Forget to analyze audience and purpose. The first step in successful writing it to identify who will use your document and how or why they will use it. Professional communication is written to help people think about an idea, perform a task, or make decisions. If your document fails to consider who is reading it and why, then it will fail to accomplish its goal.
Submit a document to the instructor without proofreading it for standard American spelling, grammar, and punctuation. By the time you take a 400 or 500 level course, I expect that you know standard spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I understand that some of the rules are tricky (commas and colons seem to be particularly tricky for student writers), but if it is obvious that you didn't consider the document important enough to proofread before turning it in, why should I take time to read it?
Ignore constructive criticism about your work. My job is to help you improve your writing. When I critique the document, that's all I'm doing. I am not critiquing you as a writer or you as a person (unless you failed to proofread it). Take the comments in the spirit in which they are intended. Our goal should be to create a document that is ready to be distributed to its intended audience and not just to earn points toward your grade.
Skim the instructions. The instructions for your assignments give you clues to what I'm looking for. Sometimes those clues are explicit. Sometimes you'll have to read between the lines. The assignments are problem solving activities, but you can't solve the problem if you do not know what it is.
Omit assignments. Each assignment addresses a specific skill or collection of skills that you need to develop to become a proficient writer. The assignments in the course scaffold on each other, meaning that the earlier assignments give you practice with skills that will be part of later, more complex assignments.
Miss deadlines. Depending upon the circumstances, I will sometimes grant extensions when students contact me in advance or when students provide documentation of a valid excuse within one week following a deadline. But otherwise, don't expect me to accept an assignment outside of the submission window stated on the assignment or D2L dropbox.
Submit assignments via email. Unless explicitly directed otherwise, use the D2L dropbox so that you and I both see a timestamp that confirms your assignment submission.
Don't participate in chats and bulletin board discussions. Teachers evaluate your comprehension of the material from both the assignments you create and your participation on class discussions. In an on-campus course, it's common for a handful of students to sit in the room quietly, soaking up the material without volunteering to participate. In those cases, the instructor can usually guess whether those student is struggling with the material from body language. In an online course, the only thing we have to measure is your contribution to the chats or discussions. Logging in doesn't count.
Treat me like a buddy. I have an informal style of teaching and I love to answer your questions, but that doesn't mean that I'm your friend. Use standard email etiquette when writing to me. (That means a descriptive subject line, salutation, concise yet thorough content, complimentary closing, and a signature).
Assume that I'm telling you everything you need to know to be a good writer. I emphasize topics that are essential to completing the assignment or topics that tend to be problematic for students. But there's no way that I can include everything you need to know. Read the book. Engage in the discussions. If there's something you don't understand, ask questions and do some extra research on the topic.
Think that an online course is easier than an on-campus course. It's not. Online courses require much more discipline, initiative, and time management skills. You are responsible for your own learning experience. This is not a medium for passive learning.
Think that an online course takes less time than an on-campus course. It doesn't. In an on-campus course, we would spend four hours together each week to discuss the materials and work on projects. In an online course in the Technical Communication program, expect to spend 90 minutes in the chat and two hours in the bulletin board discussions instead. Add to that the time to read the material, listen to podcast lectures, work on projects, and collaborate in teams and you'll see that an online course requires as many hours--or more--than a corresponding on-campus course. The benefit is that the online course is more flexible in terms of when you complete the work. Other than the 90 minute chat, you can work whenever you want as long as you meet the deadlines.
Think that an online course is exactly like an on-campus course. It's not. Beyond the obvious difference of meeting online instead of in a classroom, an online course can be lonely. Almost all of your communication will be in writing, and sixteen weeks of that can be exhausting. On the other hand, the online format gives you a chance to think about what you want to contribute before you share it with others. Many students find online courses allow them to be more thoughtful in their responses. They often have a greater diversity of experience and backgrounds in the students who are enrolled in the course, which can lead to some great discussions.
Misspell the name of your university. OK, I won't actually fail you for this but it really hurts your ethos. You are attending Minnesota State University, Mankato. That's right: there's a comma and the city at the end of the name. You are not attending University of Minnesota, University of Mankato, or Mankato State University. It is not even Minnesota State University--Mankato. If you misspell the name of your university, I will assume that you do not pay attention to detail or proofread your work.