Technical Writing in the 21st Century

In this program, students will develop techniques for communicating in several different genres of technical writing, including technical abstracts, scientific research papers, Wiki-type technical documents, project proposals, etc. Students from all branches of the sciences are encouraged to take this program to improve their technical writing skills. We will use several different on-line collaborative formats to carry out our objectives. All work will be submitted and edited on-line.

This program will make it possible for students to further develop written work from research projects carried out in previous studies if they so desire. Each student will choose a specific topic and read ten documents related to the topic. Based on these readings and other sources, each student will write a corresponding review paper, an on-line technical digest, and a proposal for future work in the specific area. Students will receive critique from peers and the faculty member. Students will be responsible for editing and critiquing a specific number of papers written by other students in the program. A final collaboratively written assignment will also be undertaken. Clear deadlines for reading and writing assignments will be established for all students at the start of the program to make it easier to stay on track.

Credit is expected to be awarded in the specific area of research, technical writing, and technical editing. Students wishing to gain upper division science credit in this program must contact the faculty member to discuss their options before the start of the quarter. Students wishing to enroll in this program for winter quarter only will be welcomed on a space available basis.