ENGL420: Business Writing (ViEW)

Fall 2000

office hours: To be announced

office location: Heavilon Hall, 303c
office phone: 49-62803

class listserv: see your career acct. interface

email:
RebeccaL@purdue.edu
home page:
http://icdweb.cc.purdue.edu/~rebeccal/420

course descriptionrequired materialscourse policiesrequired assignmentsgradingweb resources

course description 

English 420 introduces you to the rhetorical principles and writing practices necessary for producing effective business letters, memos, and reports. As part of your development as a professional, you will learn to:

Write to multiple audiences and for various purposes (e.g., to persuade, to inform, to elicit action, to support decision making, to earn or maintain good will) and understand how workplace readers process and use documents. 

Plan and manage short- and long-term writing projects in terms of drafting, designing, revising, and editing documents.

Gain practice working with various writing technologies and electronic genres.

Identify and explore problems in organizations; design and implement appropriate research strategies; and evaluate sources.

Write collaboratively (e.g., co-authorship) and provide colleagues with useful feedback on their work. 

Develop effective style and tone and follow and adjust business writing conventions. 

Design visually effective documents (e.g., layout, formatting, incorporating graphics/visuals into documents). 

Write ethically and responsibly within the business organization and as a member of society. 

The ViEW component of English 420:  A fundamental assumption of this course is that an increasing amount of workplace writing will take place online -- not merely as documents word processed then printed out, but in email, realtime remote discussion, and other forms. In order to help you learn to communicate online more effectively, much of your work in this course (more than half) will take place in virtual spaces. Many of your course materials exist as web documents; all major and some miscellaneous assignments contain an email component; and your classroom will sometimes be a physical computer lab but also frequently a virtual space called "ProNoun" or "the MOO." You'll learn how to access and use these resources and be given userids and passwords as needed during the first few class periods. A unique aspect of this section of English 420: Business Writing is our opportunity to learn to navigate, communicate, and be productive in a virtual workspace. It is my hope that you will take full advantage of these opportunities over the course of the semester.

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required materials

A fundamental assumption of this course is that an increasing amount of workplace writing will take place online -- not merely as documents word processed then printed out, but in email, realtime remote discussion, and other forms. 

Your course "textbook" (PWOnline) exists as a website. 

Professional Writing Online

http://cw.abacon.com/bookbind/pubbooks/pwonline_ab/chapter1/deluxe.html

Among course materials will be numerous sample documents, including samples from previous English 420 students. It is important that you understand how to use these models. Generally, your instructor will lead class discussions of samples, critiquing them to discern their strengths and weaknesses and generating from this discussion principles and tactics for business writing. You should then apply the principles and tactics to your own projects. 

Online participation (the MOO)

The high degree of online communication and work required in this course means that you'll be responsible for ensuring that you have reliable access to the Internet and that your system is configured properly for participating actively in all course assignments and activities. We'll discuss the general requirements in more detail in class, but you'll be responsible for figuring out the best method for your own access. You can use PUCC labs or home systems, Windows, Mac, Linux, or whatever setup you like, provided that system allows you to participate fully (including figuring out how to translate files into formats that your classmates and instructor can read). If your primary setup fails, you need to have backup plans. If you do not have a system at home or cannot get your system configured, you will be able to use any of the standard PUCC labs. One of your first course assignments will be completing a technology checklist and solving any technology access problems that you may encounter. 

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course policies 

technology requirements

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

Mac OS System

Microsoft Office--particularly Word and PowerPoint

Netscape Communicator

ProNoun MOO client

Email program which allows you to send and receive email attachments during class (recommended: @purdue.edu via Netscape)

technology responsibilities

Because the exchange of information and materials in this class will be almost entirely electronic, 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.  Within the first few weeks of the semester, you should be able to attend to the responsibilities in the list below.
 

Have access to your Career Account

Set up your @purdue.edu email address and subscribe to class listserv.

