CURRICULUM MAP: 10049.map

Sophomore Writing Workshop (ACP/SCP/GEN) 121, 122, 123
Practical/Technical Writing

TIME FRAME: As time allows (optional)
GRADE: 10
CONTACT:

         MAP LEVEL: 4

23.2 LANGUAGE ARTS - EXPLORE AND RESPOND TO LITER --- 23.2.1.9.1
23.3 LANGUAGE ARTS - COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS --- 23.3.1.9.2 --- 23.3.1.9.4 --- 23.3.2.9.1 --- 23.3.2.9.2 --- 23.3.2.9.3
23.4 LANGUAGE ARTS - ENGLISH LANG CONVENTIONS --- 23.4.1.9.2 --- 23.4.2.9.1 --- 23.4.2.9.2 --- 23.4.3.9.1 --- 23.4.3.9.2 --- 23.4.3.9.3




What makes practical/technical writing effective?





What Are Practical Writing and Technical Writing?

Regardless of what you do with your life, you are likely to find yourself relying on practical and technical writing – both as a writer and as a reader. When you fill out a form, write a memorandum, or write a letter asking about a job, you are using practical writing – fact-based writing that people use in the workplace or in their everyday lives. When you read a user’s manual for a new computer or a piece of stereo equipment, you are encountering technical writing – writing that explores procedures, provides instructions, or presents specialized information. Technical writing, which is also based on facts, can appear in the form of numbered lists, labeled diagrams, and charts. What matters most in a piece of technical writing is that it conveys information in a way that’s clear and easy to follow.

How Practical Writing and Technical Writing Fit Into Your Life

Few forms of writing are as common and vital to everyday life as practical and technical writing. If you fill out a coupon for a rebate, you’re using practical writing. If you follow instructions on how to assemble that product, you’re using technical writing. As a student, you encounter practical and technical writing all the time. For example, when you fill out a class schedule, you’re doing practical writing; when you complete a science report, you’re doing technical writing. You’re also likely to make frequent use of practical and technical writing when you enter the world of business. Resumes, purchase orders, letters to clients, office memos, and technical reports are some common examples of practical and technical writing that you may encounter in your future business career.

(Prentice Hall. Writer' s Solution. Platinum Sourcebook, Annotated Teacher' s Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997, 230-231)

Paper Options may include:
* Resume
* Cover letter
* Thank you letter
* Letter of complaint
* Letter of recommendation

Paper Expectations:
* Conventional Business letter / resume format
* Awareness of audience (reasonable and appropriate language)
* Appropriate organization, including transitions, for purpose
* Acceptable level of fluency
* Grammatical correctness






When writing in the practical/technical mode students will:

-- Develop and utilize prewriting skills and strategies,
-- Recognize and select an organizational format appropriate for writing purpose,
-- Demonstrate awareness of audience by using reasonable and appropriate language,
-- Develop and incorporate drafting skills,
-- Develop and implement editing skills and strategies (peer and self),
-- Produce a final draft that meets standards of acceptability in fluency and grammatical correctness.




All students will:

-- Be instructed on the steps of the writing process,
-- Be shown models of quality resumes and business letters,
-- Conference with his/her teacher to discuss the quality of his/her writing, and to determine the steps necessary for improvement,
-- Receive written feedback on the quality of their writing.




Assessment of student writing in the practical/technical mode includes student-teacher conferencing to determine successful completion of editing, achievement of standards for acceptable quality of the final draft, and written feedback regarding the quality of the final draft.




Prentice Hall. Writer' s Solution. Platinum Sourcebook. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall, 1997.