11.229 | Spring 2004 | Graduate

Advanced Writing Seminar

Pages

All assignments are due in the next lecture.

LEC # TITLES TOPICS ASSIGNMENTS
1 The Writing Process 
 

Class Introduction

What does the CEO Want?

How can You Manage up the Ladder?

In-Class Exercises

1. Find and interview your writing partner about a work or school incident that was disappointing/discouraging. What was the person’s action, reaction and what was the final result?

2. Give a 2 minute presentation introducing you writing partner and describing the incident to the class.

3. We will review and analyze real company memoranda.

Assignment #1 (PDF)
2 What is an Argument?

Today we will discuss and evaluate Good/Bad Writing.

Op-ed Pieces

In-Class Exercises

1. Today we will review and comment on arguments made by students and pros.

Assignment #2 (PDF)
3 Class Individual Research Day: Grant Research

Today you will take the class time to focus on how to conduct grant research. I expect you to take time to head to the library or take a trip to the Boston Grant Making Library in order to begin your homework.

Find 1 grant related to a topic of interest to you. Print the grant write up out and bring it to our next class for review and discussion.

Assignment #3 (PDF)
Grant Writing Workshop Today we will discuss the grants that you found and talk briefly about grant-writing strategy. Also, we will begin to look at your submitted writing. Assignment #4 (PDF)
Press Releases We will hear from Keith Hamilton, a DUSP faculty member and visiting fellow from Harvard about his I-Neighborhood project - a project for which you will write the press release. Assignment #5 (PDF)
What Does the Media Look for?

We will hear from Thea Singer, reporter for the Boston Herald, about working with the press.

How much detail do you give?

How do you control the information that gets reported?

Writing Sound Bites - What the heck do you say and how?

Assignment #6 (PDF)
Graphics In-Class Writing Workshop Assignment #7 (PDF)
Communication Crises

Today we will discuss the video - Meltdown and Three-mile Island and we will think about the following questions:

1. How can you prepare for a crisis?

2. What action should you take first?

3. Sound bites - what is appropriate?

4. What should the press release look like?

5. What about timing?

Assignment #8 (PDF)
Handling the Media - the Public Sector Point of View Today we will hear from Tim Shevlin, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy. Assignment #9 (PDF)
10 Handling a Communication Crisis

Paul Levy, President and CEO of the Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center

Judy Glazer, Vice President of Communications for the Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center

Assignment #10 (PDF)
11 Oral Presentations 
 

Presenting yourself

1. What is a speech?

2. What is debate?

3. What is argument?

4. How to weave your story?

 
12  Oral Presentations Filmed    

LEC # TITLES TOPICS
1 The Writing Process

Class Introduction

What does the CEO Want?

How can You Manage up the Ladder?

In-Class Exercises

1. Find and interview your writing partner about a work or school incident that was disappointing/discouraging. What was the person’s action, reaction and what was the final result?

2. Give a 2 minute presentation introducing you writing partner and describing the incident to the class.

3. We will review and analyze real company memoranda.

2 What is an Argument?

Today we will discuss and evaluate Good/Bad Writing.

Op-ed Pieces

In-Class Exercises

1. Today we will review and comment on arguments made by students and pros.

3 Class Individual Research Day: Grant Research

Today you will take the class time to focus on how to conduct grant research. I expect you to take time to head to the library or take a trip to the Boston Grant Making Library in order to begin your homework.

Find 1 grant related to a topic of interest to you. Print the grant write up out and bring it to our next class for review and discussion.

4 Grant Writing Workshop Today we will discuss the grants that you found and talk briefly about grant-writing strategy. Also, we will begin to look at your submitted writing.
5 Press Releases We will hear from Keith Hamilton, a DUSP faculty member and visiting fellow from Harvard about his I-Neighborhood project - a project for which you will write the press release.
6 What Does the Media Look for?

We will hear from Thea Singer, reporter for the Boston Herald, about working with the press.

How much detail do you give?

How do you control the information that gets reported?

Writing Sound Bites - What the heck do you say and how?

