Detailed Assignment Information, including Supplemental Readings and Websites Descriptive Report Assignment

NMSU-Alamogordo Mission Statement.
The mission of the Alamogordo Branch of New Mexico State University, a comprehensive community college, is to:

• Master enough computer skills to word-process reports, research reports, illustrate reports with graphics, and build basic websites.
• Demonstrate the ability to summarize and analyze sophisticated scientific arguments.
• Achieve the ability to write to different audiences.
• Achieve the ability to match the tone of  texts with specific purposes.
• Become competent revisers of  texts to achieve standard edited English, as promulgated in technical and scientific publications.
• Gain team-building, team-maintaining, and team-facilitating abilities.
• Increase civic literacy and civic participation through service learning projects.
• Demonstrate basic abilities of document design, including the effective inclusion of design elements and graphics in texts.
• Demonstrate advanced abilities in the use of research in reporting.
• Exhibit effective oral communication techniques, including the use of sophisticated audio-visual aids.

In the Summer II, 2004 Session, outcomes assessment will focus on the objective concerning document design.  It is important for students to be able to produce documents that meet readers' expectations for headings, appropriate graphics, and white space.   Methods to measure the objective will include quizzes on appropriate graphics for different purposes, and quantifiable use of headings in written reports.  It is expected that all students will meet the standard of including graphics and two levels of headings in their formal reports.

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Assignments & Grading
Changes that affect grade values will be implemented only with the assent of all students present on the day a grade value is changed.  Your semester grade will be figured as follows:

Attendance
Attendance will be taken daily at the beginning of class.  Absences will be reported to the financial aid office, possibly resulting in loss of financial aid.

20 extra points will be possible for daily attendance, not counting the first day, individual conference dates, nor the final exam period.  But if you come to class late, you will lose 5 points. And any regular class session missed will result in the loss of 10 points.  So, upon your third absence you will start to lose points from the regular (not extra) semester point total.  There are no excused absences, except as specified in our policies concerning attendance at University functions.  Consult the Student Handbook.  It may be possible to make up absences using the email, chat, and presentation tools of our web-based classroom, Web-CT.  However, this section of English 218G is not web-based, only web-enhanced.
 Chapter quizzes will likely be chosen by me from the quizzes available at the textbook website.  But, some may be unannounced, in class. 

Instructor Contact Information
 
 

Mr. Ron McNeel Professor of English Technical Communications Program Facilitator	Office #115, Faculty Office Building Office phone, 439-3742 Office hours: Mon., Tue., Wed., Thur: 2:30-4:30 pm email: mcneel@nmsua.nmsu.edu web address:  http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~rmcneel
Books and Materials Technical Communications:  Situations and Strategies.  Markel, 7th edition A Pocket Manual, Hacker Handbook for Technical Writers, optional Dictionary 2 computer disks NMSU-A computer lab account, and/or a web-mail account (Yahoo, Hotmail, Netscape, Zianet, etc.) Notebooks, paper, pens, and pencils	Prerequisites English 111G, or its equivalent first year college writing course, is a prerequisite for ENGL 218G  Computer experience is not a requirement, but a positive attitude toward experimenting with computer-mediated communications will be very helpful.

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1) The university administration insists that you do not smoke, eat, chew, or drink in the computer classrooms or laboratories.
 2) Excessive absences will affect your final semester grade. See the grading policies above.
 3) Chronic tardiness is unacceptable. If--on a rare occasion--you happen to be late, quietly take a seat in the row of desks nearest the door. This row is to be left vacant for just this contingency. See the grading policies above. Please don't walk in front of me while I am lecturing.
 4) You are responsible for the information presented at each class session whether or not you are there. In the case of some personal emergency, you must make an appointment with me, preferably in advance of the absence, to determine whether or not  make-up work will be allowed.
 5) Plagiarized papers will receive a grade of zero except for a plagiarized formal written report. A plagiarized formal written report is sufficient cause for a failure grade for the entire course. In case I have a question about whether or not your formal written report is indeed authored by you, keep all pre-final drafts, notes, bibliography cards, and other research and drafting materials.
 6) The formal written report is a requirement for passing the course.
7) ALL late papers will lose 10% of the possible points. Dates for revisions will be negotiated with everyone in one class session, and then made absolute. I will not take late papers or revisions after Session 21, Wednesday, August 4.
 9) So that NMSU-A may engage in assessment activities, the instructor reserves the right to keep final drafts of your assignments, after showing them to you. Therefore, if you want to keep a copies of reports, photocopy it before you turn in the original copy.
10) Disruptive students will be required to leave the class.
 

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

If someone in your family needs to contact you in an emergency, use the following telephone numbers:

DAYTIME 439-3700 (Admissions Office)
EVENING 439-3751 (Faculty Office Secretary
CAMPUS SECURITY 439-3636

To make it easier to find you, the person calling should know the class (i.e. English 218G), the instructor, and the section that you are attending.

In Case of Holloman Air Force Base Closure
National or international events may cause Holloman Air Force Base to close, keeping students from leaving the base to attend classes on campus, and keeping instructors from entering the base to teach classes there.  To alleviate the problems a closure would cause,
• the instructor may collect student phone numbers and email addresses;
• the instructor may use email addresses to create a distribution list to keep students up-to-date on assignments and activities;
• students should note the instructor’s email address and be adept at sending word-processed assignments as attachments via computer;
• instructors and students may need to mutually agree on a make-up class or classes, times, places, and modes of instruction (including email or chat room discussions), in order to abide by state requirements of 750 minutes of class time per credit hour.
 

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