Note: 1/11 at 10:30 a.m.

Spring 2024, ENC 3250 – Professional Writing, Credit Hours: 3, Department of English
TR 12:30pm-1:45pm @ BSN 1400

¹Acknowledgments: I thank Heather Shearer (Teaching Professor at UC Santa Cruz) for meeting with me and sharing her expertise with labor-based grading. I also thank Asao Inoue (Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at ASU) for his research and mentorship regarding contract grading. Now that AI tools such as ChatGPT are widely available, I believe it makes more sense than every to try ungrading.

UnGrading Resources

1. Contract Grading – So Your Instructor Is Using Contract Grading
2. Labor-Based Grading Resources by Asao Inoue
3. Labor Log Example by Asao Inoue
4. Inoue’s Labor-Based Grading Contract
5. Inoue’s Grading Contract Template – 2023
6. Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classroom, 2nd Edition

Instructor Information

Joseph M. Moxley, Professor of English, He/Him/His
Office: CPR 383, College of Arts & Sciences
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2-3 p.m. and by appointment. Please email me when you have questions: mox@usf.edu. I’ll typically respond pretty quickly. If you don’t hear from me within 24 hours, pls send me a 2nd email. I’m generally available via Teams throughout the workday, especially the afternoons. Don’t hesitate to reach out. I don’t mind jumping on a call. I’d much rather have you ask sooner rather than later. We can meet online through Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet. Let me know your preference.

University Course Description

The course is an introduction to the techniques and types of professional writing, including correspondence and reports. It is designed to help strengthen skills of effective business and professional communication in both oral and written modes. This course fulfills the University’s general-education requirement for an emphasis on collaboration, a high-impact practice.

Course Prerequisites

ENC 1102 Minimum Grade: C-
or English Language and Comp Minimum Score: 4
or English Lit and Comp Minimum Score: 4

USF Core Syllabus Policies

USF has a set of central policies related to student recording class sessions, academic integrity and grievances, student accessibility services, academic disruption, religious observances, academic continuity, food insecurity, and sexual harassment that apply to all courses at USF. Please be sure to review these online: USF Core Syllabus Guidelines <usf.edu/provost/faculty-success/resources-policies-forms/core-syllabus-policy-statements.aspx

Welcome

Dear Students,

Welcome to Professional Writing. Below are the course requirements and schedule.

Throughout the course, at least two times each week, please check Announcements @ Canvas. I make weekly and often biweeklyAnnouncements. For instance, for the class I may clarify a student question, or I may give some group feedback on an assignment. Please email me when you have questions. I’ll typically respond back in 24 hours. If you don’t hear from me within 24 hours, pleases send me a 2nd email. If I’m online when your message comes in, I’ll jump on a quick call with you, via Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. We can schedule longer meetings, as necessary.

My AI Policy

I’m all for your using AI tools such as Chat GPT or Midjourney. I think moving forward, like it or not, we will be working a lot with AI to accelerate communication processes. However, I strongly encourage you to develop your own unique style, voice — and thoughts. At this point of time, it’s easy to recognize a prose style generated by AI: it tends to address content at the superficial level, it hallucinates, and it tends to follow a formulaic sentence and organizational structure. Remember, as well, that tools such as ChatGPT are founded on the greatest intellectual property theft of all time: The developers vacuumed the internet, swallowing all of that content whole. They didn’t care about U.S. copyright law or intellectual property rights — or the laws that protect a writer’s work in other countries. Instead, they dumped all of those words into a bucket — what corpus linguists call a corpus. Then they used statistical probability analysis to predict which letter or letters are likely to follow other letters. Then they used humans to train the dataset.

You should know that I can tell when work is based on AI and served up whole as if context doesn’t matter in clear communication. I can also determine, I believe, whether your prose has been worked though multiple iterations. Eventually, it may be impossible to discern AI prose from human prose. Presently, though, that’s not the case.

Currently, in higher education there is a great deal of conversation and debate about how professions and disciplines should respond to the usage of AI assisted writing for classroom assignments.

In my opinion, we are in a pickle: the conventions that have guided our society regarding intellectual property are shifting in response to the emergence of large language models. Professional organizations, journals, and book publishers are working on new methods for attributing sources generated from humans coauthority with AI. Lawyers and businesses and the government are wresting with how AI can be used for the benefit of humanity. We are at a revolutionary moment when it comes to language practices. People in school and workplaces are suddenly grappling with powerful AI-informed Digital Assistants, who are capable of setting their appointments and doing routine writing. All of this brings into question what the future is for writing and professional writers, and how if humans strop writing that may influence cognition and the ongoing conversations of humankind

Meanwhile, though, it’s also important to note that in school settings and work settings it is a violation of academic and/or professional integrity for you to submit work that has make up sources and evidence. Thus, if you experiment with AI, you must not simply “copy and paste.” Instead, you need to check every source and quotation — really every word. So, from my perspective, it’s fine for you to work with AI but whatever you turn in needs to be yours: it needs to reflect your voice, tone, voice, persona — and thinking.

