Course Information
42000-009-19629   Business Writing  MWF   10:30 - 11:20  BRNG  B274
42000-010-19630   Business Writing  MWF   11:30 - 12:20  BRNG  B274
42000-016-19636   Business Writing  MWF   1:30 - 2:20      BRNG  B274
42000-019-19639   Business Writing  MWF   2:30 - 3:20       BRNG  B274

Course Links
Course Calendar
Professional Writing Online, Version 3.0
Purdue's OWL
Center for Career Opportunities

Instructor Information
Peg Dunkle
Office Hrs: MWF 12:30-1:20

Office:
Heavilon 402

Phone: 494-0512
Email: dunklem@purdue.edu

  
Projects and Cases
Employment Project
Community Writing Project

Additional Resources
Professional Writing Program
English Department
Course link

 Note: All class meetings are face-to-face (F2F) during our regular class time. You are responsible for attending all meetings; missing or arriving late to meetings may negatively affect your course grade.   

 

Overview

English 420 teaches students the rhetorical principles and writing practices necessary for producing effective business letters, memos, reports, and collaborative projects in professional contexts. The curriculum is informed by current research in rhetoric and professional writing and is guided by the needs and practices of business, industry, and society at large as well as by the expectations of Purdue students and programs. All sections of English 420 are offered in networked computer classrooms to ensure that students taking the course are prepared for the writing environment of the 21st-century workplace. The course teaches the rhetorical principles that help students shape their business writing ethically, for multiple audiences, and in a variety of professional situations.  You may find course materials at http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~dunklem/courses.html

Text Resource

Professional Writing Online, Version 3.0 , 2004, by James Porter, Patricia Sullivan, and Johndan Johnson-Eilola, is available online at http://wps.ablongman.com/long_porter_pwo_3. Used password codes are not transferable. Passwords cannot be shared.

Course Goals

These are general course goals outlined by the Professional Writing Program.

Writing in Context

  • Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of workplace writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse, with an emphasis on

    • writing for a range of defined audiences and stakeholders
    • negotiating the ethical dimensions of workplace communication

Project Management

  • Understand, develop and deploy various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents both individually and collaboratively.
  • Select and use appropriate technologies that effectively and ethically address professional situations and audiences.
  • Build professional ethos through documentation and accountability.

    Document Design
    Make rhetorical design decisions about workplace documents, including

    • understanding and adapting to genre conventions and audience expectations
    • understanding and implementing design principles of format and layout
    • interpreting and arguing with design
    • drafting, researching, testing, and revising visual designs and information architecture

  • Teamwork
    Learn and apply strategies for succesful teamwork and collaboration, such as
    • working online with colleagues
    • determining roles and responsibilities
    • managing team conflicts constructively
    • responding constructively to peers' work
    • soliciting and using peer feedback effectively
    • achieving team goals

Research
Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents, including

  • analyzing professional contexts
  • locating, evaluating, and using print and online information selectively for particular audiences and purposes
  • triangulating sources of evidence
  • selecting appropriate primary research methods, such as interviews, observations, focus groups, and surveys to collect data
  • working ethically with research participants

Technology
Use and evaluate the writing technologies frequently used in the workplace, such as emailing, instant messaging, image editing, video editing, presentation design and delivery, HTML editing, Web browsing, content management, and desktop publishing technologies.

Course Projects and Activities:
Course projects are based on the projects in PWOnline, but the deliverables vary. You must use your calendar links to the actual project deliverables.

1. Employment Project 

You will be asked to locate a job for which you are qualified and apply for it. Step 1 of the project asks you to learn about and use various web-based resources for job seekers, select a job to pursue, and research the company and match your skills to the job. Step 2 asks you to prepare the all-important cover letter (i.e., "Job Application Letter"). Step 3 asks you to prepare a print or electronic resume suitable for such a position. In Step 4, you will assess your experience in a "Project Assessment Document." In the process of completing each step, you will work closely with your peers and me to shape your writing so that it represents you and your experience fully and effectively. (Individual; 30% of course grade)

2. Community Writing Project (CWP)

For Project 3, you will write a project proposal (minimum of two pages) to present to the class. You must email me the name of your client and a short description of the product you are proposing. Proposal is due March 24 . (Community Project Proposal, individual; 10% of course grade) Four or five proposals will be selected, and you will be assigned to a team. The team will function as a consulting firm whose goal is to serve clients interested in revising or developing print materials. Your team will be working with an actual business or organization in the community or at Purdue. The team will confirm the project goals with the client, research the client, create a new product, and write a process report (Collaborative; 40% of course grade)

3. Daily Assignments

Daily Assignments throughout the semester will relate to writing and project development. You may not make up any of the assignments. (Individual; 20% of course grade)

Grading

Employment Project (Individual, Project 1)
30%
Oct. 6
Community Writing Project Proposal (Individual, Project 2)
10%
Oct. 29
Community Writing Project (Collaborative, Project 2)
40%
Dec. 10
Daily Assignments, Online Discussion, Participation
20%
Daily
TOTAL
100%

 
 
 

Each of the two major projects in the course will be comprised of several components, each of which will be worth a percentage of your project grade.

