Rutgers Business & Technical Writing - 355:322 Writing for Engineers

The grading criteria for assignments in the Writing for Engineers course are intended to promote fair and relatively uniform standards for evaluating the work students submit. These standards are important because they tell students what will be expected of them and enable students to evaluate their own work as it is being done. There are 10 assignments that will be graded during the semester:

These assignments constitute all of the work that is done in the course. One assignment will be entirely completed in class; the others will be organized and/or started in class and finished independently. Writings will be collected, commented upon, and returned to help students prepare for the writing demands typically experienced in the engineering profession. Students also need to participate in collaborative activities involving discussion of assigned readings, peer review of drafts, and development of a user manual. The class, in fact, is in many ways a writing lab. Thus,attendance is crucial; without practice and participation, students will have difficulty meeting the criteria for the assignments. There is also the matter of timeliness. Engineering work is typically done within a business environment. There will always be demands to complete high quality work within specific time frames and penalties imposed for not doing so.

The Technical Proposal is the major assignment for the semester. As such, a passing grade must be earned on this assignment in order to earn a passing grade for the semester.

Each assignment has a number of points that will be earned by completing the required elements. Points earned will then be converted to percentages that correspond to letter grade ranges -- See the following table.

Letter Grade	Percent Range
A	92 -- 100
B+	84 -- 91
B	76 -- 83
C+	68 -- 75
C	60 -- 67

Cover Letter and Resume (20 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

The job advertisement must be submitted
The one page business letter needs to be in full block form. A four paragraph model is recommended. The opening establishes contact with the audience. Paragraph two discusses relevant education. Paragraph three discusses work experiences. Paragraph four concludes with a request to be contacted for an interview.
The resume must be one page. It needs to be organized according to expected standards shown in the Career Services Guide which will be distributed in class.
The resume must be submitted in two forms (print and electronic) with the exact same text on each page.
The letter and resume need to work together. This means that there cannot be discussion about education or experiences in the letter which is not referenced in the resume.
The letter and both forms of the resume must not have any errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or usage.
The letter must be signed.
The entire assignment must be submitted on time. Entire means a job advertisement, a one page letter, a one page print form of the resume, and a one page electronic form of the resume.

To earn an A (18-20 points), students must entirely meet the established criteria. Class activities will be used to work through a draft and revision process before the final assignment is submitted. For further discussion of this assignment see the Resume web page.

Work at the B+ or B (15-17 points) level will have content that is complete but have some problems with the technical aspects of writing. The letter may not be in full block form or submitted unsigned. The resume may have weak formatting or organization.

Work at the C+ or C (12-14 points) level will show weaknesses with form (such as those noted above) and content. Content weaknesses may include lack of coordination between the letter and resume, information on one form of the resume which is not on the other, and sentence level writing errors. Other problems that might lead to these grades include missing components or work that is excessively late.

LSM Self guided Tour (10 points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

Tour the Library of Science and Medicine.
Complete the 20 question worksheet.
Use a straight edge to complete the drawings.
Submit the assignment on time

This assignment will be done in conjunction with a computer lab class where electronic access to the library will be explained and practiced. Since not all research materials can be electronically accessed, it is important for students to be familiar with the library building. The required elements are uncomplicated, making it easy to earn an A (9-10 points). Deductions for not following the requirements could result in grades of B/B+ (7-8 points) or C/C+ (5-6 points).

Summary/Analysis Memo (15 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

An article of at least two pages from a scholarly or professional engineering source must be found. The article will be submitted with the memo.
A memo of one to two pages needs to be written. First, summarize the article. Second, analyze the article and include three or more connections to Barker's Defining a Paradigm.
All of the writing must be letter perfect, meaning no errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or usage.
Submit the assignment on time.

To earn an A (13-15 points), students must entirely meet the established criteria. Class time will be devoted to a discussion of Defining a Paradigm (copies will be provided). To see a sample of the assignment, go to the Memo Writing web page.

A paper at the B+ or B (10-12 points) level might have a summary that is too brief or an analysis that has only two connection statements. A few sentence level errors might be present but the work is otherwise correct.

A paper at the C+ or C (7-9 points) level might have an analysis section that shows a limited understanding of Barker. Excessive sentence level errors or excessive lateness in submitting the assignment might also be reasons for this grade range.

Annotated Bibliography (35 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

Six sources must be included in the bibliography.
At least half need to be from scholarly sources; the others can be from professional and popular sources.
The sources must be cited in APA style.
Alphabetical order is expected for the citations.
Following each citation, a brief paragraph (2 or 3 sentences) needs to be written. The writing needs to identify the type of source, summarize the key idea of the article, and clearly point to a connection between the source and the student's topic for the technical proposal.

