Writing to the Web - ENGL 444

444 Syllabus

Course Syllabus: "Writing to the World Wide Web" 444-000
Dr. Christine Tracy Wednesday 6:30-9:10 p.m. Pray Harrold 314
Office Hours: Tuesday 10:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m. , Wednesday 4:15-6:15 p.m. and by appointment
Office: Pray-Harrold 603E, Office Phone: 487-0148
E-mail: ctracy1@emich.edu
Course web site: www.ninthmuse.org/teaching/444.html
Course Text: XHTML/CSS Basics for Web Writers. Margaret W. Batschelet, Pearson-Prentice Hall 2007

Course Goals
This course gives students the theoretical foundation and technical fluency to become effective communicators on the Internet's World Wide Web. Course work focuses on the development of an individual framework to apply basic rhetorical, technical, and aesthetic principles when designing and delivering digital information on the Web. Course goals include: increasing competency when writing in digital environments; developing specific Web literacies, such as CSS and XHTML; and learning basic design and aesthetic principles.

Course Objectives

To understand the rhetorical objectives of communication written and designed for publication on the Internet's World Wide Web and other digital environments.
To develop fluency and practice in writing HTML, XHTML, and CSS documents.
To study and learn visual rhetoric concepts and apply them to Web document design.
To analyze and evaluate existing digital writing practices and conventions and to develop an individual framework to effectively apply that knowledge when conceiving, constructing, designing, and publishing digital documents.

Major Assignments

Examination (undergraduate course requirement)
You will take one examination on the course readings, lectures, and class discussions. This examination will count toward 20 percent of your total grade.

Digital Portfolio Project
Each student will produce and publish a personal portfolio page to host class assignments, original work, and to and to experiment and learn Web publishing skills and tools. This page will include: original documents written, researched, and designed using conventions and practices learned in the course and the student's evolving list of rhetorical, technical, and aesthetic criteria for practicing digital writers. The project will contribute 20 points toward your final grade.

Digital Writing Assignments
In addition to in-class writing assignments and exercises, students will create digital documents, which will cover a variety of file formats and rhetorical objectives. These documents and processes will contribute 30 points toward your final grade. Projects will include a "This I Believe" essay, personal blog, and contributions to the class client project.

Demonstration of Technical Competencies and Understanding Assignments
Students will work together in teams of two to complete regular graded assignments that demonstrate course skills and competencies including: coding Web pages in HTML and XHMTL; creating Cascading Style Sheets (CSS); and designing, editing, and manipulating visual elements including photographs and graphics. These assignments, such as Dr. Krause's CSS Zen Flowerpot Assignment, http://krause.emich.edu/444/flowerpot.html will contribute 20 points toward your final grade.

Client Analysis and Usability Testing Project
Each student will contribute to the evaluation, analysis, and usability testing of the Web site of our class client, the Livonia Teen Library. This work will contribute 10 points toward your final grade.

Digital Genre and Invention Analysis (graduate student project)
Students taking the course for graduate credit will identify a emerging trend in digital environments that signals the creation on a new writing form or genre. In addition to identifying and explaining this trend, students will offer examples and analyze the budding genre using rhetorical invention theories. (20 points toward final grade).

Grading, Attendance and other Policies
Attendance and participation in this class are very important. Both are mandatory. The primary way to do well in this course is to attend class regularly and to do all the assignments. Excused absences are limited to three. Beyond three, absences are unexcused regardless of cause and will affect your grade. EMU policy states that if you miss a total of two weeks or more of class, you should drop the course.

The most important factors leading to a good grade in this course are consistent attendance and intellectual effort. If at any time during the semester you are concerned about your grade in the course or on a specific project, please set up a meeting with me early in the semester to discuss your concerns. Do not wait until the end of the term to raise questions or issues about previously graded work. All students are required to contribute to the productive classroom environment.

Being a respectful and contributing member of the class means arriving on time prepared to work and to engage meaningfully in class work and discussion. Disrespectful conduct, on the other hand, consists of using cell phones in class, using the computers for other work (besides class work), arriving late, participating in private conversations, inattention, and coming to class unprepared. If you miss class or are late, please contact your classmates or see Professor Tracy during office hours (only) to discuss the work you missed.

Late Work and Submission Guidelines
You should submit your work on the due date and in the proper format. Ten points will be deducted for each class meeting that the work is overdue. No assignments should be sent to me electronically without my prior permission. Late work will only be accepted if you consult with me prior to the class period in which the work is due.

Academic Integrity
The EMU Student Handbook defines various forms of academic dishonesty and procedures for responding to them. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with these policies. All forms are violations of trust between students and teachers. In a course on communication, failing to acknowledge accurately the work of another person whose writing you use (whether published author or a student) raises serious ethical concerns. Student-teacher relationships are built on trust. For example, students must trust that teachers have made good decisions about the content and structure of the course, and the teacher should assume that the assignments you hand in are yours (that you are the one who produced them). Acts that violate this trust undermine the educational process.