Student Evaluation of English 222: Technical Writing
Too often students are not allowed to evaluate a class in a significant way. Standardized evaluation forms tend to give superficial information which tells little beyond a few numbers. To help me actually improve this course, please take time to give me some detailed thoughts about the specific issues we covered in the course. (Making specific suggestions about what to change also is much more helpful than just complaining.) I routinely use this type of detailed course evaluation and it has led to many of the activities we used this semester. I hope you will find this evaluation technique just as meaningful as other students have in the past.
Since I’m always behind anyway, you can feel quite confident that I won’t be getting around to reading these evaluations until long after grades are turned in (though I will read them eventually).
To turn in your evaluation, please send an email message to Dr. Pagnucci with the information below. If you don’t feel comfortable filling out an evaluation at this time, send an email using the subject below but just indicate in the body of your message that you are declining to do an evaluation at this time.
To: pagnucci@iup.edu
From: your email address
Cc: your email address
Subject: 222 Student Evaluation of Technical Writing
Body of the Message:
(Copy the questions below into your email message. Type your answers after each question. Then send your completed evaluation to Dr. Pagnucci.)
Your Full Name
- Document Design is a key feature of technical writing. Discuss what you learned about this issue during the semester. Is it valuable to learn about this topic? Why or why not?
- Technology has grown increasingly central to the work of technical writing. What did you learn about technology in this course? How was that learning valuable? Did you find the Course Web Site helpful? How so?
- This semester, we practiced and discussed the following technical writing document formats:
- definitions
- proposals
- instructions
- web pages
- resumes
- job application letters
- project delivery letters
- TechJounal entries
Please discuss what you learned from working on these different types of documents.
- What have you learned from working on the Technical Writing Project this semester? Would you make any changes to this project? If so, what?
- Technical writers usually work in a professional and relaxed writing environment. I have tried to simulate that environment in the class by allowing plenty of hands on work and experimentation. Discuss your views of this teaching style.
- We did a few fun activities this semester, such as fill-in-the-blank definitions, following directions to cut out a star, and the Campus Directions Project. What did you think of these more light-hearted learning tasks? What do you think were the benefits to you from these types of “fun” learning tasks?
- Because the major class project takes a lot of time, I gave you a few class sessions to use independently. Were you able to use these individual work days efficiently or do you feel we need more in class instruction time? Why?
- Was the job search information (resume and cover letter writing) useful to you? Why or why not? Would you like anything to be added to this unit, such as mock job interviewing?
- Did you find the project review meeting useful? Why? In what ways did this meeting help you improve your final project?
- What did you think of Dr. Pagnucci as a teacher?
- Please note any other comments or suggestions you have.
Thanks for filling out this evaluation. I’ve enjoyed working with you this semester.