Group Project Update

The group I am a part of has been given the task of explaining memos. We have made good progress on the project so far and should complete it the next time we meet. Each member of the group has been assigned a part of the project to work on, such as explaining what a memo is, what memos are used for, and finding examples of good and bad memos. I have been tasked with finding an example of a bad memo. The example will hopefully illustrate to everyone in the class what not to do when creating a memo.

Got A Flat?

I am choosing to write instructions on how to change a flat tire for our second assignment. Changing a flat tire is something everyone should know how to do. I've had to change a flat a few times, and it's definitely helpful to know how to go about doing so. The instructions will contain a combination of text and pictures, which will hopefully help anyone complete the task easily.

Design Principles

The topic of our last reading was designing documents. For the most part, I thought the information provided in the chapter was helpful. It was nice to be introduced to all the different design principles. Knowing how design aspects such as proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast all work together to make or break a successful technical document will be valuable knowledge to have now and into the future. In my opinion, however, I think the depth of analysis into some of the specifics of each design principle was a bit silly. For example, you are told things such as where exactly a page number should go depending on whether the document is one-sided or two, the proper size difference between the typefaces of the heading and body of a document, and the correct amount of space that should be between two lines of text. To be honest, I think using a bit of common sense will suffice to judge whether a document looks respectable or ridiculous. But, to be fair, I guess I shouldn't blame the creators of a book on technical writing for being comprehensive.

Assignment 1

For our first assignment I will be analyzing a flyer advertising BSU's mathematics major. The flyer lists different careers that that are open to someone holding a B.S. in Mathematics. Two new math concentrations that will start to be offered in the Fall 2014 semester are also discussed. Opportunities such as undergraduate research, becoming a tutor or PAL, internships, and study tours are advertised as well. (The flyer is shown below)

Mathematics flyer, Created by Dr. Matthew Salomone