How to Use the English 202 Grade Prediction SpreadsheetHow to Use .docx

How to Use the English 202 Grade Prediction SpreadsheetHow
to Use the English 202 Grade Prediction
SpreadsheetIntroduction
The English 202 Blackboard class site includes a link to a Grade
Prediction Spreadsheet. This Microsoft Excel spreadsheet can
be used to make predictions of your final grade based on (1) the
graded scores of quizzes and assignments and (2) estimates of
scores on ungraded quizzes and assignments.
These instructions explain how to download and use the Grade
Prediction Spreadsheet. How to Download the English 202
Grade Prediction Spreadsheet
To download the English 202 Grade Prediction Spreadsheet to
your computer, do the following:
Step (Describe the steps needed to do the download,
remembering that each step involves only one action. For each
step, describe what the reader should be seeing. If you use a
screenshot, make the screenshot fit between the left indent for
the "Illustration" paragraph style and the right margin, which is
set at 6.5 inches, by cropping or proportionally scaling the
image.)
[Put the image on this line]
Step
Step
How to Open the English 202 Grade Prediction Spreadsheet
To open the English 202 Grade Prediction Spreadsheet, do the
following:
1. Step (Describe the steps needed to open the spreadsheet. For
each step, show the reader a screenshot that illustrates what the
reader should be seeing. Make the screenshot fit between the
left indent for the "Illustration" paragraph style and the right
margin, which is set at 6.5 inches, by cropping or proportionally
scaling the image.)

Step
Step
How to Add Your Grades to the English 202 Grade Prediction
Spreadsheet
To add your grades to the English 202 Grade Prediction
Spreadsheet, do the following:
1. Step (Describe the steps needed to add your grades to the
spreadsheet, including predicted scored for ungraded items. For
scaling the image.)
Step
Step
Interpreting the Results of the English 202 Grade Prediction
Spreadsheet
To determine your final grade, do the following:
1. Step (Describe the steps needed to add your grades to the
spreadsheet, including predicted scored for ungraded items. For
scaling the image.)
Step
Step
2

HIST 105/305, RC Weller
Integrative Issue Essay (IIE)
*800-900 words, 65 pts (6.5%) total
*Due as indicated in the Class Calendar
Your essay topic will be: “Islam and the West: Conflict,
Conversion or Coexistence?” The essay
should be written in a strictly factual, encyclopedic manner. It
should include a brief introductory
paragraph (75-100 words) highlighting the main issues/concerns
of the topic and making an
argumentative thesis statement. The main body should then
provide a brief summary of key historical
developments (using both description and analysis). It should
also include brief critical analysis of the
most important issues/aspects/points of the topic. You must also
explain how the main topic (‘Islam
and the West: Conflict, Conversion or Coexistence’) relates
to/connects with the RCI issues of
globalization, Israel-Palestine and racism/racial inequality. You
can make each of these connections at
different places within the essay, as long as they are all
included. Finally, the essay should end with a
concluding paragraph explaining the importance of
understanding the facts discussed in the main body
of your paper for the present day. How can/do the facts
discussed in your essay help us understand and
respond to the issue of “Islam and the West: Conflict,
Conversion or Coexistence?” in our own day?
You must use only required course readings and in-class
handouts. No outside sources. Essays

based on outside sources will be given a failing grade. Your
essay should cite a minimum of eight
readings plus one in-class handout. The eight required readings
must be drawn from at least five
different weeks. Citations should be in Chicago Style endnotes,
using both full and abbreviated format
as needed. Citations should follow this example, with only a
number in the main text which
corresponds to a number at the end of the essay where you place
your citation information.1
Your essay will be based on your WREs, but you should NOT
simply copy & paste various
sentences from your WREs into a document and turn it in. Your
essay should be a flowing, coherent
presentation which reflects refined, deeper critical thinking
based on your completion of the entire
course. It should be an argumentative essay which introduces
and states a position on the main subject
in the introduction, explains and supports that position in the
main body with facts/evidence cited from
the readings and class handouts, and then ends with a
conclusion as described above.
I recommend that you start by drafting an introductory
paragraph, then writing your main body
and conclusion, and then going back and refining your
introductory paragraph after you finish writing
your main body and conclusion.
1 First use of source = give full citation info (use same formats
as in LRAs). 2nd, 3rd, etc., use = Give only abbreviated info
(author
last name, abbreviated title, pg. #).

English 202 Style Guide
Updated Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Contents
Format using styles, get rid of blank lines, don’t use text boxes,
and use the caption and cross-
reference tools
...............................................................................................
............................................. 2
Use styles for paragraph-level formatting (2 point deduction
each occurrence) ........................................................ 2
Do not add or keep blank lines (2 point deduction each
occurrence) ........................................................................ 3
Do not manually indent the first sentence of a paragraph (2
point deduction each occurrence) ................................ 3
Do not use text boxes for document layout (document not
accepted for grading) ..................................................... 4
Use the captioning tool to add captions (5 point deduction each
instance)................................................................ 4
Add cross-references to illustrations using the cross-reference
tool (5 point deduction each instance) .................... 5
Write to meet the needs of the reader
...............................................................................................
........ 6
Do not use back-to-back headings (2 point deduction each
occurrence) .................................................................. 6
Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, and keep
paragraphs short (2 point deduction each occurrence)...... 6
Cite sources in the text using an (Author Year) citation (2 point
deduction each occurrence) .................................. 7

List all cited sources in a References section (2 point deduction
each occurrence) .................................................. 8
Choose good writing over bad (2 point deduction each
occurrence) ......................................................................... 8
Use specific adjectives (2 point deduction each occurrence)
................................................................................... 10
Use standard conventions for grammar, punctuation, and
spelling ................................................... 10
Introduce a list with a complete sentence that ends with a colon
(2 point deduction each occurrence) ................... 10
Punctuate list elements as you would sentences or sentence
fragments (2 point deduction each occurrence) ...... 10
Commas (2 point deduction each occurrence)
...............................................................................................
......... 11
Semicolons (2 point deduction each occurrence)
...............................................................................................
..... 11
Dashes and hyphens (2 point deduction each occurrence)
..................................................................................... 11
Punctuation placed outside of quotations (2 point deduction
each occurrence) ...................................................... 12
Sentence fragments used as sentences (2 point deduction each
occurrence) ........................................................ 12
Subject-verb disagreement (2 point deduction each occurrence)
............................................................................ 12
Run-on sentences (2 point deduction each occurrence)
.......................................................................................... 12
Comma splices (2 point deduction each occurrence)
..............................................................................................
13
No comma before the coordinating conjunction that joins two
independent clauses (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
...............................................................................................