7 Graphics In-Class Writing Workshop
8 Communication Crises

Today we will discuss the video - Meltdown and Three-mile Island and we will think about the following questions:

1. How can you prepare for a crisis?

2. What action should you take first?

3. Sound bites - what is appropriate?

4. What should the press release look like?

5. What about timing?

9 Handling the Media - the Public Sector Point of View Today we will hear from Tim Shevlin, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy.
10 Handling a Communication Crisis

Paul Levy, President and CEO of the Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center.

Judy Glazer, Vice President of Communications for the Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center.

11 Oral Presentations

Presenting yourself

1. What is a speech?

2. What is debate?

3. What is argument?

4. How to weave your story?

12 Oral Presentations Filmed  
13 Oral Presentations Reviewed  

Lecture notes from the first five class sessions are here, covering a number of different topics on writing.

Lecture 1 - Class Outline (PDF)

Lecture 1a - The Writing Process (PDF)

Lecture 2 - Three Elements of an Argument (PDF)

Lecture 3 - Research: Tracking Sources, Literature Reviews (PDF)

Lecture 4 - Writing for Grants (PDF)

Lecture 5 - Writing Press Releases (PDF)

The video clips below are examples of oral presentations given by students in class. Each video is courtesy of the student named and used with permission.

William Massaquoi  (MP4 - 15MB)

Gan Golan   (MP4 - 18MB)

During the oral presentations, students will be expected to use the form below to evaluate the work of their peers.

Oral Presentation Evaluation Form (PDF)

LEC # TITLES TOPICS READINGS
1 The Writing Process

Class Introduction

What does the CEO Want?

How can You Manage up the Ladder?

In-Class Exercises

1. Find and interview your writing partner about a work or school incident that was disappointing/discouraging. What was the person’s action, reaction and what was the final result?

2. Give a 2 minute presentation introducing you writing partner and describing the incident to the class.

3. We will review and analyze real company memoranda.

Kliment, Steve. “Why Writing Matters: An Introduction.” In Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 11-14. ISBN: 0393730263.

The KSG Communications Program. PAE Policy Analysis Exercise: The Writing Guide 2001-2002. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

The online Writing Lab, Writing for a North American Business Audience.

2 What is an Argument?

Today we will discuss and evaluate Good/Bad Writing.

Op-ed Pieces

In-Class Exercises

1. Today we will review and comment on arguments made by students and pros.

Kliment, Steve. “Principles of Writing for Impact.” Chapter 1 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 15-32. ISBN: 0393730263.

———. “Writing in School. Chapter 7 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 109-125.

———. “Job Prospects.” Chapter 8 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 126-135. ISBN: 0393730263.

Kane, Thomas S. “Introduction.” In The New Oxford Guide to Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, pp. 3-14. ISBN: 0195090594.

Newman, Richard K., Jr. “Developing Persuasive Arguments.” In Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing: Structure Strategy and Style. 4th ed. Gothenburg: Aspen Publishers, 2001, pp. 271-283, 285-307. ISBN: 0735520046.

3 Class Individual Research Day: Grant Research

Today you will take the class time to focus on how to conduct grant research. I expect you to take time to head to the library or take a trip to the Boston Grant Making Library in order to begin your homework.

Find 1 grant related to a topic of interest to you. Print the grant write up out and bring it to our next class for review and discussion.

Kliment, Steve. “Job Prospects.” Chapter 8 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 136-140. ISBN: 0393730263.

Behling, John H. “Notes on Grantsmanship.” In Guidelines for Preparing the Research Proposal. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984, pp. 74-81. ISBN: 0819137332.

Associated Grant Makers: Resource Center orientations are held approximately four times a month. These free, hour-long sessions provide an introduction to the Resource Center and available resources for grant maker research, including the AGM Grant Makers Directory, FCSearch, Guidestar, the AGM Annual Reports files, and print materials in the Janet C. Taylor Library.

Parsons, Wayne. “Models Maps and Metaphors.” In Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis. Northampton, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 1996, pp. 57-64. ISBN: 1852785543.

4 Grant Writing Workshop Today we will discuss the grants that you found and talk briefly about grant-writing strategy. Also, we will begin to look at your submitted writing.  
5 Press Releases We will hear from Keith Hamilton, a DUSP faculty member and visiting fellow from Harvard about his I-Neighborhood project - a project for which you will write the press release. Kliment, Steve. “Writing for the Media.” Chapter 10 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 152-168. ISBN: 0393730263.
6 What Does the Media Look for?

