191 F20 Jonahs

191

ENGL 191 (041, 042, 043)

COMMUNICATION IN THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION

Instructor:         Dr. Andrea Jonahs

Email:                  ajonahs@uwaterloo.ca

Office Hours:    Weekly drop-in chat sessions on Tues.,12:30-1:30pm & Thurs., 10-11am (via MS Teams). Video/phone/in-person meetings scheduled by appointment.

Delivery Type: Online and asynchronous

COURSE DESCRIPTION

“In this course, you will enhance your written and oral technical communication competencies in contexts relevant to the engineering profession as well as to your future career. By participating in classes and completing course assignments, you will practice genres of communication crafted for audiences that might include employers, clients, peer groups, technical staff, public audiences, and regulatory and policy-focused stakeholders. By focusing on genre, design, and audience, you will come to better understand concepts including meaning-making, perception, and responsibility. In addition, by completing written and oral assignments, you will develop confidence as a reader and writer, and as a listener and presenter” (Undergraduate Communication Outcomes Initiative, 2018).

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• describe and apply conventions, genres, norms, and values of communication in an engineering discipline and in an engineering-related co-op context;
• compose persuasive technical arguments, appealing to internal and external audiences, including employers, peers, non-technical clients, and others;
• analyze and understand technical arguments and summarize documents in clear and concise ways; and
• appraise and reflect on their own compositions and that of their peers to strategically revise and edit documents and presentations.

REQUIRED TEXT & TECHNOLOGY

• Thorsten, E. (2020). Writing in the technical fields: A practical guide (3^rd ed.). Oxford.
• Access to Waterloo LEARN
• Access to video recording software (e.g. phone, laptop). If you are not able to access video recording software, please let me know.
• Microsoft Teams (https://uwaterloo.ca/microsoft-teams/) for chat sessions/meetings. Options: Video/audio meetings can also take place on WebEx, Google Meetings, WhatsApp and FaceTime.

TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT

As part of the University of Waterloo community, we acknowledge that we occupy the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River.

About the territorial acknowledgment:

On 25 October 1784, Sir Frederick Haldimand, the governor of Québec, signed a decree that granted a tract of land to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), also known as the Six Nations, for their alliance with British forces during the American Revolution (1775-83). The Haldimand Tract extends by 10 kilometers on both sides of the Grand River, from its source in Dundalk Township to its mouth at Lake Erie. Originally, 950,000 acres was designated for the Haldimand Tract, today approximately 48,000 acres remain. Read more about the history and ongoing negotiations: Six Nations Lands and Resources.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS & ASSESSMENT

The following section provides brief, broad descriptions of course activities and assignments. The shaded section indicates scaffolded/integrated assignments. Please consult the assignment guidelines for specific requirements and grading rubrics.

NOTE: There is no midterm or final exam for this course.

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS

Activities

Weekly activities are meant to prepare you for major assignments. These activities are graded “lightly,” meaning that if you complete the activity according to the directions, you will receive full marks. There may be little to no feedback provided for these activities. However, you are encouraged to contact me if you have questions.

Discussion-based activities will take place on the LEARN discussion board.

Reading quizzes are meant to keep you diligent with assigned readings and test your knowledge of key concepts.

Formal Report

Your formal report will research a topic related to a project discussed on a Canadian engineering company website. Your report will include a process description/mechanical description relevant to your research. You will first submit a draft, receive peer review, and then submit your final version. Topics must be approved.

Oral Presentation on Formal Report

You will deliver an oral presentation based on your formal report. Your presentation will be video recorded so that it can be shared and peer reviewed.

National Engineering Month (NEM) Proposal

For this assignment, you will submit a written proposal for an activity that fulfills NEM’s mission. Your proposal must clearly identify a problem/need/gap and demonstrate how your proposal addresses that problem/need/gap.

Final ReflectionIn this final assignment, you will reflect on the work you have done in this course. Specifically, you will discuss what you have learned through the peer review and revision process; the ideas you found most valuable; and the areas you want to continue to improve on.

NOTE: Please see assignment guidelines on LEARN for the most detailed and up-to-date information on what is required and how you will be assessed.

LATE WORK & GRADING POLICIES

• The Formal Report (w/draft), Oral Presentation, NEM proposal, and Reflection are required to pass the course.
• All late work for major assignments will receive a 5% per day late penalty.
• • Exceptions: Certain requirements, such as those that depend on the timely contribution of others for discussion or peer review, will not receive a late penalty. If you miss the deadline, you will receive a zero.
• All late work for activities will receive a .5pt deduction per day. Activities are usually worth between 2 and 5 points.

Accommodations

If you require an accommodation for any aspect of the course, please reach out to me as early as possible. Accommodation requests concerning your ability to complete course requirements as specified will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In some instances, official documentation, such as a verification of illness form or communication from AccessAbility Services, may be required.

Grading Scale

Link to UWaterloo’s Grading Policies. 

“A” range is exceptional. Work exceeds expectations by being creative, comprehensive, persuasive, and mostly error-free.

“B” range meets expectations. Work demonstrates competency but is limited in originality and depth. Occasional errors do not undermine the overall integrity of the work.

“C” range meets minimal expectations. Work tends to be underdeveloped in some areas. Errors may undermine the overall integrity and/or comprehension of the work.

“D” or “F” ranges do not meet expectations. Work is underdeveloped in several areas. Errors tend to be frequent and undermine the overall comprehension of the work

The passing grade is 50%.

OTHER POLICIES & RESOURCES

Course Copyright

All rights, including copyright, images, slides, audio, and video components, of the content of this course are owned by the course author and the University of Waterloo, unless otherwise stated. By accessing this course, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal, non-commercial use. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt, or change in any way the content of these web pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the course author and the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning (this includes the content uploaded by students e.g. video presentations).

Academic Integrity & Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offense, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g. plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic adviser, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.

Examples of academic misconduct include using work from students who have taken the class previously, using work that you have written for other classes, having someone complete part of an assignment, not signaling the author/source when you are quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing.

Academic Integrity Office (University): http://uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/

Academic Integrity Website (Engineering): https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/current-undergraduate-students/academic-support/academic-integrity

Grievance

A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition), or under Policy 71, Student Discipline, may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals. http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm

AccessAbility Services

If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of a known or unknown disability, illness or condition, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term. They can help you create an individualized academic accommodation plan for all components of your academic career. https://uwaterloo.ca/accessability-services/

Student Wellness & Counselling Services

University can be a challenging environment. Meeting with an experienced and friendly counsellor can help students address their questions and concerns, set goals and develop strategies and skills to manage stress or other concerns. Information is available online at Campus Wellness https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/counselling-services and UW MATES peer counselling https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/counselling-services/uw-mates-peer-counselling

Writing and Communication Center

The Writing and Communication Center works with students as they develop their ideas, draft their work, and revise their work. Writing and communication specialists offer one-on-one support on all aspects of this course, and you can make multiple appointments during the term, or drop in at the Libraries for quick questions and feedback. Specialists can even help with presentations! Please see their website to schedule appointments, and note that you can schedule group appointments for our team-based projects, presentations, and papers.

Student Success Office

The mandate of the Student Success Office (SSO) is to provide and facilitate strategic student support for academic and personal success. Information available online at https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success/about-student-success.