Welcome to ENGW 3335: Technical and Business Writing. This website will function as the online headquarters for our class this semester. Each week, I will post an update to the website with details about coming week, deadline reminders, links to helpful resources, etc… I plan to use SEU’s Blackboard site to record your grades, but otherwise, everything related to this course will be posted here. If you ever wonder what’s due on a particular date, or what you need to read before you come to class, you can check this website for the answer. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can email me or stop by my office (211 Premont Hall) during my office hours (M/W 1:00–3:00, F 8:00–10:00).
A bit about me: I started at St. Edward’s in the fall, and I love it here. Before I moved to Austin, I was a doctoral student at Iowa State University, where I taught classes in the English Department and worked as the instructional technology coordinator for ISU’s communication-across-the-curriculum program. I study the relationship between rhetoric and technology, and I love experimenting with new technologies in the classroom and in my personal life. I’m married to a brilliant freelance writer and we have two daughters. During the holiday break, I drove 3,200 miles (it’s a long story), so I’m happy to be back on campus and starting a new semester.
We’re going to dive right in to our first project this week, so you’ll need to complete the following items before you come to class on Thursday:
- Please read pages 3–10 in The Essentials of Technical Communication and bring that book with you to class.
- Complete a short biographical sketch (no longer than 1 single-spaced page) that answers the following questions: Who are you? (Tell me a little about yourself and your background.) Where are you going? (Describe your plans for post-SEU life.) Why are you here? (Help me understand what you hope to get out of ENGW 3335.) You will submit your biographical sketch at the beginning of class on Thursday.
Finally, a quick note about this website. Throughout the semester, I’ll be asking you to respond to posts on this website. To help you get comfortable with that process, please add a comment to this post that introduces yourself and answers the following question: What is the longest and/or most complicated document you have ever written (either alone or collaboratively)? Before you post, a couple of warnings: (1) Your classmates will see what you write, so don’t include anything intended just for me. (2) This website is public, so we will stick to using first names only. Also, please be sure to use the same email address every time you post to the class website. Once I “approve” your first comment on the site, you will be able to post comments for the rest of the semester without waiting for me to approve them.
The longest document I have ever written was a usability report for writing & publishing on the web, which was a collaborative effort between myself and another classmate.
The longest document I’ve produced on my own would have to be a research paper over topics within theories of rhetoric, which ended up being just shy of 20 pages.
Hi, I’m Sara and I think the most complicated paper I have ever composed is the final accumulative paper for Brother John’s Theories of Rhetoric and Comp.
Hey, I’m Stephen.
Just with last semester still on my mind I’d have to say the Chronology paper I wrote for Dr. Austin’s honors class has been the longest document I’ve had to work on.
Hi. I’m Margeaux. Although I’m an English Writing and Rhetoric major, I have no idea what I want to do in life. However, I’m certain of a few things: I love fashion, photography, eating, cooking, reading and playing with my three dogs.
The longest paper that I’ve ever written was for my ARTS: German Artists in Exile class last semester. My paper addressed how three European art dealers – Galka Scheyer, Otto Kallir and Curt Valentin- were viewed by Americans during their time in the U.S and wether they were successful or not. It was 18 pages long.
Hi, I’m Ari. The longest and most complicated document I’ve written is the Theories of Rhetoric and Composition paper I wrote last semester for Brother John’s class. I think it ended up being 15 pages.
Hello! I’m Kori and the longest paper I’ve written was for Science in Perspective. It was a ridiculous essay on the history of Easter Island and why its society failed. Actually, it probably wasn’t the longest, but it definitely felt that way.
Hi, I’m Matt. The longest and most complicated document I’ve written was probably my grant proposal for the grant writing class at St. Edward’s.
Hey everybody, I’m Sam. The longest “document” I have ever written (which is actually still unfinished) was a 27 page short story. I began writing it for Doug Dorst’s fiction class and decided to keep going with it.
Hello, I’m Stacie. The longest piece I have written is the Capstone paper I wrote last summer. It was over 35 pages.I try not to remember that beast of a paper.
I’m Nicole, a senior English Writing major with a minor in Photo communications. The longest and most complex paper I had to write was the last one for Brother John’s Theories of Rhetoric and Composition.
Hi, I’m Andy. The longest document I’ve had to write was for Dr. Rainwater’s creative nonfiction class last semester. I think I finished at around 35 pages.
Hi, I’m Estevan the only non-English major in the class. The longest document I have ever had to write was a sixty page full length play for my intermediate play writing class.
My name’s Cayley and I think the longest document I’ve ever written was a final paper for Mary’s Brantl’s portraiture class about the posthumous photographs Annie Leibovitz took of her partner Susan Sontag.
The longest thing I’ve ever written for class was around 100 pages of a novel for Doug Dorst’s novel workshop class last spring.
However the longest “academic” paper I’ve written for class was around a 12 page analysis paper about speech patterns in online forums for Text & Discourse Analysis.
The longest academic paper I’ve written was for Tony Vigorito’s American Dilemmas class. It was a 15-20 pager on the history and pros and cons of nuclear nonproliferation.