ENGL 210E: Genres of Technical Communication

About ENGL 210E: Genres of Technical Communication

What you'll learn

ENGL 210E explores the ways technical writing moves us through daily life. The course explores what goes into writing manuals, instructions, product descriptions, and contracts. Through coursework, you will develop literature-research skills as well as what is needed to create a persuasive technical argument. In addition, students will develop a better understanding of what makes good writing and apply that in their own projects like creating a syllabus for an imaginary rom-com class. 

Any student at the University of Waterloo can take this course: there are no pre-requisites. 

Readings

ENGL 210E includes weekly readings designed to deepen your understanding of technical communication. All required readings are available online through the course reserves, making them easy to access. As a part of the course, you will select one book from a provided list and write a report on it. 

This year’s options include SAS Survival Guide by John “Lofty” Wiseman, How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis, most Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, and The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. This selection allows you to choose a book that genuinely interests you, offering a wide range of options for students while still aligning with the course objectives. 

Assignments

The assignments in ENGL 210E are divided into two categories: Practice and Polished. Practice assignments help you engage with course material and develop your understanding of technical writing concepts. These include a writing journal with ten prompts that encourage personal reflection, a presentation analyzing a piece of writing you consider effective, and a reflection on submitting your own writing to an online publication venue.  

The Polished assignments include a book review, an individual project, and a group assignment. Within the book review, you will select one book from the given list to critique and comment on. The individual project is completed in three stages — a proposal, annotated bibliography, and final piece — and asks you to present a topic for which you are an “expert” while catering to a specific audience. 

The group assignment focuses on a case study of the Waterloo Toy Community, where you will work with classmates to complete a team-building exercise and write a technical report. Together, these assignments introduce a variety of technical writing genres while helping you build practical communication skills through hands-on experience.  

A typical ENGL 210E class

ENGL 210E is typically booked for two 80-minute classes per week. The first class of the week will focus on a lecture where the professor presents key learning concepts. The second class is more discussion based, allowing students to present their piece of “Good Writing” while fostering open discussion. These classes allow students to openly ask questions and strengthen their understanding of course content.  

Why take this course?

Writing is all around us, and it is important for students to continue developing their written communication skills. Whether you are studying Engineering, Mathematics, Science, or the Arts, strong writing abilities are valuable in every field. The broad nature of this course also makes it highly customizable, allowing you to connect assignments to topics that interest you. This flexibility can deepen your engagement with the material and enhance your overall enjoyment of the course. 

About Dr. Eve Morton

Dr. Eve Morton teaches at both the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College, specializing in English language, communication, writing studies, and sexuality and gender studies. As an accomplished novelist, she brings her passion for writing into the classroom and fosters an engaging learning environment. Dr. Morton believes that English is about what you do with words rather than how accurately you can spell them, emphasizing communication, creativity, and critical thinking. She encourages students to personalize their assignments, helping them connect technical writing concepts with their interests and areas of expertise.  

Why do you like teaching this course?

“When I was given the class, and they told me I was qualified, I did not believe them at first. I was so used to viewing my writing through a creative or academic lens, and then I realized that I had such a strong portfolio in both of those streams. To make that portfolio, I had to do a whole bunch of technical writing to get there. I ended up being very excited once I understood that I was already qualified, because technical writing was an invisible thing I was doing already. And so, I like teaching it, because it's very useful, and I didn't realize how useful it was.” 

How do you engage students during class?

“I love students in this class because I usually have a lot of different types of students. I have computer scientists and math students, but I also have English and law majors. So, to get them to engage in the class, I do a lot of self-selection. You can pick topics and we're all going to do the same type of writing, but somebody's writing about Pokémon, somebody else is writing about true crime, and someone else is writing about the history of the banana plant. And I am just learning so much while looking at the same type of writing.”

What do you hope students will get out of this course?

“I really hope that students can walk away with something useful, because at the end of the day, there's going to be so many different types of students. Some people are here because they just need to get the basics for communication, and then they're going to go. Hopefully, they will get something useful. Other people are English majors, or they're really devoted to this niche interest. And I also, once again, hope it's useful outside the classroom. So, at the end of the day, hopefully you learned something, even if it's just what passive voice is.” 

Do you have a favourite topic in this course?

“My favourite thing to do in this course is the presentations. Every second day that we’re in class, we do presentations, and for technical writing, I let people pick their own topic, but it has to be something they think is good writing. Through the process of explaining what it is — that's the technical part of it — the writing doesn’t have to be technical. The only requirement I give them is that it must be recent, so within the past two or three years and accessible online. I have been introduced to so many rich and wonderful authors, topics, and mediums that it’s honestly such a delight every single Thursday that we all just talk about writing.” 

Special thanks to Dr. Morton for providing an interview for this article.