Academic & Professional Writing Citation Styles for Attributing AI

If you choose to use an AI technology for writing, attribute your use of AI by referencing it. For assignments in this class, it is fine for you to attach a statement to your assignment that explains how you worked with AI to author the text. You do not need to attach transcripts. Please note, however I may ask you to provide a transcript of the prompts you gave to the AI when working on the assignment.

As an academic or professional writing, you need to identify the citation style the discourse community you are addressing expects you to use. Here are the guidelines for students from APA 7 and MLA 9:

• APA 7:  Open AI.  (Year). ChatGPT (month day version) [Large Language Model].  https://chat.openai.com/chat
• MLA 9:  “Prompt text” prompt.  ChatGPT, day month. version, OpenAI, day month year, chat.openai.com/chat
• Chicago:  ChatGPT, response to “Prompt text,” OpenAI, month, day, year, https://chat.openai.com/chat

Personal Pronouns

So that I may refer to you with the appropriate pronoun in Canvas, the University’s course LMS (learning management system), please set your preferences for your personal pronoun at Canvas > Settings. If you have a first name change request for Canvas, please email IDM-Help@usf.edu from your official USF email account. You do not need to provide personal details for the request. Tell USF the first name you want to show in Canvas. This will also change your name in the directory, but it will not change your email address.

Learn more about personal pronouns and how they are tied to inclusive language.

How Can You Do Well in This Class?

1. Show up.
2. Show up every time we meet.
3. Show up on time.
4. Show up ready to participate enthusiastically in class activities and class discussions.
5. Show up prepared (i.e., complete all assigned readings and assignments before class).

Best wishes for a productive semester. Reach out to me when you have questions: mox@usf.edu.

Professor Moxley

Student Learning Outcomes

USF General Education Council

Effective Fall, 2021, ENC 3250 is an approved general education course under the high impact practice of collaboration. Below are USF’s General Education Council policies and outcomes for ENC 3250. All of the sections of ENC 3250 share these common core course outcomes:

General Education

1. Students will engage in meaningful critical reflection in required coursework.
2. Under professional oversight, students will utilize contextually appropriate behaviors, tools, techniques and/or dispositions.
3. Students will integrate discipline-specific knowledge into the contextualized experience.
4. Students will synthesize discipline-appropriate learning via a culminating assignment.

Collaboration High Impact Practice

1. Students will utilize collaborative skills to plan and execute a rigorous project central to the course learning outcomes, employing flexibility, and internal conflict resolution as necessary
2. Students identify, acknowledge, and manage conflict.
3. Each student supports a constructive team climate by doing the following: Treats team members respectfully, motivates teammates, and provides assistance and/or encouragement to team members.

Course Specific

1. Students will analyze and write in a specific context defined by purpose and audience
2. Students will demonstrate effective document design

Required Course Tools – Writing Spaces

1. Canvas (for grading purposes & Announcements)
   • Each week, I will use Announcements @ Canvas to adjust the schedule, if necessary, clarify student questions, and give group feedback. I will ask you to upload some assignments to Canvas discussion forms and drop boxes.
2. gDocs
   • Course Sandbox
3. Zotero (for citations — unless you have another favorite app for citation management)

Required Texts

In the schedule below you’ll see links to a number of readings. Those are all available for free online. The primary texts for the course are

1. GCF Global. Google Drive and Docs
   This is a thorough, free guide to using gDocs. You’ll need this resource if you are unsure how to create and share gDocs
2. Web Accessibility Initiative. Images Tutorial
   This is a free resource. Not sure how to caption images? Learn how to make your images more accessible.
3. Syllabi Policies for AI Work
4. Writing Commons
   You can block the ads by adding Adblock Plus, a free Chrome extension. The ad blocker works great.

Recommended Resources

1. USF Guidance for Ethical Generative AI Usage
2. USF AI Resources & Tools
3. Grading

   

   Your grade will be based on your labor over the semester. This approach is called “labor-based contract grading.”

   Grading Criteria

   

   To earn an A in this course, you need to

   meet all of the requirements outlined below to earn a B grade and maintain a Writer’s Reflection for each assignment you submit. In your reflection, you need to talk about

   1. the hours you worked on the project.
      • As evidence, you may want to use Google Sheets to record on your labor, as Asao Inoue recommends. Asao Inoue Sample Labor Log
      • or, you can keep a daily narrative about your labor on the course projects
   2. the kind of work you are doing, such as prewriting, inventing, drafting, collaborating, researching, planning, organizing, designing, rereading, revising, editing, proofreading, sharing or publishing. 
   3. your use of AI during composing. Did you find using the AI to be useful? Did it save you time? How did you use it? What sorts of prompts did you give it?
      • how you were feeling about your effort? You may reflect on how you are managing your writing process for a particular assignment.
   4. your use of new tools, such as a citation manager.

   

   To earn a B in this course, you need to

   1. complete all but three assignments/projects on time
   2. have no more than three unexcused absences

   To earn a C in this course, you need to

   1. complete all but five assignments/projects on time
   2. have no more than four unexcused absences.

   To earn a D or F in this course, you need to

   1. complete all but six assignments/projects on time
   2. have no more than six unexcused absences

   Canvas Workaround

   Nearly all assignments in Canvas will be marked as “Complete” or “Incomplete.” If Canvas shows you a percentage in your “Grades” view, ignore it. Any cumulative percentage that Canvas might show you is meaningless.

