English 420 – Business Writing

Instructor and Course Information

English 420 M/W/F Nancy Quinn

Office Hrs: M/W/F 10:30-11:20

Office: Heavilon 310 D

Ph: 765.494.3726

Fax: 765.494.3780
E-mail: nquinn@purdue.edu

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 or exclusively online 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, in a variety of professional situations.

Required Text

Excellence in Business Communication: 7th edition, by John V. Thill and Courtland L. Bovee.
Prentice Hall, 2007. The text is available at University Book Store, Folletts, and Borders. The book is also available as an on-line text for the semester. The cost for the on-line text is approximately $60.00 and is available at:

http://www.prenhall.com/catalog/academic/product?ISBN=0131870777

Course Goals

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 successful 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 e-mailing, instant messaging, image editing, video editing, presentation design and delivery, HTML editing, Web browsing, content management, and desktop publishing technologies.

Course Projects and Activities

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 and ultimately to select one job to pursue. Step 2 asks you to prepare a resume suitable for such a position Step 3 asks you to prepare the all-important "Job Application Letter.” 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, given the rhetorical circumstances. You will also study and respond to examples from the textbook. (Individual; 225 points.)

2. Analyzing Online Writing Contexts

This project asks that you identify and analyze an online forum. You will perform a rhetorical analysis--examining the audience, goals, and writing on the site. For this project you will have one deliverable: a memo examining the rhetorical context of the forum. In this project you will gain experience navigating online forums, practice conducting rhetorical analysis that will help you learn to assess quality and expectations of interactions, and learn to summarize findings and suit the summary to the audience. (Individual; 100 points.)

3. Complaint Letter

You are to select a company, store, or organization where you have received a product or service that has caused you dissatisfaction. You will learn to choose the best approach for writing a negative message as you adapt to your audience while maintaining high standard of ethics and etiquette. Whether or not you actually send the letter, is entirely your choice. (Individual: 50 points.)

4. Community Writing Project

As an individual you will write a project proposal that is one page in length. Four or five proposals will be selected in each class, and you will be assigned to a team. The team will function as a consulting firm to serve clients interested in revising World Wide Web pages or revising or developing print materials, such as a brochure, PowerPoint, or handbook. Your team will be working with an actual business or organization in the Greater Lafayette Community or at Purdue. The team will communicate the project goals with the client, research the client, complete a progress report, keep track of communications with the client, write a report, and present a PowerPoint presentation as a group. You will be working with real clients in the community or online, and you will also learn important principles of professional and ethical communication. (Individual; 100 points & Collaborative; 280 points.)

5. Daily Assignments

Daily Assignments throughout the semester will relate to writing and project development. Daily Assignments, Online Discussions, Reading Responses, Peer Review, Quizzes, & etc are worth approximately 185 points. You may not make up any of the assignments.

6. Participation/Attendance Points

Attendance and participation are worth participation/attendance points. Show up on time with your materials and participate in class discussion or in-class activities, and you'll earn points. If you're late, absent, unprepared, or not contributing to class, you won't get points for the day. Participation will total approximately 160 points. Habitual tardiness, early departure from class, sleeping, being disruptive, or unrelated computer use during class time will result in a loss of participation points.

Attendance

There is no distinction between "excused" or "unexcused" absences. If you miss class, for whatever reason, you will be held to the participation policy above. I never need a note or excuse for missing class.

Discussions

Some of your writing for this class will be posted publicly on the Internet to your individual discussion forum on Blackboard. Discussion posting assignments may include drafts, project logs, and research notes, among other types of content. The announcements listed on Blackboard specify what you should post to your discussion and by when, so let that be your guide.

Reading Responses

Although we will have many readings each week, you are responsible for writing discussion posts as a reading response. The reading responses will function to synthesize the readings and your reactions to them, much like class discussion.

Comments and Replies

All comments and replies to another's discussion post should follow effective rhetorical strategies for networking with others on the Web. (Readings from the course text provide guidelines to follow.)

