Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Covers professional writing in computing science, including format conventions and technical reports. Attention is paid to group dynamics, including team leadership, dispute resolution, cognitive bias, professional ethics and collaborative writing. Research methods are also discussed. The use of LaTeX and various version control tools are emphasized. Students with credit for CMPT 376 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course will introduce students to a range of writing processes and styles. It will emphasize writing to understand disorganized ideas more clearly, writing to persuade others, and writing to draw conclusions. The course will include both informal and formal writing approaches. Assignments will generally have an initial draft, then a finished draft. This is a W course.

Written work for this course will be submitted via Turnitin, a third-party service licensed for use by SFU. Turnitin is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism. Students will be required to create an account with Turnitin, and to submit their work via that account, on the terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and Turnitin. This agreement includes the retention of your submitted work as part of the Turnitin database. Any student with a concern about using the Turnitin service may opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with Turnitin. Students who do not intend to use Turnitin in the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous identity with the student!

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives and learning outcomes of the course are:

• informal writing to generate material
• drafting and revising
• types of technical documents (genres): explanations, recommendations, emails, and other document types
• clarity of sentence structure
• style and voice
• arguing from performance data
• rhetorical situation: Audience, message, author, and context
• improve critical thinking through numerous examples of effective and ineffective writing
  • identify when writing employs rhetorical persuasion, hyperbole, ad hominem attacks, propaganda, etc.
• distinguish between good and bad writing (i.e., "debugging")
  • convey effective writing is achieved primarily through editing and rewriting
  • articulate reasons that explain why and how a writing sample is ineffective
• familiarity with writing guidelines, conventions, etiquette, and resolve contradictions & inconsistencies with "writing rules"
• familiarity with the technical document creation process:
  • rough draft/prototype
  • iterative drafts
  • "final" draft
• familiarity with the spectrum of technical document types (resumes, emails, documentation, proposals, etc.)
  • understand the importance of living documents within Computing Science (e.g., Knuth's "Art of Programming", online documentation, version control of documentation)
• familiarity with linters and software tools for technical writing (i.e., extending IDEs for documentation purposes)
• understanding the audience
  • avoiding bias and conflicts of (personal) interest, how to be objective, gaining the reader's trust
  • how to target and write for an audience (technical and non-technical audiences)
• group & collaborative writing through peer reviews
• ability to write quickly
• edit real-world documentation (e.g., on GitHub, Stack Overflow, etc.)

Grading

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Online Lectures & Requirements

Technology Requirements To Complete CMPT-376W: D200

Minimum Requirements:

• computer (tablet, phone, etc.)
• internet access with 2 Mbps download speed to view lecture videos
• microphone (could be optional if chat is used)

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Suggested Requirements: 

• computer (or tablet)
• internet access with 50 Mbps download speed to view video lecture streams and 30 Mbps upload speed to stream video
• webcam
• microphone
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Use Speedtest.net to evaluate your internet connection's download & upload speeds.

 

Asynchronous Instruction

Lecture Videos and Lecture Slides will be uploaded to Canvas for students to view at their leisure.

 

Synchronous Instruction

"Synchronous" refers to the synchronized delivery and reception of course content that requires the instructor and students to simultaneously be present at a specified location and specified time. 2+ people (e.g., instructor and students) communicating in real time (e.g., as in the traditional classroom lecture experience).

Online Sessions will be conducted on Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (or Zoom, TBD) during the scheduled class time. These sessions will be recorded and made available to all students immediately after the session.

The Online Sessions are optional to attend, but the recordings of the online sessions are required viewing. The online sessions will discuss the content viewed and read by students to evaluate understanding and provide further examples, usually edge cases and corner cases.
 

Respectful Discussion

Please participate in this online course with respectful communication and collaboration. Interactions in the remote teaching environment are to be guided by SFU’s core values of civility and mutual respect. Disruptive or concerning behaviour can have a harmful impact on our entire learning community.

REQUIRED READING:

RECOMMENDED READING: