Adding Drafting Classes for Technical Writers

Prepared for
Office of Undergraduate Studies
University of Tennessee

Prepared By
Tony Rivera and Caleb Vibbert
Undergraduate Students

November 10, 2015

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Dear Office of Undergraduate Studies,

We are students in a technical writing class that have completed a recommendation report to
recommend that the University offer drafting classes for English: Technical Writing majors.
Currently, drafting classes are exclusive to Engineering and Architecture majors, despite the
importance that drafting serves in the technical writing field.

Today, the field of technical writing is very competitive, especially in cities where there is no
strong technical market. Drafting is a very important tool used in instruction manuals and How
Tos, and companies that employ technical writers that do not have drafting knowledge are
forced to outsource the work, or have an engineer or architect do it, costing the company money.
Giving our technical writing graduates knowledge of drafting is crucial towards making our
graduates more competitive in the job market.

We hope that you will agree with our argument, and see the need to offer drafting courses
tailored to the specific needs of English majors entering the technical communications field.

Sincerely,

Caleb Vibbert
Tony Rivera

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 Table of Contents

Introduction....4
Drafting

Drafting in Technical Communications..5

Benefits for Graduates
Benefits for Businesses
Benefits for UT

Costs and Considerations.......6

Proposed Curriculum..........6
AutoCAD
Sample Course Outline

Conclusion.....9

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Introduction

The University of Tennessee offers English students the opportunity to major in the important
field of technical communications. With over ten classes offered within the program specifically
for future technical writers, the university provides an excellent curriculum on the textual aspects
of technical communications. However, it does not offer those majoring in technical
communications the opportunity to learn drafting, computer aided or otherwise.

Drafting is a method of creating drawings or diagrams that show the intended audience of a
document how an object or component functions, and how it is meant to be used or assembled.
Drafting is an important part of the technical writing process, and the illustrations are used in
many manuals and instructions alike.

As important as drafting is with respect to technical writing, only students enlisted in engineering
and architecture majors may enroll in the drafting courses at UT. Companies often have to send
off their documents to an engineer who is familiar with drafting before the documents can be
sent to a technical writer, costing the company the price of two employee salaries. We believe
that if the university were to offer a drafting course specifically designed for the technical
communications major, students and subsequent graduates of the major would have a greater
understanding of their field, and therefore, a greater advantage when entering the workforce. We
have written a recommendation
report to solve these problems.

Drafting

Drafting, often called technical

drawing, is a form of illustration
designed to distill information
into an easy-to-read visual.
Because some information is
best communicated visually,
drafting is crucial to the technical
writing process. Drafting is able
to quickly convey pages worth of
information in a single image.

Epson LX-300+ Dot Matrix Printer Service Manual 2, by Service

Repair Manuals, 2015

Drafting in

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Technical Communications

A simple online job search reveals many jobs requesting technical writers with knowledge in
computer-aided drafting. Furthermore, some schools, like Chemeketa Community College,
University of Montana, and the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) require
that architects and engineers take technical writing courses. Their increased skill as writers sets
them apart from other graduates who are not as skilled in writing, so why not give technical
writers the same edge, by requiring that they take drafting courses? One of our subject matter
experts, Jeffrey Grindstaff, stated that he would jump at the chance to hire a technical writer that
could create technical drawings. With a technical writer skilled at drafting, he could focus his
time on more important supervisory matters.

Benefits for Graduates

The Technical Communications field is rather difficult to break into, especially for new
graduates that dont live in a tech hub, or cities where there is no strong technical industry. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics says, technical writing jobs are usually concentrated in locations with
information technology or scientific and technical research companies, such as California and
Texas. Graduates with drafting knowledge enjoy greater marketability, job placement, and
starting salary. Prior experience with drafting, and how drafting works with and compliments
technical writing, will allow the graduate to quickly adapt to and excel in his new career.

Benefits for Businesses

A business's workforce is streamlined when they hire a technical writer with drafting knowledge;
Businesses that employ technical writers without drafting knowledge are forced to outsource the
drafting process to engineers, or individuals with drafting knowledge. A technical writer that can
do the drafting him or herself saves the company money and time. Civil Engineer Jeffrey
Grindstaff commented that he wishes that students had a background in drafting, since the job
often falls to him. Jeffrey lamented that, because he has to divert his attention to drafting, he is
frequently distracted from his own work. Furthermore, Jeffrey discussed the fact that sometimes
the drafting work must be outsourced to third-party drafters, increasing project costs. Giving our
graduates knowledge of drafting would prevent such an occurrence.

Technical Writers: Occupation Outlook Handbook. (2004, January 8). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/technical-writers.htm#tab-3, under Work Environment
Benefits for UT

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While drafting classes are common in many of todays universities, giving technical writers
access to these classes is a fairly innovative concept. The University of Tennessee could be the
first to present a new and exciting field of study for aspiring technical writers not only locally,
but throughout the country as well.