To earn an A (32-35 points), students must entirely meet the established criteria. In addition to students' independent research work, class time in the computer lab will be used to find sources. To see a sample of the assignment, go to the Annotated Bibliography web page.

Papers at the B+ or B (26-31 points) level might have some errors in APA style or annotations that do not consistently make the connection between the source and the student's topic. Work that is otherwise good but does not include a majority of scholarly or professional sources might also receive a grade in this range.

Papers at the C+ or C (20-25 points) level might have excessive APA style errors as well as incomplete annotations. Sources will show that the student has only minimally worked with scholarly or professional publications. This grade range might also apply if work is excessively late.

Assigned Readings (15 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

Complete the readings (To be given as handouts in class).
Complete the worksheet for the readings.
Submit the completed worksheet at the start of the class when the reading is to be discussed.

There are three readings (5 points for each) which help establish the foundation for the research work relating to the Annotated Bibliography, Midterm Letter, and Technical Proposal. The brief worksheet responses will enable discussion to proceed in a focused manner. The assignment is uncomplicated, making it easy to earn an A (5 points). Incomplete work will result in point deductions that would lower the grade to B (4 points) or C (3 points). Late or unsubmitted work will result in additional point deductions.

User Manual (30 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

The team must meet the specifications stated for the manual. These will vary for the particular manual being done. See the RneedsU Foundation web page for the actual assignment for this semester.
Each team must complete its manual using only two sheets of paper. These may be kept in their 8.5x11 inch form or be folded in any way the team decides.
The team must conduct some primary research.
The team must keep a log to show time spent on the assignment and delegation of tasks.
The team must make an oral presentation to show the finished user manual and demonstrate its usefulness. Each team member must speak for about three minutes.
When the presentation is finished, the team must submit the evidence of primary research, the time/task log, and the user manual.
All written work must be entirely free of errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.
All graphic work must have a clean,neat appearance.
The manual must clearly be directed to the intended audience.

To earn an A (27-30 points), teams must entirely meet the established criteria. Class time will be provided for collaboration, though teams will also need to meet out of class as well. To get more details about this assignment, go to the User Manual web page.

Work at the B+ or B (22-26 points) level might have primary research that is too limited or a manual that does not address the specified audience well enough. There may be minor problems with the graphics. The oral presentation may not conform to the time limit.

Work at the C+ or C (18-21 points) level would be a result of having work that is incomplete (e.g., evidence of primary research; missing elements in the log), or writing that has excessive sentence level errors. The manual would not be clearly directed to the intended audience. Graphic work would lack a clean, neat appearance. These grades would be given to work that does not appear to have been carefully planned by the team.

Midterm Letter (75 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

The letter establishes contact with the RneedsU Foundation which published a Request for Technical Proposals.
The letter details a specific problem related to the proposal by providing quantifiable primary research data which is connected to engineering standards, formulae, or principles that establish norms for the topic.
The letter uses pertinent scholarly and professional secondary research to persuade the foundation that there is a consensus approach for addressing the problem.
The letter briefly describes the plan which will later be detailed in the final Technical Proposal.
A reference list of at least 8 sources is appended.
Follow APA style for in text references and for the reference page.
The writing must be free of errors involving spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.
The assignment will 5 to 7 pages long.
A full draft of the letter must be brought to class for a peer revision exercise.
Submit the final draft in duplicate.
Submit the assignment on time.

To earn an A (69-75 points), the paper must be a structured and focused argument that points to a solution and provides evidence to support the approach to the problem. The paper is not a report. It must be a persuasive argument that highlights the problem, paradigm, and plan of the proposal. The letter is showing the RneedsU foundation that you are interested in applying for funding for a project that was announced by the foundation.

A paper at the B+ or B (57-68 points) level still shows the student's understanding of the problem, paradigm, plan concepts. The "B" range is 57 to 62 points. The "B+" range is 63 to 68 points. The paper may read more like a report than a persuasive argument, showing weakness in focus on the audience. Another weak area might be in the research if scholarly and professional sources were not sufficiently used. Excessive sentence level errors are a third area of weakness commonly found in a paper graded at this level. The extent of the weaknesses determine which grade is appropriate.

Work at the C+ or C (45-56 points) level does reflect the writer's awareness of the three necessary components, but either the problem is not well established or the research does not reveal a paradigm which might logically serve to develop the suggested plan. A paper in this range ("C" in the 45-50 point range; "C+" in the 51-56 point range) might be trying to make an argument based more on emotion than logic, an obvious indication of weak research. The argument might also be difficult to read due to weakness in organization of the sections or to excessive sentence level errors. The extent of the weaknesses determine which grade is appropriate.

