Technical Communication at UAHuntsville

The English Department and the Business and Technical Writing Program are pleased to offer English 649: Writing in Engineering during the Fall 2012 semester. This course uses technical communication and rhetorical principles to teach students how to analyze and create effective engineering texts and graphics. In this course, students will

• explore rhetorical principles of writing and how they apply in engineering disciplines
• connect technical communication concepts and principles to engineering writing
• look deeply at engineering texts (reports particularly but also theses, dissertations) and consider how words and graphics combine to create accurate, effective documents
• consider other engineering communication (e.g., correspondence, briefings, presentations)
• learn and use techniques for identifying and analyzing readers
• investigate the use and design of graphics in engineering

The course is discussion based (rather than lecture based) with discussion material drawn from articles and engineering documents. Assignments may include article or book reviews, discussion board contributions, analysis of a technical report, a technical report or draft of thesis.

The course, taught by Dr. Cynthia McPherson, meets on Thursday nights from 5:30-8:20 and is open to graduate students from any discipline. Technical communication certificate students who plan to work at engineering firms and students from engineering fields are especially encourage to enroll.