English 205 Business Writing INSTRUCTOR Dave Clark Office: 582 Curtin Hall Office Hurs: 3:30-5:30 T (and by appintment). Office hurs will typically be held in my ffice. Phne: 229.4870 (O) 350.1937 (C) Fax: 229.2643 Mailbx: Curtin Hall, furth flr (fllw signs) E-mail: dclark@uwm.edu MATERIALS If yu haven't yet gtten the textbks, please d s right away! Yu'll need them sn. Here are ur bks: Alred, The Business Writer s Handbk, 8th editin (7th editin als acceptable). Available at Amazn.cm r ther nline bksellers, at mst bkstres, and the UWM bkstre. Harty, Strategies fr Business and Technical Writing, 5th editin. COURSE OBJECTIVES Analyzing a variety f business cntexts and prducing texts that fulfill gals f thse cntexts Emplying writing as prcess, including research, drafting, testing, revising, and editing Gaining familiarity with genres f business cmmunicatin Learning effective cllabratin strategies Emplying rhetrical strategies fr effective visual and dcument design Gaining rhetrical awareness f the wrkplace and disciplinary ethics Learning prficiency in using cmputer-mediated cmmunicatins TECHNOLOGY SUGGESTION Please, please, please keep electrnic cpies f all the wrk yu prduce fr this class. And please BACK UP YOUR FILES. At minimum, use a USB drive; better yet, back up yur files n the net. Dn t delete any f yur files just because yu ve turned in the assignment; yu may need t r want t revise and re-submit. COURSE POLICIES Active Participatin is Required! Active participatin in all curse activities and assignments is extremely imprtant and a curse requirement. If yu decide nt t participate actively thrughut the curse, yu can expect t receive a lwer r failing curse grade. My advice: Read the new day's descriptin n D2L every day. Each day f the curse will extend frm nn until nn f the fllwing day;
ENGLISH 205, SUMMER 2006 2 ften assignments will be due in the drpbx at that pint. When pssible, I will make the daily cntent available befre nn fr thse f yu wh like t get an early start. Keep the instructr infrmed when yu are unable t keep up with prject wrk. There might be times during the curse when yu will encunter unexpected cnstraints that will demand much f yur time, such as persnal illness, family prblems, and jb restrictins. When this happens, it will be yur respnsibility t cntact me t let me knw (a) apprximately hw lng yu expect t be away frm the prject and D2L and (b) apprximately when yu plan t resume and catch up with yur prject wrk. Deadlines and Extensin Plicy Fr mst assignments, Im willing t grant extensins, but nly if yu cntact me (in persn, r by phne, email, r nte) befre the date n which the assignment is due. At that time, yu will set a new deadline fr that assignment and will need t meet that secnd deadline t receive full credit fr that assignment. I'll have the discretin t apprve r reject that new deadline. Nte that all ther arrangements are unacceptable and will result in my lwering that assignment grade by a third f a grade fr each business day that it is late. Writing Assignment Guidelines My suggestins, shuld yu wish t pass this curse and/r d well: D all the assignments. Yu will have a number f writing assignments in this class, all f which must be cmpleted fr yu t pass the curse. Dnt plagiarize. Plagiarism is a serius ffense that will result in a failing grade n the assignment r the curse. S dnt d it. When yu use ideas, infrmatin, and material frm ther surces, be sure t cite thse surces. Please review the English Department website n "Academic Dishnesty and Grievances" lcated at http://www.uwm.edu/dept/english. I'm big n revisin, but in an nline curse with lts f miniassignments, it's simply nt practical t allw revisin n everything. S here's the deal: 10 pint assignments. I will grade 10 pint assignments, and there aren't a lt f them, by pening them and reading them t see that yu've dne them, then giving yu the scre I think yu deserve. In mst cases, I will give the full 10 pints fr an earnest attempt. These are nt eligible fr late credit r fr revisin; we've gt t much ther stuff t d! 25 pint assignments. These will receive feedback, but they are als nt eligible fr revisin unless yu cnvince me yu deserve anther chance (hint: tell me it's my fault fr nt
ENGLISH 205, SUMMER 2006 3 teaching yu well the first time). 100 pint assignments. This will receive feedback, and, time permitting, I will allw 2 revisins; revisin grades +replace+ the riginal grade. 200 pint assignment. There's nly ne f these, but it's clse enugh t the end f the curse that I will allw nly ne revisin; revisin grades +replace+ the riginal grade. 400 pint assignment. There's nly ne f these, and it's due n the last day f class, making revisin impssible. Try t get sme f the wrk dne in advance s I can ffer feedback befre it's due! University Plicies Please see http://www.uwm.edu/dept/secu/syllabuslinks.pdf fr university plicies n religius bservances, military duty, etc. COURSE STRUCTURE This curse uses Desire t Learn's mst basic features; nthing t fancy, n PwerPint audi lectures, if nly because there's n way I culd stand listening t my wn vice lng enugh t make 'em. Here's the basic structure f ur curse: Curse Hme Cntent Discussins Drpbx Links Grades Cntent. "Cntent" leads t all f the dcuments f ur curse, the syllabus, the plicy sheets, the weekly assignments, etc. In the first week, I'd like yu t read all the "General Curse Dcuments," and the "Scavenger Hunt" listed in Week 1's activities will encurage yu t d s. Frm then n, every day at 12:01 p.m., the next day's cntent will becme available, and yu'll just need t check in with the new day's cntent (click the "cntent" link and then click n that day's cntent) t see what yu need t d fr that day! Discussins. "Discussins" links t ur discusin frums. Yu'll nly need t g here if yu're instructed t by the week's assignment r if yu're needing t fr a grup assignment. Drpbx. This is where yu'll turn in assignments, unless I ask yu t submit them via e-mail. Yu'll nly have t g here if yu're instructed by the day's assignment. Links. These are just sme links that yu might find helpful thrughut and after the curse. Let me knw if yu have suggestins t add! Grades. Yu may check yur grade at any time. I will update them whenever there's a new grade available. I think D2L will calculate this fr yu autmatically, but if at any pint yu want t knw where yu stand in the curse, divide the ttal number f pints yuve received by the ttal
