EGR 335 Technical Communications for

Engineers and Computer Scientists

Coordinator: Leo Finkelstein, Jr.

Course Review

Course Content

Topic: Technical Communication at an undergraduate CS/CEG level

Focus: Producing quality, original technical documents on topics in CS/CEG.

Scope: Component skills, technical proposals, and various formal report document types.

Topics in EGR 335

• Ethics in technical communication– Plagiarism & image alteration

• Abstraction and clarity in use of language• Description of a mechanism• Description of a process

– Mechanism in operation or conceptual process

• Formal and informal proposals• Technical briefings• Business communications

– Various letters, resumes for CS/CEG jobs

• Formal reports

Topics in EGR 335

• Types of formal reports– Formal proposals– Progress/status/activity reports– Feasibility/recommendation reports– Laboratory/project reports– Instructions/manuals– Research/state of the art reports

• Abstracts and executive summaries• Documentation

Class Schedule

• Approach– Lectures with interactive discussions on a

variety of topics– Student groups working on specific

problems/exercises– Student formal presentations on their

formal report topics

Class Schedule

• One lesson: Ethics in technical writing

• Two lessons: Mechanism description

• Two lessons: Process description

• Two lessons: Formal/informal proposals

• Six lessons: Formal report types, documentation, briefings and visuals, grammar and style

• Seven lessons: Research presentations

Assignments & Grading

• 10%: Mechanism description

• 10%: Process description

• 15%: Formal report proposal

• 45%: Formal report

• 15%: Technical briefing

• 05%: Instructor option

Desired Outcomes

Be able to understand professional and ethical responsibilities related to technical communication

Be able to describe the physical attributes of a mechanism and the process of its operation, and a conceptual process

Be able to communicate effectively. Specifically, be able to do the critical thinking necessary to:

• propose, develop, and produce a significant formal project on a technical topic in the student’s major field

• develop, produce, and deliver a formal presentation on a technical topic related to the formal report

• May include developing research methods and statistical controls, as well as properly interpreting current research

Assessment

No valid empirical way to assess this courseAssessment done by performance on course projects--

i.e., quality of the student’s component skills descriptions, proposal, presentation, research report):

• Demonstrated critical thinking• Demonstrated understanding of concepts• Demonstrated quality of writing• Validity of research methods used

Resources

Textbook resources• Leo Finkelstein, Jr., Pocket Book of Technical Writing for

Engineers and Scientists, 3rd Ed., Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. REQUIRED

• Leo Finkelstein, Jr., Pocket Book of English Grammar for Engineers and Scientists, 1st Ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. REQUIRED

Web resources– www.finkelnet.com– www.cs.wright.edu/~lfinkel/courses