1. COM 340Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com

2. COM 340 Entire Course For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com What Is Technical Communication? What is the difference between technical communication and technical writing? After completing your reading assignments for this week, how would you define each of these terms? Create your own definition for technical communication and a separate definition for technical writing. The Value of Technical Communication. Why do we need technical communication? What purpose does it serve? Identify at least five types of documents or other written materials that could be considered technical writing that you engage in or see in your home and/or workplace.

3. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 1 DQ 2 The Value of Technical Communication For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com The Value of Technical Communication. Why do we need technical communication? What purpose does it serve? Identify at least five types of documents or other written materials that could be considered technical writing that you engage in or see in your home and/or workplace.

4. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 1 Evaluation of a Health-Related Website For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Evaluation of a Health-Related Website. In July 1999, The American Telemedicine Association (A.T.A.) issued the following advice to consumers who use the Internet for health-related information and services. A.T.A.’s criteria for a quality site include the following (“Advisories” 2–3): a. The site is sponsored by a reputable healthcare organization (e.g., American Cancer Society, American Medical Association, nationally recognized medical college, or the like). Information from a commercial interest such as a drug company should include assurances that the material is reasonable, balanced, and objective and does not merely promote the company’s own products.

5. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 2 DQ 1 Expert Opinion and Critical Thinking in Research For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Expert Opinion and Critical Thinking in Research. Review the information in Chapter Six of Technical Communication about expert opinion. Select a topic from science or technology on which experts might disagree (e.g., possible health hazards of cell phones, global warming/global climate change, or the value of vitamin supplements). Use the Internet to research this topic and find one point on which experts seem to agree, one point on which experts disagree, and one opinion that seems to be influenced by financial or political motives. In your post, state your topic, report the three points above, and discuss what your learned from this research. Be sure to properly cite all sources.

6. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 2 DQ 2 Research Assignments For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Research Assignments. Discuss what aspects of conducting research are the easiest and the most difficult for you and why you find these areas easy and difficult. Include at least one ethical issue from your reading of Chapter Five of Technical Communication (assigned in Week One) as one of aspects. Which types of sources do you find most difficult to evaluate and why? What specific idea did you learn from your reading and/or assignments this week that will help you in your future research?

7. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 3 DQ 1 Defining Terms For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Defining Terms. Explain the importance and purpose of technical definitions. Select a term you know the meaning of but others may not. Using the guidelines presented in Chapter Eighteen of the text, Technical Communication, create a sentence definition and then expand the definition using one or more of the expansion techniques presented in the chapter. Post the term, the sentence definition, and the expanded definition.

8. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 3 DQ 2 Proposals For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Proposals. What is the primary purpose of a proposal, and why must a proposal be persuasive? Provide an example of a written (or oral) proposal you have made. If it was successful, discuss what elements, discussed in our text, you used to make it successful. If it was unsuccessful and did not achieve its purpose, discuss what you could have done differently to make it successful.

9. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 3 Instruction Effective Use of an Online Library Database For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Instruction: Effective Use of an Online Library Database. Using the information you have learned from Chapter Twenty of the text Technical Communication, write an instruction for feeding an infant. If you have some personal experience in this area, you may use this experience as a source of information. However, you should also conduct research to obtain expert opinions and to be certain your information is accurate. Your assignment must cite at least two scholarly sources. Before you begin your instruction, determine how the instruction will be used (its purpose) and who your audience will be. Develop an audience and use profile to guide your writing. (Review Chapter Three of the text.) Then, based on

10. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 3 Planning Proposal Outline For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Planning Proposal Outline. Submit a formal outline for your research proposal that is due in Week Five. Your outline must include a descriptive title of the topic you will be researching. It must also include sufficient information to develop a two-page to three-page written proposal, must be prepared using appropriate alphanumeric notation, and must be developed to at least two levels of detail. Your paper should include title and references pages, and be formatted according to A.P.A. style guidelines. For information regarding A.P.A. formatting, visit the Ashford Writing Center by following the link under the Learning Resources tab in the left navigation of the online course.

11. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 4 DQ 1 Using Visual Images For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Using Visual Images. Search the Internet and find examples of each of the following: a. A graph b. A chart c. A graphic illustration Study the three examples you found and compare each one to the guidelines for using that type of visual, the guidelines for incorporating color, and the guidelines for fitting visuals with text and usability of visuals found in Chapter Twelve of the text, Technical Communication. In your post, briefly describe each visual and discuss how well the visual conforms to the guidelines. Be sure to cite all resources.

12. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 4 DQ 2 Effective Page Design For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Effective Page Design. Find an example of effective page design and an ineffective page design in a magazine or on the Web. In your post, describe each page design and why it is effective or ineffective. Be specific in your evaluation. With the ineffective page design, make specific recommendations for improvement. Be sure to cite all resources.

13. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 4 Process Mechanism Description For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Process/Mechanism Description. Select a simple process you routinely perform or a common household or office object as the topic for your process/mechanism description. Some examples of common processes are brushing your teeth, combing or brushing your hair, tying your shoes, eating breakfast, etc. Some common household or office objects for a mechanism description are flashlights, nail clippers, retractable ballpoint pens, scissors, staplers, or any other simple mechanisms. Before writing your process or mechanism description, complete an audience and use profile (p. 35 of the text, Technical Communication.)

14. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 5 DQ 1 Course Summary For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Course Summary. Over the past five weeks, we have covered many subjects related to technical writing. If someone asked you to prepare a written summary of this five-week course, what would you write? Summaries are often written to make long documents quickly understandable. However, as our text explains, we often have to write summaries to report on meetings, conferences, projects, or programs. Using the information you learned in Chapter Nine of the text, write a 200 – 250 word response that incorporates the elements of a usable summary and summarizes the essential messages of this COM340 course.

15. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com COM 340 Week 5 Final Paper For more classes visit www.snaptutorial.com Focus of the Final Paper This paper should be an objective evaluation of a situation or a problem you or someone you know has experienced here at the University or a suggestion for a change to a university process or a procedure that could improve a service the university provides to its students. You will be required to do some research to complete this paper. You should also incorporate the persuasive techniques you studied in this course. An outline of this proposal is due in Week Three, and the proposal itself is due in Week Five. Your proposal must be properly formatted in A.P.A. style and must be two to three pages in length (excluding title and reference pages).

16. COM 340 Competitive Success/snaptutorial.com