............................................................... 13
Conjunctive adverb used as a conjunction (2 point deduction
each occurrence) ..................................................... 13
Noun-pronoun disagreement (2 point deduction each
occurrence) .........................................................................
13
Faulty parallelism (2 point deduction each occurrence)
...........................................................................................
14
Misspelling (2 point deduction each occurrence)
...............................................................................................
...... 14
2
This style guide defines standards for all writing done in this
course.
and use the
caption and cross-reference tools
For all documents, you must apply paragraph-level formatting
using styles, use Word’s captioning and
cross-referencing tools when the document contains
illustrations, and avoid features that make editing
difficult.
Use styles for paragraph-level formatting (2 point deduction
each occurrence)
Apply paragraph formatting using styles rather than by selecting

text and then applying some
characteristic. Selecting text and applying formatting directly
must be limited to such simple
actions as applying italics or boldface to a few words.
Use only the following styles in this course
Unless the assignment specifies otherwise, use only the
following paragraph styles1:
• Apply Title style to the title of a document2.
• Apply Heading 1 to all first-level headings. (Think of chapter
titles in a book.)
• Apply Heading 2 style to all second-level headings. (Think of
sections in a chapter.)
• Keep the structure of your document simple; do NOT use
Heading 3 through Heading 93.
• Apply Body Text style to all body paragraphs in a document
with the exception of vertical
list elements.
• Apply List Bullet style to all unordered4 vertical list elements.
If you need to create an
indented list—a sub-list within a list—use List Bullet 2.
• Apply List Number to all ordered vertical list elements. Use
List Number only for lists
that imply a specific sequence. Do not create indented numbered
lists.
Body Text, List Bullet, List Bullet 2, and List Number must
share a common typeface,
paragraph spacing, and line spacing.

• Add a References section heading (Heading 1 style) to the end
of any document that cites
sources, list your sources, and format each source item using
Body Text style.
1 When you collaborate with others, as you do frequently when
writing technical documents, you must work
efficiently. Manual formatting, using the click and select
method, is not efficient.
2 Because a document only has one title, there should be a
single Title style paragraph.
3 Research tells us that readers struggle with documents that
have more than four levels of headings.
4 Most lists are unordered. Unless your list is a sequence, or
unless the items in the list are presented in a ranked
order, use an unordered list.
3
If you are not seeing all styles in Word, click Options at the
bottom of the Styles pane and choose
All styles:
Learn to use and modify Word styles
Many guides and tutorials can teach you Word styles. Here are a
few I found:
• Understanding styles

• How to modify styles in Microsoft Word
I know you can find other online resources just as good. I also
provide tutorials.
Do not add or keep blank lines (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
When styles define the spacing between document elements,
blank lines are not needed and
should not be added or retained. Delete them! To more easily
see blank lines in a document, click
the pilcrow symbol:
Some blank lines are added by Word and cannot be easily
deleted5, but try to do so before
accepting any unnecessary spacing.
Do not manually indent the first sentence of a paragraph (2
point deduction each
occurrence)
The transition from one paragraph to another is indicated by
additional spacing specified before
and after Body Text style. Outside of hardcopy books6, indents
have given way to inter-paragraph
spacing. Do not add indents.
5 For example, Word adds a space after a table of contents field
that usually cannot be deleted without deleting the
entire table of contents.
6 In the book publishing industry, the cost of paper is still
important, so indents are still used.
http://shaunakelly.com/word/styles/tipsonstyles.html

http://shaunakelly.com/word/styles/modifyastyle.html
4
Do not use text boxes for document layout (document not
accepted for grading)
As implemented in Word, text boxes do not support
collaborative editing and commenting tools.
If you use text boxes, I will return your file and have you fix it.
(If the returned file is late, the
late penalty applies.)
Use the captioning tool to add captions (5 point deduction each
instance)
You must use the Word captioning tool to add captions to
illustrations, such as figures, photos,
charts, and tables. (Illustrations are also called graphics.)7
Course rules for captions
For all writing in this course, captions must comply with the
following (2 point deduction each):
• Captions go beneath figures and above tables:
• Captions must have a label, a number, and a title. Your word
processor will automatically
add the label and number (for example, "Figure 3" or "Table
5"), but you must also add a
descriptive title that describes the graphic.
Learn to use the Word captioning tool

Many guides and tutorials available can show you how to add
captions in Word. Here are a few I
found:
• Add captions in Word
• How to Add a Caption to a Graphic in a Word 2010 Document
• Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013 for Dissertations
I also provide a tutorial.
7 The first time you edit a large document that includes many
figures and tables, you will be grateful for learning
how to make Word keep track of captions and cross-references.
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Add-captions-in-Word-
82fa82a4-f0f3-438f-a422-
34bb5cef9c81?CorrelationId=35749ef1-5340-45ac-8211-
99a36c52d928&ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-add-a-caption-
to-a-graphic-in-a-word-2010-d.html
http://guides.lib.umich.edu/content.php?pid=245394&sid=20274
61
5
Add cross-references to illustrations using the cross-reference
tool (5 point deduction
each instance)
You must use the Word cross-reference tool to create cross-

references to captions. A cross
reference is a link between what is being said in the text and an
associated illustration. Examples
include the following:
Figure 1 shows an example of the Thingamajig II in operation.
(The cross reference is the subject
of the sentence.)
The Thingamajig II is an attractive machine (Figure 1). (The
cross-reference is a parenthetical
element.)
In the following example, the cross-reference (contained in
parentheses because it is a
parenthetical element) refers the reader to the caption.
The cross-reference can be either an element of the sentence or
a parenthetical element, but it
cannot stand alone because it is a sentence fragment.
Course rules for cross-references
For all writing in this course, cross-references must comply
with the following (2 point deduction
each):
• Place the cross-reference somewhere in the text shortly before
the illustration is presented.
• Make the cross-reference a part of the sentence8. A cross-
reference is often a subject or a
parenthetical element.
• Create cross-references that show only the label and number9:

Figure 6 shows the relationship between pH and disinfection
effectiveness.
8 So, the cross-reference must be placed inside the end
punctuation of the sentence. It cannot stand alone.
9 Don’t include the caption title in the cross-reference.
6
• Do NOT add position indicators to cross-references. For
example, do not add words such
as “below” or “above” when making a cross-reference10.
• Insert the cross-reference as a hyperlink:
Learn to use the Word cross-reference tool
Many guides and tutorials available online can show you how to
add cross-references in Word.
Here are a few I found:
• Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013 for Dissertations
• Creating cross-references in Word
I also provide a tutorial.
Write to meet the needs of the reader
Write so that the reader rarely needs to work hard to understand
what you are trying to say; adhere to the
following rules.

Do not use back-to-back headings (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
Do not use back-to-back headings. Put an advanced organizer
between levels of headings to
illustrate how a section is structured. In other words, describe
how a section is sub-divided before
jumping into the first sub-division.
Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, and keep
paragraphs short (2 point
deduction each occurrence)
Because you are learning how to write for readers who would
prefer to not read, always do the
following:
• Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. Readers who skim
documents—by which I
mean all readers of technical documents—are looking at
headings and first sentences to get
10 Yes, the cross-reference feature can add such indicators
automatically, but, if you place your illustrations where
the reader needs them, such indicators are not necessary.
http://guides.lib.umich.edu/content.php?pid=245394&sid=20274
88
http://www.iec.ch/standardsdev/resources/draftingpublications/
writing_editing/tips_recommendations_we/cross_references.htm
7

the gist of what you are saying. Don’t try to create suspense by
presenting the topic sentence
at the end of the paragraph; you’ll simply annoy the reader.
Structure paragraphs as journalists do, as an inverted pyramid,
with the key idea at the
beginning. Avoid writing chronological paragraphs that end
with a conclusion:
Avoid this type of paragraph:
I started with the initial prediction of temperature values. Then,
I applied the filter to
correct the predictions before comparing to the measured
experimental results. The
filtered predictions for temperature matched the experimental
results.
Instead, flip the paragraph to put the key point at the beginning:
After filtering, the predicted temperature values matched the
measured experimental
values. I started with the initial temperature predictions, and I
then applied the filter to
these values. The values matched.
• Keep each paragraph focused and concise. If you cannot
present an idea with a topic
sentence and three supporting sentences (four at most), you
need to rethink what you are
trying to say:
• If the paragraph addresses more than a single topic, break the
paragraph where the
topic shifts.

• If the paragraph presents a list of items, format the paragraph
as an introductory
sentence and a vertical list.
Cite sources in the text using an (Author Year) citation (2 point
When you make a statement of fact that is not universal
knowledge, you must cite a source by
adding an (Author Year) notation close to where the fact is
stated:
SI units were introduced in 1960 (Robinson 2007 p15).
More than half of the people living in the U.S. do so in places
where the air is unhealthy (West
2010).
In Metal Evolution, Sam Dunn argues that modern metal has its
roots in classical music (Fraser
2011).
Pay particular attention to the following requirements for
citations:
• Author in the citation should closely resemble Author shown
in the referenced sources.
The reader is looking for Author in the reference list, so show
the same Author in the citation.
• Place the citation inside the sentence end punctuation. A
citation outside of the end
punctuation is a sentence fragment.
• If you are citing a book, give a page number where the fact
can be found.

• If you are citing a source published on the Internet, and no
author is named, use the
name of the organization11 as the author:
A style guide provides standards for writing and designing a
document (Wikipedia 2016).
• Yes, you may cite Wikipedia as a source12.
11 Do not use the N.A. and N.D. elements in references. These
elements tell the reader nothing useful.
8
List all cited sources in a References section (2 point deduction
each occurrence)
In a References section, placed after the document body, list
references, in alphabetical order
by author. Use the following pattern for each reference:
Author last name, First initial. Year. Title of cited work.
Publisher. Access information
(for web-based sources).
I’ve made the item-separators large and red to emphasize that
items in the reference are separated
by periods rather than commas.
Here are a few examples:

Fraser, G. 2011. Metal Evolution Forges a New History of Hard
Rock. Toronto.com.
Available at http://www.toronto.com/article/705371.
Robinson, A. 2007. The Story of Measurement. Thames and
Hudson Ltd., London.
West, L. 2010. More Than Half of U.S. Population Lives in
Counties with Unsafe Air.
About.com. Available at
http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/stateofair
.htm.
Pay particular attention to the following:
• Author name must resemble the in-text citation name (2 point
deduction each).
• Do not list any references that you have not cited in the
document body (2 point deduction each).
• Year should be the publication year, if shown on the article. If
you do not see a publication
year, use the year you accessed it.
• If two cited publications have the same author and the same
year, distinguish between
them by adding a lowercase letter after the year (2 point
deduction each):
Smithers, L. 2010a. Citing Your Sources. Smith.com. Available
at http://smithers.com/citing.
Smithers, L. 2010b. References in the Same Year. Smith.com.
Available at
http://smithers.com/references.