   1. You earn a score of complete on an assignment by completing it as described in the assignment description and related supplementary materials
   2. You earn an incomplete by failing to submit an assignment, by submitting an assignment that does not fulfill the requirements, or by submitting an assignment that cannot be opened/read.

   Late & Incomplete Assignment Policy

   Due dates. The due dates for all assignments are indicated in Canvas and in the schedule below. If you’re outside of Florida, make sure that you keep track of “Tampa Time” (EDT), as all due dates are listed according to the time zone in which the main campus is located. Most assignments are due on Monday. Take note of the following differences:

   • 11:59 AM = 1 minute before noon. You probably won’t see this in our class.
   • 11:59 PM or 23:59 = 1 minute before midnight. You’ll see this listed as a common assignment due-date time at Canvas.

   Late assignments are those that are turned in after the due date listed in Canvas.

   Incomplete assignments are those that are not submitted, those that are submitted in an inappropriate form (for example, via email or incorrect file type) or a file that cannot be reviewed (this includes files that cannot be opened), or those that do not meet assignment guidelines or baseline criteria for passing. Incomplete assignments earn a score of “incomplete.” 

   No late assignments are accepted. The only exceptions to this policy are students with USF-excused absences (medical absences require a doctor’s note; school activities such as USF teams require a note from Athletics BEFORE THE ABSENCE). You are welcome to work ahead if your schedule requires that.

   Attendance

   Students are expected to attend classes. Students who anticipate an issue with regular attendance or with being on time should take the course in a semester when their schedule is more flexible. 

   An attendance sheet will be shared at the beginning of each class meeting. It is your responsibility sign that attendance sheet in order to be counted as present during that class meeting. Students who accrue three unexcused absences—missing one and a half weeks of a fifteen week semester—will receive a B in the course provided they complete the labor efforts required to otherwise earn a B grade. Students who miss five classes (unexcused) will will receive a C in the course provided they complete the labor efforts required to otherwise earn a B grade. Upon the sixth unexcused absence, the student will automatically fail the course.

   Students may arrange to turn assignments in late if they miss class for one of the following university-approved reasons, AND they’ve alerted me prior to the absence when feasible. Excused absences include:

   1. Court Imposed Legal Obligations
   2. Jury Duty, court subpoena, etc.
   3. Military Duty
   4. Religious Holy Days. Note: Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.
   5. Ongoing Medical Conditions. Students facing extenuating circumstances, such as a debilitating illness or injury (physical or mental) or disability that inhibits him or her from attending class or completing assignments, must work with the appropriate on-campus organization (e.g., the Center for Victim Advocacy & Violence Prevention, SOCAT: Students of Concern Assistance Team, USF’s Student Health Services, USF’s Student Accessibility Services). The appropriate on-campus organization will then act as a liaison on behalf of the student and help the instructor determine appropriate action. As your instructor, I am not qualified to determine appropriate accommodations for ongoing medical conditions, and I will require documentation and guidance from these experts/liaisons.
   6. Presenting at a professional conference. Students who miss class because they are participating in a scheduled professional conference are expected to present a schedule of the event upon returning to class.
   7. USF Athletics’ Participation. Students who miss class because they are participating in a scheduled USF athletics event are expected to present a schedule of the USF athletic events that require their participation to me by the first week of the semester if they intend to be absent for a class or an announced examination.

   If you plan to miss assignments due to the reasons listed above, you are responsible for informing me about your excused absence prior to the absence and for making up the missed work within a week of the original deadline. 

   Beyond university-excused absences: please be in touch with me as early as possible if you’d like to request an extension for a *very* good reason (e.g., serious illness or accident, death of a family member, job interview), and I will consider your request if it is accompanied by relevant documentation. 

   If you do not have a university-approved excuse for your absence or if you do not receive an extension from me, I will not accept late work.

   ---

   Schedule

   ---

   Week 1, 01/08 to 01/14 – Introduction to Professional Writing

   Tuesday, 1/9

   In-class First-Day Attendance. You need to be present in class to avoid being dropped per USF’s first-day attendance policy.

   Review

   • Course Syllabus & Schedule
   • USF Core Syllabus Guidelines

   Wednesday, 01/10, Assignment Due – What is Professional Writing?

   Readings

   1. Workplace Writing
   2. Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

   Audience

   You have two audiences for this post: (1) students in your class; (2) the instructor.

   Write a note to your instructor and peers in memo format. In your post, in 200 to 250 words, summarize how Gerdes, Moxley, and Staggers distinguish professional writing from academic writing. You are encouraged to use tables, lists, and visuals. If you add images, be sure to follow citation conventions and intellectual property law. You may also respond to this assignment as an infographic. Because this is a class project, and your peers have also read Gerdes,’ Moxley’s and Stager’s definitions of professional writing, you do not need to cite the assigned readings. If you do copy and paste more than three words from those texts, however, you’ll need to formally quote the source.

   Assessment

   Your instructor will be looking to see

   • that you can use descriptive, concrete, sensory language
   • that you understand the need for exemplification in workplace writing
   • that you support claims with evidence
   • that you can write college-level, reader-based prose.

