Instructor: Lisa Bell Office hours: TR 2:00-3.

30 and by appt
lisa.bell@utdallas.edu Virtual office hours: W 6:00-7:00 pm
972.883.2052 · JO 5.608E LBellVOH (AIM, Yahoo & MSN Messenger)

ECS 3390: Professional and Technical Communication

Spring 2006

There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing,

no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key
that unlocks a door, no inflexible rules by which the young writer may shape his
course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.
-- William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style

Course Description:
This course will help you develop skills and competency in both oral and written communication as they
occur in engineering and technology work environments. You will work with industry-specific projects,
determine technical communication needs, develop professional-quality documents, and make formal
presentations on technical topics to technical and non-technical audiences. We will learn the basic genres of
technical communication: technical specifications, short reports, memos, and oral presentations. Engineering
and programming are collaborative activities; therefore, this course uses a collaborative-learning environment
where you will work in teams to practice the fundamentals of collaborative decision making and
communication in professional contexts.
Course Objectives:
Using team and individual technical writing and presentation assignments, this course meets the following
ABET Objectives:
• d: An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
• f: An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
• g: An ability to communicate effectively
• h: The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering
solutions in a global societal context
• j: A knowledge of contemporary issues
• k: An ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools
necessary for engineering practice

Course Requirements:
Professional and Technical Communication focuses on technical writing and presentation skills for
professional settings. As an upper-level class, students should have at least college-level writing skills and
both written and oral proficiency in English. Students should also have sufficient technical knowledge to
contribute to project design and to write and speak knowingly about technical content. Furthermore, the
course curriculum is fast-paced and does not cover basic subjects, such as language mechanics, Microsoft
Office functions, or WebCT operations. The course instead emphasizes developing a sense of
professionalism and responsibility to produce high-quality assignments both individually and in teams.
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Textbook Requirements: D. Jones, Technical Writing Style, Allyn and Bacon, 1998. The textbook is
available at the campus bookstore and at Off-Campus Books. Additional readings will be posted as needed in
WebCT.
Assignment Requirements: Professional and Technical Communication allocates approximately 65%
of its total grade points to individually completed assignments and 35% to team generated assignments.
INDIVIDUAL/
ASSIGNMENT POINTS DUE DATE
TEAM GRADE
Team Specifications Report Team 250 April 2
Individual Report Individual 150 February 17
Individual Presentation Individual 150 April 18, 20, 27
Team Presentation Delivery Individual 150 March 2, 23
Team Presentation 1 Team 50 March 2
Team Presentation 2 Team 50 March 23
Process and Class Work (includes homework) Varies 75 Varies
Communication Competency Individual 75 Daily
Personal Performance Appraisal Individual 50 May 1

All assignments must be completed to pass this class, and late or incomplete work is not acceptable.
Work that does not meet the assignment’s constraints (such as being late, improperly named or submitted by
email rather than the WebCT assignments module) are unprofessional and create administrative headaches.
Assume that recurring problems with improper submissions will reflect negatively on your grade. Moreover,
no late or makeup submissions will be accepted for minor assignments, such as homework, process or class
work. Similarly, because of scheduling constraints and the logistical problem of creating an audience,
presentations cannot be rescheduled, extended or made up. Late submissions of individual papers and team
specifications reports will receive a penalty of 10% of the total possible assignment points each day the
assignment is late.
Students may not submit work completed previously from another term, in whole or in part, in this or
any other semester. In addition, work submitted for this course may not be submitted for any other course, in
whole or in part, in this or any other semester. You may use the same ideas from another course, but all your
work (e.g., documents, presentation notes, presentation slides) for ECS 3390 must be original. Should you
reference an idea or issue from another document, you should cite that document, even if you are its author.
All assignments will be graded for content and form. Content includes appropriate and complete data,
logical argument, claim development, adequate supporting evidence, and appropriate adaptation to the
rhetorical situation. Form, which you can also consider to be delivery, includes appropriate style, organization,
tone, mechanics, accessibility, usability, and clarity of writing, speaking and graphics. Please read carefully the
comments on each assignment, whether handwritten on presentation documents or appended as comments
to electronic documents. While some of these comments may apply to the specific assignment, most of the
comments are the keys to improving your communication skills and building on your strengths. If any
comments don’t make sense or you aren’t sure how to respond to them, please visit with me during office
hours.
All work should also demonstrate the same professional and ethical standards expected of you in the
workplace, including at a minimum proofreading and editing carefully all work you submit in this class.
Professionalism also means that you use appropriate source citation wherever and whenever necessary so that
you avoid violations of copyright – even if those violations are inadvertent. Remember: your work reflects
upon you and/or your group as a member or members of the software engineering profession.
Final grades will be assigned according to the 2004-6 UTD Undergraduate Catalog scale:
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B+ 870-899 C+ 770-799 D+ 670-699

