Welcome to the First Unit of our course of studies:
Introductions, Definitions & Peer Reviews.
Each Unit has three lessons; one lesson a week.
In Unit One our overall objectives are:
- to familiarize ourselves with
- our textbook: Technical Communications, Fourteenth Edition
- our Course Description & Course Schedule
- each other — through the practice of professional letters of application, memos, emails & student blogs
- to study and practice writing techniques that are applicable to a range of technical and professional practices, in particular
- defining terms
- and peer review
- to learn how to
- write and read peer reviews with expertise
- reflect on your writing practices
- and self-edit accordingly
In order to fulfill our objectives, in Lesson One we will begin by exploring the course description and schedule, and reading the introductory chapters of our online textbook [pages 1 – 105] and you will set up your Student Blog. In Lesson Two, you will self-organize yourselves into writing teams of four members and you will collaboratively study and practice techniques for writing professional letters, memos and emails — by writing these documents for each other, and your instructor. In Lesson Three, you will study and practice writing techniques for Definitions & Peer review. The third lesson of each Unit concludes with a Reflection Blog; you choose one of your writing assignments from Unit One, edit the piece according to your peer review feedback, and then write a reflection on the original writing and the editing process.
You should go to Lesson One now