   Submission

   1. Upload memo to Canvas

   Thursday, 1/11 – Create Your Homepage at the Course Sandbox

   Lab – Writing Workshop

   1. Attendance – Today I will call attendance by asking you to link your gdoc bio to the Course Sandbox. By adding your name to the Course Sandbox, you are acknowledging that you have read the Course Syllabus and the USF Core Syllabus Guidelines, including the Campus Free Expression Act. Also, please note I’m using your gdoc bio to conduct first day attendance, per USF policy.
      
   2. Discussion of first assignment
      • Moxley comments on critique and radical transparency
   3. Discussion of Sunday’s assignment
      • Log on to Library Services and use Academic Search Premier.
   4. In class workshop: Create your gdoc homepage for this class using gdocs.
      • Using gDocs, write a 50-to-75 word bio. In your biography, please introduce yourself. You might think of this genre as exemplified by professionals on Linked In. For instance, you may
        • Provide a pic or avatar. List your name as you preferred to be called in a professional context.
        • List your personal pronouns
        • List your major, internships, and professional affiliations
        • List jobs or career interests
        • List competencies, especially those related to academic and workplace writing.
   5. Create a link at the Course Sandbox to your bio at gDocs. For this assignment, share a version of you bio that enables users to view and not edit. See GCF Global. Google Drive and Docs to for questions about using gDocs.

   Sunday, 01/14, Assignment Due – Evaluative Summary – Academic Search Premier

   Readings

   1. Strategic Searching

   Assignment Guidelines:

   1. Log on to Library Services and use Academic Search Premier. Search for topics related to AI (Artificial Intelligence) and writing or AI and the future of work.
   2. You might also trace authors from this library guide: University of South Australia > Library Guides > AI for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
   3. You may use a variety of search queries, such as “AI and business or AI and future employment.” Be intellectually open. I encourage you to play around with different keyword search terms. As you skim through the search results, look for sources that you know are authoritative, such as Forbes, the New York Times. Look for journals and books published by distinguished university presses and professional organizations? Here I’m asking you to think about authority, which is becoming a preoccupation for our culture given the spread of fake news.
   4. Skim through at least 10 possible credible articles before selecting one to summarize.
   5. Write an “evaluative summary” — a summary that reviews the accuracy, authority, currency, purpose, and relevance of your source.

   Submission Instructions:

   1. Upload Evaluative Summary to Canvas

   

   Week 2, 1/15 to 1/21 – Citation, Strategic Searching, & Evaluative Summary

   Readings

   1. Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing
   2. Summary – Learn How To Summarize Sources in Academic & Professional Writing

   Tuesday, 1/16

   Lab

   1. Workshop: At the course sandbox, under the heading “Evaluative Summary – Academic Search Premier,” provide a link to your evaluative summary in gDoc page. Use this Naming Convention: “YourLastName-Title of Article-Academic Search Premier“
   2. Students will orally present a one-minute presentation on the article they evaluated
   3. Time permitting, students will break into groups and review one another’s evaluative summaries

   Wednesday, 1/17 – Due: Evaluative Summary – JSTOR

   1. JSTOR Search.
      Log on to Library Services. Search for topics related to AI (Artificial Intelligence) and writing or AI and the future of work. Here, in the spirit of intellectual openness, I encourage you to play around with different keyword search terms.
   2. Library Guide Search
      Also search for university library guides. Consider, again, e.g., credible articles before selecting one to summarize.
   3. Write an “evaluative summary” — a summary that reviews the accuracy, authority, currency, purpose, and relevance of your source.
      • Provide the bibliographical information your readers need to find the original source. Use APA 7
   4. Upload Evaluative Summary – JSTOR to Canvas

   Thursday, 1/18

   Lab

   1. Workshop: At the course sandbox, under the heading “Evaluative Summary – JSTOR,” provide a link to your evaluative summary in gDoc page. Use this Naming Convention: “YourLastName-Title of Article-JSTOR“
   2. In-class presentations. Students will give a one-minute presentation on the article they evaluated and summarized.

   Sunday, 1/21, Assignment Due: Critique of Authority – Google Scholar

   Readings

   1. Authority – How to Establish Credibility in Speech & Writing
   2. Rhetorical Appeals
   • Due – Critique of Authority – Google Scholar
   1. Use Google Scholar
      • Search for topics related to AI (Artificial Intelligence) and writing or AI and the future of work. Here, in the spirit of intellectual openness, I encourage you to play around with different keyword search terms.
   2. Find an interesting article that in your view lacks authority.
   3. Write an “evaluative summary” — a summary that reviews the accuracy, authority, currency, purpose, and relevance of your source.
      • In a memo to your peers — who have not read the article — explain why you believe the article lacks authority. Be sure to provide your readers with the bibliographical information they need to track down the author so they can make their own assessment. If it’s available online, hyperlink to it in your review. Use APA 7 for citations. Also be sure to provide details your readers need to understand your assessment.
   4. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Evaluative Summary – Google Scholar,” provide a link to your evaluative summary in gDoc page. Use this Naming Convention:
      • “YourLastName-Title of Article-Academic Search Premier“