Costs and Considerations

There are no significant costs to implementing drafting courses for English majors, beyond the
costs for paying the lecturer. Furthermore, there were no differences between the curriculum of
an English major and an Engineer major significant enough to warrant a large change to the
existing curriculum. Dr. Robin Barrow, an English professor at UT who teaches technical
writing, commented that drafting classes do not require a large amount of background
information, and can thus be picked up by English students without much trouble. She also
commented that she understands how such a program can be helpful to our graduates. Finally,
our proposed curriculum below will be largely centered around AutoCAD, a free software.

Proposed Curriculum

AutoCAD Architecture 1 by Softpedia, 2015 Autocad Floor Plan by Prabhjotsingh333, May 29,2012

We have several suggestions for how the course should be structured. These suggestions are
largely focused on practicality and preparing the graduate for the workforce. All work will be
directly applicable to ones career as a technical writer and will help to give the graduate
experience that will help make him or her more marketable.

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AutoCAD

We recommend that the course be largely built around the AutoCAD software. AutoCAD is a
free standard used in most technical drafting, and its easy-to-use layout is perfect for beginners,
yet still suitable for more advanced use. Even the most basic AutoCAD knowledge will make our
graduates far more marketable, as a large majority of the technical drafting needed in the
technical writing is simple and can be covered over the course of a semester.

Sample Course Outline

Date Topic

Week 1 Course introduction

Syllabus

Week 2 Drafting on paper

Using a scale
Using a compass
First assignment*

Week 3 Transition to computer aided drafting

(CAD)
Introduction to autoCAD

Week 4 Learning basic commands

Creating a new project file

Week 5 Creating simple designs

Second assignment*
Discuss Project 1**

Week 6 Learning intermediate commands

Creating simple designs
Third assignment*
Discuss Project 1**

Week 7 Creating complex designs

Multi-view drawings
Project 1 due**

Week 8 Creating complex designs

Oblique and isometric drawings
Fourth assignment*

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Week 9 Incorporating technical drawings into
written documents
Discuss project 2***

Week 10 Incorporating technical drawings into

written documents
Writing about drawings
Discuss Project 2***

Week 11 Creating a technical manual

Finding topics for Project 2***
Fifth assignment*

Week 12 Work on Project 2***

Sixth assignment*

Week 13 Work on Project 2***

Project 2 due***

*Basic assignments will involve learning concepts and reinforcing what students have already learned about drafting
and technical writing.

**Project 1 will focus on creating a simple, one-page user manual. This will introduce students to developing
technical, user, and installation/assembly manuals.

**Project 2 will focus on creating a multi-page technical manual. This final project will reinforce the students skills
pertaining to creating technical manuals.

Our class will start by learning the basics of drafting on paper, by hand. While most professional
drafting is done electronically, drafting by hand is a very good way to visualize the basics, and
may be useful when one doesnt have access to a computer. The course then transitions to a
focus on manuals and How-Tos.

Its after the first assignment, when students have a firm knowledge of the basics, that we will
introduce AutoCAD. The next portion of the curriculum seeks to give students sufficient practice
with the AutoCAD program, memorizing commands and getting comfortable with drafting
electronically. The difficulty of the assignments increase as students become more adept at using
the program. Once students have learned AutoCAD, the course will start to focus on
implementing the drafting from AutoCAD into technical manuals.

The final section of the course will seek to demonstrate to students how technical writing works
with drafting to provide the best experience for the user.

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Conclusion
The University of Tennessee has a strong English program with a solid concentration in the
growing field of technical writing. Technical Writing graduates from the University of
Tennessee, however, find themselves in a competitive environment. While other schools offer
programs in drafting, the University of Tennessee doesnt. This makes our graduates much less
marketable than other competing institutions.

Luckily, this problem is easily remedied. Considering the advice weve received from our SMEs,
and the evidence we have brought forth, we believe it is within the Universitys best interest to
take action and give our graduates the tools they need to succeed post-graduation. Adapting our
existing drafting programs for English students is not a very difficult or costly task, and the
benefits are certainly worth it. Knowledge of drafting will not only make our graduates more
prepared and marketable, but it will ultimately benefit the existing businesses of Knoxville as a
whole. Businesses will no longer have to export the drafting process to third-parties, and thus the
desire for our Technical Writing graduates will increase.

The University of Tennessee must strive to produce graduates that can successfully dive into the
field with the proper tools needed to succeed. Our proposed curriculum will help produce
graduates that have both the know-how and the experience needed to draft in a professional
environment by providing them with practical experience that they need to succeed.