Com 221 - Fall 2010 - Resources

Analytical Report

• Letter of transmittal - This University of Idaho source explains what to include in the letter of transmittal and provides an example

• Report introduction format (PDF) - Review this document for information on what to include in the introduction of your report

• Focus worksheet - Define your topic, research question, type of report, audience scenario, and abstract (just a draft to get started)

• Conclusion and Recommendations - This University of Idaho source explains what to include in these sections and provides an example

• Conclusions and Recommendations worksheet - Draft your conclusion and recommendations

• Extended Definitions - Definition and examples

• Defining Your Topic - Formal, Informal, and Extended Definitions

• Technical Description - with examples

• Report Editing Checklist (PDF)

• Sample Documents (PDFs)

  • Analytical Report - Space Tourism

  • Analytical Report - VLJ Training

  • Title Page

  • Table of Contents

  • Abstracts

  • Audience Scenarios

• Periodicals: Popular versus Scholarly

• How to Identify Academic Sources

ERAU

• Blackboard course site

• 2009-2010 Course Catalog (PDF)

• Avion - The online version of the Daytona Beach campus newspaper

• The Leader - The Leader magazine is published in the spring and fall by the Office of Communications and Marketing

• Eagles FM Radio - Listen live

• Career Services

• Communication Program degree

• Aerospace Studies degree

• Brand Identity Graphic Standards Guidelines

Grammar

• Numbers and Abbreviations in Technical Style (DOC)

• Writing Numbers Exercise (PDF)

• Avoiding Run-Ons and Comma-Splices (DOC)

• Comma Usage (DOC)

• Parallel Structure

• The Paramedic Method (PDF) - This handout helps understand how to revise your writing for clarity.

• Passive/Active Voice - Mistakes were made ...

• Why punctuation matters

Instructional Manuals

• Instructions on writing instructions with examples

• WikiHow

• Rhetorical Functions in Academic Writing: Writing instructions

• Six important tips for writing instructions

• Google Earth User Guide

• User manuals and guides for products such as mobile phones, cameras, motherboards, monitors, software, TVs, etc.

• More user manuals ...

• Five Principles of Writing Instructions

• Usability Testing

• Re-Writing Instructions Exercise

• Usability Testing handout

Language & Style

• Signal Phrases

• Incorporating Source Material (PDF)

• APA Research Style Crib Sheet

• MLA Research and Style Guide (2009) - By OWL at Purdue

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary

• The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Readability Formula

• Reverse Dictionary and more

• "The Principles of Newspeak" from Orwell's 1984. A full text link and introductory video.

Public Speaking

• How to Make Your Speaking Easier and More Effective - Advice on public speaking, focused on teaching, but good advice for oral presentations in general

• Video of two short oral presentations, one better than the other

Resume & Cover Letter Resources

• Purdue OWL's "Resume Workshop"

• Purdue OWL's "What is a Cover Letter?"

• Cover Letter Checklist (PDF)

• Engineering Resumes and Cover Letters - Please note that some of the examples are bad, bad, bad. However, some are good, and you may get ideas for content from this site.

• Model Cover Letter (PDF)

• Pilot Resumes

• Resume Advice Video

• Samples Cover Letters for various fields - ERAU Career Services

• Sample Resumes and CVs for various fields - ERAU Career Services

• The Onion article - "Résumé Font Offends Employer" (satire!)

• Project 1 Samples - Memo, Cover Letter, and Resume (PDFs). Ignore the memos ... The assignment has changed. These are good examples of actual student projects (though they are not perfect).

  • Example 1 - Flight instructor at ERAU

  • Example 2 - Photojournalist

  • Example 3 - Hybrid Power Electrical Systems Integration Engineer at Chrysler

  • Example 4 - First Officer

  • Example 5 - Engineering internship

  • Example 6 - Airway Transportation Systems Specialist with the FAA

  • Example 7 - Engineering Stress/Mechanical Engineering internship with Rolls-Royce

• Why are communication skills important?

Writing Process

• OWL at Purdue - An excellent resource for help with the writing process. From the OWL site: "The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction."

• Writing At Yale - Using Sources, ESL Writers, Senior Essays, Creative Writing, Model Papers, Kinds of Essays

• Model document gallery - This Bedford Martin site contains model documents in Business and Technical Writing, the Humanities, and Natural and Applied Sciences

• Rhetorical functions in academic writing

• Tips for Evaluating Web sources

• Memos - From OWL at Purdue. Discusses what a memo is, describes parts of a memo, and provides explanations and sample document

• Writing Guidelines for Science and Engineering Students - a site with instruction and model documents from Penn State

• Video about identifying scholarly sources

Visual Design

• Presentation Zen - A blog about professional presentation design issues by Garr Reynolds

  • Presentation Tips - Organization & Preparation, Delivery, Slides

  • Handout - "How to Design & Deliver Presentations" - Review this handout!

  • Wa: The key to clear harmonious, design (from Presentation Zen) - Seven useful design principles

• Six Minutes - Sample slides from SixMinutes, a public speaking and presentation guide

• Edward Tufte design - An expert on presenting data and information

• Blog "Understanding Rhetoric" - Examples of icons, logos, symbols, photographs, and other images

• Slideshare.net - Thousands of digital presentations

  • "Thinking Visually" - sample presentation

  • Slideshare.net Contest - Visual presentation contests and prize-winning presentations

    • "Healthcare Napkins All" - 1st Place Winner of 2009 World's Best Presentation Contest

    • "Sheltering Wings" - 2nd Place Winner of 2009 World's Best Presentation Contest

    • "Feels Bad on the Back" - 3rd Place Winner of 2009 World's Best Presentation Contest

• Lessons from TED: 5 Simple Tweaks - Professional presenter offers advice on slide design based on presentations at the TED Conference

• TED Presentations - Ideas Worth Spreading - From the site: "TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design."

  • Tim Berners-Lee: The year open data went worldwide - TED Presentation (5:34)

  • David Gallo shows underwater astonishments - TED Presentation (5:25)

• Death By PowerPoint - Popular presentation on giving presentations ...

• Breaking News - The Onion - "News" clip mocking news networks vacuous stories and visuals - Warning: Explicit content

• Six-Word Memoirs - Example of visual presentation

Other Stuff

• The Onion

• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

• Bartleby.com - Literature online

• "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two" by George Miller

• Stephen's Guide to Logical Fallacies

• Cooks Illustrated - Learn how to chop tomatoes and deal with leeks

• Six-Word Memoirs