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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Introduction to Technical Writing (Face-to-Face)

ENGL 2100-01

Course: ENGL 2100-01
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: English
CRN: 33855

Course Description

This introduction to technical writing introduces students to key genres in technical communication, while emphasizing human-centered writing and design. Students will learn to assess documents for rhetorical effectiveness and accessible design, and will practice communicating complex information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences. Additionally, student writing in the course will reflect the recursive and iterative nature of writing, incorporating brainstorming, drafting, peer feedback, and revision. (Fall, Spring) [Graded Letter) Prerequisite(s): ENGL 1010 or ENGL 1010E or ACT English Subscore - Prerequisite Min. Grade: D- Prerequisite Test (Min. Score): ACT English Subscore (29) General Education Category: Written Communication

Required Texts

Selected chapters from several OER textbooks:
Howdy or Hello? (Texas A&M)
oer.pressbooks.pub/howdyorhello 
Open Oregon Technical Writing
openoregon.pressbooks.pub/technicalwriting 

Learning Outcomes


1. Sources and Evidence: Locate, evaluate, and integrate credible and relevant sources to achieve various writing purposes.

2. Genre Awareness: Demonstrate critical and conceptual awareness of genre in reading and writing—including organization, content, presentation, formatting, and stylistic choices.

3. Context and Purpose: Analyze rhetorical situations and adapt to the audience, purpose, modalities, and the circumstances surrounding a range of reading and writing tasks.

4. Language Awareness and Usage: Recognize and make intentional, critical, and contextually-informed language choices across a range of rhetorical contexts/situations.

5. Recursive Writing Processes: Develop flexible, iterative, and reflective processes for invention, drafting, workshopping, and revision.

Course Requirements

Requirements:

To pass this course, you must complete all major assignments, fulfill all weekly assignments, and participate actively in all class activities. You are expected to attend all class meetings and participate in draft workshops, in-class exercises, and classroom discussions.

Major Assignment Completion Policy: To fully pass this course at the grade your work would otherwise earn, you must complete and submit all major assignments, regardless of your overall grade percentage. An assignment counts as completed under this policy when it earns at least a 60%. Assignments that earn less than 60% must be revised and resubmitted (see Revision policy) before the end of the term, and the revisions must improve the grade to 60% or higher. These major assignments are important capstones that demonstrate the core skills and learning outcomes of the course.

If you fail to submit, or fail to earn at least 60% on, one major assignment, your final course grade will be reduced by one full letter grade from what you would have otherwise earned. If this happens on two or more major assignments, you will receive a failing grade (E) for the course. Since there are only three major projects in this course, failing two of them means missing a majority of the core coursework and learning outcomes these projects are designed to assess.

This policy exists to make sure you fully engage with the key writing processes and rhetorical strategies we're developing together. Completing only part of the work means you haven't met the minimum expectations for course credit, and your final grade should reflect that.

Timeliness and Participation: All assignments, drafts, papers, and revisions should be handed in on time. Failure to turn in an assignment on time or to appear at a draft workshop without a draft is equivalent to turning in an assignment late (see Late Policy for penalties and options).

Need Help? If you're facing difficulties that are preventing you from completing a major assignment on time, please reach out to me as early as possible so we can talk through your options.


Grade Scheme

The following grading standards will be used in this class:


ENGL 2100 Course Assessments Percentages
Participation 45%
  • Attendance 5% 
  • Conference, Drafts, and Peer Reviews 15% 
  • Reading Responses 10% 
  • Commonplace Book 15% 
Workshops  15%
Major Projects  40%

Course letter grades are calculated based on the percentages described in the table below. 