Time will be devoted to the drafting and revision of this assignment during several classes. To read a sample paper, go to the Midterm Paper web page.

Oral Presentation (40 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

This formal presentation of the Technical Proposal being written must last 10 to 15 minutes.
Audience awareness is needed. Speaker's are imagining an audience of representatives from the RneedsU Foundation.
Eye Contact will be evaluated to ensure that the speaker is projecting authority and confidence.
Delivery of the speech will be judged for the speaker's volume, enunciation, speed, posture, and appearance.
Evidence for research will be evaluated in the way the speaker cites sources, supports claims,provides examples, and references facts.
Organization of the speech needs to move from problem to paradigm to plan.
The budget for the project needs to realistically project the costs.
Visual aids must be used. The number varies, depending on the topic, but about a dozen are typically needed. They will be evaluated for content and appearance.
Preparation for the speech will be assessed by observing smoothness of transitions and time management.
Responses to follow up questions need to demonstrate knowledge, confidence, and courtesy.

To earn an A (40 points), the speaker must score 92 to 100 percent on the evaluation form. Doing so shows that the speaker has exceptional mastery of the content matter and the ability to deliver the speech in a confident, composed, persuasive manner.

To earn a B+(36 points), the speaker must score 84 to 91 percent on the evaluation form. This usually results from some weaknesses in areas relating to delivery of the speech rather than the content.

To earn a B (32 points), the speaker must score 76 to 83 percent on the evaluation form. Nervousness is expected. A presentation that shows a real problem which can be addressed by using a thoroughly researched paradigm will be scored well even if the speaker has some difficulty with the delivery of the information.

To earn a C+ (28 points),the speaker must score 68 to 75 percent on the evaluation form. A score in this range will result when there are weaknesses in both the content and delivery aspects of the talk.

To earn a C (24 points), the speaker must score 60 to 67 percent on the evaluation form. This score would show serious weaknesses in the content and delivery elements, indicative of a talk that was not sufficiently prepared.

Class time will be used to discuss each required element. A videotape of former student oral presentations will be shown. Along with class discussions, detailed instructions for each requirement can be found on the Oral Presentations web page.

Evaluation Teamwork (10 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

Sign up for teamwork for two Oral Presentation dates.
Arrive at class on time on the scheduled dates.
Participate in peer evaluation, questioning, and timekeeping tasks.

The teamwork helps the speakers stay focused on their specific audience. Team members have important work to do on the two selected dates (5 points for each date). Earning an A (5 points) should be easy. Deductions will be made if the required elements are not followed:
B (4 points),C (3 points).

Technical Proposal (250 Points)

This assignment has the following required elements:

Front Matter {20 Points}
1. Letter of Transmittal (1 page): This letter to the RneedsU Foundation tells the reader which call for proposal you are addressing. The letter briefly states the problem, notes your familiarity with relevant research relating to the problem, and suggests that you have a logical remedy.
2. Title Page (1 page): On this page you need the title for your proposal, the name and address of the funding agent, your name, and the date. Effort should be taken to make this an attractive page with a professional look.
3. Abstract (1 page): This brief writing of about 200 words will contain the key terms that will enable your proposal to be indexed. In a third person, detached tone, the abstract states the problem, refers to the research paradigm relating to the problem, and proposes a remedy.
4. Table of Contents (1 page): The title for each section and subsection of the paper and the starting page for each need to be given.
5. Table of Figures (1 page): The title for each visual aid and the page where each appears need to be given.
6. Executive Summary (1 to 2 pages): This brief summation of the key elements of the proposal is directed to a specific audience -- a busy executive who does not have time to read the entire proposal but wants to know where to direct the proposal for funding consideration.