• If you are citing a source published on the Internet, and no
author is named, use the
organization name as the author (2 point deduction each):
Wikipedia. 2016. Style guide. Wikipedia. Available at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Style_guide.
• Use the exact spelling and capitalization used by the
organization you are citing. If you
are uncertain, go to the organization’s website and look for the
About Us link, which is often
located in the web page footer (2 point deduction each).
Choose good writing over bad (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
As I read your writing, I will look for the following:
• Clearly indicated main clauses. Long sentences that take
forever to get to the point make
for slow reading. Often, such sentences begin with long
introductory phrases that are not set
off from the main clause with a comma. In this course, I want
you to always add a comma
after an introductory word or phrase that precedes the main
clause.
12 I use Wikipedia myself to quickly find information on many
topics. However, I also double-check the information
found in Wikipedia before accepting it as truth. I encourage you
to do the same.

9
• Sentences easy to follow on the first reading. Having to
continuously backtrack is a major
frustration. When I find myself backing up to re-read a
sentence, the problem (and the
corresponding solution) is usually one of the following:
What I thought was the main
clause is an introductory phrase:
In troubling times such as these
times we need a new copier.
Put a comma after an introductory phrase to signal
where the main clause begins.
In troubling times such as these times, we need a new
copier.
I encounter an abbreviation or
term that has not yet been defined.
Define all abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms on
first use. Present the full term first, and then, in
parentheses, present the shortened form you intend to
use:
• The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain of
the computer.
• The preferred option will weigh less than three
pounds (lb).
• The software application (app) runs on most

smartphones.
• I bought a new personal computer (pc).
I encounter a pronoun, and I’ve
forgotten what it refers to.
Don’t continue using a pronoun more than a sentence
away from its referent.
If the pronoun is a demonstrative pronoun (this, that,
these, those), always convert the pronoun to an
adjective by adding a noun:
The pipe had a longitudinal crack that opened under
pressures above 50 psi. This crack accounted for the
unexpected loss in fluid.
I encounter a slash used as a
conjunction, and I have to figure
out what it means.
Never use a slash (/) as a conjunction; specify what
you mean. Do you mean “and,” or do you mean “or?”
The conjunction and/or has no clear meaning and
should never be used in a technical document.
Yes, I know the textbook uses slashes as
conjunctions, but it should not. Technical writing
should be precise.
10

I encounter a list of items, and I
am uncertain if the last two are
separate or grouped together into a
single item.
In technical writing, we always place a comma
(known as the Oxford comma) after the next-to-last
item in a series of more than two items:
• My heroes are my parents, Superman and Wonder
Woman. (Incorrect, unless your parents are
Superman and Wonder Woman)
• My heroes are my parents, Superman, and
Wonder Woman. (Correct)
Use specific adjectives (2 point deduction each occurrence)
Because many adjectives have no specific meaning without
context, make sure you provide that
context for the reader—or use a specific adjective:
High resolution images of the equipment were provided. (What
is the definition of high resolution
in this context?)
300 dots per inch (dpi) images of the equipment were provided.
Use standard conventions for grammar, punctuation, and
spelling
If you are a native English speaker, you spent the first eight
years of your education learning the
rules of English grammar and punctuation. Then, in high school,
you forgot those rules. Here is a
refresher of what you should know.

Introduce a list with a complete sentence that ends with a
colon13 (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
So that your writing is consistent with other writers in this
collaborative setting, always introduce
a list with a complete sentence that ends with a colon:
To complete the project, (Incorrect)
• Draft the report
• Review the draft with a approving committee
To complete the project, we need to do the following:
(Correct)
• Draft the report
• Review the draft with a approving committee
By rule, the words to the left of a colon should form a complete
sentence, except for a colon
following a salutation (Dear Ms. Doe:).
Punctuate list elements as you would sentences or sentence
fragments (2 point
If all elements of a vertical list appear as sentence fragments,
do not add any punctuation. (See
the list example in the previous section.)
13 Technically, the introduction to a list can end with a period,
but in the collaborative environment of this course, I
want to be sure we all follow the same convention. Use a colon.

11
If any element of a vertical list is a complete sentence,
punctuate all elements as if they were
sentences:
To complete the project, we need to do the following:
• We must create the draft report.
• We must review the draft with the approving committee.
Commas (2 point deduction each occurrence)
The following comma errors are likely to catch my eye:
• No commas separating nonrestrictive modifiers from the main
clause:
The iPhone one of the original smart phones is still popular.
(Incorrect)
The iPhone, one of the original smart phones, is still popular.
(Correct)
The phrase between commas can be deleted, and the sentence
would still make sense.
• A comma is placed between a subject and its verb:
A long document, is ten pages. (Incorrect)
A long document is ten pages. (Correct)

• A comma splits verbs or verb phrases in a compound
predicate:
The plans meet state rules, and are approved. (Incorrect)
The plans meet state rules and are approved. (Correct)
The plans meet state rules, and they are approved. (Correct)
• Other comma gaffes listed by the Purdue OWL.
Semicolons (2 point deduction each occurrence)
A semicolon cannot be used to introduce a list or end a
salutation:
The following rules apply; (Incorrect)
Dear Mr. Curmudgeonly; (Incorrect)
A semicolon (;) is used to join two closely related independent
clauses or to separate items in a
list when those items already contain commas:
Some people are fastidious; he was not such a person. (Correct)
State capitols represented at the conference included the
following: Austin, Texas;
Sacramento, California; and Boise, Idaho. (Correct)
Dashes and hyphens (2 point deduction each occurrence)
Dashes and hyphens are not the same thing with different
widths:
• A dash is used to set off information, in much the same way
that parentheses do:
He drank too many cups of punch—a concoction consisting of