NOTE: Automatic grade calculations made by Canvas may not always align with those of your instructor. In this case, your instructor's calculations take precedence. Click on How to Check Your Grades to see how you are doing in the course.


 | Excellent (A, A-)  |   | Average (C+, C, C-)
| A  | 100%  | to 93%  |   | C  | < 77%  | to 73%
| A-  | < 93%  | to 90%  |   | C-  | < 73%  | to 70%
| Above average (B+, B, B-)  |   | Below average (D+, D. D-)
| B+  | < 90%  |  to 87%  |   | D+  | < 70%  |  to 67%
| B  | < 87%  |  to 83%  |   | D  | < 67%  |  to 63%
| B-  | < 83%  |  to 80%  |   | D-  | < 63%  |  to 60%
| Average (C+, C, C-)  |   | Fail (F)
| C+  | < 80%  | to 77 %  |   | F  | < 60 %  |  to 0 %
Note: This is not a pass/fail class. You will receive a letter grade based on the table above for ENGL 2100.




Course Outline

Project 1: Professional Correspondence Set
Students produce three professional workplace documents — an internal memo, a professional email, and an executive summary — all responding to a single scenario they develop. Each document is written for a different audience with different needs, requiring students to apply genre conventions, calibrate tone for professional relationships, and practice the concision and audience awareness central to workplace communication.

Project 2: Instructional / Procedural Document
 Students create a complete, professionally designed instructional document for a process they know well, written for a non-specialist audience. The project requires plain language, integrated visuals, properly formatted notices, and professional document design. A key component is in-class usability testing, in which a peer attempts to follow the instructions and the author uses their observations as revision data — making the audience real rather than imagined.

Project 3: Wikipedia Research Project
Students work in collaborative groups of three to research, propose, and publish a meaningful contribution to a live Wikipedia article using the Wiki Education Foundation platform. The project begins with a collaborative formal proposal in which the group identifies a Wikipedia article with genuine gaps or weaknesses, makes the case for a specific and researchable contribution, and documents each member's delegated role and responsibilities. From proposal through publication, groups work together across all phases: article evaluation, sandbox drafting, peer review, and live publishing.
During finals week, each group delivers a 5-minute presentation: each member takes one minute to speak to their specific role and contributions, followed by a 2-minute Q&A. Final submission additionally includes a group contribution portfolio documenting the process alongside an individual reflective analysis of what writing for a real public audience required. This project is assessed through both a group grade — evaluating the quality of the published contribution, proposal, and presentation — and an individual grade — evaluating each student's contribution to the collaborative process as documented through self and peer evaluation. This project synthesizes the semester's core skills — audience analysis, plain language, research integration, and document design — in a context with real-world stakes and a real public audience. 

Commonplace Book
A Commonplace Book is a notebook or journal where people collect and organize information, knowledge, ideas, thoughts, doodles, quotations, and observations for future reference and/or reflection. Each of you will be keeping a commonplace book for the duration of this semester, we will be using it frequently in class and I would encourage you to keep it with you at all times outside of class as well, so you can keep track of your thoughts. You are welcome to use whatever medium you would like for your commonplace book -- I have a special section in my Notes app on my phone that I use as well as a physical journal I carry with me. You might choose to dedicate a specific notebook to be your commonplace book, or keep a single document or folder on your computer, etc.
You will receive a grade at the end of the semester for how well you kept your commonplace book based on the number of unique activities completed for each category.

Reading Responses
These discussion boards are completion-based assignments that allow us to explore course ideas and readings in depth.

For each assigned reading group, I would like you to write a brief, half-page (single-spaced) response addressing the following:

  1. Tell me one thing you know for certain from the reading.
  2. Tell me one thing you’d like to know more about from the reading.
  3. Tell me one thing you didn’t understand from the reading.

Your questions might deal with any part of the reading—a confusing example, a term from the text that struck you, an essay that intrigued you, etc.   

Reading Responses are due BEFORE the class wherein we will discuss the reading. Responses submitted after class only be given a max of half-credit. Because I recognize that you are humans with lives outside of school, I will be dropping your two lowest scores.

Workshops
Workshops are low-stakes activities designed to help you practice skills and explore ideas--they also let your professors check in on how your research is developing. They are not busy work but are designed to help you with completing your Major Writing Assignments, so feel free to reuse and recycle the writing you do for them!

