Course Resources
Course Showcase
Here is an example of outstanding student work from this course:
Service-Learning Checklist | Service-Learning Structured Reflections
Client Project Checklist | Client Project Structured Reflections
Course Schedule
Week 1 :: Project 1 Assignment Sheet | Service-Learning/Client Assignment Sheet
9/6 :: Course introduction; review syllabus and team projects; talk about website design and creation
9/8 :: Read the Project 1 assignment sheet and the service-learning/client assignment sheet in the course resources list above - decide if you want to do one of these projects; search the web for writing/professional portfolios of young people just out of college - bring in your results; read the Purdue OWL’s resources on email etiquette and email etiquette for students; send me a hello email following these guidelines
Week 2 :: Project 2 Assignment Sheet
9/11 :: Read Redish ch. 1, Pew Research Center report on web use; set up account with Squarespace; service-learning students: read “Who Are We?” and the information from the URLs listed on your checklist
9/13 :: Read the Project 2 assignment sheet, Redish ch. 2, the first Rhetorical Situations page and PowerPoint slides from the Purdue OWL; for fun: sooo 1996 (what not to do with your portfolios); textbook check (please bring your textbook); service-learning students: begin reading the SNAP Plan and the Baltimore Anchor Plan
9/15 :: Do some web research on how to write an effective short bio - bring in your findings for class discussion; read Personas from Usability.gov and begin sketching out personas for your portfolio based on the characteristics from Redish ch. 2 (key phrases, experience, emotions, etc.)
Week 3
9/18 :: Bring in your completed persona drafts; read Redish ch. 3 and Smashing Magazine’s pages on designing user-centered, effective web sites. In-class work: exchange persona drafts and review them with your peers following Redish's guidelines. Revise accordingly. When done, work on your website.
9/20 :: Wireframe your website and bring that in to class; read the Purdue OWL’s Paramedic Method and the Five Principles of Readability; begin reading the Purdue OWL's journalism resource (should finish by 9/24); do some web research on short, effective hard news articles - bring in your findings for class discussion
9/22 :: Personas and wireframes due; read the page on making your Squarespace site more accessible; read the Flesch-Kincaid readability measures, and read-able.com
Week 4
9/25 :: Read Redish ch. 10 and Nielson’s “Writing Style for Print vs. Web”; client students: begin your project; here is the help page that explains how you can start a blog using Squarespace
9/27 :: Read Center for Plain Language and the
9/27 :: Extra credit event - Loyola Rhetoric Society meeting at 6 PM in the writing department lounge
9/29 :: Bring two job ads/intern positions/grad schools you'd like to apply to and complete an audience analysis on both; read an author-centered cover letter and résumé, a reader-centered cover letter and résumé, Nick’s letter; review cover letter and résumé checklists
Week 5 :: Project 3 Assignment Sheet
10/2 :: Bring your draft cover letters and résumés tailored to your two job ads; read the Project 3 assignment sheet, Redish ch. 4, and Usability.gov’s “Home” and “Basics” pages
10/2 :: Extra credit event - Chris Mims, technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, will speak in KH009 at 3 PM. The extra credit assignment sheet is above in the Course Resources section
10/4 :: Bring draft bio, news articles, and job docs for our workshop; read Redish ch. 5, the Introduction from the Purdue OWL Usability Report and skim the rest of the report; read the IRB page and the Informed Consent page at the bottom
10/6 :: Open day for in-class website work; you should have your basic website set up with draft news stories, bios, and job docs posted - cover letter and résumé should also be posted as PDFs; please email me your URL by CLASS TIME and follow the Purdue OWL email etiquette guidelines for your message
Week 6
10/9 :: Read Redish ch. 15, the usability test process sheet, a student sample WR305 usability report, and Usability.gov’s “Methods” pages: Usability Testing, Individual Interviews, Surveys, and Task Analysis
10/11 :: Download and read your test documents; prepare for testing on Friday
10/13 :: Usability testing; reflection 1 due for service-learning and client teams
Week 7
10/16 :: Usability testing continued
10/18 :: Usability testing continued
10/20 :: Class cancelled for fall break; mid-term grades available by 10/20 (S = satisfactory U = unsatisfactory)
Week 8 :: Project 4 Assignment Sheet
10/23 :: Reading quiz 1; read the handout on coding and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data; begin coding and analyzing your usability data; read the Project 4 assignment sheet; read the Purdue OWL's “Writing Proposals and Technical Reports” resource
10/25 :: Continue coding and analyzing your usability data and begin outlining your usability report
10/27 :: Guest lecturer: Dr. Stephanie R. Hurter. Bio: Dr. Stephanie R. Hurter works for the U.S. Agency for International Development where she coordinates the U.S. government’s foreign policy and development objectives for U.S. civilian foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Previously, Dr. Hurter worked for the Department of State and George Mason University where she developed and led a series of democracy and human rights projects, as well as public history and digital humanities websites. Dr. Hurter received her PhD from George Mason University in American political history.