fruit juice and some
unknown liquor—for his stomach to handle.
• A hyphen is used to create compound adjectives or to express
a range:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/
12
Her ex-husband turned out to be a small-time crook.
He spent time in the prison from 1999-2005.
Writers frequently add spaces before and after dashes and
hyphens, but there should be no
such spaces14.
To create a dash in Word, type two hyphens immediately after a
word, and continue typing.
When you complete the word following the hyphens, Word
replaces them with an em-dash15.
You can also use the Insert > Symbol function to add a dash.
Select More Symbols, go to the
Special Characters tab, select Em Dash, and click Insert.
Punctuation placed outside of quotations (2 point deduction
each occurrence)
In American English, punctuation is placed inside of quotations:
According to Markel (2012), “a topic sentence states,
summarizes, or forecasts the main

point of the paragraph”. (Incorrect)
According to Markel (2012), “a topic sentence states,
summarizes, or forecasts the main
point of the paragraph.” (Correct)
Sentence fragments used as sentences (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
Oxford Dictionaries defines a sentence as follows:
A set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a
subject and predicate,
conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and
consisting of a main
clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses.
Although sentence fragments are frequently used by
professional writers, in this course, only a
sentence can pose as a sentence.
Subject-verb disagreement (2 point deduction each occurrence)
A subject and its verb must agree in number:
June and Edward is coming to dinner.
June and Edward are coming to dinner.
Run-on sentences (2 point deduction each occurrence)
A writer strings two complete thoughts together without
connective punctuation, creating a run-
on sentence:
He kicked the ball the ball bounced back. (Incorrect)
He kicked the ball, and the ball bounced back. (Correct)

He kicked the ball. The ball bounced back. (Correct)
He kicked the ball; the ball bounced back. (Correct)
14 Some Word templates, such as resume templates, show
spaces before and after dashes. If you use such a template,
you will need to remove these spaces.
15 The em-dash is the width of the letter “m.” Can you guess
how wide an en-dash is?
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_engli
sh/sentence
13
Comma splices (2 point deduction each occurrence)
A writer uses a comma to join two independent clauses, creating
a comma splice. The fix is to add
a coordinating conjunction (and, or, so, but):
The sun came up, it was a new day! (Incorrect)
The sun came up, and it was a new day! (Correct)
No comma before the coordinating conjunction that joins two
independent clauses (2
point deduction each occurrence)
She hit the ball and she ran to first base. (Incorrect)
She hit the ball, and she ran to first base. (Correct)

Conjunctive adverb used as a conjunction (2 point deduction
each occurrence)
A conjunctive adverb (accordingly, also, additionally, however,
moreover, and so forth) cannot
connect two clauses in the same manner as a conjunction. Place
a semicolon or period before the
adverb, and a comma after:
You must do all the assignments, otherwise you will not score
well. (Incorrect)
You must do all the assignments; otherwise, you will not score
well. (Correct)
The assignment was due on Monday, however James did not
turn it in. (Incorrect)
The assignment was due on Monday; however, James did not
turn it in. (Correct)
Noun-pronoun disagreement (2 point deduction each
occurrence)
A pronoun and the noun to which it refers should agree in
number, person, and gender. When this
agreement is not achieved, the results look funny:
Every student should work hard if they want a good grade.
(Incorrect)16
Every student should work hard if he or she wants a good grade.
(Correct)
16 If you routinely use non-binary pronouns, I will accept this
usage, provided you add an embedded comment
explaining your intentional usage for the first non-binary

pronoun in each document. I need to know that your usage
is intentional and not a mistake.
14
Faulty parallelism (2 point deduction each occurrence)
A consistent (parallel) grammatical form should be used
throughout coordinated elements. I most
often see a break in parallelism in vertical lists in which the
writer begins list elements
differently:
Non-parallel (most items
begin with verbs)
Parallel (all items begin with
verbs)
The following are essential: The following are essential:
Reset the gizmo. Reset the gizmo.
Consistent pressure is
important. Prime the
pressurizer.
Prime the pressurizer.
Consistent pressure is
important.
Activate the startup sequence. Activate the startup sequence.
Misspelling (2 point deduction each occurrence)
Check your spelling. Poor spelling shouts, “This writer doesn’t

care!” In the era of spell-checkers
and Internet access, it adds, in a whispered aside, “This writer
is also incredibly lazy.” Don’t be
that writer.
Make sure your word processor is set up to automatically check
spelling as you type. A red
squiggly line beneath a word tells you to check the spelling.
and use the caption and cross-reference toolsUse styles for
paragraph-level formatting (2 point deduction each
occurrence)Use only the following styles in this courseLearn to
use and modify Word stylesDo not add or keep blank lines (2
point deduction each occurrence)Do not manually indent the
first sentence of a paragraph (2 point deduction each
occurrence)Do not use text boxes for document layout
(document not accepted for grading)Use the captioning tool to
add captions (5 point deduction each instance)Course rules for
captionsLearn to use the Word captioning toolAdd cross-
references to illustrations using the cross-reference tool (5 point
deduction each instance)Course rules for cross-referencesLearn
to use the Word cross-reference toolWrite to meet the needs of
the readerDo not use back-to-back headings (2 point deduction
each occurrence)Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence,
and keep paragraphs short (2 point deduction each
occurrence)Cite sources in the text using an (Author Year)
citation (2 point deduction each occurrence)List all cited
sources in a References section (2 point deduction each
occurrence)Choose good writing over bad (2 point deduction
each occurrence)Use specific adjectives (2 point deduction each
occurrence)Use standard conventions for grammar, punctuation,
and spellingIntroduce a list with a complete sentence that ends
with a colon12F (2 point deduction each occurrence)Punctuate
list elements as you would sentences or sentence fragments (2
point deduction each occurrence)Commas (2 point deduction
each occurrence)Semicolons (2 point deduction each

