Today is the due date for Project 1. We’ll go over the reflection memo and how to submit your project. Aim to submit your work by midnight in your timezone, but remember that you have a 24-hour, grace period if you need it. No excuses needed. If something has gone wrong in your world and 24 hours may not be enough, contact me immediately and let me know what you need.

Class Work for July 15

These are the tasks to complete for today’s work:

• Review requirements for Project 1.
• Discuss the FAQs for using Google Drive.
• Go over the reflection memo and how to submit Project 1 in Scholar.

You may want to print out today’s post so you can check off the steps for submitting your project as you work through them. If you run into trouble submitting your work, just send me an email message with the details and I will reply ASAP.

Requirements for Project 1

You need to turn in a reflection memo as well as a link to the biograpy statement(s) you have written. The number of bios you turn in will depend upon the grade you are working toward.

Remember to check your spelling and proofread for grammar and punctuation in your bios.

Using Google Drive

I have begun creating an FAQ site that includes details on policies and documentation for the courses I teach. Step-by-step instructions for tasks you will complete with your Google Drive, including converting your document if you have worked in another word processor, adding comments, and sharing your documents are all included.

To make sure that you can submit your first project smoothly, pay attention to the following FAQs:

• If you worked in something other than Google Drive, you can use your preferences to automatically convert files you upload to Google Drive automatically.
  This step is important so that I can use the commenting features in Google Drive.
• If you already uploaded a document to Google Drive, check the format of your files and manually convert the files on Google Drive if necessary.
• Follow the instructions on how to set permissions and get the Google Drive Share link to get a link that will allow me to read and comment on your document.

Writing Your Reflection Memo

As I explained in the assignment, the reflection memo is your chance to tell me anything you want me to know before I read your bios. I will read your reflection before I read the bios.

For this project, your reflection memo will give me the link(s) to your biography statements on Google Drive and to your About.me profile if you created one. You will also tell me about what you have written. Follow these instructions to submit your work:

1. Go to the Assignments tab on the left menu in Scholar.
2. Choose “P1: Professional Bio Statement.”
3. Scroll down to the text box below the headings Submission and Assignment Text. You will write your memo in this box. (Alternately, you can write in a word processor and copy/paste your text into this box.)
4. Add your memo headers (To, From, Subject, and Date). For your reflection memo, you’ll use the following:
• Address your memo to me (Traci) and from yourself (use your name).
• Add a subject line that indicates this is your reflection memo and which project it is for.
• Add the current date.
5. Insert a horizontal divider line using the button indicated with the red arrow in the image below:
   
6. Introduce your project—what are your overall goals, what grade have you aimed for, and what documents have you written for the project?
7. For each part of the project you have written (e.g., the formal bio, the informal bio, the About.me profile), do the following:
   1. Label the document so I know whether it is a formal bio, an informal bio, or an About.me profile.
   2. For the formal or informal bio, add the Share link to the document on your Google Drive. Use the instructions for how to get the Share link on the FAQ site if you are unsure how to share documents.
   3. Explain who the audience for your statement(s) is. What do I need to know to understand the information you have included and the tone you have used?
   4. For the About.me profile, add the link to your public page.
   5. Tell me anything else you want me to know about the bio, including the content, the layout and design, and any images you included.
8. Review the information for your bio statements. You should have a block for each piece you have written that tells me what it is, gives me the link, and tells me about it.
9. Add a concluding section that tells me anything else you want me to know about your project.
10. Agree to the Honor Code by clicking the checkbox at the bottom of the page in Scholar. You cannot finish submitting the project without clicking that checkbox (and it’s easy to miss).
11. Submit your Project, and save a copy of the confirmation and submission ID. If something goes wrong in Scholar, you can contact 4HELP with that information.
12. Celebrate! You’ve finished the first project!

Today is peer review day for the first project. By sharing the draft of your first project, you will have the opportunity to get some feedback on your work before it is due. In addition, you will have the chance to get to know your classmates better by reading through the bios everyone else has posted.

I will be in the online chatroom this evening (from about 9 to 11 PM Eastern) if you need to ask any questions about your project.

Class Work for July 14

These are the tasks to complete for today’s work:

• Review Editing and Proofreading tips (Markel, Appendix, Part B).
• Post drafts for Project 1 in the forums.
• Respond to two students in the forums.
• Read everyone’s posts to get to know your classmates.

Editing and Proofreading Tips

Part B of the Appendix in your text goes over various rules for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. You can review these rules as needed. There’s also a list of 20 Most Common Errors available under the Resources menu at the top of the page.

Posting Your Drafts for Project 1

You will post your draft in the forums, just as you posted your topics last week:

1. Go to the Project 1: Professional Biography Statement
   board in the forums, and find the topic you created with your name or your username (e.g., “Traci’s Bios.”).

2. Post a reply in your topic, doing the following:
   • If you do not want to share your last name in the forums, change it in your draft to a pseudonym. You can use a generic last name like Doe or Smith, or you can change it to Lastname.
   • Share your draft in one of two ways:
     • Link to your bios in Google Docs, if you have shared your draft with “Anyone with the link” or “People at Virginia Tech with the link.”
     • Copy and paste your document into the forums; however, you will need to restore the formatting (such as adding any bold or italics back to the draft)

   • If you have written more than one bio, please label them so that your readers will know what they are reading (for instance, you might note one is a formal bio for the company website, and the other is an informal bio for the internal company newsletter).

