Syllabus

Instructor: John R. Marks, IV
Email: jmarks@fsu.edu
Office: William Johnston Building (WJB 2027)

Information and materials for this course is always available at LIS4022

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Offers practical hands-on experience with forms and practices of technical and professional writing, including documentation, correspondence, audience analysis, writing for social media, evaluation, and review. Emphasizes clear, concise, and effective writing in information technology settings, both within organizations and for user services.

The Liberal Studies for the 21st Century Program at Florida State University builds an educational foundation that will enable FSU graduates to thrive both intellectually and materially and to support themselves, their families, and their communities through a broad and critical engagement with the world in which they live and work. Liberal Studies offers a transformative experience; this course has been approved as meeting the Upper-Division Writing requirement and thus is designed to help you become a clear, creative, and convincing communicator within your discipline.


Learning Objectives


At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

COURSE MATERIALS

No required textbook. A list of readings, as needed, will be provided on the course website.

Assignments

All assignments will consist of prose writing, text only. You will be able to turn these in via Canvas.

Short Responses/Participation

Periodically, there will be short response type questions and exercises, especially near the beginning of the course. These will be graded pass/fail, in order to encourage creativity and candor.

Groupwork Assignments

The rest of the assignments listed below will be group assignments tied to class units with larger deliverables and multiple components. Typically, these will contain the following:
- A first draft
- A statement of discussion/analysis
- A final draft

Teams will have two weeks to complete these, including at least one, usually two, periods of in-class time for work. The units will be as follows:

Sales and Business Introductions

Groups will develop a "sales pitch/business introductions" document, as well as a series of social media ready posts.

Internal Missions, Guides, and Policies

Groups will develop an Internal IT Mission statement as well as a statement of operating policy for a project or IT Business

End User Guides

Groups will develop two User Guides detailing the use of a particular technology or tool; one for novices and one for advanced users.

Business Correspondence

Groups will be given a "business correspondence" scenario in which they will draft responses to hypothetical IT business situations.


GRADING

- Short Responses/Participation - 20%
- Sales and Business Introductions - 20%
- Internal Mission Statement and Policy Statement- 20%
- User Guides - 20%
- Email Correspondence- 20%




University Attendance Policy:
Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.

Academic Honor Policy:
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of students' academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to "...be honest and truthful and...[to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University." (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://fda.fsu.edu/Academics/Academic-Honor-Policy)

Americans With Disabilities Act:

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:
(1) register with and provide documentation to the Office of Accessibility Services; and
(2) request a letter from the Office of Accessibility Services to be sent to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type; and
(3) meet (in person, via phone, email, skype, zoom, etc…) with each instructor to whom a letter of accommodation was sent to review approved accommodations.

This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

For the latest version of this statement and more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:

Office of Accessibility Services
874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
oas@fsu.edu
https://dsst.fsu.edu/oas/


Free Tutoring from FSU

On-campus tutoring and writing assistance is available for many courses at Florida State University. For more information, visit the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) Tutoring Services' comprehensive list of on-campus tutoring options - see http://ace.fsu.edu/tutoring or contact tutor@fsu.edu. High-quality tutoring is available by appointment and on a walk-in basis. These services are offered by tutors trained to encourage the highest level of individual academic success while upholding personal academic integrity.

Syllabus Change Policy
Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.

iSchool HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:
A list of all hardware and software requirements for students participating in the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) courses can be found at the following location:
http://slis.fsu.edu/academics/online/requirements/

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR AN INCOMPLETE GRADE:
Incomplete (“I”) grades will not be assigned, except in the case of exceptional unforeseen circumstances that occur within the last three weeks of the semester and your work has otherwise been
satisfactory (C average).


Backlinks: FSU Courses:LIS4022