Like the Reading Responses, I acknowledge that you are humans and sometimes need a break, and I will drop the two lowest-scored workshops from your grade (though, be aware that certain workshops will be excluded from the drop allowance).

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work


There is no secret shortcut to good writing: it just takes time. This course and its due dates are paced to help you manage your time through probably more writing than you've ever done before while being as humane as possible. Falling behind can snowball very quickly!

In this course, we value all your work as it contributes to your learning, so you should always do it, even if it will be late. While late submissions are accepted, they incur a 10% penalty per day, including weekends. Work more than a week late risks not being accepted or receiving a maximum of half credit. Once a learning unit has concluded, I will no longer accept any late work from that unit. However, I'm open to discussing extensions if you communicate your needs.

The exception to the standard late penalty is Reading Responses. They are due BEFORE the start of the class wherein we will be discussing the readings, and I use them to help guide our discussions. The point of these is to help you engage and reflect on what you are reading and how much you understand what you are reading. Late reading responses will earn a maximum of half credit since I can't always go back and address questions you didn't ask.

To provide some flexibility, Canvas automatically drops the lowest scores from Reading Responses (2) and Workshops (3) - consider these your free passes for life's unexpected moments.

Remember, good writing takes time. This policy aims to keep you on track while being flexible. Don't let small assignments slide - the learning and practice they provide are crucial to successful major projects, and the points add up quickly. If you're struggling, let's chat and figure it out together! To that end, if you find yourself falling substantially behind, you should make an appointment to talk to me so we can strategize. If you find yourself more than two weeks behind, an in-person meeting becomes mandatory. This allows me to check in, offer help, and develop a plan to either catch up or, if necessary, withdraw in the best possible way.

Bottom line: I want you to succeed, not penalize you. But I can't provide feedback on super late work (there is only one of me and 24 of you). So, let's work together to keep everyone on track!

Attendance Policy


Writing is a skill developed through consistent practice and engagement. You cannot improve as a writer without being present to write, receive feedback, and participate in our learning community. You are expected to attend every class and engage in the work we're doing together.


Absence Limits:

  • 3 absences: You may continue with no grade penalty (but do acknowledge that this is effectively an entire week's worth of class time) 
  • 4 absences: Mandatory meeting with me to discuss your path forward; 5% deduction from final grade
  • 5 absences: 10% deduction from final grade; strong risk of course failure
  • 6 absences: Second mandatory meeting to determine if you can reasonably complete the course. This is effectively two whole weeks worth of class time. 
  • 7 or more absences: Automatic course failure

What counts as an absence:

  • Missing an entire class session
  • Arriving more than 10 minutes late or leaving more than 10 minutes early without prior discussion with me
  • Being physically present but not participating (phone/unrelated computer use, sleeping, not engaging in activities)

Excused vs. Unexcused: Serious illness, family emergencies, and university-sanctioned events are legitimate reasons to miss class, but they still count toward your total. I will take them into account in borderline situations. Communication is essential—contact me as soon as possible when something prevents your attendance. I cannot help if I don't know what is going on, and it is much harder to catch you up after the fact than to either plan in advance or present alternative options. 


If you miss four classes in a row without contacting me, I will attempt to reach out to you and to university support services to make sure you're okay.


Perfect Attendance Bonus: Zero unexcused absences and no tardies = 2% bonus on your final grade.


Here's what I need from you: Keep track of your absences. Manage your time and commitments. Communicate with me when life happens. These are the boundaries; these are the consequences, and I trust you to handle it. I'm here to support you, but I can only do that if you're here too.


The reality: Missing more than 5-6 classes puts you at serious risk of failing this course, not because of the attendance policy alone, but because you will have missed too much instruction and practice to succeed. I want to help you—but I can only do that if you're here.

Course Fees

There are no additional fees for this course. 

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.