Elizabeth Keri English 4091, Section 002

Office: 325 McMicken Office hrs: Mon./Wed. 2:00-3:30 p.m. Email: keriem@mail.uc.edu

Writing for Business I. Course Description The central aim of the course is to help you make good decisions when solving on-the-job writing problems. You will learn to analyze different writing situations, adapt typical patterns of organization to those situations, generate/find thorough and effective content, structure your content logically and strategically, make good document-design decisions, communicate across print and digital media, and write with an appropriate style and tone for your intended readers. The assignments consist of the following: Assignment #1Cover Letter (10%) Assignment #2Bad-News Message (10%) Assignment #3Code of Conduct (10%) Assignment #4Short Report with Numbers (15%) Assignment #5Progress Report on Group Project (10%) Assignment #6Group Project (25%) There will also be a combined grade given for class participation, feedback on others work, and your blog posts/homework/classwork, worth 20% of your overall grade. Blog Posts: You will be asked to set up a free online blog where you will create and store reading responses and activities for the class. All blog posts should be posted before the beginning of class. You will use these posts to demonstrate your understanding and completion of the reading assignments. The quality and consistency of your blog posts will make up a significant portion of your participation grade. II. Texts Marie Flatley, Kathryn Rentz, and Paula Lentz, Business Communication, 2nd ed. (McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2012). Please bring your book to class every day. Additional readings will come from online articles, PDFs, and Safari online books, including Design Matters and Kiss and Sell. These books are available online for free, through UCs online database, Safari. To access these books, follow these steps: 1.) Go to the UC homepage: www.uc.edu 2.) Click on the Libraries tab on the right: www.libraries.uc.edu 3.) On the right, under Additional Resources, click on A-Z Databases 4.) Click on the letter S under Search by Title 5.) Scroll to Safari Books Online and click connect 6.) Sign in using your UC login. If youre off-campus, youll need to sign in via the off-campus access option. 7.) Once in Safari, search for the text title via the search box, top-right.

III. Being in a Computer Lab Computers are a blessing and a curse in a writing course. On the one hand, they allow for a workshop experience: just as an art student uses an easel, brush, paints, and paper, we must also have the necessary supplies to work on our craft in class. On the other hand, they tend to distract. So for the sake of productivity and courtesy, while were in class, please only work on material were focusing on that day. Most days I will ask you to turn your monitor off during lecture or discussion simply because this has been such a problem in previous classes. If I notice you working on other things during class, your participation grade will be lowered. IV. Syllabus (listen up during the semester for possible changes) Date W 1/8 F 1/10 Todays Topic/Activities Introduction to the course; Syllabus review Why effective writing matters/Business writing as problem-solving Reading Due Memo to Students: Writing Skills Matter, and I wont hire people who use poor grammar. Heres why.(on Blackboard) Chapter 1 Work Due In-class exercise One paragraph reflection on readings and one paragraph reflection on job search Set up blog for class discussions and write first blog post (on Ch. 1) Blog post Hard copy of 1-2 job postings

M 1/13 W 1/15 F 1/17 M 1/20 W 1/22 F 1/24 M 1/27 W 1/29 F 1/31 M 2/3 W 2/5 F 2/7 M 2/10 W 2/12

Communicating in the Workplace; Chapter 2: Types of Business Messages; Intro to Asst 1 Cover Letters No class: MLK Jr. Day Cover Letters; The Writing Process Peer-Editing Day: Cover Letter Intro to Using a Clear, Correct, Logical Style Style Style Grammar and Style Intro to Asst 2 (Bad-News Message) Bad-News Messages Bad-News Messages Peer-Editing of Asst 2: BadNews Message

Chapter 2 (pp. 28-37) pp. 329-336

pp. 22-27

Blog post Rough draft of assignment 1 (cover letter) Asst 1: Cover Letter with drafts and posting Assigned style HW Assigned style HW In-class activity

Ch. 4, pp. 89-93 Ch. 4, pp. 65-89

Ch. 6

Blog Post

Rough Draft of Asst 2

F 2/14 M 2/17 W 2/19

Introduction to Asst 3: Code of Conduct/ Exercise Writing Good-News and Neutral Messages Codes of Conduct/Ethics

Asst 2: Bad-News Message (final) Blog post Guidelines for Writing a Code of Ethics/Conduct (Delloite); Browse UCs CoC; Internet CoC; Research CoC Blog post

F 2/21 M 2/24 W 2/26 F 2/28 M 3/3 W 3/5 F 3/7 M 3/10 W 3/12 F 3/14 M 3/17F 3/21

Codes of Conduct Peer-Editing of Asst 3: Code of Conduct Intro to reports and Asst 4 (Short Report) Short report Ch. 9 (Writing Short Reports) Short report Preparing visuals for reports Short report workshop day Short report workshop day Peer-Editing of Asst 4: Short report No classbut must email me your final, short reports! Spring Break: No class Ch. 8, pp. 226-236 (Writing the Report) Rough draft of Asst 4 (short report) Asst 4: Short Report Due by class time (11:15 a.m.) Ch. 3, pp. 39-58 Rough draft of asst 3 (code of conduct) Asst 3: Code of Conduct (final) Blog Post

