EngE 2714: Preparing for Engineering Research



Dr. Jenny Lo
Virginia Tech
Phone: 231-3404
Email: jlo@vt.edu

Michael Alley
331 Durham
Virginia Tech
Phone: 231-2426
Email: alley@vt.edu

Class
Course Assignments
Course Schedule
Course Texts

Course Links:
Undergraduate Research
Class Photos
Writing Guidelines
Presentation Slides
This course is designed to prepare undergraduates for a summer research experience. This course and the 2-credit documentation course that follows in the Fall 2005 semester teach principles of technical communication.


Course Assignments

Application for Research Experience (20%): Submit an application to the research experience of your choice. If your chosen research experience has no required sections, then submit a job letter and resume. For an example, see the following sample job letter and resume.

Class Attendance and Participation (40%): You are to attend and participate in the seminar series on research methods that is centerpiece of this course. Some of those seminars will involve in-class exercises and in-class writing assignments that you are perform.

Proposal for Research (40%): Submit a proposal of the research that you intend to perform in your summer research experience. That proposal should include an annotated bibliography with at least five sources in your selected field of research. At least three of those sources have to be recent journal articles. For an example, see the following sample proposal.







Course Texts and Web Resources

Alley, Michael, The Craft of Scientific Writing, 3rd edition (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1996), 282 pages. (required)

Writing Center at Virginia Tech, http://www.english.vt.edu/~writing/center.html (Blacksburg, Virginia: Virginia Tech, 2002).

Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students, edited by M. Alley, L. Crowley, J. Donnell, and C. Moore (Blacksburg: Virginia Tech, 2005).



Course Schedule

Date Topics for Class Period Assignment Book: Chapters
1/21 Introduction to Course In-class exercises No reading
1/28 Applying for Research Position (1) Identities of 3 research positions CSW: 12
2/4 Applying for Research Position (2) In-Class assignment CSW: Appendices A and B
2/11 Research Methods: Professor Thole Draft of Job Letter and Resume No reading
2/18 Research Methods: Ethics In-class exercises No reading
2/25 Research Methods: Library Sources Identity of research area No reading
3/4 Research Methods: Ethics In-class exercises No reading
3/18 Research Methods: Professor Inman In-class exercises No reading
3/25 Research Methods In-class exercises CSW 13
4/1 Research Proposals 1 In-class exercises No reading
4/8 Research Proposals 2 In-class exercises CSW 13
4/15 Research Methods In-class exercises Summary of seminar
4/22 Proposal Draft Peer critiquing No reading
4/29 Course Conclusion Formal Proposal No reading





Course Objectives

  1. Students should know where to begin writing a document and preparing a presentation about their research
  2. Students should be able to articulate the stylistic differences between strong research writing and speaking and weak research writing and speaking
  3. Students should know how to finish writing documents, even long documents,
  4. Students should know how to make documents and presentations look professional

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Course Outcomes

Objective #1: Knowing Where to Begin

  1. Students will have to begin creating one journal article and one poster in the course
  2. Students will have to begin one informal presentation and one formal presentation in the course

Objective #2: Articulating Stylistic Differences Between Strong and Weak Writing and Speaking

  1. Students will have to critique the style (structure, language, and illustration) of three documents in a roundtable workshop
  2. Students will have to critique the style (speech, structure, visual aids, and delivery) of several formal presentations
  3. Students will have to critique several sets of presentation slides in a roundtable workshop
  4. Students will be called upon continually to critique writing and speaking examples in class

Objective #3: Meeting Deadlines

  1. Students will have to meet deadlines for four writing situations in the course: job letter and resume, proposal, journal article, and poster
  2. Students will have to meet deadlines for a presentation in the course

Objective #4: Preparing Professional Documents and Presentations

  1. Students will have to prepare a journal article and poster
  2. Students will have to prepare a formal presentation


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Last updated 1/05
http://writing.eng.vt.edu/courses/research1.html