Become proficient sending and receiving email attachments via Netscape Messenger.

Check the course calendar before the beginning of each class.

Become proficient participating in the class MOO space--ProNoun.

Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications.

Maintain back-up copies of all assignments via your home directory, disks, and/or email attachments to yourself.

collaborative work

Collaborative work is a required component of our business writing course. In fact, much of your work in the course will be co-authored assignments. You and your 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.

attendance & punctuality

Attendance is required at all scheduled electronic and face-to-face (F2F) meetings. Since you will working in project teams, you also will be required to attend any scheduled out-of-class meetings with your team to complete course assignments.

Six absences will result in your final grade being lowered by  a letter grade.  Eight absences will result in a failing grade for the course. 

Being excessively or regularly late for class or team meetings, both electronic and F2F, can also be counted as an absence.

Additionally, extended inactivity in the MOO can also be considered absence.
 

late work

The majority of missed class assignments cannot be "made up." If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact me as soon as possible, prior to the deadline, to request an extension.  Such extensions are the exception rather than the rule and are granted (or not) on a case-by-case basis.
 
 
 

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required assignments

You will complete 3 major projects for this course as well as a number of homework assignments, workshops, and other activities.

The 3 major projects are as follows:

Project 1: Employment Project (Individual)

Project 2: Case (Individual or Collaborative)

Project 3: Corporate Web Project (Collaborative)

You must complete all of the major projects to pass the course.

For each project you will submit multiple components of your work (including preliminary assignments, research notes, drafts, etc.). Since one of the principle grading criteria is production (See Production section below.), I need to see your writing process and not just its outcome. 
 

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grading

grading breakdown

Each of the 3 major projects in the course will be comprised of several components, and each project will be worth a percentage of your final grade.  Those percentages are as follows:

Project 1: Employment Project 30%

Project 2: Case 20%

Project 3: Corporate Web Project 40%

Participation: Class Work, Homework, & Attendance 10%

All assignments will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale:
 

A=100-90

B=89-80

C=79-70

D=69-60

F=59 or below

grading criteria

Specific criteria for each major assignment will vary depending on its required components. The three general criteria below, however, will remain consistent.

PURPOSE:How effective is the document? Does it

accomplish its intended task?

meet its goals and the demands of its context (both academic and organizational)?

solve a problem or address a significant organizational need or help people?

provide a sound argument in support of its claims?

meet readers' needs?

improve relations between people?

provide relevant, useful, and accurate information?

PRODUCT:How well constructed is the document? Does it:

demonstrate orderly and coherent presentation of material?

display effective design and formatting?

use visuals effectively?

present professional tone and style?

demonstrate careful proofreading and editing?

PRODUCTION:How effectively was the document produced? Does it:

exhibit a considered writing process? 

reveal quality of planning, collaboration, research & invention, drafting, editing, proofreading?
 
 

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web resources 

ProNoun: course MOO space

WWW access: http://linnell.english.purdue.edu:7000
Telnet access: telnet://linnell.english.purdue.edu:7777
 

Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu

For help with editing, grammar, and basic writing skills, the Purdue OWL offers online help as well as face-to-face, drop-in tutorial help in Heavilon Hall 224.
 

PW documentation web site

http://addison.english.purdue.edu/newpw/doc/newindex.html

For help with learning technology applications like Netscape Mail, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.
 

Computers & Composition documentation web site

http://addison.english.purdue.edu/candc/compdoc.htm

For help with learning technology such as Account Summary Application, Netscape Mail, HTML, etc.
 

PUCC information

http://labinfo.cc.purdue.edu/

For information about open labs on the Purdue campus. If you need personal help with your Purdue career account--e.g., you lose your password, your password doesn't work--then you can get help in Math 231.
 

professional writing web site

http://addison.english.purdue.edu/pw
 
 
 

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updated 8.23.00 
Please send corrections and suggestions to: RebeccaL@purdue.edu 

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