   Week 3, 01/22 to 01/28 – Critique of Authority – Social Media

   Tuesday, 01/23

   1. Search social media for articles related to AI (Artificial Intelligence) and writing or AI and the future of work. Here, in the spirit of intellectual openness, I encourage you to play around with different keyword search terms.
      • Look for interesting, influential articles or groups on social media. Consider, e.g., Reddit, X (Twitter), YouTube, AI Education Blog, Instagram, Linked In, Facebook.
   2. As you work your way through a few sites and articles, look for an article, a blog, or website that lacks authority in your opinion.
   3. Write an “evaluative summary” — a summary that reviews the accuracy, authority, currency, purpose, and relevance of your source.
      • In a memo to your peers — who have not read the article — explain why you believe the text you’ve selected fails to have authority.
        • When you are browsing social media, consider how you filter and assess information for good content. When you areBe sure to provide your readers with the bibliographical information they need to track down the source so they can make their own assessment. If it’s available online, hyperlink to it in your review. Use APA 7 for citations. Also be sure to provide details your readers need to understand your assessment.
   4. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Critique-of-Authority-Social Media,” provide a link to your evaluative summary at a gDoc page. Use this Naming Convention:
      • “YourLastName-Title of Article-Social Media”

   Wednesday, 01/24, Assignment Due – Critique of Authority – Social Media

   • Due – Critique of Authority – Social Media

   Thursday, 1/25 –

   Lab

   1. In-class presentations. Students will give a one-minute presentation on their “Critique of Authority – Social Media”

   Sunday, 1/28, Assignment – Optional Assignment Due – Writing Log and Writing Journal

   

   Readings

   1. The Writing Process – Research on Composing
   2. Discovering Your Unique Writing Process: A Guide to Self-Reflection
   3. The 7 Habits of Mind & The Writing Process
   4. The Secret, Hidden Writing Process: How to Tap Your Creative Potential
   5. The Ultimate Blueprint: A Research-Driven Deep Dive into The 13 Steps of the Writing Process

   Write a memo that updates me on your progress on the path toward an A. Provide me with a copy of your writing log and journal. I want to learn how you are spending your time. I want to hear about any questions you have about the class or your project or writing.

   Submission Instructions: Upload Writing Log and Writing Journal via Canvas

   Week 4, 1/29 to 02/04 – The Elements of Style – The DNA of Powerful Writing

   Professional writers share discourse conventions — common writing styles, page design, and citation styles. They are members of a shared discourse community. In public and professional writing, professional audiences have expectations about how discourse should be composed. The Elements of Style form the foundation for powerful writing. Brevity, coherence, flow, inclusivity, simplicity, and unity — these stylistic elements empower writers to enhance the clarity and power of their work. Esteemed by educators, editors, and professional writers, they serve as the essential building blocks — indeed, the DNA — of clear, compelling communication.

   Readings

   1. The Elements of Style
   2. Brevity – Say More with Less
   3. Clarity (in Speech and Writing)
   4. Coherence – How to Achieve Coherence in Writing
   5. Diction
   6. Flow – How to Create Flow in Writing
   7. Inclusivity – Inclusive Language
   8. Simplicity
   9. Unity

   Tuesday, 1/30

   Lab

   1. Working as a group, select one of the Elements of Style to use as an evaluative lens. For instance, as a group you could choose to focus on evaluating the clarity of a text.
   2. In-class, let me know who the students are in your group so I can set up the “team” in Canvas
   3. Select as a group a text to critique. Anything is fine so long as it was written for a professional audience.
   4. Write a definition of one of the element of style and then show “dos and don’ts” Use examples from one text or multiple texts to help your readers understand the importance of the element of style you are explicating.your evaluative summary at a gDoc page.

   Wednesday, 1/31, Due: Element of Style

   Due: Element of Style Critique #1

   1. Upload your Critique to canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “The Elements of Style” provide a link to
      • “Name-of-Your-Group-Title of Article-NameofElementofStyleYourAreAnalyzing”

   Thursday, 2/1 – Audience Awareness

   Readings

   1. Audience Analysis

   Lab

   1. Working as a group, use Google Slides to prepare a presentation to the other groups on the importance of audience awareness to clarity in professional writing
   2. Use Google, Google Scholar, Academic Search Premier,” and JSTOR to find famous examples of instances where professions failed to communicate clearly to their audiences and subsequently faced dire consequences.
   3. Share your presentation — Write a definition of one of the element of style and then show “dos and don’ts.” Use examples from one text or multiple texts to help your readers understand the importance of the element of style you are explicating.

   Sunday, 2/4 – Due: Presentation to Peers Using Google Slides

   At the course sandbox, under the heading “Presentation on Audience Awareness” provide a link to

   • “Name-of-Your-Group-Title of Presentation”

   Week 5, 02/05 to 02/11 – Genre & Rhetorical Analysis of Wired Article

   Readings

   1. Genre
   2. Rhetorical Analysis
   3. “What OpenAI Really Wants,” Levy, S. (2023, September 5). What OpenAI Really Wants. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/what-openai-really-wants/

   Tuesday, 2/6

   Lab

   1. Working as a group, engage in genre and rhetorical analysis of “What OpenAI Really Wants“. Notice this is a nonfiction article in a popular magazine. Because it is not written for an academic audience, notice Steven Levy doesn’t provide citations in APA or MLA. Instead, he follows journalistic conventions, which call for authors to embed bibliographical information into the flow of the story. Note as well that Levy doesn’t use headings or bullets, like those used in a lot of workplace writing genres. Notice as well the design the article, its font, use of visual language. How would you classify this style of writing? In your view, does this article exemplify the discourse conventions of the elements of discourse?
   2. Prepare a group presentation that defines the concept of AGI – Artificial General Intelligence – and reports the emergence of ChatGPT, from OpenAI.

