This class covers the forms and practices of communicating technical information using a variety of media - primarily written hardcopy and oral - but also Web-based media, video and teleconferencing. Students collaborate throughout the semester in groups as part of a "consulting" company each group will create. By the end of the course students will have had practice in a variety of document types including abstracts, executive summaries, brief technical memos, proposals, progress reports and final reports, as well as Microsoft® PowerPoint® and Web presentations, poster sessions and a variety of informal and formal oral reports.
Grading Class Participation: 25%
Proposals (Oral and Written) and Related Materials: 25%
Web Site: 15%
Final Reports (Oral and Written): 35%
Textbook
The required text for the class is The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing (McGraw-Hill 2001) by Perelman, Paradis, and Barrett.
A recommended but not required text is The MIT Guide to Teaching Web Site Design (MIT Press 1997), by Barrett, Levinson, Lisanti.