3. If you have any specific concerns that you want your readers to consider, add a note on that as well.

4. Be sure to Preview your draft to make sure everything shows up the way you want it to, and then Submit your draft.

Replying to Project 1 Drafts

You will post your draft in the forums, just as you posted your topics last week:

1. Read the drafts of at least two of your classmates and add a reply with advice and encouragement (more below).

   • Find one post that no other student has replied to (so that we can be sure everyone gets a reply).
   • Find a second post that has only one other student reply.

2. In your reply, be sure that you answer the following three questions for the draft:

   • What is good about the draft? What should not be changed? Why is it good?
   • What suggestions do you have to improve the draft?
   • Add an overall comment that sums up what you thought of the bio(s) and gives your classmate some encouragement.

Reading the Remaining Project 1 Drafts

To get to know your classmates a bit better, read through the remaining bio statements that are posted. If you notice anything you want to comment on, feel free to post additional replies.

Finishing Project 1

Read the peer review comments in the topic for your project, and use the advice to improve your work. You will post your projects tomorrow, along with your reflection memo. Tomorrow’s post will include details on writing the memo and how to submit your project in Scholar.

Great work in the forums again yesterday. You’ve made some excellent observations about the bio statements you reviewed, and I think you’re quite ready to work on your own drafts.

Class Work for July 11

These are the goals for today’s work:

• Talk about my availability July 11–12.
• Go over some guidelines for contacting me.
• Read about how to adapt your writing to the needs of your readers (chapter 6 of Markel).
• Post details on the audience(s) and purpose(s) you have chosen for Project 1.

Reaching Me July 11–12

I am going to Dayton, Ohio for a regional conference this weekend, so there will be some delays in my response to your questions in the forums and to any email you may send me. Basically, I will not be online during the day Friday through Sunday. I will check in and catch up with everything in the evening.

Contacting Me When Something Goes Wrong

Eventually, something is bound to go wrong, so I wanted to take a moment to outline what to do when it happens.

If something goes wrong with one of the websites we are using, don’t panic. I will fix it, and if necessary, I’ll adjust any due dates or expectations. Go ahead and send me an email message, since I may not know there is a problem, and keep working as you can until the situation is resolved.

If something goes wrong for you personally, send me an email message explaining the issue and relax. We can come up with a solution. Things such as a broken computer or a change at work that messes up your schedule would fall in this category. It may feel like a horrible situation, but we can work it out. Don’t be worried if I don’t respond immediately. It just means I’m not at my computer.

Finally, if you have an actual emergency, first take care of any immediate danger. When you can, email me and begin the subject with 911. For example, a subject line might be “911 Struck by Storm.” Give me the details in the message (e.g., The storm knocked out your power. Your work is going to be delayed until things are fixed). I will give 911 messages priority and answer them ASAP. Save this 911 messages for real emergencies please.

Writing for Your Readers

Chapter 6 covers strategies for matching the style, tone, and design in technical writing to the people who will read what you write. This advice will help you with all the projects in the class. All of the information is important, but I will highlight three areas that can make a big difference:

• Choosing Effective Organizational Patterns (pp.107–108)
  Be sure to look through the chart in the book that talks about different ways to set up your writing. Some of you noticed the use of chronological order in some of the bios you examined, but some of these other options could work as well. For example, some of the bios also move from “More important to less important” information. Use the chart this term to remember the options available.

• Writing Coherent Titles and Headings (pp.108–111)
  The right title can draw someone into your text, and effective headings can help chunk the text into manageable sections that increase understanding as they guide people through what you write. Pay particular attention to the Guidelines on p. 111. For your bio statements, you may not use either of these strategies, but they will be crucial in the rest of the projects. And realize that you can use them if you want to in the bios. It will all depend upon audience, purpose, and the organization you decide to use. The examples from “Meet the Team” Pages: Examples and Trends use the person’s name and title as headings, for instance. You might also arrange your informal bio as a kind of Q&A, with the questions as headings.

• Using Lists (pp.117–120)
  Like headings, lists can make a remarkable difference in readability. Pay attention to the guidelines in this section for examples that show what lists contribute to a piece of technical writing. You may not use lists at all in your bios (though you can if they make sense for what you are doing). Keep the strategy in mind for future projects.

Post Your Plans for Project 1

Once you have read today’s readings, I want you to turn your attention to your own biography statements by completing these tasks:

1. Go to the Project 1: Professional Biography Statement
   board in the forums, and start a new topic. Give the topic your name or your username to help keep things organized. For instance, if I were setting up a new topic, I would name it “Traci’s Bio Statements” or perhaps “Tengrrl’s Bios.”

2. In your new topic, do the following:
   • Post details on the audience(s) and purpose(s) you have chosen for Project 1.
   • Use headings to separate information on the bios if you are writing more than one.
   • Give us enough summary of your plans to understand what you are going to write about.
   • If you have any questions, include them.
   • Note that you can plan big. For instance, if you plan to write 2 bios, but only get 1 done, that’s okay. You are sharing plans, not signing contracts.

3. Once you have posted about your plan, read the plans of at least two of your classmates and add a reply with advice and encouragement.
   • Find one post that no other student has replied to (so that we can be sure everyone gets a reply).
   • Find a second post that has only one other student reply.
   • Do not count my replies when you are looking for a post that no student has replied to. I will reply to everyone by the end of the weekend.

4. Begin working on the drafts for your bio statement(s). For Monday, you will post your drafts in your topic in the forums, and give peer review feedback to two other students. Project 1 is due on Tuesday, July 15.