• Keep postings relevant.
• Follow-up comments with further discussion.
• Think of your comments and replies as part of a discussion in which everyone participates.

Grading

Employment Project	225 points
Analyzing Online Writing Contexts	100 points
Complaint Letter	50 points
Community Writing Project	380 points
Daily Assignments, Online Discussions, Reading Responses, Peer Review, Quizzes, & etc.	Approximately 185 points*
Attendance & Participation with In-class Activities.	Approximately 160 Points*
Total	Approximately 1,100 Points*

*Number of In-Class Writings, Quizzes, and Attendance/Participation points may change slightly due to schedule changes.

There is no grading curve for this course.

THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM FOR THIS COURSE.

Your final grade = (Your total points earned) / (Total possible course points)

Final grades will be based on the standard letter-grade percentage scale:

A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or below. 

The four major projects in the course will be comprised of several components, each of which will be worth a percentage of your final grade. For the collaborative project, students will complete the required Collaborative Evaluation Form.

Students must participate in all of the major projects and complete a majority of the in-class assignments in order to pass this class.

Class Participation, Reading Responses, Peer Reviews

This portion of your grade will be based on

• How well you implement the guidelines and best practices for posting comments and creating reading responses.
• The degree to which your peer reviews and responses offer insightful feedback and suggestions on your classmates' drafts.
• The degree to which your reading responses and comment posts demonstrate learning of the course content.

· The degree to which your reading responses and comment posts engage with and contribute to the learning of others in the course.

Policies

Classroom Etiquette

Turn off your phones and pagers. Turn off your instant messenger and e-mail programs. If you can't go an hour without these, please plan to enroll in another class.

Assignment Formatting

All Writing Assignments must be:

• typed in 12-point standard font;
• printed in black ink on white 8 1/2 X 11’’ paper (Except Employment Project-Resume Paper will be needed);
• appropriately margined (usually one inch margins)
• clearly labeled with your name, course number, date, and my name;
• held together with a staple, paper clip, folder, etc.

I will not accept assignments that are not formatted appropriately.

Technology Requirements & Responsibilities

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

• Mac OS System or Windows XP or Vista
• Microsoft Office (Word and PowerPoint) or Mac Office (Word and Keynote)
• Web Browser (e.g., Firefox, Safari, Netscape Communicator, or Internet Explorer)
• Email Program (e.g., Purdue Webmail, Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird, Gmail, etc.)
• Blackboard

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 e-mail. Because the course calendar, syllabus, and weekly announcements are listed on Blackboard, you are responsible for reading and keeping current with all content posted there. You'll be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course e-mail 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:

• Read the course description, calendar and weekly announcements on Blackboard, then ask questions when you are uncertain about requirements or activities.
• Set up your @purdue.edu e-mail or an alternative that you can access regularly and reliably.
• Become proficient sending and receiving e-mail attachments, resolving file compatibility issues, and following e-mail decorum.
• Check the course calendar and announcements on Blackboard daily for the timely completion of assignments.
• Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications, such as the creation of PDF files.
• 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, use another computer. If your computer breaks, use another computer. 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. It might be wise to use an ItaP computer.

Collaborative Work

Teamwork 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 a collaborative project is assigned, you will receive explicit guidelines for successful collaboration. Individual group members will complete Collaborative Evaluation Forms. For more information about good principles of collaboration, see the brochure, Group Work and Collaborative Writing <http://dhc.ucdavis.edu/vohs/>. 

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/services/gradeappeals.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.

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 e-mailing me, or by contacting me through the English Department at 765-494-3740.

Late Work

Late projects will not be accepted. Missed in-class assignments cannot be made up.

If you want to use the class printer, please take care of this before class starts.

If you plan to be absent, please make arrangements to turn in your work by the due date. If your class starts at 8:30, then your assignment is due at 8:30.

Equal Access

Students with documented disabilities needing appropriate academic adjustments should contact me as soon as possible to ensure your needs are met.

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