A Supplemental Text for English 3764 at Virginia Tech as taught by Traci Gardner <tengrrl @ vt. edu>
Week Three Instructions, Spring 2023
Time Required
6 to 8 hours, including reading time
Detail from Determining the Characteristics of Your Audience, from Practical Strategies for Technical Communication.
This module explores how audience and purpose shape technical writing and how persuasion can help you make effective recommendations.
The concepts you read about this week apply to every project you will do in the course—and ultimately to the projects you will do in the workplace.
Holidays & Events This Week
Here’s what’s coming up this week:
Martyrs’ Day is an Indian holiday, marking the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
Black History Month in American and Canada begins on February 1 and runs through the entire month.
Several events mark the end of Winter or beginning of Spring:
Imbolc, a Wiccan and Druid holiday that marks the beginning of Spring, is February 1–2. The day is celebrated by some as St. Brigid’s Day or Candlemas.
Groundhog Day is February 2. If the groundhog sees its shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of winter weather.
Setsubun-sai marks the beginning of Spring in Shinto cultures. The holiday takes place February 3.
If any of these events interferes with your work in the class, send me a message with Canvas Inbox and let me know how you need me to adjust your due dates.
Objectives for this Module
After completing this week’s activities, you address the following course objectives:
Analyze the rhetorical situation and determine the appropriate audience or users of written communication, considering the needs of global audiences and people with disabilities. [CLO 1]
Prepare to conduct research appropriate to workplace problem solving, such as literature review, evaluation of online resources, interview, and site inspection. [CLO 2]
Consider the ethical and human implications of my situation. [CLO 3]
Use conventions of various workplace genres, such as proposals, instructions, correspondence, reports, and slide decks, with understanding of how the genre conventions can be used as heuristics and as principles of arrangement. [CLO 4]
Collaborate with classmates in planning, researching, writing, revising, and presenting information. [CLO 5]
Activities to Complete
Due Dates
All work is due by 11:59 PM on Friday, February 3.
Grace Period:
Ends at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, February 8 for your Check-in Survey.
Ends at 11:59 PM on Friday, April 28 for the rest of the week’s work.
📚 To Read This Week
Markel & Selber, Ch. 5: “Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose”