occurrence)Dashes and hyphens (2 point deduction each
occurrence)Punctuation placed outside of quotations (2 point
deduction each occurrence)Sentence fragments used as
sentences (2 point deduction each occurrence)Subject-verb
disagreement (2 point deduction each occurrence)Run-on
sentences (2 point deduction each occurrence)Comma splices (2
point deduction each occurrence)No comma before the
coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses (2
point deduction each occurrence)Conjunctive adverb used as a
conjunction (2 point deduction each occurrence)Noun-pronoun
disagreement (2 point deduction each occurrence)Faulty
parallelism (2 point deduction each occurrence)Misspelling (2
point deduction each occurrence)
1 of 8
Syllabus for English 202, Fall 2017
Updated Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The following presents the syllabus for English 202. What this
syllabus says takes precedence over any
other document related to this course.
Modification of This Syllabus
I reserve the right to modify this syllabus, but I will tell you,
using a course announcement, when I make
a modification. I will show any changes in the syllabus using
red-line markup, such as shown here.
What is Technical Communication?
Technical communication includes the many forms of writing

and speaking used in the work world:
letters, manuals, memos, instructions, proposals, reports,
presentations, and Web pages. As a technical
professional, you will spend a lot of time creating technical
communications; you will spend even more
time reading and listening to the technical communications of
others.
Textbook
The required textbook for this course is The Essentials of
Technical Communication, Third Edition,
written by Elizabeth Tebeaux and Sam Dragga. The book is
published by Oxford University Press.
You may notice that the writing in the book does not always
comply with the requirements I place on
you, via the associated English 202 Style Guide. Read the book
to get a better understanding of the
general principles of effective technical communication, but,
when you are looking for examples of the
right way to write for this course, consult the English 202 Style
Guide.
Software
You need the following software for this course:
• A Web browser compatible with Blackboard. See the links on
the Blackboard login page for a
list of browsers that have been certified.
• Microsoft Word 2010 or later version1. If you use any other
word processor2, you must ensure
that the files you turn in are compatible with Word in all
aspects.

• Microsoft Excel, 2010 or later version.
1 I use Windows Office 2010 and Office 365 for my grading,
but I tested the features I require on Macintosh, so I
know there are not any incompatibilities between the two
platform versions. If you believe that running Word on
Macintosh prevents you from completing assignments correctly,
you may need to find a Windows computer to use
for the assignments.
2 Limited feature word processors, such as Microsoft Works and
Macintosh Pages, do not support the styles
feature crucial to this course. If you use either, you will lose
points when we get into the major assignments. Some
students try to use OpenOffice or LibreOffice, but the styles do
not convert correctly when saving to docx format.
Use these alternatives only if you understand that your grade
will suffer.
2 of 8
English 202 is a Component of the Foundational Studies
Program Social Science
Disciplinary Lens
Boise State's Foundational Studies Program provides
undergraduates with a broad-based education that
spans the entire university experience. ENGL 202, Introduction
to Technical Communication, satisfies 3
credits of the Foundational Studies Program’s Disciplinary
Lens—Social Science (DL-S) requirements. It
supports University Learning Outcome 11 (“Apply knowledge

and the methods of inquiry characteristic
of the social sciences to explain and evaluate human behavior
and institutions”) along with a variety of
other course-specific goals.
After successful completion of this course, you will be able to
do the following:
• Understand that successful communication effectively
responds to the needs and interests of
people with different backgrounds, frames of reference, needs,
and interests; and understand how
to examine and articulate your own place within your own
culture
• Understand that documents reflect the ways in which powerful
cultural forces affect writers and
readers; understand how to analyze the world views and
philosophical assumptions inherent in
source material; and draw connections between diverse
perspectives
• Write a recommendation report that effectively documents a
research project calling for
secondary3 research, problem-solving, and effective writing
that adheres to the conventions and
expectations of a professional discipline; analyze and evaluate
your own and others’ assumptions
about the importance of context; and isolate and emphasize the
critical element of a discussion
Goal of the Course
The goal of this course is to provide you with the knowledge
and skills you need to communicate
effectively in a professional environment. For many of you, the

topics you communicate as a professional
will be technical in nature, but whether the topic is an
engineering report that describes the requirements
for a wastewater treatment plant or a memo to your boss, the
communication must be of professional
quality to be well-received. Communications that are
incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate, or simply unclear
reflect poorly on you and your employer.
The course goal is achieved through the following:
• Textbook Readings and Quizzes. Most weeks, you will have
assigned readings and quizzes about
those readings. Most quiz questions come from the textbook,
but there are also questions from the
English 202 Style Guide, which you are expected to use
throughout the course.
• Exercises. Through exercises, you will apply what you learn
from your readings, and you will
also learn features of office software essential to creating
professional documents in a
collaborative environment. What you learn from doing the
exercises you will apply when writing
the proposal, recommendation report, and instructions later in
the course.
• Writing Assignments. You will apply all you have learned
from your readings and the exercises as
you write a proposal, a recommendation report, and a set of
instructions.
Effective communication comes from study and practice.
Nobody becomes an effective communicator
through study alone.

3 This course does not allow sufficient time to do primary
research effectively, so only secondary research is
allowed.
3 of 8
How Does Writing for Technical Communication Differ from
Other Writing?
When you write technical communications, you must be aware
of the following:
• Correctness. You are writing to people who have advanced
technical training and expertise and
whose jobs require them to read often. Experienced readers will
quickly spot easily-corrected
errors and are likely to form a negative impression of writers
who do not correct such errors.
From the very first writing assignment until the last, I will
expect your writing to be correct in all
aspects of grammar and punctuation.
• Style requirements. Technical writing is frequently done as a
part of a collaborative effort. To
keep the writing consistent, writers need to comply with a style
guide that defines required
formatting, grammar, punctuation, and word usage. For all
assignments, you must comply with
the requirements of the English 202 Style Guide.
• Needs of the reader. Technical writing is not a forum for
personal expression; its goal is to help

the reader understand and act—not to satisfy the needs of the
writer. You are not entertaining;
you are communicating.
Weighting of the Course Work
The course work is weighted as shown in Table 1. About half of
your grade will be determined by your
scores on the reading quizzes and the exercises; the other half
will be determined by your scores on the
proposal, recommendation report, and instructions assignments.
Table 1. Weighting of course work.
Course Work Element Weight (percent of
grade)
Reading Quizzes (2 points each, 12 quizzes) 24
Nine Exercises (3 points each) 27
Proposal, Part 1 5
Proposal, Part 2 10
Recommendation Report, Part 1 10
Recommendation Report, Part 2 15
Instructions Writing Assignment 9
Total 100
You can calculate your grade—or make projections about your
grade—using the following formula:
Your grade = 0.02 * (sum of 12 reading quiz scores)
+ 0.03 * (sum of 9 exercise scores)
+ 0.05 * proposal part 1 score
+ 0.10 * (proposal part 2 + recommendation report part 1
scores)
+ 0.15 * recommendation report part 2 score
+ 0.09 * instructions score

