By: 2022 TCA Board | October 15, 2021
The following is the second installment of our informative pieces on the courses offered to MSTC students. The following discusses applications elective courses situated within the English department and available to MSTC students from the perspective of Sloan Hammer, Sarah Barnes, Jules Millward, and Adrienne Nip who have successfully completed the courses.
ENG 508: Usability Studies for Technical Communication
Typically offered in the Fall
Overview
If you have an interest in usability studies, whether you have some background in usability or are seeing the material for the first time, this course will help you better understand the full breadth of the field in a variety of ways by building on skills and methods learned in the course.
Much of the work for the course is done on your own with regular in-person, in-class meetings and discussions on weekly readings. You will compose a variety of usability documents over the course of the semester that continue to build and evolve into your final full usability test report.
Note that for each assignment, there is also a peer reviews that take place where you will review several other students’ work, who will then also review your work. The system is great and there are specific rules in place for how to do these reviews. Just make sure you keep on top of them since your peers are the ones who grade your peer reviews!
Some of the skills you will work on are how to create a usability test plan, how to conduct user tests effectively with several different participants, how to best select participants, and how to compose and improve an extensive and detailed usability test report and all of the supplementary materials that go along with it.
Tips
- Make sure you put in adequate effort for the peer review process so that way your peers will not have any option other than to give you a great grade (but do not stress if one does not go well since it is not a huge part of your grade!)
- Make sure you get your participants lined up early on and that you have a spare or two. Nothing is more stressful than having to frantically find another participant at the last minute!
ENG 519: Online Information Design & Evaluation
Typically offered in the Spring
Overview
ENG 519 is a course that focuses on information architecture and context while emphasizing creative thinking, designing, and decision making.
The readings and assignments in this course are designed to guide you through the steps of finding, supporting, and designing for specific contexts while encouraging you to read, write, and share on concepts, techniques, and topics associated with information architecture.
Throughout the class you will complete several major assignments that build upon one another and allow you to develop invaluable skills and practical experience with the technical and creative processes involved with online information design. You will gain experience in audience analysis, audience-focused writing, online information systems, discourse communities, document design, feedback & revision processes, multimedia information & web design, and various writing genres including archives, reports, & proposals.
As you complete the course assignments you will select, examine, and gather data from online discourse communities and use the information you’ve found to develop an archive, visual analysis report, supportive information architecture, and a professional proposal that ties each product together. The projects you will complete in ENG 519 are incredibly practical, real-world products that are great for your portfolio, and the skills and knowledge gained throughout are applicable to both academic and industry opportunities in technical communication and multimedia information design.
Tips:
- Make sure you choose your discourse community carefully, and select one that you’re truly interested in and/or already knowledgeable about. You will stick with that online community for the entire semester, so think carefully and choose wisely.
- Take advantage of the drafting and revision requirements and work to implement both the instructor and peer feedback gained from each project draft.
- Spend time with the readings for the course. The amount of reading required is reasonable and the readings are typically very informative, and essential for project success and course understanding.
ENG 520: Science Writing for the Media
Typically offered in the Fall
Overview
ENG 520 is a course focused on introducing students to science communication in mass media, offering the opportunity to research, pitch, and publish your own pieces. Students are guided through the process of researching interesting science topics, identifying relevant target media outlets for their topics, writing pitches for target media outlets, and finally, drafting two pieces to potentially be published.
There are four main assignments students generally work on – a media analysis to strengthen your understanding of target media outlets and their audiences, a practice pitch, and a short-form and long-form piece on the topic of your choice. Students are given flexibility in choosing a topic or topics that interest them to research, interview researchers, and write about. Through multiple revisions, students finish the semester with a pitch and two pieces to potentially publish in a media outlet of their choosing.
Additionally, students were introduced to reputable industry guest speakers who shared their wide range of experiences to the class on topics ranging from, planning and outlining to pitching, writing, to editing.
Tips
- Because topics are flexible and dependent on your personal interests, choose topics that you are genuinely interested in and would love to learn more about! Your stories could go in many different directions depending on factors out of your control.
- Be prepared to correspond and speak with researchers/scientists you’ve never met before. You’ll be reaching out to many people for interviews (and potentially not hearing back from some).
- If given the chance, network and build connections with industry professionals! If you intend to pursue a career in this field, they may offer helpful advice based on their personal experiences or can even help edit/revise any pitches or stories you write.
ENG 522: Writing in Nonacademic Settings
Typically offered in the Spring
Overview:
ENG 522 is the internship course that fulfills the semester of professional work experience as part of the degree requirements, although the class itself is not required. This work experience is so important in technical communication because it gives graduate students opportunities to integrate academic study and workplace experience.
Throughout the semester, you will meet with the class to discuss how your internship is going. It is helpful to discuss the hardships and successes of your internship with others in similar positions. There are also several assignments to complete throughout the semester.
One semester-long assignment is the “Employment Journals” which are low stakes check-ins that reflect on the course readings and relate them to your internship. The next assignment, “Personal Strengths Assessment & Action Plan” is a 2-4 page memo due early on in the semester. This assignment is based on your results for the “Strengths Finder quiz”.
The major assignment for this class is the “Professional E-Portfolio”. You will create or revise your professional online presence, whether that is your LinkedIn profile, an online portfolio, or an interactive resume. This assignment is broken down into two parts. The first is a proposal in which you outline a problem statement and a detailed work plan. The second is the final project which includes several deliverables. This project is due during the final exam period and you have plenty of time to work on it throughout this semester.
The final assignment is an Employer Evaluation. This evaluation will come from your direct manager at your internship. They will need to email this to Dr. Pigg at the end of the semester.
Tips:
- Make the most out of this class! It is a fantastic opportunity to hear from those in your cohort who are going through similar experiences.
- The E-Portfolio project is a great way to get feedback from your peers about how to improve a current portfolio or profile (such as LinkedIn).