Sunday 28 July 2013

COM 135 Week 9 Final Project User Manual




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Final Project: User Manual
· Resources: Appendix A
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Create a user manual for a product of your choice. This manual should contain the following elements:
o The manual must be created as a Microsoft® Word document, 7 to 8 pages in length.
o The following sections are required: cover page, table of contents, introduction, and step-by-step instructions for using the product.
o You may choose three of the following optional sections for your manual: hazard alerts, definitions of terminology, technical descriptions, parts diagrams, warranties, accessories, frequently asked questions, and corporate contact information.
o Although you may conduct research on sample user manuals, the content of your user manual must be original. Use APA formatting to document any sources you use. (Note: Using screenshots for the manual is a violation of copyright law; clip art or original drawings are allowed.)
o The writing should be clear, accurate, concise, coherent, and appropriate for the audience.
o The manual should be visually appealing and demonstrate effective document page layout and design.

· Post your final project as an attachment.

COM 135 Week 9 Capstone Checkpoint




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Capstone CheckPoint
· Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum
· Answer the following:
o Which topics covered in this course were the most important to you?
o How will you use this information in your technical communication?
o How will this information affect your employment opportunities?
· Explain your answers and provide examples.

COM 135 Week 8 DQ 1 and DQ 2




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Discussion Question
· Due Date: Day 2 [Main] forum
· Post your response to the following: In preparing your final project, what are some of the guidelines that should be followed for effective layout, design, and overall formatting? When responding, remember to keep in mind the topic being presented, the type of data, and the audience.
4. Discussion Question 2
· Due Date: Day 4 [Main] forum

· Post your response to the following: Visual elements can be added to many types of written documents. What kinds of visual elements will you want to include in the user manual you are creating for your final project? Explain your answer.

COM 135 Week 8 CheckPoint Image Integration




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CheckPoint: Image Integration
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Using the visual elements that were discussed in DQ2, integrate at least three visual elements into a new Microsoft® Word document.
· Provide a brief explanation for each visual that addresses the following:
o Why it was chosen
o Its purpose

o How it impacts the overall design and layout

COM 135 Week 7 CheckPoint Rough Draft of Final Project




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CheckPoint: Rough Draft of Final Project
· Resource: Appendix D
· Due Date: Day 3 [Individual] forum
· Create a rough draft of your final project as a Microsoft® Word document
· Submit the rough draft to your instructor. In order for your instructor to provide adequate feedback, the rough draft should be at least 5 pages in length.
· Post the rough draft as an attachment.

· Note: If possible, ask a friend, family member, or classmate to review the rough draft of your final project. Although the peer review of your rough draft is not a required course activity, you should use the checklist in Appendix D to assist you during the revision process.

COM 135 Week 7 CheckPoint RFP Analysis




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CheckPoint: RFP Analysis
· Resources: pp. 2-8 and 47-76 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.), “Clark
County: Requests for Proposals,” “Writing Specifications,” and “Writing a Good RFP”
· Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum
· Review Clark County: Requests for Proposals located at:
http://www.mrsc.org/RFPs/C52rfpweb.pdf
· Consider the purpose and components of the sample RFP.
· Use the information in the sample RFP to address the following:
o Review the “Purpose” section of the RFP. In two to three sentences, describe the reason behind the Web development project. What does the county want to achieve?
o What is the tone of the RFP? How might it differ from the tone in an RFP created by a nongovernmental agency? (Tone refers to a writer’s attitude toward the subject matter and readers.)
o List three other requirements that the county has included on its “wish list” for the site development. (Refer to Attachment A-Part II: Project Description section)
o What are the RFP submitting requirements? How is the respondent’s ability to meet these requirements important to the county’s decision? (Refer to the “Schedule” section.)

o Do you think the county’s needs are clearly and concisely communicated in the specifications outlined in the RFP for respondents? Explain your reasoning.

COM 135 Week 7 Assignment Proposals




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Assignment: Proposals
· Resources: Ch. 17 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.) and the Microsoft®
Word Tutorial: Creating Tables
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Review the Microsoft® Word Tutorial: Creating Tables at
Consider the following scenario:
Management at your project management firm wants to ensure staff members are fully trained on new technologies before planning, developing, and maintaining information technology projects for clients. As a result, your managers have decided to implement training for your company’s 25-member project team. The training will focus on a variety of software application packages, starting with a Microsoft® Project application. You have been asked to write an internal proposal for this training. You have also been asked to write an external proposal for the same type of training.
· Create a table that shows the different elements that are found in an internal proposal and an external proposal for this training.
· Summarize why the two proposal types are different in terms of these elements.

· Post your completed assignment as an attachment.

COM 135 Week 6 DQ 1 and DQ 2




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Discussion Question 1
· Due Date: Day 2 [Main] forum
· Post your response to the following: Review the importance of the four major areas with
which a writer must be concerned in order to appeal to a reader’s visual sensibilities.
What type of document design would be most effective for your final project? Explain your answer.
3. Discussion Question 2
· Due Date: Day 4 [Main] forum
· Review one Microsoft® business report and one Yahoo! business report at the Web sites below:
o Microsoft® Stockholder’s Annual Reports page at
http://www.microsoft.com/msft/ar.mspx
o Yahoo! Shareholder’s Annual Reports page at http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com

· Post your response to the following: What common elements did you find in the organizational structure of these reports? What differences did you find regarding the content and purpose of the reports as well as the audiences for the reports?

COM 135 Week 6 CheckPoint Reports




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CheckPoint: Reports
· Resources: pp. 482-486, 488-491, and 496-506 in Technical Writing: Process and
Product (5th ed.) and the Microsoft® Word Tutorial: Creating Tables
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Review the Microsoft® Word Tutorial: Creating Tables at
http://corptrain.phoenix.edu/axia/com215/wordchart01.htm
· Create a table to organize the following information regarding progress reports, feasibility/recommendation reports, and incident reports in the corporate environment.
o Describe the purpose of each report.
o List the key components of each report.
o Identify the general audience for which each report is prepared.

