English 304c: Business Writing
Summer 1997
Prof. Roger Cherry (email: cherry.3@osu.edu
DE 343
Office: DE 557 (Eng. Dept.: 292-6065
MW 3:30-5:18
Offc. Hrs.: MW 10-11 & 2-3
Text: K.O. Locker, Business and Administrative Communication, 3rd. ed.
Course Objectives: The primary objective of English 304c is to help you communicate more effectively in a wide range of business and professional situations. We will examine the variables at work in all writing tasks--writer, reader, information, purpose, and context--and discuss how to put our understanding of these variables to work in creating written messages with an appropriate format, tone, and level of detail. Secondary objectives include learning how to respond effectively to and edit documents produced by others.
Class Structure and Activities: English 304c is different from classes that employ a lecture or lecture/discussion format. English 304c is modeled after a workplace environment in which close collaboration with colleagues and supervisors is expected. Although your work is guided and evaluated by a supervisor (the instructor), you have a good deal of responsibility for defining the kinds of work you undertake. The class is essentially a document production workshop in which much of the time is devoted to working in small groups responding to texts at various stages of completion. Because these activities are common in the workplace and E 304c aims to prepare you for writing in the workplace, you are expected to take group work very seriously and contribute your best efforts to its success.The amount of time given to workshop activity is no accident. Rather, it reflects the time needed for quality collaboration on revising and editing the documents that are produced for the course. It is your responsibility to use this time productively. Make sure you are thinking carefully and thoroughly about the texts you are reviewing. If you and your colleagues are doing a good job in a responding workshop, you should run out of time before you run out of work. If you have a clear idea about revisions you need to make on your own text, work on it on the computer, print it out, and have the revised version reviewed again by group members.
Requirements:
- Three "minor" writing assignments of 1-2 pages ea. (must total at least 4 pages).
- Three"major" writing assignments of 3-6 pages ea. (must total at least 12 pages). The last of these three assignments can take a more open-ended form and might include projects such as developing a web page or powerpoint presentation.
- Final versions of the minor and major assignments must be turned in on time. Late papers are subject to a penalty of one letter grade for each day late. Missing class or technological misfortunes are not acceptable excuses for failing to meet a deadline.
- Four chapter summaries. Four times throughout the quarter you will prepare a two-page summary of the reading for a particular class. Your summary should be in the form of a memo to a colleague or supervisor. Make sure your summaries demonstrate that you have read and synthesized the material. You should be reformulating the issues presented in the chapter in your own language and format, and your summary should be presented in continuous, fluent, discursive prose. Do not resort to an outline or simply repeat the headings that appear in the chapter. Make sure your summaries are well written, just as you would with anything else you turn in. Chapter summaries are not graded but are read carefully and annotated, giving you a chance to learn about problem areas in your writing without being penalized.
- Completion and duplication of all drafts on time. It is essential that you have your work prepared and adequate copies available at the beginning of the class in which it is to be considered in a small group. (Do not attempt to print out drafts after you get to class; the system can't handle the volume.) Drafts must be complete and top-quality--your best effort to date. Your grade on a given writing assignment will be lowered one letter grade any time you fail to have a thorough, quality draft completed and copies available for group work.
- Attendance. You are expected to attend each class session and to be on time. Emergencies and illness do arise, of course, and missing a small number of classes during the quarter might be unavoidable. Your final grade will be lowered one letter grade for each class you miss beyond three. (Exceptions to this policy can be made in extraordinary circumstances such as a prolonged illness or serious accident. If such circumstances apply to you, let the instructor know; otherwise do not feel compelled to report or explain your absences.)
