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Computer technology provides powerful tools for processing textual and graphic content for professional and technical communication. In daily professional life, written documents are used to inform, persuade, and report to others about key activities; both inside an organization and externally. However, beyond basic spelling and grammar checkers, the computer does not necessarily make the student a better writer. The purpose of this course is to improve the writing ability of students in their professional communication with others.
This course provides experience and feedback on writing effective and concise memos, emails, letters, reports, technical papers, and other written communications essential in any professional field. It also includes extensive information on using the Internet as a writing and research tool. After receiving instruction on writing style and document formatting, online students complete a series of writing projects that are critiqued and returned by the instructor.
Textbooks and Materials:
Practical Strategies for Technical Communication, 4th Ed. (2022) Markel, M. & Selber, S.
This course meets the All-University Core Curriculum (AUCC) requirements for Advanced Writing (Category 2) and is approved under gtPathways in the content area of Advanced Writing (GT-CO3).
CO 150 or HONR 193.
Please check the CSU Bookstore for textbook information. Textbook listings are available at the CSU Bookstore about 3 weeks prior to the start of the term.
Darrell Blair is an instructor in the Department of Journalism and Technical Communication at Colorado State University. He received his undergraduate degree at CSU, reported and wrote professionally for 10 years, served as the general manager for the University of Colorado student newspaper The Mirror while working on his master’s degree, and completed all of the coursework for his Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee.
Tori Arthur is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Communication. Her professional background is in television, digital humanities, and strategic communication. Her academic research focuses on the intersections of media, race and migration, digital diasporas, and the transnational mobilities of black people. Her course experience includes Multiculturalism and the Media, Media History, and Professional Writing. She holds a Ph.D. in American Culture Studies, and a Graduate Certificate in Ethnic Studies from Bowling Green State University, as well as a M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing from American University in Washington, D.C.
Jack Kennedy advised student media for over 30 years and his students earned hundreds of state and national honors for their work. He was named 1993 High School Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and was state journalism adviser of the year in both Iowa and Colorado. He has led instructional sessions and workshops in over 20 states and three foreign countries and written extensively about all aspects of advising. He continues to critique student media and judge contests across the country.