A 930-1000 B 830-869 C 730-769 D 630-669 F 0-599
A- 900-929 B- 800-829 C- 700-729 D- 600-629
No extra points will be awarded at the end of the semester to raise your final grade.
Attendance Requirements (READ THIS SECTION WITH SPECIAL CARE): College coursework is
not a leisure activity to be worked in between jobs, family obligations, and other vocational activities, nor
does work assigned for this class carry any less priority than work you may have to complete for any other
class. Moreover, class participation is a vital part of your learning process because this class revolves around
discussion. Simply warming a seat is not sufficient to get the full experience out of the class. More than
simply being physically present in class, participation includes your asking questions in class about readings,
answering questions, offering suggestions, and you professional, positive attitude and demeanor.
As in a workplace, you are expected to attend class and, importantly, to be on time. I will take attendance
seven randomly pre-selected days during the course of the semester. If you are not present when attendance
is taken, you will be counted absent, even if you arrive later. You may miss up to two classes for whatever
reason without penalty. You will lose 50 points from your final grade with each absence beyond the two
permitted. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to obtain material and information you
missed from a willing classmate.
Technology Requirements: You will need an active UTD NetID and password and reliable and
frequent access to internet connectivity. The course is taught using WebCT, and you should develop the
habit of checking it often for assignments and announcements. Reliable and frequent internet connectivity is
indispensable – not having internet access will make your group projects more difficult and will not serve as a
valid excuse for shortcomings. You also have the responsibility to ensure that you have access to the course
for the duration of the semester and must submit all assignments, except for presentation booklets, through
WebCT. Instructors are not responsible for tracking assignments submitted through the email and will assign
zeros to all assignments not submitted through the WebCT assignments module.
Additionally, to protect your privacy rights, your instructor will only send email through your official
UTD email address or WebCT email. If you choose, you can redirect both of these addresses to external
addresses. Visit the Department of Information Resources’ User Account Management Tools to forward
your UTD email to another account. In WebCT, go to the Mail module and click the Message Settings
button. On the Message Settings screen, click the box next to “Forward my mail to:” and enter your external
email address, then click the Update button.

Course Policies:
In addition to the course requirements, Professional and Technical Communication students must adhere
to both university and course-specific policies.
Scholastic Dishonesty: Students should be familiar with UTD’s policies on scholastic dishonesty and
conduct UTD's policies on student discipline and conduct, which includes a description and examples of
scholastic dishonesty and misconduct.
Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional use of other people’s ideas, words, phrases, entire paragraphs,
or single sentences without acknowledging the source in timely and appropriate citations. Plagiarism is a form
of scholastic dishonesty that is punishable by failing the assignment, failing the course, being put on academic
probation, or in extreme cases dismissal from the university. If you borrow content or graphics from other
books, course lectures, websites or other forms of print or electronic media, you must cite them according to
the IEEE citation rules. Everything you submit for peer or instructor review for this class is bound by the
academic honor code that requires it to be your unique work with borrowed content properly cited.
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In contrast to plagiarism’s inappropriate use of other sources’ information, cheating, or scholastic

dishonesty, includes a wide range of behaviors. The UTD Scholastic Dishonesty page lists eighteen types of
behaviors, including copying another student’s work, making work or information available for another
student, accessing information at inappropriate times, and submitting an assignment that you did not prepare.
This list is not exhaustive but does provide a sense of common ways cheating occurs. While you can (and in
fact should) seek the help and advice of friends, classmates, and tutors, including the Writing Center in
McDermott Library, be sure that your individual work is completely your own.
Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance: UTD provides reasonable accommodations for
qualified individuals who are students with disabilities. This university will adhere to all applicable Federal,
State and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as
required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office of
Disability Services in a timely manner to arrange for reasonable accommodations.
Room and Equipment Use: In addition to these UTD policies, students will need to observe the
following policies specific to the Professional and Technical Communication classrooms.
• Tampering with or destroying any of the computers, printers, Smart Board, white boards, networks
or wiring in the classroom is strictly prohibited. Violations will result in a disciplinary referral to the
Dean of Students’ office.
• No cell phones, pagers, or other electronic messaging services may be used in the classrooms unless
you have cleared it with the instructor first and only on an emergency basis.
• The room may be used only for ECS 3390 related activities. You may not work on other class pro-
jects, check your e-mail, print, work for other classes, burn CDs that are not part of the ECS 3390
assignments, install software (games, music, executables, programming languages, or any other
unapproved software). Violations will result in a disciplinary referral to the Dean of Students’ office.
• Food and drink are not permitted in the classroom.
 ECS 3390 SCHEDULE – SPRING 20061,2

DATE TOPICS READINGS

1 1.10 Introduction to Technical Communication Jones Ch. 1
2 1.12 Managing Group Projects
1.13 Deadline to Add
3 1.17 Managing Group Projects
4 1.19 Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation Jones, Ch. 2
5 1.24 Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation
1.25 Deadline to Drop without a W
6 1.26 Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation Jones, Ch. 3, 9 and 10
7 1.31 Developing Effective Argumentation Jones, Ch. 4
8 2.02 Developing Effective Argumentation
9 2.07 Creating Clarity, Brevity and Style Jones 5, 6, 7
10 2.09 Structuring Paragraphs Jones 8
2.13 Begin WP/WF
11 2.14 Structuring Presentations
12 2.16 Creating Visuals and PPT Slides
2.17 Individual Report Due
13 2.21 Delivering Presentations
14 2.23 Delivering Presentations
15 2.28 Work Day
16 3.02 Informative Presentations
SPRING BREAK
17 3.14 Defining Specifications
18 3.16 Work Day; Deadline for Withdrawing WP/WF
19 3.21 Work Day
20 3.23 Persuasive Presentations
21 3.28 Editing for Style Jones 12
22 3.30 Editing for Style
4.02 Team Report Due
23 4.04 Individual Presentation Assignment
24 4.06 Ethics/Professional Communication Jones 11
25 4.11 Ethics/Professional Communication
26 4.13 Ethics/Professional Communication
27 4.18 Individual Presentations
28 4.20 Individual Presentations
F 4.27 Individual Presentations
5.01 Personal Performance Appraisal Due

1
I reserve the right to revise the syllabus, schedule, due dates and any other items listed on this page in the best
interest of the course and its enrolled students. I will announce revisions in class and post them in WebCT.