   Wednesday, 2/07, Assignment Due: Genre & Rhetorical Analysis of Wired Article

   Due: Genre & Rhetorical Analysis of Wired Article

   1. Upload rhetorical analysis to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Rhetorical Analysis of Wired Article” provide a link to
   • “Name-of-Your-Group-Title-of-Your-Rhetorical-Analysis”

   Thursday, 2/8 – Visual Language – Datavisualization

   Lab

   1. Groups will share their presentations with other groups on AGI – Artificial General Intelligence – and reports the emergence of ChatGPT, from OpenAI.

   Sunday, 2/11, Assignment Due

   This assignment has two deliverables:

   1. Create an original table, figure, graph, or illustration that analyzes data (aka information) derived from the corpus — “Syllabi Policies.”
      • I recommend you use Google Tables for this task.
   2. Draft, revise, and edit a succinct explanation of your data visualization. A paragraph or a sentence or two is fine. Brevity remains the coin of the realm. Why did you choose to visualize your data as you did? (e.g., a chart, table, or graph?)
   3. Upload both deliverables to Canvas

   Week 6, 02/12 to 02/18 – Introduction to Visual Language in Professional Writing

   Tuesday, 2/13

   Readings

   1. Design – The Visual Language That Shapes Our World
   2. Design Principles – The Big Design Principles You Need to Know to Create Compelling Messages
   3. Page Design – How to Design Messages for Maximum Impact

   Assignment Guidelines

   Purpose

   Working collaboratively, critique the design of an infographic published at The Visual Capitalist. Develop a presentation that visually shows some of the great design moves or really bad design moves in your analysis of an infographic at The Visual Capitalist.

   Audience

   Your instructor and your peers are the audience for this assignment:

   1. Your instructor is looking to see that you have some knowledge of design and design principles. In your response, use the design vocabularly you’ve learned about Principles of Design: Proximity, Alignment, Repetition, Contrast
   2. Your peers are hoping to learn about infographics, elements of art, and principles of design.

   Required Content

   1. In your review of an infographic published at The Visual Capitalist, please use design terms. Use at least four design terms in your critique:

   Elements of Art – Elements of Design

   1. Color – Color Theory
   2. Copy – Copy Writing
   3. Line
   4. Shape
   5. Space
   6. Typography

   Principles of Design

   • Proximity
   • Alignment
   • Repetition
   • Contrast.

   Other Acceptable Foci

   • Balance: Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, & Radial
   • Color – Color Theory
   • Emphasis
   • Gestalt, Gestalt Theory

   Media

   1. I ask that your group author its critique in a presentation format, using Google Slides. Your presentation should share your group’s assessment of the design of an infographic published in The Visual Capitalist. Your presentation should be visual. Limit words.

   Wednesday, 2/14, Due: Critique of Design of an Infographic Published @ The Visual Capitalist

   1. Upload your critique/presentation to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Critique of Infographic Published @ The Visual Capitalist” provide a link to your presentation using this naming convention:
   • “Name-of-Your-Group-Title-of-Your-Critique”

   Thursday, 2/15 – Infographics

   Readings

   1. Infographics
   2. Design Principles – The Big Design Principles You Need to Know to Create Compelling Messages

   Assignment Guidelines

   1. In small groups, discuss ways to develop an infographic for students or faculty. The aim of your infographic is to visually tell a story about some information you’ve gathered by analyzing the “Syllabi Policies” corpus. Work on hand sketches for an infographic that interprets some data you have gathered based on the “Syllabi Policies” corpus.
   2. As a group, survey free infographic tools and decided a tool to try.
   3. As a group, develop an infographic that tells a story about some information you’ve gleaned from analyzing the “Syllabi Policies” corpus. Your goal is to develop an infographic that will be helpful to students and/or faculty members.

   Sunday, 2/18

   Due: Infographic

   1. Upload your group’s infographic to Canvas or upload a url for the infographic
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Infographic” each group should provide a link to their Infographic.
   3. “Name-of-Your-Group-Title-of-Your-Infographic”

   Week 7, 02/19 to 02/25 –

   Tuesday, 2/21

   Lab

   1. Groups will present on their infographics to the class. The presentations will share the infographic, and group members will explain their design choices.

   Wednesday, 02/21, Optional Assignment Due

   

   Write a memo that updates me on your progress on the path toward an A. Provide me with a copy of your writing log and journal. I want to learn how you are spending your time. I want to hear about any questions you have about the class or your project or writing.

   Submission Instructions: Upload Writing Log and Writing Journal via Canvas

   ---

   Week 8, 2/26 to 03/03 – No Assignments Are Due This Week

   

   Dear Students,

   Please note that I will be unavailable this week.

