When you are given your first writing project on the job, will you know what to do?
This course is for students who are looking ahead to prepare themselves to write for their careers in business, law, the health professions, science, technology, education, and the arts.
In this course . . .
- you will learn to orient your writing toward different audiences, such as managers, customers, clients, and professional colleagues;
- you will learn to write in ways that have a greater impact on others and that result in action.
By the end of the semester . . .
- you will have a well-written resume and an employment letter;
- you will have a portfolio that includes such key decision-making genres as a proposal, a report, and other career-related documents;
- you will be more confident in your abilities to write effectively;
- you will have a better command of software used professionally to write, design, and publish print and electronic documents.
For this course you will need . . .
- Cunningham, Donald H., Elizabeth O. Smith, and Thomas E. Pearsall.
How to Write for the World of Work. 7th ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth,
2005. ISBN: 1-4130-0194-7.
- regular access to e-mail, the Web, and word processing.
- technology to listen to, pause, and replay MP3 audio files, such as Windows Media Player, Real Audio, QuickTime for Mac users.
Students are expected to attend all classes, arriving on time and being attentive throughout each class.
Technology can both help and hinder our learning. Students are responsible
for using technology only in ways that can help our learning and for being
proactive to prevent uses that can hinder our learning.
E-mail is an important channel of professional communication.
Students of this professional communication course are responsible for . . .
- checking their e-mail on a frequent and consistent basis in order
to stay current with course communications. Students have the responsibility
to recognize that certain communications may be time-critical. "I didn't
check my e-mail," error in forwarding mail, or e-mail returned with
"Mailbox Full" or "User Unknown" are not acceptable excuses for missing
course communications sent via e-mail.
- reading their course e-mail promptly and keeping their course e-mail
readily accessible by saving or printing it;
- maintaining their e-mail account throughout the semester. If a student
changes e-mail address, the student is responsible for notifying me
promptly of their new e-mail address.
Because of the prevalence of viruses spread through e-mail attachments,
e-mail recipients often leave attachments unopened. Except in cases in
which an assignment specifies that an e-mail attachment be submitted to
the instructor, do not submit course assignments or other course communication
by e-mail attachment.
| ASSIGNMENTS |
GRADING |
- Writing
- All assignment drafts,
short writing assignments,
in-class writing, and e-mail writing
|
30% |
- Writing Portfolio
- Best drafts of formal writing assignments
|
50% |
- Participation
- Classroom activities,
peer reviews,
student-instructor conferences
|
20% |
Students are expected to know, understand, and abide by the guidelines
on academic integrity specified by the University (see www.brooklyn.liu.edu/library/services/refservices/AntiPlagiarism.htm)
and the English Department (see www.brooklyn.liu.edu/depts/english/plagiarism_definitions.pdf).
The work students submit is expected to be their own work. Any idea
or phraseology not their own should be honestly acknowledged as such and
its source should be fully credited and properly documented. Plagiarism
is a serious academic offense, resulting in an immediate failing grade
on the plagiarized assignment and possibly an immediate failing grade
in the course. If there can be any possible doubts about academic integrity
in a course assignment, speak with me before you submit the assignment.
In general, your work is assessed according to the resourcefulness with
which the work . . .
- fulfills the criteria set out in the assignment specifications;
- accomplishes its multiple purposes;
- responds to its audience's needs and orientations;
- uses the opportunities and adapts to the constraints of its academic,
social, and cultural
environments;
- abides by the usage conventions and uses the expressive range of the
English
language.
More specific criteria for major assignments will be presented and/or discussed
during the course.
During the course, most grades will be assigned using a system of checkmarks:
Corresponding to the above checkmarks, multi-draft formal essays will sometimes be described as "late stage," "middle stage," and "early stage" respectively,
which describe how far the draft has progressed toward its "final stage."
Letter grades are based on the following general levels of student
performance:
| "A" |
- excellent performance in all areas of the assignment criteria,
especially the research and writing:
well-developed ideas, an insightfully point of view, and mature critical thinking;
clearly focused, well-structured argumentation;
an appropriate tone, clear and articulate use of the language, and error-free command of English usage conventions
- in principle, could always benefit from further revision that would result in 1%-10% of the revised
work being changed or new
|
| "B" |
- overall significantly above-average performance in the assignment
criteria, especially the research and writing, but typically with
average or borderline performance in one major area or a few minor
areas
- requires further revision, especially in areas of average or
borderline performance, that would result in 10%-25% of the revised
work being changed or new
|
| "C" |
- overall average competence expected for a course at this academic
level, typically with some above-average and some below-average
research and writing performance
- requires thorough revision throughout many areas of the writing
that would result in 25%-50% of the revised work being changed
or new
|
| "D" |
- overall borderline work, the bare minimum expected for a course
at this academic level
- requires such extensive revision that typically more than 50%
of the revised work should be changed or new
|
| "F" |
- inadequate work, not meeting expectations for a course at this
academic level
- requires so much revision that it is typically best to re-start
the assignment from scratch
|
Final course letter grades: Final course letter grades include only the following: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, and F.
Deadlines are an important part of research and writing in the "real world," and hence
they are important in this course. See our course Schedule for assignment deadlines and submit your assignments on time.
Late assignments will be penalized with a reduction of 1% from the student's final course grade for each part or whole 24-hour period overdue,
starting approximately one minute after the stated deadline and continuing over weekends and holidays.
If you cannot come to campus, submit a late assignment by e-mail; the time stamp on your e-mail will be considered your submission time.
Then hand in a printout of the assignment the next time you are on campus.
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