Technical and Scientific Writing (HU333)

This is an undergraduate course that Nancy Hoft teaches at
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI USA.
Current Offering: WINTER QUARTER 1997-98

Assignment Two: Teach Nancy Statistics

Date Assigned: 01 December 1997, Date Due: 08 December 1997

Objectives

To learn how to analyze a lay audience
To learn how to write for a lay audience
To learn how to assess the effectiveness of your information product

The Problem

Your instructor, Nancy, desperately needs to understand one or two principles of statistics. Nancy hates math, suffers from math phobia, but needs to understand some fundamental statistics principles in order to do her job. She needs to learn these principles by Tuesday, 16 December, and she needs to understand them very well. Can you help her?

Your Job

You will work with 3-4 of your classmates (I'll assign the groups). As a group, you must:

Determine which statistics principles Nancy should know.
Interview Nancy and perform an audience analysis to assess her information needs and learning style.
Develop an information product that effectively presents the statistics principles to Nancy given the data you gathered about her during your audience analysis. You have absolutely NO LIMITS on the kind of information product you develop. Some ideas (but certainly not all!) could include one or more of the following: poster, demonstration, written instructions, diagram, and so on.
Create an assessment instrument (tool, test, set of problems) that Nancy can use to evaluate whether she understands the statistics principles you present in your information product.

Deliverables

An audience analysis
An information product that presents one or two principles of statistics
An assessment instrument