Course Description 

The course English 301 aims to develop professional writers and is designed to expose students to the different elements of writing in professional and business contexts.  To build proficiency there will be a series of short assignments and longer projects. In addition, the course also has a team component where classmates will actively peer-review each other’s work allowing for discussion which may hopefully lead to a better understanding of the course material. English 301 also gives students the opportunity to create profiles on websites such as LinkedIn and write applications to graduate school which may be useful for career advancement outside of the course. The textbook: Technical Communication 15th Edition by John M. Lannon; Laura J. Gurak and Publisher Pearson will be used throughout the course. The material of the course will be split into four units.

1.  Principles, Practices and People in English 301

2. Designing a Report Proposal; Defining Terms with an Audience in Mind

3. Designing a Report Outline & draft; Building your resume and job application skills

4. Drafting the Formal Report; Peer Review of the Formal Report Draft

Each unit will span 3 weeks.

Course Expectations

In this course, I hope to learn techniques to help me improve my job application writing and scientific writing. As mentioned on my biography page, I am an aspiring organic chemist. The ability to communicate your science is just as important as your skill in the laboratory so I hope to come out a better overall writer at the end of this course. Also, one of the assignments in this course is to write a graduate school application. Since I will be applying to graduate school this upcoming year this course gives me a perfect opportunity to get it done. Even though English as a subject is one of my weak points I believe that this course will be beneficial to my overall professional and scientific career.