Week 9
10/30 :: Read selections from the W3C website; read selections from the Section 508 area of the W3C site; read selections from the WCAG section of the W3C site; read Plain Writing Act of 2010; write 250 words on connections you notice between these readings and issues of social justice (try to think of a few examples); review Dr. Redish’s presentation from her lecture at Loyola
11/1 :: Read "How to Become a Writer"; in-class work day for coding, analyzing data, and writing your usability report
11/3 :: Bring in first draft of usability report
Week 10
11/6 :: Bring in completed draft of usability report; read Redish ch. 7
11/8 :: Guest lecturer: John McIntyre. Bio: John McIntyre has been a working editor for nearly forty years, thirty of them at The Baltimore Sun. He holds degrees in English from Michigan State and Syracuse. His blog on language, You Don't Say, has been published at baltimoresun.com since 2005, and his little book of writing and editing maxims, The Old Editor Says, was published by Apprentice House in 2013.
11/10 :: Usability report due
Week 11 :: Project 5 Assignment Sheet
11/13 :: Read the Project 5 assignment sheet; read Redish ch. 13; service-learning students: read the Dubinsky article and the Brotzman article
11/15 :: Read this watch review, this travel story, this how-to article, this article on the New York Times obituary, and this op-ed. Bring in examples of the two writing showcase genres you're going to compose
11/16 :: Extra credit event - the writing department's Modern Masters Reading Series presents Khaled Mattawa poetry reading at 6 PM in McManus Theater. Remember to do the extra credit reflection outlined in the Course Resources section above and submit that within seven days
11/17 :: Read the Purdue OWL resources on visual literacy and HATS; reflection 2 due for service-learning and client teams; practice for grammar and mechanics test on your own (use the Purdue OWL exercises)
Week 12
11/20 :: In-class practice for the grammar and mechanics test; read this article on how to write an op-ed; bring in your completed genre analysis and a draft of your first showcase article
11/22 :: Class cancelled for Thanksgiving
11/24 :: Class cancelled for Thanksgiving
Week 13
11/27 :: Grammar and mechanics test; read the Purdue OWL's resources on composing effective PowerPoint presentations
11/29 :: Bring in a draft of your second showcase article to workshop; read the Purdue OWL's resource on design principles for PowerPoint presentations
12/1 :: Reading quiz 2, in-class work day for showcase articles and websites; showcase pieces should be posted by midnight
Week 14
12/4 :: Read Redish ch. 14, read the presentation checklist and revise your portfolio for the end of the semester
12/6 :: As you put the finishing touches on your portfolio, read some Smashing Magazine’s articles on UX and the Wikipedia Redefined page, an article on short-form writing, and the book review of Virtually You
12/8 :: Return engagement! Guest lecturer Dr. Stephanie R. Hurter will give a talk on delivering professional presentations. Bio: Dr. Stephanie R. Hurter works for the U.S. Agency for International Development where she coordinates the U.S. government’s foreign policy and development objectives for U.S. civilian foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Previously, Dr. Hurter worked for the Department of State and George Mason University where she developed and led a series of democracy and human rights projects, as well as public history and digital humanities websites. Dr. Hurter received her PhD from George Mason University in American political history.In-class work day for presentations, websites, and draft writing department pages
Week 15
12/11 :: Read the dress code infographic; last day of class
Week 16
12/20 :: Final exam (presentations) – 9:00 AM in MD240; portfolio final draft and revision due by exam time; reflection 3 due for service-learning and client teams