Blog post Draft of visual

M 3/24

Phase 1: Project Planning and Gathering Information Project Management

Design Matters (Safari online) Planning > Brochures; Hackos Starting your Project (pdf)

Blog Post

W 3/26

Publisher Workshop Day

Watch the Publisher 2010 Essential Training on Lynda and/or this Youtube tutorial and play around in Publisher

Phase 2: Design and Visual Rhetoric Visual Rhetoric/Progress

Design Matters (Safari

Play around in Publisher,

3/28 M 3/31 W 4/2 F 4/4 M 4/7 W 4/9 F 4/11 M 4/14 W 4/16 F 4/18 M 4/21

Reports Visual Rhetoric/Progress Reports Low-fidelity prototypes Phase 3: Writing Persuasively Persuasive Writing

online) Creating > and bring in a Brochures rough/sample brochure Review Ch. 9, espec. p. 257 in Business Comm. (Progress Report) Asst 5: Progress Report

Kiss and Sell (Safari online) Ch. 3: Writing Copy

Blog post

Persuasive Writing Phase 4: Presenting Effectively Giving Effective Presentations Business Comm. pp. 284-299 Giving Effective Presentations

Blog post

Peer-Editing Day Editing Day Course Wrap-Up and Evaluations Exam Day: Group presentations 9:45-11:45 a.m.

Rough draft of brochure Rough draft of brochure

Asst 6: Group brochure and presentation

V. Policies Completing the major assignments: You get credit for the course only if you have completed all six major assignments. Do every assignment by the due date. If you find that you must have an extension for a major assignment, request it at least a day in advance or else your grade for that assignment will be lowered. Extensions: You get two 24-hour extensions on the major assignments, to use however you choose. You may decide to use both on one assignment or split them up between two. Either way, it is best to save these for unexpected circumstances or times when you know your workload in other courses will be heavy. You must inform me before the due date that you will be taking an extension, with a brief (and preferably honest) explanation why.

Attendance: Almost everything we do in class is directly related to your major assignments. Come every day. An absence will lower your class participation grade unless you have brought me an official note from a doctor or someone who can verify a death in the family and your need to miss class. When you must miss, find out from a classmate what we did; see me if you still have questions. Anyone missing more than four classes, for whatever reason, cannot receive higher than a C in participation, and the participation grade drops one letter grade with each

subsequent absence. Anyone with a serious attendance problem (in the 6+ range) will be asked to withdraw. Tardiness (being more than 5 minutes late) also counts against your attendance record and participation grade. Two tardies will equal one unexcused absence. Editing Days: The syllabus indicates when drafts of your papers are due. On these days, bring in typed, complete papers, not rough drafts. I will choose some of these at random for us to discuss, and then youll edit each others papers. Missing a draft day or coming unprepared, or giving weak or no feedback on your classmates drafts, will mean a lowered class participation grade (and, almost certainly, a lower grade on that assignment). Revision of Papers: This class is about learning, and making the necessary effort to improve our writing. Each person is allowed to revise a paper for a higher gradeAsst 1, Asst 2, Asst 3, and Asst 4 (not the group project, progress report, or final asst), as long as it was completed in full and on time. You must turn in the original graded version and the revision together within a week after receiving the original graded version. Papers that have been superficially revised are unlikely to receive a higher grade than the original paper, so if you choose to revise, put effort into it. A Note About Plagiarism: Please review the Universitys description of Academic Misconduct at http://www/uc.edu/conduct/academic_integrity.html. Plagiarism, the deliberate copying of another persons words or ideas with the intention of making them seem to be your own, is cause for failing the course. Whenever you draw from anothers writing or ideas, be sure to credit the source. A Note About Classroom Courtesy: Most of you are paying a lot of money to be here. Make good use of your opportunity to learn about writingone of the most critical workplace skillsand help others learn by giving class activities your full attention. This means . . . --Do not use your cell phone in class, and be sure it is set on silent when youre here. --Do not use your computer for anything but a task that helps us discuss what were discussing that day --Respectfully and thoughtfully contribute to class discussions and group work. A Note About Interacting with Your Instructor: Im very glad to give anyone who wants it extra help. But please keep professional courtesy in mind. Some specific tips: --Check your email regularly, read any messages from me carefully, and, if needed, respond to me in a timely manner. (I will do the same for you.) --Let me know before class, if at all possible, when and why you will not be in class. This way, I wont wonder where you are, and I can do a better job of filling you in on what you missed. --If possible, schedule any extended discussions youd like to have with me (even if you plan on coming in during my office hours) so I can adjust my time accordingly. --When I give graded papers back, do not immediately come up to me and tell me that we need to meet because youre unhappy about your grade. I write a lot of comments on the papers, so

please read these carefully and let them sink in before scheduling a time to discuss your paper with me. --When I help you with an assignment via email, be sure to send a quick thank you in reply even if youre disappointed with my feedback. I know thats hard sometimes, but its just common courtesy to thank someone who has spent time helping you, and good future business sense.