English 398 (undergraduate)
Fall Semester 2000
Professor: Michael
Day, RH 223, 753-6605, mday@niu.edu
Meeting
time and place: T
6:00-8:40 in RH 308 (NWR)
Office hours: T,
Th 2-4 and by appointment
URL: http://www.engl.niu.edu/mday/529/
Texts:
Johnson-Eilola, Johndan. Nostalgic Angels:
Rearticulating Hypertext Writing.
Ablex, 1997. (NA)
Lemay, Laura. Teach
Yourself Web Publishing with HTML 4. Sams Publishing 1998. (Lemay)
Lynch, Patrick & Sarah Horton. Web Style Guide : Basic Design Principles
for Creating Web Sites. Yale University Press, 1999. (Lynch)
Rosenfield, Louis & Peter Morville. Information Architecture for the World Wide
Web. O’Reilly, 1998. (IA)
Siegel, David. Secrets
of Successful Web Sites. Hayden Books, 1997. (Siegel)
Numerous webbed readings, TBA.
Course Description:
Lecture, demonstration, discussion, and hands-on workshop examining the theory and practical applications of professional writing for Internet-based media, primarily the World Wide Web.
Special emphasis will be placed on the
theory and practical rhetorical conventions for online writing and the design
of online textual information, and on developing strategies for using these
conventions in a professional setting. Students will explore an area of
interest and develop a final project in that area, with opportunities for
collaborative work. Course topics
include strategies for effective electronic mail, hypertext theory and
applications, copyright issues, visual literacy and the computer screen,
concise writing for the screen reader, information architecture, effective
navigation and design principles for the web, evaluation criteria for web
sites, and collaborative online environments.
Rationale:
As more and more technical and professional communication moves from print to electronic media, businesses and other organizations need staff members who are competent in designing, writing, and publishing documents online. Currently, there is a great demand for writers and editors who are also familiar with hypertext markup language (HTML) and some of the web publishing software packages. This course will introduce students to some basic design principles for online publishing, discuss theoretical approaches, and give students practical experience through the final course project. It will provide background theory and experience for both those who wish to be (or are) practicing professionals in the workplace and those who with to study or teach technical communication.
Attend class and participate
in class discussion
One short (1-2 page) survey
(literature review or response) paper for class discussion.
One case study/critical
analysis paper
Lead discussion of one
reading online and in the classroom
Web Board or electronic mail
discussion postings
Major final web design
project, including project proposal, progress report, and final report.
Oral Presentation of final
project
Course Overview:
Part One: Introduction –Survey of online writing
and information design, including online information genres. Relevance to professional and technical
communications.
Part Two: Major theories and
methodologies of online writing and information design, including theories of
online reading and methods for ascertaining readers’ needs.
Part Three: Collaboration and
interactivity in online writing and publication.
Part Four: Evaluation of
effectiveness of online texts: application of research to examples. Possible case studies and guest presenters.
Part Five: Planning and drafting in individual or
group web design projects.
Part Six: Presentations of
individual and group web design projects.
Grading
Survey (literature review or
response) paper: 10%
Case study or critical
analysis paper: 10%
Leading class discussion of
assigned reading: 10%
Class participation, online
and off: 10%
Final project: 60%
Project proposal: 10%
Progress report: 10%
Webbed project: 20%
Final report: 10%
Oral report: 10 %