   I understand playing around with a new tool or idea takes time. I personally feel that sometimes as a writer I need to retreat from society and the chatter of small talk. Thus, I’m giving you this week to take some time to

   1. Check out Zotero and develop a References list in APA 7. While there’s an initial learning curve, having a free tool like this during your schoolwork can be a huge time saver.
   2. If you are putting the labor in to earn an A in this course, engage in the strategic searching necessary to become conversant on the scholarly conversation, the topic, that interests you.

   ---

   Week 9, 03/4 to 03/10 – Statement of the Problem

   Note: Spring Midterm Grading Ends

   Welcome back. I hope last week was productive for you.

   Assignment Guidelines

   For this assignment, in the Lab, I ask that you brainstorm with your peers about how to best describe how faculty are navigating the sudden emergence of AI in the classroom. Ultimately, though, I ask that you single-author a memo to me that describes faculty-members AI policies.

   I ask that you work with me and your class to explore a particular problem space: the impact of AI on writing, and, subsequently composing, creating, agency, and citation. More specifically, I ask that you use textual research methods to investigate how students and faculty are responding to the sudden ubiquitous availability of ChatGPT and other AI tools. Succinctly summarize what you learned about the professors’ perceptions regarding the potential and threat AI poses to higher education.

   1. As a first step, please read through the Syllabi Policies for AI Work published by faculty and cultivated via gdocs by Lance Eaton.
   2. Carefully analyze the range of policy statements faculty have authored to govern the use of AI in their classrooms. Based on your textual analysis, hermeneutics, of faculty members’ AI policy statements on their syllabi, do you believe faculty share any consensus view about using AI in the classroom? Or, do you believe faculty are giving students mixed messages about the use of AI? What are the major points of agreement and disagreement.

   Tuesday, 3/5

   Lab

   Below are some sample lines of analysis you might pursue to develop a detailed, honest description of how faculty members are responding to the emergence of AI in higher education. For this assignment, you cannot possibly address all of the questions suggested below. These suggestions are meant not to be a menu so much; instead, please treat them an heuristic, a thought exercise, a growth mindset

   In your group, develop a plan to accurately describe the range of policies faculty are using to respond to AI. Engage in group brainstorming:

   1. How can we discern the demographics of the contributors to “Syllabi Policies?”
      • Do faculty who work in similar institutions — private universities, state universities, R1 universities, liberal arts colleges — share any perspectives? Or, can professors’ comments be sorted by discipline or subject to reveal any interesting results?
      • By reviewing the course title, can you ascertain whether faculty from particular disciplines (e.g., the sciences, social sciences, humanities) tend to share perspectives?
   2. Are there any points a majority of faculty agree on?
      • For instance do faculty agree “You may not use GenAI to produce an assignment in its entirety” (Noël – Boston College)
   3. What percentage of the faculty are entirely opposed to AI in the classroom?
      • What percentage of the faculty explicitly said any use of AI is an instance of plagiarism and academic dishonesty?
   4. What percentage of faculty support the use of AI with an attribution on the part of the writer?
      • How do professors ask students to attribute their use of AI? Do they provide specific citation conventions? For instance, do any of them point to the APA guidelines for citing AI? Are faculty concrete or vague about the policies they expect students to follow in the classroom?
   5. How do faculty describe the usefulness of AI during various stages of the writing process — prewriting, inventing, drafting, collaborating, researching, planning, organizing, designing, rereading, revising, editing, or proofreading.
   6. What percentage of faculty support the use of AI without any attribution?
   7. What penalties will students pay if they use AI and it has hallucinated — it has created false academic journals or publishing companies?
      • What happens to students if they have cited work that is “fake” or offensive?
   8. How many of the authors explicitly mention academic integrity and ethics?

   How To Cite from the Corpus

   1. Get the Author Name from the Contributor field
   2. Provide Name of Course as if it’s the title
   3. List the Name of the Institution as the Publisher

   Wednesday, 3/6. Due: Description of Faculty Members’ AI Policy Statements

   Submission Guidelines:

   1. Upload your description to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Description of Faculty Members’ AI Policy Statements” provide a link to
   • “Name-of-Your-Group-Title-of-Your-Description”

   Friday, 03/08, Optional Assignment Due

   

   1. For those of you who are engaging in the labor to earn an A in this course, provide a progress report. Show me a copy of what you’ve completed thus far. Tell me what you need to do next. Make a Ghent chart to illustrate the work you need to complete in order to submit the assignment on time.

   Week 10, 03/11 to 03/17 – Spring Break Week

   

   Week 11, 3/18 to 03/24

   Readings

   1. Research Proposal
   2. Qualitative Research – Interviews

   Assignment Guidelines

   1. Read
      • Working With People, Try This
   2. Interview a professor or a student on the impact of AI on higher educations, especially writing courses.
   3. Write, using gdocs, a summary of the interviewers’ thoughts on what an appropriate policy would be regarding the use of AI to complete coursework? How does the interviewee use AI now? How do they expect to use AI the future work? In the interviewee’s professional work, are they expected to use AI?

   Tuesday, 3/19

   Lab

   1. In peer groups, students will share their interview summaries, and they will engage in reviews of one another’s summaries.