New Grading Scale:

All major assignments will be graded on the standard plus-minus letter-grade scale: A=100-94, A-=93-90, B+=89-87, B=86-84, B-=83-80, C+=79-77, C=76-74, C-=73-70, D+=69-67, D=66-64, D-=63-60, F=59 or below.

Technology Requirements

In order to participate fully in the course, you should already be able to use the technology platform and applications listed below. 

  • Mac OS or Windows
  • Microsoft Office (Word and Power Point)
  • Web Browser (Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer) 
  • E-mail program (including attachments)
  • Access course resources and turn-in folders
  • Adobe acrobat and reader (for PDF documents)

Technology Responsibilities

Familiarity with certain technologies is crucial for participation and success in the course. If you need any assistance now or at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask.

During the semester, you'll need regular access to the Internet and email. Because the course home page is the main locus of the class community, you are responsible for reading and keeping current with all content posted there, including what has been submitted by both the instructor and your fellow students. You'll be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course email and participate in online discussions, and to submit your work. Very early in the semester, you will be asked to demonstrate that you can meet these responsibilities:

  • Register for the course website and complete your profile information.
  • Read the course description and calendar, then ask questions when you are uncertain about requirements or activities.
  • Set up your @purdue.edu email or an alternative that you can access regularly and reliably
  • Become proficient sending and receiving email attachments, resolving file compatibility issues, and following email decorum.
  • Check the course calendar before each class meeting.
  • Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications, including Web editing software, document cycling systems, desktop publishing applications, and graphics programs.
  • Maintain back-up copies of all assignments via your home directory, disks, USB drives, or CDs.

If at any time you have problems accessing the Internet from home, you'll need to find a public lab or connection point. Problems with computers will not be an excuse for falling behind or failing to complete required assignments. If your Internet service goes down, find another connection point. If your computer breaks, use another one. In other words, find a way to complete the assignments on time. Because computer problems are a fact of life, always work to complete your assignments early and make frequent backups to multiple media.

Very early in the semester, you will be asked to demonstrate that you can meet these responsibilities:

Other Policies:

It is your responsibility to check the course calendar on a regular basis. Both daily assignments and additional resources will be added to the calendar throughout the semester.

Collaborative work is a required component of the course. You and your project team members are responsible for updating one another and me about assignment development and progress. In addition, you also are responsible for negotiating together all aspects of your work, including planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of assignments. When I assign a collaborative project, I will provide you with explicit guidelines for successful collaboration. I will also ask individual group members to complete Collaborative Evaluation Forms. The principles of collaboration I encourage students to follow are contained in the brochure, Group Work and Collaborative Writing <http://www-honors.ucdavis.edu/vohs/index.html>. 

Academic Integrity

Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to guidelines set forth by the Dean of Students in "Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students," which students are encouraged to read here:

http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/administration/integrity.htm

The preamble of this guide states the following: "Purdue University values intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic conduct. To be prepared to meet societal needs as leaders and role models, students must be educated in an ethical learning environment that promotes a high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the academic fabric of Purdue University. Dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success. It diminishes the quality of a Purdue education, which is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards."

Academic dishonesty is defined as follows: "Purdue prohibits dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty." [University Regulations, Part V, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore, the University Senate has stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest." [University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]"

If you have any questions about this policy, please ask.

Attendance

Attendance is required. Since you will be working in project teams during the semester, you may be required to attend scheduled out-of-class meetings with your team to complete course assignments. Three absences may result in your final grade being lowered by as much as a letter grade. More than three absences may result in a failing grade for the course. Excused absences may be granted for religious holidays or university-sponsored events, provided you make a written request to me no less than two weeks in advance and that you complete any required work before the due date. Being excessively or regularly late for class or team meetings can also be counted as an absence and will impact the daily assignment component of your grade.

Late Work

Class assignments cannot be "made up." If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact me in writing prior to the deadline to determine whether or not an extension for the work will or will not be granted.
LATE PROJECTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  

In Case of a Campus Emergency

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. You can acquire updated information from the course website, by emailing me, or by contacting me through the English Department at 765-494-3740.

 

 

 
 

English 420--Business Writing
Purdue University
Last Modified: 08/18/08