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CS 325 Technical
Writing for Computer Science |
Lila Harper, Ph.D. |
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Spring 2013 |
LL 403G, 963-1793; HB 216 |
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HB 112, 1-1:50 MWTh |
Office Hours: HB 216: MW 2-2:50 LL403G: TH 1-2:00 & by appt. |
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Email: Harperl@CWU.EDU |
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http://www.cwu.edu/~harperl/ |
Texts:
Required: Handbook of Technical Writing, 10th ed. Brusaw, Alred, and Oliu.
Writing for
Computer Science,
2nd ed. Zobel
Prerequisites: Eng. 102 and CS 301. Students
who show worrisome mechanical problems will be referred to the Learning Commons
for tutoring. See the Commons secretary in the Library to book an appointment.
You must be able to write fluent, standard English. I cannot ignore mechanical
errors because of problems with English proficiency.
Course
Description: CS
325 focuses on the writing, editing, and ethical practices in the field of
computer science. This class will acquaint students with standards of good
writing. As such, this is a writing-intensive class. Writing requires time and
effort. You should be prepared to spend the time and make the effort.
Why Am I So Picky? My job is to heavily edit your
work according to professional-level writing guidelines, the sort of guidelines
you would be expected to when writing for professional proposes. Being "picky"
is not an element of my personality, but is what I am trained to do. This type
of editing is very time and energy consuming; it takes at least a week to
return assignments.
Class Policies: Students are responsible for
all
Syllabus changes
Readings
And information presented in
class.
I will assume you have read the assigned readings before
coming to class. As this is a workshop-oriented class, attendance is important.
More than three unexcused absences will affect the grade. In
case of illness, leave a message via email that lets me know you are ill.
Papers: There will be in-class
exercises and several paper assignments ranging in length from summaries to a
longer-length formal research paper with a survey of the literature and
annotated bibliography.
As some of the class objectives involve training in editing
and use of sources, all papers in the class must be accompanied by rough drafts
and, in the case of research reports, photocopies or printouts of sources.
Students may use IEEE or APA documentation, but they must use only one and use
the style correctly. Guides to both styles are in The Handbook of Technical Writing.
Computer Usage: Word processing will be used for
assignments, but technical problems are not an acceptable excuse for late
papers.
Back-up and printout drafts! Email a copy of your paper to
yourself as protection against hardware failure. Be sure you proofread your
paper after its final printout. Take it from a former professional proofreader:
Spell-checkers and grammar checkers can only help with proofreading, not
substitute for it. We will use electronic markup in draft workshop. However, I
will not accept final papers sent as attachments. I can be reached for
clarification on assignments via email and am generally online when in LL.
Plagiarism: This is your formal warning:
All papers submitted in this class must be your own work and work done in this
class; all work must be correctly documented. I require rough drafts and
photocopies of sources. Big blocks of quoted material without quotation marks
constitute plagiarism, even if you cite the source.
Undocumented use of others'
writing will result in a failure grade for the assignment. That means you
cannot copy text from sources, not even Internet sources. And abstracts are not
in public domain. Don't take chances. I check all sources. If I find evidence
that there is intent to deceive, an F will be assigned for the course. See me
about any questions regarding responsible research and documentation practices.
Revisions: Here rewriting of papers for a
higher grade is not an option. I will happily help individuals with rough
drafts during office hour, but will not allow a rewrite after a grade has been
assigned to a paper unless the paper receives a "D" or lower grade. In that case, after a
conference with me, two separate
paper rewrites will be permitted for no higher than a "C-" grade. Please note that tutoring is available
in the University Learning Commons. Please ask that a report of your visit be
emailed to me.
Rewrites
must be turned in within 3 class days
after the original paper was returned. Submit the first version with the
rewrite. I will not accept rewrites in the last week of the quarter.
Make-Up
Tests: Make-up
tests must be arranged in advance before the test is given and taken the next
day. The reason for the make-up must be a situation beyond your control, not an
inability to prepare in time. Tests will be left with the English department
for students to pick up. Only two
handbook tests can be made-up.
Incompletes: Refer to the CWU catalog for a
definition of an incomplete. The "I" grade is not a substitute for a "W. "
Grading:
Points and letter grades will be
translated into a 400-point scale (similar to a GPA point scale) using a
weighted curve; i.e., I do not use a strict percentage in grade assessment.
(See curve below.) Assignments will be roughly weighed as follows. Changes, if
needed, will be announced in class. Completing the formal proposal is necessary
to pass the class.
|
Attendance
and workshop exercises |
5 |
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Mechanics
tests (3) |
20 |
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Summary
#1 |
5 |
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Summary
#2 |
5 |
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Visualization
assignment |
10 |
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Analysis of research paper |
10 |
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Cover
letter, resume |
10 |
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Proposal
and Annotated bibliography |
10 |
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Survey
research paper |
20 |
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Power
Point presentation of proposal |
5 |
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0-3 |
20 |
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4 |
18 |
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5 |
16 |
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6 |
14 |
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7 |
12 |
|
8 |
10 |
|
9 |
8 |
|
10 |
0 |
Note: You may be counted absent if
you are more than 10 min. late.
|
A |
380-400 |
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A- |
360-379 |
|
B+ |
340-359 |
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B |
290-339 |
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B- |
260-289 |
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C+ |
230-259 |
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C |
190-229 |
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C- |
160-189 |
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D+ |
130-159 |
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D |
90-129 |