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EGR 335 Technical Communications for
Engineers and Computer Scientists
Coordinator: Leo Finkelstein, Jr.
Course Review
Course Content
Topic: Technical Communication at an undergraduate CS/CEG level
Focus: Producing quality, original technical documents on topics in CS/CEG.
Scope: Component skills, technical proposals, and various formal report document types.
Topics in EGR 335
• Ethics in technical communication– Plagiarism & image alteration
• Abstraction and clarity in use of language• Description of a mechanism• Description of a process
– Mechanism in operation or conceptual process
• Formal and informal proposals• Technical briefings• Business communications
– Various letters, resumes for CS/CEG jobs
• Formal reports
Topics in EGR 335
• Types of formal reports– Formal proposals– Progress/status/activity reports– Feasibility/recommendation reports– Laboratory/project reports– Instructions/manuals– Research/state of the art reports
• Abstracts and executive summaries• Documentation
Class Schedule
• Approach– Lectures with interactive discussions on a
variety of topics– Student groups working on specific
problems/exercises– Student formal presentations on their
formal report topics
Class Schedule
• One lesson: Ethics in technical writing
• Two lessons: Mechanism description
• Two lessons: Process description
• Two lessons: Formal/informal proposals
• Six lessons: Formal report types, documentation, briefings and visuals, grammar and style
• Seven lessons: Research presentations
Assignments & Grading
• 10%: Mechanism description
• 10%: Process description
• 15%: Formal report proposal
• 45%: Formal report
• 15%: Technical briefing
• 05%: Instructor option
Desired Outcomes
Be able to understand professional and ethical responsibilities related to technical communication
Be able to describe the physical attributes of a mechanism and the process of its operation, and a conceptual process
Be able to communicate effectively. Specifically, be able to do the critical thinking necessary to:
• propose, develop, and produce a significant formal project on a technical topic in the student’s major field
• develop, produce, and deliver a formal presentation on a technical topic related to the formal report
• May include developing research methods and statistical controls, as well as properly interpreting current research
Assessment
No valid empirical way to assess this courseAssessment done by performance on course projects--
i.e., quality of the student’s component skills descriptions, proposal, presentation, research report):
• Demonstrated critical thinking• Demonstrated understanding of concepts• Demonstrated quality of writing• Validity of research methods used
Resources
Textbook resources• Leo Finkelstein, Jr., Pocket Book of Technical Writing for
Engineers and Scientists, 3rd Ed., Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. REQUIRED
• Leo Finkelstein, Jr., Pocket Book of English Grammar for Engineers and Scientists, 1st Ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. REQUIRED
Web resources– www.finkelnet.com– www.cs.wright.edu/~lfinkel/courses