Course Descriptions

ENG 5300: Language Problems in a Multicultural Environment

An introduction to the study of multicultural language and linguistics with descriptive, psychological, social, and semantic emphases.

ENG 5307: Visual Rhetoric 

This course is about using visual design as a practical communication tool in a wide range of forms such as paragraphs, tables, pictures, charts, maps, and icons. The course will cover a variety of medium such as paper documents, hypertext, and websites. Students will explore how the rhetorical contexts of a communication act determine what and which visuals are most effective. In addition, students will be introduced to sophisticated software tools used by technical communicators. 

ENG 5309:  International Technical Communication

ENG 5310:  Studies in English Language and Linguistics

A study of the English language, with special attention to phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, dialectology, sociolinguistics, normal language acquisition, and/or writing and spelling systems. Repeatable with different emphases for up to nine hours of English credit. Examples of possible emphases include Digital Literacies and Writing across Cultures. 

ENG 5311:  Introduction to Technical Communication

This course introduces students to theoretical approaches and rhetorical principles of communicating and writing that can be applied to any writing activity in the technical and scientific professions. The course includes an exploration of the role technology plays in enhancing and influencing writing and communicating and an examination of issues related to the practical writing expectations of professional communicators.

ENG 5312:  Editing the Professional Publication

When taught by a MATC faculty member, this course counts as the internship for the MATC internship track. The course can also count as an elective when taken more than once or when taken by thesis track students. During the course, students will work with an outside organization to create documents for that organization. The class focuses on the editing, design, layout, and proofreading of a professional publication. 

ENG 5313: Studies in Principles of Technical Communication

A group of courses that provide students with theoretical and practical information that is generally focused on the use of technology in technical communication. ENG 5313 is repeatable with different emphases for up to 18 hours of credit. Examples of possible emphases include Ethics, Coding for Technical Communicators, Computers and Writing, and Research Methods.

ENG 5314:  Specializations in Technical Communication

A group of courses that provide students with theoretical and practical information useful in any position in technical communication. ENG 5314 is repeatable with different emphases for up to 18 hours of credit. Examples of possible emphases include Proposal Writing, Grant Writing, Teaching Technical Communication, Content Strategy, Content Marketing, and Technical Video.

ENG 5329: Usability Testing and Research

This course explains how to plan, conduct, and analyze usability tests to understand the way users interact with different artifacts in order to improve products. It situates user testing within the field of audience analysis, and it covers the principles and methods of this form of applied research. The course covers concepts of usability research in the context of relevant literature, as well as best and new practices in the field. The course also offers hands-on learning experiences in Texas State University's Usability Research Laboratory. The course requires planning, designing, and conducting usability tests, then analyzing data and reporting the findings.

ENG 5335: Technical Editing

This course prepares students to become information editors. Students will learn how reading research helps determine effective information editing, and they will develop expertise not only in conventional editing skills such as proper grammar, punctuation, and style but also in appropriate ways to present documents for readers. In addition, students will be introduced to FrameMaker, a software tool for creating online and paper documents.

ENG 5340: Discourse Analysis

This course mainly approaches discourse analysis from linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives. The purpose is to understand how forms of language are used in communication. The principal concern is to examine how any language produced by man, whether spoken or written, is used to communicate for a purpose in a context. In addition, we will understand how text reveals identities, feelings, and different social relationships. We will learn the specific ways to do social analysis, discourse analysis, text analysis, and conversational analysis.