I also provide a spreadsheet to help you calculate your grade
throughout the course. You can find the link
to the spreadsheet on the left side of the Blackboard menu:
4 of 8
Download the spreadsheet, enter your grades, and make guesses
about future grades to see how you might
do in the course.
Grade Scale
Grades will be given based on the score ranges shown in Table
2.
Table 2. Score ranges and grades.
A- (≥90 but <92.5) A (≥ 92.5 but < 97.5) A+ (≥ 97.5 )
B- (≥80 but <82.5) B (≥ 82.5 but < 87.5) B+ (≥ 87.5 but < 90)
C- (≥70 but <72.5) C (≥ 72.5 but < 77.5) C+ (≥ 77.5 but < 80)
D- (≥60 but <62.5) D (≥ 62.5 but < 67.5) D+ (≥ 67.5 but < 70)
F (<60)
See Yourself as a Writing Collaborator
For all writing in this course, you should imagine that you are a
member of a team of writers, each of
whom is preparing one piece of a larger document. You are
submitting your contribution to an editor (me)
who must then assemble the separate pieces into a cohesive
whole having a consistent style and format.
Accordingly, I expect you to comply with all requirements of
the English 202 Style Guide and the more

specific requirements of each writing assignment. When you do
not comply with those requirements, I
will either reject your submission, returning it to you for
correction, or make the corrections with
corresponding deductions in your grade:
• If you do not apply styles as required by the English 202 Style
Guide, I will deduct up to thirty
30) points. You must use the required styles if you want an
exceptional grade in this course.
• If the document requires captions and cross-references, you
must use the captioning and cross-
reference tools to create these captions and cross-references.
Large technical documents are
frequently revised, and manually-created captions and cross-
references are tedious to update.
5 of 8
• Other deductions will be made as described in the English 202
Style Guide, so refer frequently to
the style guide as you review and edit your documents.
Sometimes, students complain that my
deductions for repeated “small” errors ignores how much work
went into the creating the content,
but I am simply reacting to your document in the same way your
boss or your customer would. If
your writing is full of small errors, I can’t see anything else
until those errors are corrected4.
Extra Credit

The best way to achieve a desired grade in the course is by
making each exercise, assignment, and exam a
high priority, meeting the due dates, and meeting the
requirements for each exercise and writing
assignment.
ESL Student Suggestions
If English is a second language for you, I encourage you to do
the following:
• Take advantage of the BSU Intensive English Program
(http://english.boisestate.edu/iep/) if you have
concerns about your ability to write English at a professional
level.
• Study the course style guide and Appendix A of the textbook
frequently as you review and edit your
writing.
• Use the services of the Boise State Writing Center
(http://writingcenter.boisestate.edu/).
• Use any of the many excellent online English writing guides
available to you across the Internet, such
as the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/).
• Ask native English speakers to review your writing before you
submit assignments. Native speakers
can help you fix such common problems as missing articles and
incorrect verb forms.
Submission of Course Work
Use the Assignments function to submit all assignments. I do

not accept files sent as e-mail attachments
unless you are looking for a preliminary review.
Exercises and writing assignments submitted to Blackboard
after the due date and times listed in
the syllabus calendar receive a mandatory deduction, even if
only a fraction of a second late5.
Deductions will be made as follows:
• 10 point deduction for anything turned in less than five
minutes late.
• 25 point deduction for anything turned in between five
minutes and one day late.
• 50 point deduction for anything turned in more than one day
late.
• 75 point deduction for anything turned in more than two days
late.
4 If you want me to look at a draft assignment before you
submit, send me your draft via e-mail, tell me what you
want me to look at as I review your draft, and I will flag a
representative sample of the errors I find, leaving the rest
for you to correct as a part of your learning experience. Just be
sure to send me the draft well before the assignment
is due; if you wait until the day the assignment is due, I may not
have time to look at it.
5 To be objective, I use the date and time stamp provided by
Blackboard to assess if an assignment is late.

6 of 8
• Rejection of anything turned in more than three days late.
I will make allowances for illness and family emergencies if
you will please contact me beforehand.
However, any leeway granted applies only to the assignment for
which you expect to be late; all other
assignments must be submitted according to the schedule
defined in this syllabus.
If you believe you have correctly submitted assignments that I
have not received on time, please contact
Blackboard Assistance. If Blackboard Assistance tells me that
an assignment was submitted to me by the
due date and time, I will grade that assignment as though it had
been submitted on time.
Reading Quizzes
Questions for the reading quizzes come from the textbook and
the English 202 Style Guide. Be sure to
study both.
The quizzes are open-book, but a time limit applies. It is
difficult to get an excellent score unless you
have studied the material beforehand.
When the deadline for taking and submitting an exam passes,
the exam remains open, but the time
limit is cut by two-thirds.
Very infrequently, students report encountering problems when
taking exams on Blackboard. Blackboard
appears to lock up before they can complete and submit the

