ESG ES.729/21W.729 Syllabus, Fall, 2016
Engineering Communication in Context

ES.729 is a CI-H. Successful (C- or better) completion of ES.729 by an MIT student confers completion of the minimum yearly communication (CI) requirement and completion of one of the two required CI-H subjects. ES.729 is a HASS-E subject; it does not count as an art, humanities, or social science HASS towards the HASS distribution requirement. ES.729 has no prerequisites and is open to all students, though ESG students get preference.

 
 
Instructor:             
               Dave Custer
       Office: 24-611
 Office Hours: probably Monday and Wednesday evenings, 5:00 to 6:00, and many other odd times
        Phone: x3-7787
       E-mail: custer@mit.edu
 
 

 

Subject Description:

ES.729 is an introduction to communication. The subject draws on MIT students’ interest and aptitude for engineering by engaging students in the communication genres that guide the product design cycle and by using this engagement as a springboard for reflection on both the design process and on the situation of the engineer and engineering in the world at large. Instruction focuses on the lexical, textual, and rhetorical aspects of writing and the processes that lead to successful text. This subject improves communication ability and communication habits by providing participants with instruction, practice, feedback, and the opportunity for reflection. Additional improvement is expected in students' attitudes towards writing and oral presentations; as the semester progresses, students should feel increased confidence in their ability to formally write and speak .

Expect to devote four hours of "scheduled" time per week to ES.729; three of these hours will be class time, and one of these hours will be "lab" time that can be used for workshopping, conferences, and guided work. Class will meet Monday and Wednesdays in 24-618 from 3:00-5:00. Expect individual meetings with the instructor roughly every month.

There is NO final exam in ES.729.

Teaching Approach:

ES.729 is based on the following premises:

Collaboration in ES.729 is based on workshopping, whereby individual thought develops through focused, collaborative discussion.

Assignments:

Written assignments cover a range of lengths (roughly 1 to 10 pages), genres, and degrees of formality. See the ES.729 assignment listing and schedule for more detail. Expect the majority of assignments to be completed in installments.

Reading assignments: Expect to comment briefly on all reading assignments in your notebook and to discuss the reading in an intelligible and intelligent manner.

Journal: The writing journal is a kernel from which ideas grow; tend it accordingly. Become accustomed to documenting your ideas in this book, which is characterized by sketches, lists, informal writing, jotting, pasted printouts, and chicken scratching. Use the journal to respond to the reading assignments. Early in the semester, journal entries will be suggested; do not limit yourself to the suggested topics. Journals will be reviewed at intervals during the semester.

Assessment of Communication:

You will receive suggestions and constructive criticism of your writing in the form of:

The best feedback will be invisible, a result of interacting with others to accomplish product design goals. Listen carefully for such feedback.

 

The longer movie essay draft II will be graded, revised, and resubmitted to be graded as (final) draft III; both grades will be included in the subject grade at the end of the semester. The intent of this revision/assessment cycle is to emphasize the magnitude of the expected revision. The reports for projects I and II will follow a similar revision cycle to provide preparation for the graded, longer movie essay experience.

Grading:

One aim of this subject is to effect a shift from an emphasis on "grades" to an emphasis on self-motivated writing, collaboration, and peer feedback.

Nonetheless, come December 22 a subject grade must be submitted to the registrar. At some level your grade is a measure of your instructor’s subjective impression of your work as per MIT’s rules and regulations 2.62.1. To provide an idea of what aspects of your work might contribute to this impression, expect that your written work will account for two thirds of your final grade; written assignments will count roughly proportional to their page length and degree of formality; separate grades for both the 2nd draft and final draft of the longer movie essay will be included. During conferences with the instructor, you will be asked to demonstrate how you have used sources appropriately and made structural and revision choices based on your audience, your purpose, your argument, and the conventions that govern formal text. Both the final text and the manner in which it has been produced will be taken into consideration. The remainder of the grade will be derived from media projects, oral presentations, reading responses, and class participation. Oral presentation grading is digital; deliver a presentation and full credit will be delivered; fail to deliver and credit will fail to be delivered.