- Professionalism. On the job, employees are paid for their presence, productivity, and quality of work. When employees are chronically late, if they show up but do not produce, or if their work does not meet quality expectations, they are disciplined and sometimes terminated. Similarly, in English 304c you will be evaluated on the basis of your punctuality, productivity, and quality of work. Punctuality speaks for itself. Like conscientious employees in the workplace, conscientious students in English 304c do not arrive late or leave early. In terms of productivity and quality of work, you will be evaluated on (1) your preparation for and participation in class discussion, which involves reading textbook assignments and raising issues and questions in a thoughtful way, (2) completion of chapter summaries, (3) your contributions to effective group work, including your suggestions for revising and editing the written work of others, and (4) the extent to which you make a conscientious effort to improve your writing and responding skills as the course progresses. The professionalism grade is impressionistic and overdetermined. It is based on the impression you create about your commitment to the course and to quality work, and it can be entirely compromised by lapses in any one area. You should be aware that no warnings, reminders, or notices of any kind are given regarding lapses in professionalism.
Grading:Three "minor" papers: 35%
- "Bad News" Letters (10%)
- Proposal Memo--Revision Exercise (12.5%)
- Work Plan Memo--Major 2 & 3 (12.5%)
Three "major" papers: 50%
- Revision Exercise (15%)
- Student-Defined Task (15%)
- Student-Defined Task (20%)
Professionalism: 15%
Style and Format: All written work must be produced on a computer word processing system. It must be double-spaced with standard 1-inch margins and a standard type size (12pt.) and style. Your texts should be double-spaced even though many documents produced in the workplace (particularly letters and memos) are single-spaced. Double-spacing allows for comments and suggestions for revision. Make sure that your documents (with a few exceptions such as web pages or powerpoint presentations) consist predominately of extended discursive prose (as opposed to outlines, lists, or "recipe" instructions). Be sure also that you assume a general audience with a college education rather than a highly specialized audience or environment.
Technology: We are fortunate to live in an age when text production has been greatly facilitated by extraordinary computer and printing technologies. In English 304c you are required to work in a format that allows you to bring your work on disk so that you can compose, revise, and print your work in class. You cannot, however, come to class expecting to print multiple copies of your documents for group work; the system cannot handle this kind of load. Instead, you must come to class with the copies you need. Because the sophisticated machines we use to produce documents can be temperamental, we must plan ahead and allow time to compensate for any technological mishaps that might arise. In other words, machines and software screw up, certainly. But such misfortunes will not be accepted as excuses for failing to meet deadlines in English 304c. Electronic submissions are not permitted in English 304c.
Plagiarism: It is academically dishonest, and often illegal, to present someone else's ideas or writing as your own. You cannot use even short phrases or parts of sentences obtained from other sources (published or unpublished) unless you use quotation marks when necessary and properly acknowledge and document your sources. Submitting your own previous work is also academically dishonest, as is submitting the same work to satisfy requirements in two or more classes simultaneously without instructor permission. You are accountable for furnishing upon request all the sources and all preliminary work (notes, rough drafts, etc.) that you use in preparing your written work, and failure to provide such materials will be considered evidence of academic dishonesty and will be handled accordingly. Plagiarism of any kind will constitute grounds for failing English 304c and may result in further disciplinary action at the professor's discretion, or at the discretion of the Department of English or the University.
Schedule
M
6/23
Introduction
W
6/25
Grammar Diagnostic Test
Chapters 1, 14
M
6/30
Workshop/Bad News Letters
Chapter 8
W
7/2
Bad News Letters Due
Chapter 12
M
7/7
Workshop/Proposal Memo for Revisions Exercise
Chapter 2
W
7/9
Proposal Memo for Revision Exercise Due
Chapter 3
M
7/14
Workshop/Revision Exercise
Chapter 4
W
7/16
Workshop/Revision Exercise
Chapter 5
M
7/21
Revision Exercise Due
Chapter 6
W
7/23
Workshop/Work Plan Memo
Chapter 7
M
7/28
Work Plan Memo Due
Chapter 9
W
7/30
Workshop/Major 2
Chapter 11
M
8/4
Workshop/Major 2
Chapter 15
W
8/6
Workshop/Major 2
Chapter 16
M
8/11
Last Day to Turn In Major 2
Chapter 17
W
8/13
Workshop/Major 3
Chapter 18
M
8/18
Workshop/Major 3
Chapter 12
W
8/20
Workshop/Major 3
Chapter 13
M
8/25
Last Day to Turn In Major 3
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