exam. Please report the details of such
problems to Blackboard Assistance immediately, and send me a
brief message letting me know that you
need to have the exam reset. However, if the deadline for the
exam expires before I can reset the
exam, the time available will still be reduced. (Moral: Do not
wait until the last minute to begin the
exam!)
How to Do Well In This Course
To achieve a high grade in this course, you need to do well on
the exercises, the writing assignments, and
the quizzes. Some students are better writers than test-takers,
and other students are better test-takers than
writers. In this course, you must do well at both, and you must
incorporate what you learn into your
writing.
You must also learn to write according to the course style
guide. In a business environment, you will not
be free to write as you choose, so learning to review and edit
your writing against the requirements of a
style guide is an essential part of this course.
If you have become used to writing instructors who only mark
representative mistakes6, my method of
grading may be a shock: I mark all mistakes that I see7, and I
deduct for all mistakes I mark. I want
you to develop the habit of carefully reviewing your own
writing. In the business world, nobody will
willingly fix your mistakes; the quality of what you write is
largely in your hands.
6 I’ve never quite understood this method of grading; it is a bit

like only grading representative math problems
instead of all of the problems.
7 With the exception of the Proposal Part 1 and the
Recommendation Report Part 1; for these two assignments, I
will
show you a selection of the errors I am seeing so that you know
what to look for when preparing the final versions
(Part 2) of these major writing projects.
7 of 8
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism, which occurs when a writer, knowingly or not, uses
another writer's words without
appropriate attribution, is a serious offense that can result in
major deductions, the complete rejection of
an assignment, or even dismissal from the course. The minimum
deduction for plagiarism is 20 points,
but greater deductions will be used when the plagiarized
material constitutes a large proportion of the
submitted paper.
Communications
The best way to communicate with me is by sending an e-mail
message to [email protected]
Occasionally, students ask to meet with me, but I don’t have an
office at Boise State, and I am unlikely to
be persuaded to meet when it is so much easier and more
efficient to communicate asynchronously. If you
are taking an online course, we probably agree on this point.

If I need to communicate directly with you, I will send a
message to your BroncoMail account, so make
sure the e-mail address defined in BroncoMail is an e-mail
address you check frequently.
Calendar
Table 3 presents the course calendar, showing due dates for
assignments and quizzes. The due dates can
also be found in Blackboard by going to Tools and selecting
Calendar.
We are all adults, so I do not always send reminders about these
due dates. The dates are published,
and they are easy to find. If you find it necessary to be
reminded when something is due, create reminders
in Google Calendar or by using some similar tool.
Because some students want to assume a consistent pattern of
course activities, I have highlighted
variations in the pattern of chapter readings. However, I make
no claim that what I have highlighted
represents all variations in whatever pattern you choose to see.
If I were you, I would check the
calendar rather than assume a pattern.
Table 3. Course calendar.
Week Week Start Reading and Course Work Due (All times
Mountain Time Zone, U.S.)
1 August 21 Read the course syllabus and style guide.
Exercise 1 (Getting to know the course requirements) due by
4:50 PM August 24
2 August 28 Read Chapter 1, Characteristics of Writing at
Work, and review the style guide.
Reading Quiz 1 due by 4:50 PM August 29

Exercise 2 (Learning to use styles, electronic edits, and
comments) due by 4:50 PM
August 31
3 September 4 Read Chapter 2, Writing for Your Reader, and
review the style guide.
Reading Quiz 2 due by 4:50 PM September 5
Exercise 3 (Analyzing the audience) due by 4:50 PM September
7
4 September 11 Read Chapter 3, Writing Ethically, and review
the style guide.
Exercise 4 (Citing sources) due by 4:50 PM September 14
mailto:[email protected]
8 of 8
5 September 18 Read Chapter 4, Achieving a Readable Style,
and review the style guide.
Exercise 5 (Paragraphs and lists) due by 4:50 PM September 21
6 September 25 Read Chapter 5, Designing Documents, and
review the style guide.
Exercise 6 (Document design) due by 4:50 PM September 28
7 October 2 Read Chapter 6, Designing Illustrations, and review
the style guide.
Reading Quiz 6 due by 4:50 PM October 3
Exercise 7 (Illustrations, captions, and cross-references) due by
4:50 PM October 5

8 October 9 Read Chapter 7, E-mails, Texts, Memos, and
Letters; and review the style guide.
Exercise 8 (Messages, memos, letters) due by 4:50 PM October
12
9 October 16 Read Chapter 12, Resumes and Job Applications,
Exercise 9 (Creating job application documents) due by 4:50
PM October 19
10 October 23 Read Chapter 9, Proposals and Progress Reports,
Proposal, Part 1, due by 4:50 PM October 26
11 October 30 Read Chapter 8, Technical Reports, and review
the style guide.
Proposal, Part 2, due by 4:50 PM November 2
12 November 6 Read Chapter 10, Instructions, Procedures, and
Policies; and review the style guide.
Reading Quiz 10 due by 4:50 PM November 7
Recommendation Report, Part 1, due by 4:50 PM November 9
13 November 13 Read Chapter 11: Oral Reports
Reading Quiz 11 due by 4:50 PM November 14
14 November 20 Thanksgiving Break
15 November 27 Recommendation Report, Part 2, due by 4:50
PM November 30

16 December 4 Instructions due by 4:50 PM December 7
End of course.
Modification of This SyllabusWhat is Technical
Communication?TextbookSoftwareEnglish 202 is a Component
of the Foundational Studies Program Social Science
Disciplinary LensGoal of the CourseHow Does Writing for
Technical Communication Differ from Other Writing?Weighting
of the Course WorkGrade ScaleSee Yourself as a Writing
CollaboratorExtra CreditESL Student SuggestionsSubmission of
Course WorkReading QuizzesHow to Do Well In This
CourseAcademic HonestyCommunicationsCalendar
Grade
CalculatorEx1Q1Ex2Q2Ex3Q3Ex4Q4Ex5Q5Ex6Q6Ex7Q7Ex8Q
12Ex9Q9Prop1Q8Prop2Q10Rep1Q11Rep2InstGrade1001001001
00100100100100100100100100100100100100100100100100100
100100100100100100

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