Perennial tardiness, loud snoring during class, and distracting misuse of electronic devices are likely to tarnish the impression you make on your instructor and colleagues.

Attendance is mandatory. Dave reserves the option of failing any student who misses more than three classes. Excused absences are provided by the dean's office. History suggests that an absentee rate of about 3% is acceptable. Extra points will be awarded to Gryffindor if the class absenteeism is less than 3%.

Come to class; work with your colleagues; strive; write lots and prosper.

Collaborative Work:

Collaboration is central to functioning of this class (and any significant endeavor), so time will be devoted to the dynamics of collaboration during the early part of the semester. It is expected that students will work together in a safe, professional, and collegial manner and that each student will carry his/her own weight.

So, during the first weeks of class, satisfy yourself that you'll be able to work together with the other students in this class.

The big, bad P word:

Plagiarism: Using someone else's language and/or ideas without proper attribution is dishonest. As members of ESG, this ES.729 class, and the larger scholarly community, you are expected to abide by the norms of academic honesty. While a good deal of collaboration is encouraged in and out of class, failing to acknowledge sources or willfully misrepresenting the work of others as your own will not be tolerated. Submitted, written assignments must be the work of the authors whose names appear on the paper. Assignments must be written specifically for this class; you may not "recycle" text that you have written before September, 2016. Re-use of your existing work may be appropriate in some circumstances, for instance when writing a report based on a proposal you have written. When in doubt, consult your instructor and/or cite your former publication. Plagiarism can result in withdrawal from the course with a grade of F and/or suspension or expulsion from MIT.

The booklet Academic Integrity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: A Handbook for Students and MIT's Policies and Procedures (concerning academic misconduct) explain these issues in further detail, and you are responsible for understanding the contents of these documents. Proper acknowledgment of sources will be addressed in class. When in doubt, consult with your instructor(s).

Text:

No textbooks are required for this course; all reading assignments are available on the web. Students are encouraged to own and cherish a copy of their favorite style guide. Ask if you desire a recommendation. Additionally, style and grammar help is available on the web; for example, 21W.783 Class Notes, Dave Custer's pet peeves about writing (from a class Dave once taught).

MIT’s Writing & Communication Center

History suggests that ES.729 students will be provided with plenty of feedback concerning their writing and other communication. However, should adequate feedback not be available at ESG, or should you desire another pair of eyes to look at your drafts, the Writing and Communication Center (E39-115) offers free one-on-one professional advice from communication experts (MIT lecturers who all have advanced degrees and who are all are published writers). The WCC works with undergraduate students, graduate students and post-docs.

The WCC helps you strategize about all types of academic, creative, job-related, and professional writing as well as about all aspects of oral presentations (including practicing your presentations & designing slides). No matter what department or discipline you are in, we help you think your way more deeply into your topic, help you see new implications in your data, research and ideas. The WCC also helps with all English as Second Language issues, from writing and grammar to pronunciation and conversation practice, from understanding genre conventions to analyzing what particular journals require.

The WCC is located in Kendall Square (E39-115, 55 Hayward Street, around the corner from Rebecca’s Café; this location will change later this semester).  To register with our online scheduler and to make appointments, go to https://mit.mywconline.com/ . To access the WCC’s many pages of advice about writing and oral presentations, go to http://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center/ .  The Center’s core hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.; evening hours vary by semester–check the online scheduler for up-to-date hours.

 

Dave recommends that every student make a visit just to check the Writing Center out.

 


author = custer@mit.edu
location = http://web.mit.edu/custer/www/729syll.f15.html
Spiral over to the ES.729 (21W.732) haven.
Spiral over to the 21W.783 notes.
Spiral over to Dave's writing world page.