Problem Statement {20 Points} (2 pages): From the RneedsU Foundation page where the call for proposals was posted, one general topic will have been selected. A specific concern relating to that general topic is the problem being addressed in the technical proposal. Introduction of this problem needs to include quantifiable primary research data which is connected to engineering standards, formulae, or principles that establish norms for the topic. A visual graphic aid is needed to organize the quantification discussion.
Review of Pertinent Literature {60 points} (3 to 5 pages): The RneedsU Foundation specified that proposals have evidence of a review of scholarly and professional literature to show the applicant's understanding that the problem is situated within an existing paradigm from which a plan can evolve. It is in this section of the proposal that the literature is reviewed in a detailed manner.
Technical Plan {60 Points} (4 to 6 pages): In this section text and at least two visual aids explain how the identified problem can be addressed. This plan, which logically follows from the literature reviewed, shows how engineering principles can be applied. This section needs to be highly persuasive since it requests significant funding from RneedsU.
Budget {25 Points} (1 page): A breakdown of the funding needed should be well organized and easy to follow. The justification for the funding will have been established in the plan section.
Discussion {15 Points} (1 to 2 pages): In this concluding section, reiterate the key argument for the request for funding and discuss the way the success of the plan will be evaluated.
References {25 Points} (1 to 2 pages): An alphabetized list of at least eight (8) scholarly and professional sources written in APA style needs to be done.
APA style work {15 Points}: In-text citations and References page need to conform to APA guidelines.
Sentence level writing {10 points}: In all sections, the proposal must be virtually free of distracting errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, word usage, and sentence/paragraph organization
Appendix ( if necessary): Though usually not needed, an appendix can be placed after the references page. One occasion would be when a questionnaire had been used for primary research. Discussion of the findings would appear in the paper; a copy of the actual questionnaire would be placed in an appendix.
Visual aids: At least four (4) visual aids need to be incorporated into the paper. One or two will appear in the Problem Statement section. At least two will appear in the Plan section.
The finalized Technical Proposal must be submitted on time. Two copies are required: one print copy and the other as a Word document on diskette.

To earn an A (230-250 points) on this assignment, the paper needs to have a strong understanding of audience and purpose, and the argument has to be highly persuasive. The paper should set an especially challenging or original task. The problem must be quantified so as to persuade the audience of the need for funding. Discussion of research based predominantly on scholarly or professional engineering sources must be well organized and correctly cited in APA style. The literature review must clearly and carefully delineate a paradigm. The plan must logically follow from the paradigm, be clearly organized, and provide details to justify a realistic budget. Graphics need to be used in conjunction with text to effectively convey information. The writing needs to be virtually free of sentence level errors. Stylistically, the paper needs to equate to the appearance of a publication from an engineering company. Of course, the paper must be submitted on time.

A paper in the B+ or B (190-229) range will have all of the required elements but have weaknesses in content, persuasiveness, and/or style that impact on the likelihood that funding would be provided. The "B" range falls between 190 and 209 points. The "B+" range falls between 210 and 229 points. Papers might have a well stated problem while the paradigm is not strong, or a paradigm might be well-developed but the plan is not carefully developed. It might be that the research is not situated enough in scholarly and professional engineering sources. Sometimes a paper in this range is not carefully proofread, resulting in sentence level errors that keep the paper from having a polished, professional appearance. A paper that does not follow APA style in a fairly consistent manner would also fall in this range since the overall tone might negatively impact on the possibility of receiving funding. The Technical Proposal is written in response to a call for proposals by the RneedsU Foundation. Assuming there will be numerous applicants for limited funds, the most successful papers need be very convincing. Paper in the B+ or B range would probably not be funded.

A paper in the C+ or C (150-189) range typically has some of the following characteristics: The level of research, organization, and logic do demonstrate a basic competency. A "C" paper will fall in the 150 to 169 point range. A "C+" will have between 170 and 189 points. The paper puts information in action and is not merely a report or summary. The argument shows signs of promise even if it is not fully developed or unified. The research is sufficient to pass but does not seem to fulfill all of the needs of the student's argument. The writer ignores obvious difficulties. The paper is not focused on the audience's concerns. The solution does not logically follow from the research. The paradigm is not clearly delineated. Visual aids are especially weak. The sentence level errors distract the reader's attention to the point where the argument cannot be easily followed.

Significant class time is devoted to the Technical Proposal. Sample papers are reviewed and critiqued to help students learn how to organize the paper. Peer review classes enable students to share drafts and receive comments that aid in revision. At mid-semester, a teacher conference relating to the midterm paper enables students to learn where weaknesses exist in the research work. There is then ample time to continue researching the topic in order to revise the literature review for the Technical Proposal. The Oral Presentation is essentially a verbal draft of the Technical Proposal; weaknesses pointed out at the time of the Oral Presentation provide direction for revising the Technical Proposal. Because of the extensive time devoted to this assignment, students who complete drafts and revisions in a timely manner can expect to complete very successful final papers.

To earn a passing grade for the course, a student must earn a passing grade on the Technical Proposal.

Further information about this assignment can be found on the Technical Proposal web page. The specific call for proposals can be found on the RneedsU Foundation web page.

Site Feedback: William Magrino
wmagrino@rci.rutgers.edu