ASSIGNMENT 4

EN360 Technical Communication

Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) double-spaced pages; refer to the “Assignment Format” page located on the Course Home page for specific format requirements.

 

Part A: Written and Oral Communication Skills

 

Locate a website for an organization that hires graduates in your major. Besides technical skills, what writing and communication skills does this organization seek in a job candidate? Write a one-page essay on what they say directly on this subject. Include reasons why each skill is important, and any additional written/spoken skills that you believe would give a candidate a competitive advantage.

 

Part B: Effective Writing Teams

 

a. What types of projects require collaboration?

 

b. What are four primary attributes of an effective writing team? Provide an example for each.

 

Part C: Internet Source Distortion/Misrepresentation

 

From media, personal experience, or the Internet, identify an example of each of the following sources of distortion (faulty causal and/or statistical inference) for the following:

 

a. A study with questionable sponsorship or motives

b. Reliance on insufficient evidence/hasty generalization

c. Unbalanced or biased presentation

d. Unexamined assumptions

e. Faulty causal reasoning

 

 

Part D: Checklist for Style – Local Newspaper

 

Using the “Checklist for Style” on the following page (also found in Chapter 11 of your textbook), rewrite the following letter to a local newspaper.

 

 

In the absence of definitive studies regarding the optimum length of the school day, I can only state my personal opinion based upon observations based by me and upon teacher observations that have been conveyed to me. Considering the length of the present school day, it is my opinion that the day is excessive length-wise for most elementary pupils, certainly for almost all of the primary children.

To find my answer to the problem requires consideration of two ways in which the problem may be viewed. One way focuses upon the needs of the children, while the other focuses upon logistics, transportation, scheduling, and other limits imposed by the educational system. If it is necessary to prioritize these two ideas, it would seem reasonable to give the first consideration to the primary reason for the very existence of the system, i.e., to meet the educational needs of the children the system is trying to serve.

 

 

 

Grading Rubric

 

Please refer to the rubric on the next page for the grading criteria for this assignment.

 

 

 

 

This is the end of Assignment 4.

 

 

 

 

 

CATEGORYExemplarySatisfactoryUnsatisfactoryUnacceptable20 points15 points10 points5 points

The student describes 4 or

more well-written, currently

marketable skills with

reasons why each skill is

important.

The student describes 4 or

more well-written, currently

marketable skills with fewer

than 4 reasons why the skills

are important.

The student describes 4

currently marketable skills,

but does not provide

support for his or her

choices.

The student describes

fewer than 4 currently

marketable skills, and does

not provide support for his

or her choices.

20 points15 points10 points5 points

The student describes 4 or

more types of projects that

require collaboration + 4

attributes of an effective

writing team with examples

of each.

The student describes 2 to 3

types of projects that

require collaboration + 4

attributes of an effective

writing team with only

partial examples.

The student describes only

1 type of project that

requires collaboration + 4 or

fewer attributes of an

effective writing team with

only partial examples.

The student fails to

describe any projects that

require collaboration +

provides inappropriate

supporting attributes of an

effective writing team.

20 points15 points10 points5 points

The student provides 5 well-

written/evaluated examples –

one for each of the 5 sources

of distortion.

The student provides 5

adequately

written/evaluated examples

– one for each of the 5

sources of distortion.

The student provides

passably written/evaluated

examples that may or may

not cover each of the 5

sources of distortion.

The student provides

poorly written/evaluated

examples that may or may

not cover each of the 5

sources of distortion.

15 points 12 points 8 points 5 points

The student’s new iteration

is less than half the length of

the original and is free of all

the errors outlined in the

“Checklist for Style”.

The student’s new iteration

is less than half the length of

the original and includes no

more than 3 of the errors

outlined in the “Checklist for

Style”.

The student’s new iteration

is less than or equal to half

the length of the original

and includes no more than 5

of the errors outlined in the

“Checklist for Style”.

The student’s new

iteration is more than than

half the length of the

original and includes more

than 5 of the errors

outlined in the “Checklist

for Style”.

10 points 8 points 5 points 2 points

Student makes no errors in

grammar or spelling that

distract the reader from the

content.

Student makes 1-2 errors in

grammar or spelling that

distract the reader from the

content.

Student makes 3-4 errors in

grammar or spelling that

distract the reader from the

content.

Student makes more than

4 errors in grammar or

spelling that distract the

reader from the content.

15 points 12 points 8 points 5 points

The paper is written in

proper format. All sources

used for quotes and facts are

credible and cited correctly.

Excellent organization,

including a variety of

thoughtful transitions.

The paper is written in

proper format with only 1-2

errors. All sources used for

quotes and facts are credible

and most are cited correctly.

Adequate organization

includes a variety of

appropriate transitions.

The paper is written in

proper format with only 3-5

errors. Most sources used

for quotes and facts are

credible and cited correctly.

Essay is poorly organized,

but may include a few

effective transitions.

The paper is not written in

proper format. Many

sources used for quotes

and facts are less than

credible (suspect) and/or

are not cited correctly.

Essay is disorganized and

does not include effective

transitions.

Format – APA

Format, Citations,

Organization,

Transitions (15

Points)

Mechanics –

Grammar,

Punctuation,

Spelling (10 Points)

Part A: Written and

Oral Communication

Skills (20 points)

 

Part C: Internet

Source

Distortion/Misrepre

sentation (20 points)

Part D: Checklist for

Style – Local

Newspaper (15

points)

Part B: Effective

Writing Teams (20

points)