We will hear from Thea Singer, reporter for the Boston Herald, about working with the press.

How much detail do you give?

How do you control the information that gets reported?

Writing Sound Bites - What the heck do you say and how?

 
7 Graphics In-Class Writing Workshop Kliment, Steve. “Graphics: Medium for the Message.” Chapter 14 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 194-205. ISBN: 0393730263.
8 Communication Crises

Today we will discuss the video - Meltdown and Three-mile Island and we will think about the following questions:

1. How can you prepare for a crisis?

2. What action should you take first?

3. Sound bites - what is appropriate?

4. What should the press release look like?

5. What about timing?

Kaplan, Tamara. “The Tylenol Crisis: How Effective Public Relations Saved Johnson & Johnson.” Pennsylvania State University.
9 Handling the Media – the Public Sector Point of View Today we will hear from Tim Shevlin, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy.  
10 Handling a Communication Crisis

Paul Levy, President and CEO of the Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center

Judy Glazer, Vice President of Communications for the Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center

 
11 Oral Presentations

Presenting yourself

1. What is a speech?

2. What is debate?

3. What is argument?

4. How to weave your story?

Kliment, Steve. “On Your Feet.” Chapter 13 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 189-193. ISBN: 0393730263.

———. “Graphics: Medium for the Message.” Chapter 14 in Writing for Design Professionals. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998, pp. 194-197. ISBN: 0393730263.

12 Oral Presentations Filmed    
13 Oral Presentations Reviewed    

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session

Course Description

The purpose of this seminar is to expose you to a number of different types of writing that you may encounter in your professional career. The class is an opportunity to write, review, rewrite and present your point of view both orally and in written form.

Each week in-class writing and peer review will provide the means by which you practice and refine your ability to communicate complex ideas clearly.

In addition, we will explore the following topics:

  • Managing a communication crisis
  • Creating effective press releases
  • Presenting yourself
  • Drafting memos that get results
  • Writing for Grants
  • Translating technical information into everyday language
  • Understanding good, bad and horrible graphics

Collaborative Learning

A central component of this seminar will be the practice of giving and receiving comments on written and oral presentations. Giving and receiving constructive feedback can be a highly useful tool for learning to analyze and improve the quality of your writing and analysis. Your peers can provide a new perspective, valuable insights, and guidance for you as you work through your research question. Toward this end, you will be put into writing groups with one or two other individuals. All writing done for the class will be submitted to both to the instructor and all the writing group members.

Course Materials

The videotape on the Three Mile Island Disaster will be available for students to view. Readings should be completed by the date under which they are listed. Three books are required for the course and one is recommended.

Required

Kliment, Stephen. Writing for Design Professionals: A Guide for Architects, Engineers, Landscape, Interior Architects and Other Designers. New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1998. ISBN: 0393730263. 

Kane, Thomas S. The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing. New York: Berkley Books, 2000. ISBN: 0425176401. 

Strunk, William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000. ISBN: 020530902X.

Anderson, Paul V. Technical Communication: a Reader-Centered Approach. Boston: Thomson/Heinle, 2003. ISBN: 0155074210.

Grading

The grade for the course is based on a series of written and oral assignments. The lowest grade for either a written or oral assignment will be dropped.

ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGES
Attendance and In-Class Participation 25%
Written Assignments 50%
Oral Presentations 25%

Papers will be graded on a scale of 1 to 6 based on a rubric. (PDF)

Written Work

Written work must be typed, spell-checked, and neatly formatted. Please include your name, the course number, assignment number, and date at the top of the page or on a cover sheet. While an occasional typo or editing error may slip through, the presence of several mistakes indicates a lack of attention and will lower your grade. Specific formatting conventions are negotiable, based on standards in your field and appropriateness for your intended audience. All work must be professional looking and designed for easy reading.

Documenting Sources

Do not cut and paste material from web pages or other documents without making evident the source of the information. Using work that is not your own without attribution is a serious offense and subject to formal action by the Institute. Inadequately documented papers (including bibliography and footnotes or in-text citations) will not receive a passing grade. When in doubt, document the source.

Course Info

Instructor
As Taught In
Spring 2004
Level
Learning Resource Types
Lecture Notes
Projects with Examples
Written Assignments