· Post your completed table as an attachment.

COM 135 Week 5 CheckPoint User Manual Criteria




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CheckPoint: User Manual Criteria
· Resources: Appendix A and pp. 378-382 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.)
· Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum
· Identify the optional criteria you want to include in your final project, and explain your reasoning for selecting these options.
· Describe the technical or electronic product you have chosen for the Clear and Concise Technical Instructions assignment.

· Explain possible consequences if the user manual for this product was poorly written.

COM 135 Week 5 Assignment Clear and Concise Technical Instructions




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Assignment: Clear and Concise Technical Instructions
· Resources: pp. 352-362 and 378-383 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.)
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Choose a technical or electronic product in your home or office.
· Conduct a search on the Internet for technical instructions explaining how the device works.
· Examine the verbiage, details, clarity, and conciseness of the instructions.
· Explain in approximately 350 words whether the instructions are clear, concise, and easy to comprehend. Defend your answer.
· Use APA guidelines to format the paper. When documenting information from the Web
site, remember to add only the URL on the reference page at the end of the assignment.

· Post your completed assignment as an attachment.

COM 135 Week 4 DQ 1 and DQ 2




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Discussion Question 1
· Due Date: Day 2 [Main] forum
· Post your response to the following: You have been asked by a prospective employer to explain in writing why you selected your degree program and how the degree will help advance your career. What two prewriting techniques would you use to organize your thoughts about the topic? Explain your choices.
3. Discussion Question 2
· Due Date: Day 4 [Main] forum
· Post your response to the following: What is the most effective prewriting technique for your final project? Explain why you chose this prewriting technique.
· Review your classmates’ responses.

· Respond by explaining if you would change your choice of prewriting technique based on your classmates’ ideas. Why or why not?

COM 135 Week 4 CheckPoint Article Summary




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CheckPoint: Article Summary
· Resources: Ch. 14 & 15 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.)
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Review the characteristics of effective summaries, research strategies, and APA formatting.
Summarize a short, online article of your choice.
· Follow the criteria on p. 479 (listed under “Chapter Highlights”) for summary writing.
· Use APA guidelines to format your paper.
· Cite any quotations or paraphrases, and document the source of the article in a reference list at the end of your summary.
· Explain what characteristics of effective summaries you have included.

· Post your completed assignment as an attachment.

COM 135 Week 3 CheckPoint Letter Writing Techniques




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CheckPoint: Letter Writing Techniques
· Due Date: Day 6 [Individual] forum
· Describe the different strategies and techniques used in writing a good-news letter and a bad-news letter.
· Provide an example of bad news you might have to deliver in a letter.
· Explain which bad-news technique you would choose for this type of letter.


COM 135 Week 3 CheckPoint Communication Techniques




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CheckPoint: Communication Techniques
· Due Date: Day 4 [Individual] forum
· Consider the following: There are many distinctions among the different types of
communication techniques used in the business world.
· Select two techniques.

· Provide an example of when it is appropriate to use each in corporate communication.

COM 135 Week 3 Assignment Written Communication in the Corporate




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Assignment: Written Communication in the Corporate Environment
· Resource: Pages 130-165 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.)
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Read the following scenario:
Discontinuation of major equipment components for a computer network upgrade will  cause a major setback in the installation of the network for a project you are managing.
You must provide information about the delay to your project team members, to upper management, and to your client (a banking institution).
· Consider how much information and what type of communication (email, memo, or letter) is appropriate for each party.
· Write a letter to one party, a memo to one party, and an email to one party. Each communication should be a maximum of 250 words.
· Explain your choice of communication for each party.
· Use appropriate grammar, spelling, style, and format for each type of communication.

· Post your completed assignment as an attachment.

COM 135 Week 2 DQ 1 and DQ 2




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Discussion Question 1
· Due Date: Day 2 [post to the Main forum]
· Post your response to the following: What are some important characteristics of effective written communication? How do these qualities help in communicating information to a receiver? Explain your answer.
Discussion Question 2
· Resource: Appendix C
· Due Date: Day 4 [post to the Main forum]
· Complete the table in Appendix C by providing the following information about audiences:
o Identify the four main types of audiences.
o Provide examples of the characteristics of these four main types of audiences.
· Post the completed table.
· Respond to your classmates’ posts explaining what audience type you fit into and why.
CheckPoint: User Manual Topic
· Resources: Appendix A and Exercise 2 on p. 403 of Technical Writing: Process and
Product (5th ed.)
· Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum
· Review Exercise 2 and a variety of technical manuals to generate ideas for your final
project.
· Submit a topic for your user manual product. You will build on this topic throughout the

course.

COM 135 Week 2 CheckPoint Audience Analysis




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CheckPoint: Audience Analysis
In order for technical communication to be effective, the writer must evaluate the intended audience, its characteristics, knowledgebase, expectations, and requirements.
· Resources: Ch. 4 in Technical Writing: Process and Product (5th ed.)
· Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum
· Address the following issues as they relate to the user manual you will create for the final project:
o Audience recognition
o Terms for different audience levels
o Issues of diversity
o Multiculturalism
o Issues of sexist language

· Explain how these audience characteristics will impact your technical writing process as well as how you will adapt a technical writing style for your audience.

COM 135 Week 1 CheckPoint Importance of Technical Writing




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CheckPoint: Importance of Technical Writing
· Due Date: Day 4 [post to the Individual forum]
· Choose three forms of technical writing used in the corporate environment.
· Explain why each form of communication is important.

· Submit your explanations.