ENGLISH 205, SUMMER 2006 4 number f pints pssible t that pint in the curse, multiply by 100, and cmpare with this chart: A 93 and up C 73-76 A- 90-93 C- 70-72 B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69 B 83-86 D 63-66 B- 80-82 D- 60-62 C+ 77-79 F 59 and belw ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING Overview Yur grade in the curse will be based primarily n yur perfrmance n the writing assignments. Papers will be graded n the basis f material, rganizatin, expressin, and crrectness as adapted t the cntext fr which yu are writing. Yur class participatin in discussins, activities, and wrkshps is als imprtant; being unprepared r nt participating will have a negative impact n yur grade! Grading Standards (curtesy f Jerry Alred) Because the wrk in this class is intended t simulate the wrkplace, the fllwing criteria will apply t grades (I will serve the functin f yur manager): A = Manager wuld be very impressed and remember the wrk when prmtins are discussed. I wuld write an unqualified, enthusiastic recmmendatin letter. B = Manager wuld be satisfied with the wrk but nt impressed. I wuld write a generally psitive but smewhat qualified recmmendatin. C = Manager wuld be disappinted and ask yu t revise r rewrite sectins befre allwing utsiders, such as clients, t see the wrk. I might urge yu t have smene else write a recmmendatin. D = Manager wuld be trubled by the pr quality f wrk. Yu wuld nt want t mentin my name as a pssible reference. F = Manager wuld start lking fr smene t replace yu. Please d nt tell anyne yu were my student! Assignments and Values Class Activities Scavenger Hunt 10 Harty Anntatin #1 10 Cnciseness exercise 10 Yu attitude exercise 10 Fire escape exercise 25
ENGLISH 205, SUMMER 2006 5 Peer review, Infrmatinal Mem 25 Harty Anntatin #2 10 Harty Anntatin #3 10 Infrmatin design exercise 10 Prfreading exercise 10 Peer review, Individual Prject 25 Peer review, Unslicited Recmmendatin 25 Writing Assignments Infrmatinal Mem 100 Refusal Letter 100 Cmplaint Letter 100 Individual Prject 200 Unslicited Recmmendatin 400 Other Participatin 200 Ttal 1280
ENGLISH 205, SUMMER 2006 6 TENTATIVE SYLLABUS SUMMER 2006 DATE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT May 30 Syllabus/intrductins May 31 Cherence, tpic sentences, transitins, unity Alred: pp. xv-xxi, Clarity, Cherence, Tpic Sentences, Transitins, Unity June 1 Organizatin f infrmatin Intrducing Infrmatinal Mem assignment Harty: Gbbledygk, Writing in Yur Jb, The Wrld f Dublespeak Scavenger Hunt Alred: Organizatin, Outlining, Methds f Develpment, Cause and Effect, Chrnlgical, Cmparisn, Definitin, Divisin and Classificatin, General and Specific, Order f Imprtance, Sequential, Spatial Harty Anntatin #1 Cnciseness Exercise June 2 Crrespndence and the yu viewpint Alred: Crrespndence, Cllectin Letters, Reference, Refusal, and Sales letters, Tne (and all crss refs, especially "yu" viewpint). June 5 June 6 June 7 Research Intrducing Unslicited Recmmendatin assignment Ethics Peer review, Infrmatinal Mem Intrducing Refusal Letter assignment Jb searching Intrducing Cmplaint Letter assignment Harty: Making Yur Crrespndence Get Results, Letters That Sell, I Have Sme Bad News fr Yu,, Hw t Write Better Mems Alred: Research, Dcumenting Surces, Plagiarism, Mems, Readers, Interviewing fr Infrmatin, Listening, Nte-taking, Paraphrasing Abut Ggle page (http://www.ggle.cm/help/refinesearch.html) Yu Attitude Exercise Fire Safety Exercise Harty: Cmmunicatin Failures, Hw t Lie with Statistics, Determining the Ethics f Style, Legal and Ethical Issues in Editing Draft f Infrmatinal Mem Harty: Part 5: Resumes and Other Written Materials fr a Jb Search Peer Review Harty Anntatin #2
ENGLISH 205, SUMMER 2006 7 June 8 Electrnic cmmunicatin Intrducing Individual Prject assignment Alred: Entries under Wrkplace Technlgy n the back panel Harty: Electrnic Mail Infrmatinal Mem Harty Anntatin #3 June 9 Infrmatin design Alred: Layut and Design Harty: Creating Tables and Illustratins Unslicited Recmmendatin Prpsal June 12 Prpsals Alred: Prpsals and related entries June 13 June 15 June 14 Reprts Flex day! Take a deep breath. Prfreading and editing Peer review, Individual Prject Harty: Prpsals Refusal Letter Infrmatin Design Exercise Individual Prject Prpsal Alred: Reprts and related entries Harty: Audience Analysis, What t Reprt, The Writing f Abstracts, Strategies f Persuasin Unslicited Recmmendatin Outline All entries under prfreading (p. 636) Cmplaint Letter June 16 Writing and revising day Prfreading exercise Peer Review June 19 Writing and revising day Individual Prject June 20 Writing and revising day June 21 Peer review, Unslicited Recmmendatin Unslicited Recmmendatin Cmpnents June 22 Reviewing and editing day Peer Review June 23 Final class: Evaluatins Unslicited Recmmendatin