English 305 – Assignment 1: Technical Writing Sample
If you have a Study.com College Saver membership and are seeking college credit for this course, you must
submit an essay and pass the proctored �nal exam. You must submit your essay before registering for the
�nal. Below you will �nd prompts and instructions for submitting your assignment.
About the Assignment
Technical writing is a skill everyone needs at some point. In this course, you learned about the
technical writing process, technical editing and the various types of technical correspondence.
For this assignment you will answer one of the prompts below by including the technical
document(s) speci�ed in 800-1200 words. Use concepts you learned from the course as well as
three credible sources to support your arguments. Also include three visuals from open-access
sources.
Prompts
1. Consider a product that you frequently use or know a lot about. Identify an audience who is
unfamiliar with your product and then write both a product description and a user manual
addressing the product features you want to highlight and how to use them. All ideas should
be geared to the audience and its speci�c needs and backed by research. Select your product
with careful consideration. Electronic or mechanical products work best. Things like potato
chips and T-shirts are products, but they don’t call for user manuals and wouldn’t be ideal for
this assignment. Then conclude the assignment with an explanation section for your choices
and research.
2. Take a look at your phone and think about 2-3 features that you want to see improved.
Imagine you are an employee for the company who makes your phone. Prepare an unsolicited
proposal you’ll be emailing to the company’s CTO covering the new features, their key
audience, and how they will improve the product and why. All ideas should be geared to the
audience and its speci�c needs and backed by research.
Related Lessons
The following lessons from the course can help you:
Analyzing Your Audience and Adapting Your Message: Purpose, Process & Strategy
Finding & Evaluating Sources for Research
User Manual Example for Advanced Technical Writing
Unsolicited Proposal Example for Advanced Technical Writing
Formatting & Sources
As evidence for your analyses, you should provide quotations from the course and at least 3
outside sources. Cite all quotations using MLA format. Please include any Study.com lessons
you used as sources (including the lesson title and instructor’s name).
If you’re unsure about how to use MLA format to cite your sources, please see the following
lesson:
What is MLA Format?
Grading Rubric
Your assignment will be graded based on the following rubrics:
Category
Unacceptable (0-
1)
Needs
Improvement (2-
3)
Good (4) Excellent (5)
Total
Possible
Points
Purpose
Main points are
nonexistent or
irrelevant to
overall purpose
Main points are
di�cult to identify
or under-
developed
Main points are
clearly related to
overall purpose
Main points are
developed and
well-supported,
connecting clearly
to overall purpose
5
Structure &
Organization
Disorganized and
illogical structure
hinders
understanding
Somewhat
disorganized, but
structure does not
detract from
understanding of
main points
Structure is logical;
main points are
supported by
organization
Organization is
logical; structure
enhances clarity
and delivery of
main ideas
5
Clarity &
Mechanics
Vague or unclear
writing; reader is
left with several
unanswered
questions;
incorrect spelling,
punctuation,
capitalization, and
use of standard
English grammar
hinders
understanding
Writing is
ambiguous in a
few areas; unclear
or missing visual
aids; several
instances of
incorrect spelling,
punctuation,
capitalization, and
usage of standard
English grammar
Phrasing and word
choice are very
clear; visuals
support
understanding;
few instances of
incorrect spelling,
punctuation,
capitalization, and
usage of standard
English grammar
Syntax is very clear
and concise;
visuals enhance
understanding; no
or very few
instances of
incorrect spelling,
punctuation,
capitalization, and
usage of standard
English grammar
5
Search Browse
Like this lesson Share
Explore our library of over 88,000 lessons
Research
No indication of
research
performed or
sources included
Some research
performed but
less than three
sources included
and not cited
correctly in MLA
formatting
Three sources are
included but not
cited correctly in
MLA formatting
Ideas all supported
by research; three
sources included
and formatted
correctly in MLA
5
Total Points 20
Before You Submit
When you are done writing, we suggest taking some time to check for any errors or to add
some �nal touches. We also suggest that you use online plagiarism checkers such as PlagScan
or DupliChecker to make sure that your wording is not too similar to any existing materials.
Plagiarized submissions will NOT be graded.
How to Submit Your Assignment
When you are ready to submit your assignment, please �ll out the submission form and
attach your work as a Microsoft Word or Text document. After turning in your assignment,
you may go ahead and take the proctored �nal exam. You do not need to wait for your written
response to be graded. You should receive your assignment grade within one week.
If you are not satis�ed with the score you receive, you may revise and resubmit it for grading
using the same submission form above. Please see the course syllabus for a more detailed
breakdown of the grading policy.
Browse by subjectSearch Courses & Lessons