   Wednesday, 3/20, Assignment Due – Interview #1

   Submission Guidelines

   1. Upload Interview #1 to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Interview #1” provide a link to
   • “Your-Last-Name-Interview1”

   Thursday, 3/21

   Lab

   Sunday, 3/24, Assignment Due: Interview #2

   Submission Guidelines

   At the course sandbox, under the heading “Interview #2” provide a link to

   • “Your-Last-Name-Interview2”

   Week 12, 03/25 to 03/31

   Tuesday, 3/26

   Readings

   1. Survey Research

   Lab

   1. Work with your team to develop your survey. Identify a target audience. It probably makes sense to write different surveys for different stakeholders. Before asking people to complete a survey you want to have multiple people look at it. Thus, I invite teams to reach across teams for peer reviews of the teams’ surveys. If possible, it would be better if teams avoided duplication.
   2. Launch your survey using a free survey tool, such as Survey Monkey

   Note: Spring last day to withdraw; no refund & no academic penalty.

   Wednesday 3/27, Assignment Due: Interview #3

   For this third assignment, I ask that you interview a second type of interviewee. For instance, if your first two interviews were of students, then this one needs to be a professor or someone in a business field who engages in a lot of writing as part of their job. I ask that you interview this person to add depth to your perspective.

   Submission Guidelines

   At the course sandbox, under the heading “Interview #3” provide a link to

   • “Your-Last-Name-Interview3”

   Thursday, 3/28

   Lab

   1. As a team, begin drafting your survey results, even before all of the results are in.
   2. Work out required tasks and responsibilities

   Sunday, 3/31, Assignment Due: Survey Research Results

   Submission Guidelines

   1. Submit your survey and survey results to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Survey Research” provide a link to your survey and survey research results
   • “Name-of-Your-Group-Title-of-Your-Survey-Research”

   Week 13, 4/1 to 4/7

   Tuesday, 4/2

   Lab

   1. In class, I ask that the teams report to the other teams on their survey research and results.

   Wednesday, 4/3, Optional Assignment Due

   

   1. For those of you who are engaging in the labor to earn an A in this course, provide me with a progress report. Show me a copy of what you’ve completed thus far. Tell me what you need to do next. Make a Ghent chart to illustrate the work you need to complete in order to submit the assignment on time.

   Thursday, 4/4

   Assignment Description – Executive Summary

   Write a two-page executive summary. Your summary should

   • define the problems students and teachers face when they try to figure out whether it’s permissible to use AI in coursework. To help readers understand the problem space, define the questions faculty and students have about how to use AI to write and complete coursework. Based on the interviews you and your peers conducted, what have you learned about how AI is being used in academic and business contexts? In your executive summary you may use a data visualization or an infographic.

   Lab

   1. In-class oral presentations on Executive Summary

   Sunday, 4/7, Assignment Due: Executive Summary

   Submission Guidelines

   1. Upload your executive summary to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Executive Summary” provide a link to
   • “”Your-Last-Name-Executive-Summary”

   Week 14, 4/8 to 4/14

   Assignment Guidelines – Ai Policy Statement

   In 500 words, in memo format, based on the research you have conducted for this class, write a policy statement for college faculty that they can include in their course syllabus. Use visual language and visual page design.

   Tuesday, 4/9

   Lab

   1. Students will peer review one another’s AI Policy statements.

   Wednesday, 4/10, Assignment Due: Recommended AI Policy

   Submission Guidelines

   1. Upload your recommended AI policy to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Recommended AI Policy” provide a link to Recommended AI Policy
   • “”Your-Last-Name-Executive-Summary”

   Thursday, 4/12

   Assignment Guidelines – Guidelines for Students

   In 500 words, in memo format, based on the research you have conducted for this class, write Guidelines for Students that they can use when deciding to use AI for coursework. Make your guidelines visually appealing. Visual language welcomed.

   Lab

   1. In-class work on Guidelines for Students. Group brainstorming about possible guidelines

   Sunday, 4/14, No Assignment

   Week 15, 04/15 to 04/21

   Tuesday, 4/16

   Lab

   1. In-class work finalizing the Guidelines for Students

   Wednesday, 04/17, Assignment Due – Guidelines for Students

   Submission Guidelines

   1. Upload your recommended Guidelines for Students to Canvas
   2. At the course sandbox, under the heading “Guidelines for Students” provide a link to your Guidelines for Students
   • “Your-Last-Name-Guidelines-for-Students”

   Thursday, 4/18 (last day of this class)

   Lab

   1. In-class assignment: reflection on your collaborations this course. This course, as you may recall from Day 1, is a General-Education course with a focus on collaboration. In your reflection on your collaborative efforts for this semester, please address the following actions as either “professional,” “adequate,” or “inadequate:”
      • Members attended team meetings
      • Members completed their tasks
      • Members communicated openly with other team members
      • Members resolved conflicts constructively

   Sunday, 4/21, Optional Assignment Due

   

   Submission Instructions

   1. Submit to Canvas or the additional project you conducted to earn an A in this course. You may also upload urls if you have some online work you want me to review

   Nothing is Due. At USF, Test Free week is 4/20 to 4/26. There is no final exam in this course.