Writing – Week #4 Assignment 1

Creating Visual Elements

For the Week 4 assignment, you will demonstrate your ability to create effective visual elements. 

General Guidelines:

·         Your visual elements should draw on data from sources (research is required);

·         However, visuals may not be copied and pasted into your assignment.  The task here is to demonstrate your ability to create visuals.

·         Be sure to follow the general guidelines for creating visual elements stated in the reading.

Part I:  Visual 1:  Top Social Network Sites – Turning Text into a Visual element

1.    Review the 21 Top Social Media Sites for businesses to consider for brand reach.

2.    Using the text for the first 10 sites (Facebook – TikTok), create a visual (Chart, graph, or table). 

a.    Choose an appropriate visual format and display the data.  It is your choice to decide what data you wish to display.  For instance, the article identifies the user volume, but there is also description of each media site: photo and video sharing, text, images, videos, live videos & stories, video-sharing platform, or messaging app.  Exercise your creativity.

Part II.  Visual 2: Placement of visuals – finding and visuals into text. 

1.    For this part of the assignment, you will find and insert visual elements that enhance the text. You will be using text from a book from the Open Textbook Library. 

2.    Download and use The Project Life Cycle Phases.  The four stages of a project life cycle are identified and described

3.    Create a visual to go with the text that shows the four stages of the project life cycle

4.    Insert at least two pictures from Creative Commons into the text that enhance the discussion.   

Part III: Visual III:  Create a visual from text and include pictures

 

1.    Review the 15 Top Cloud Computer Service Provider Companies and develop a visual. 

2.    Choose any of the data to create a visual element (chart, table, and graph).

3.    Your visual should be in a format appropriate to the text you selected.

 

Format requirements:

·         One-inch (1”) margins

·         Submit one document

Assignment checklist:

·         Parts I, II III– visuals should follow guidelines for creating ethical visuals and format should be appropriate to the data presented.

·         Proofread and spell check your work

View your assignment rubric.

 

 

Technical Writing – Week #4 Reflection Journal 1

Week 4 Reflection Journal

One of the most effective ways we can understand what it is we know, what we have learned, and what we still need to know is through reflective writing. While reflective writing is not, by definition, technical writing, this weekly exercise should help you to better assess your progress through the course and course concepts.

Journal Topics:  Ethical Considerations and Visual Elements

This journal has two parts and Chapter 2 and Chapter 15 of the textbook are the foundation for this reflection.

Part I:  Ethical Considerations

·           According to the textbook, what is a definition of ethics for a technical writer?

·           The textbook author, Leo Finkelstein, Jr. asks: …”what do good and worthy mean?”  Briefly reflect on what good and worthy mean to you in relation to technical writing

·           Several ethical rules/standards are listed in the textbook (Finkelstein pp. 13-14.)  Pick one of them and reflect on what that standard means to you.  Support your discussion with at least one example of a violation of the standard.  Be specific.

Part 2:  Visuals

Chapter 15, Visuals, covers several topics related to the use of visual elements in technical writing. Pick one of the following topics and reflect on the topic, using ideas from the reading to support your discussion.  Your discussion can include examples from personal experience.

·           Guidelines for Design of Visuals – discussion should center around one of more of the guidelines.

·           Types of Visuals – What types of visuals have you used? What types of visuals do you like to see in presentations?

·           Image Alteration – In the context of technical writing, how can image alteration be a benefit? What are the ethical concerns that should be considered?

 

Journal Requirements

·           Between 250 and 350 words in length.

·           Respond to all prompts in the instructions.

·           Use information from the readings or videos to support your ideas and credit (identify) the source(s) used.

·           Proofread to eliminate technical errors (e.g. spelling, grammar, punctuation).

View your reflection rubric.

 

 

 

Technical Writing – Week #5 Assignment 1

Feasibility Report

This week’s assignment focuses on Chapter 8: Feasibility and Recommendation Reports.  There are three parts to the assignment:

1.    Create an outline for either a feasibility report or a recommendation report (your choice) 

2.    Write an introduction for your Report that includes Purpose, problem, solution (s) 

3.    Research:  Finding sources to support your recommendation

 

Part I.  Write Outline a proposal

·         Using the Outline Format for a feasibility report or a recommendation report create an outline.

·         The topic of the report is your proposal idea from Week 3.

·         There should be some specific detail in your outline.  For instance, in the Discussion Section, identify the criteria (topics) you researched to find data that supports your proposal solution to the problem.  Ex:  If you are updating an application, criteria could be resources needed, costs, and risks. 

o   Explain why you chose the criteria

o   Provide a source (data) to support your ideas

o   Explain how the data is relevant to your problem

 

Part II: Write the introduction to your proposal.

Your feasibility or recommendation report is a solicited report.  Your audience is receptive to your report.  Be sure to identify your audience – is it a Professor (academic audience), someone in an organization (professional audience)? 

Your introduction should clearly state the:

·         Purpose

·         Background (why are you proposing this idea)

·         Scope of the report.

Tip:  The purpose is to provide information that supports or rejects (feasibility report) your proposal idea or offers the best solution to the problem/issue identified in your week three proposal.

 

Part III:  Research: Find data to support your report conclusion

Research is used to support your proposed solution(s) to the problem you identified in your proposal.  The Discussion Section of the Feasibility or Recommendation report identifies what criteria (specific topics) you researched, why you chose those topics and what you found when you researched. 

·         Find a minimum of three sources that are relevant to your report

·         Enter your source information on the Feasibility or Recommendation Report Sources Template

·         Attach the Feasibility or Recommendation Report Sources Template as a separate document  

 

Format requirements:

·         One-inch (1”) margins

·         Submit one document

Assignment checklist:

·         Parts I, II III– visuals should follow guidelines for creating ethical visuals and format should be appropriate to the data presented.

·         Proofread and spell check your work

View your assignment rubric.

 

 

 

Technical Writing – Week #5 Reflection Journal 1

Week 5 Reflection Journal

One of the most effective ways we can understand what it is we know, what we have learned, and what we still need to know is through reflective writing. While reflective writing is not, by definition, technical writing, this weekly exercise should help you to better assess your progress through the course and course concepts.

Journal Topics:  Compare and Contrast Feasibility and Recommendation Reports

 

This journal focuses on the Chapter 8 in the textbook.

1.    How are Feasibility and Recommendation reports similar?

2.    How are they different? What is the “one small difference” (Leo Finkelstein, 2008, pp. 127-128) between these reports?

3.    Have you ever read feasibility or recommendation reports or written them?  Be specific.

4.    How does a feasibility or recommendation report relate to a proposals (Chapter 6) which are specialized, technical business documents that offer persuasive solutions to problems?(Finkelstein, 2008, p. 81).

 

General Requirements

·         Between 250 and 350 words in length.

·         Respond to all prompts in the instructions.

·         Use information from the readings or videos to support your ideas and credit (identify) the source(s) used.

·         Proofread to eliminate technical errors (e.g. spelling, grammar, punctuation).