WELCOME TO TECHNICAL WRITING FOR COMPUTER ENGINEERS.

 

What would you like to know?

• Instructor: Gerald B. Moulds
• Office hours: Wednesdays 1:00pm-3:00pm (or by appointment)
• Office Location: Engineering-2, Room 237A
• e-mail: gmoulds@soe.ucsc.edu

• Teaching Assistant: Raquel Robinson
• Office Hours: Mondays 11am-1pm in Engineering-2 Room #262
• Email: rbrobins@ucsc.edu

• Teaching Assistant: Dennis Castro
• Office Hours: Tuesdays 2pm-4pm in Engineering-2 Room #584
• Email: dcastro2@ucsc.edu

• Class meetings
• Location: Engineering-2 Room #192
• Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00-5:45pm

 

• Assignments:

 

Assignment	Rough Draft Due	Final Due
1. Resume and Cover Letter	Jan 7	Jan 12
2. LaTeX Tutorial	Jan 21	Jan 26
3. Project Proposal		Feb 2
4. Grant Proposal	Feb 4	Feb 9
5. Document Specification		Feb 16
6. Background Chapter	Feb 18	Feb 23
7. Poster Project		Mar 1 and 3
8. Final Project	Mar 8	Mar 15
9.Oral Presentations		Throughout Quarter

• Lecture notes:
• Grant Proposal Template Doc
• Statement of Purpose
• Plagiarism and Citation
• Editing Notes
• Writing a Technical Report for your capstone course

• Recommended texts:
• The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk and E.B. White.
• One style guide of your choosing - preferably whichever is most often used in your field.

 Submitting papers:

• All assignments must be submitted on paper.

• Electronic submission will not be allowed except through special arrangements.
• All papers must be peer edited before they are submitted.
• Papers should be signed "Peer edited by [insert name]"
• Any paper not peer edited will be returned ungraded.

• Late papers are subject to a reduction in grade.
• Grade reduction applies to rewrites, affecting the maximum possible grade for the assignment.

• Portfolios: At the end of the quarter, you will hand in a portfolio of all your work for the quarter, including rough drafts and any rewrites.

 Grades:

Grades will be mostly (~80%) based on the total portfolio of work you turn in at the end of the class.  This consists of five major writing projects (including your final project).  Failure to turn in a major writing project will most likely result in a failing grade.  To a lesser degree (~20%) your grade will be based on your oral presentation, poster project, various minor writing assignments, and your participation in class discussions.

• Collaboration is good, and plagiarism is bad. Read more about it here.

 

POSTERS:

On March 1 and 3 meet at the Jack Baskin Lounge in Baskin Engineering, otherwise known as the Whiteboards room.

 

Poster Information:

• You can get your poster printed for 33.00-83.00 (see below) at BELS if it meets the standard size of 48"x36"
• The cost of your poster depends on how early you submit it.  Cost is 33.00 if submitted 5 business days before pickup and 83.00 for one-day turnaround, and a sliding scale in-between.   See the BELS page for details, and plan accordingly.
• BELS has suggestions and requirements for making a good poster.  Go to their pages on poster printing and poster guidelines.
• BELS also lists some excellent poster resources at Cornell and Swarthmore.