Fink ENG 259

Sample outlines (anonymously presented): Context:  The subject matter of the memo will contain information about bridge inspections and provide recommendations on how to perform better inspections in order to avoid structure failures and improve the detection of potential structural issues in a timely manner.  Task Segment : This section will provide details on how a recent statistical report showed a rise in component failures in various structures and the actions that need to be taken to improve these numbers, e.g. a re-evaluation of the company inspection manual and considering the recommended modifications.  Discussion Segments : This section will begin with a background on the subject matter and why it is crucial that the company re-considers current inspection protocols due to an increased number of structural issues reported recently. It will provide several recommendations (in bullet points) on how to make improvements to these protocols to increase the lo...

CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION The Technical Writing Textbook has a detailed analysis of cross cultural communication.  These are some basic points: Individualistic culture  I, not we-- individuals, not organization Not emphasizing differences in hierarchy with behavior  low context approach (text with comprehensive information) Uncomfortable with uncertainty Group oriented culture  we, not I-- organization, not individuals Emphasizing differences in hierarchy with behavior  high context approach  Comfortable with uncertainty There are also cultures that are in between the two poles. Question for discussion: Let's take a few cultures that several of you are already familiar with:  What do you conclude about the culture in terms of each of the 4 criteria? From the answers to the previous question, do you determine that the culture is individualistic, group oriented, or in between? ...

RUN-ON, May 18, 2020, 3:45-4:15 The most prominent errors that students tend to make are run-ons, and ENG 259 are no exception, as far as I can tell. Avoiding run-ons involves an understanding of the "architecture" of sentence-structure so that you can "engineer" a sentence that will not fall down. The Purdue OWL website has a fine explanation section and an exercise section that you can access if you google "Purdue OWL" "run-on" and "Purdue OWL" "run-on" exercises.  The YouTube powerpoint on "Sentence Structure" given by the Writing Center below is probably also excellent. We will move to the comments section next, but I just want to indicate a few key points about run-ons that expand on the information in the Technical Writing Textbook: A short sentence can be a run-on; a very long one can be correct. You don’t learn how to overcome or avoid run-ons through how a sentence “feels” or "looks...