Bryant & Stratton – Syracuse North Campus
COURSE: ENGL 230: Writing for Business & Technology INSTRUCTOR: Kim Reed
TERM: May 2007 DAYS/TIME: MW 10:20 – 11:35 AM
E-MAIL: kareed@bryantstratton.edu SSS TIME: MW 11:35 AM – 11:55 AM
My Approach to Teaching and This Course:
My goal as an educator is to serve as a coach to my students. Some students need encouragement; some need discipline and deadlines. I try to find out what each student needs and coach him or her to take his or her skills to another level. The product of my teaching should be students that are prepared for the workforce, and have the confidence to continue their learning both formally and informally. I fully support Writing Across the Curriculum, Writing to Learn, and Writing in Discipline, and as a result, you will have multiple opportunities this semester to use your writing skills to give me feedback on your progress in the course and reflect on what you have learned
My philosophy is "no surprises," which means that students will never be surprised by an assignment, or their grade in the course. I will try to give students frequent feedback on their current grade in the course, and what they can do to either improve it, or keep it at that level. In addition, if a student has a question at any time, please contact me. Please keep me updated on your concerns and challenges, so that I can help.
The best way to better business and technical writing skills is through practice. Communication is one of the skills employers value most, no matter what the field. I cannot emphasize enough how the skills in this course will help you throughout your entire life.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
Analyze situations, audiences, and desired goals to determine the written format appropriate to the purpose of the message.
Produce clear and concise computer-generated letters, memos, reports, and proposals.
Create written communications that promote positive interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, and/or international relations.
Learn and use effective strategies for collaborative work in preparing documents.
Develop strategies to become a more effective reader and writer of technical documents.
Develop graphics that create visual and verbal meaning and interest.
Supplement to Course Syllabus
GRADING: The following describes the method of computing the final grade for this course:
Participation Activities 10% Routine Letter Assignment 10%
In-Class Exercises 15% Negative Letter Assignment 15%
E-mail Assignment 10% Persuasive Letter Assignment 15%
Memo Assignment 10% Report/Proposal 15%
*Important to all graded writing pieces will be organization, content, style, grammar/mechanics, and use of source material. A rubric will be provided when a writing (or presentation) piece is assigned so that expectations are clear.
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT: Early in the semester, several diagnostic tools will be used to assess each student’s current level of skill in writing. Each student complete a diagnostic survey to assess perceptions and attitudes towards writing, a diagnostic test based on information from the handbook and designed to maximize and individualize the effective use of the handbook, and a diagnostic piece of writing to assess each student’s composition skills. These diagnostics will have no effect on the student’s grade.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS: Communication skills are essential to success in the workplace of today. The ability to write clear, concise, complete, well-documented, attention-getting messages and reports will make Bryant & Stratton graduates more effective in their chosen field. The varied research and writing opportunities in ENGL 230 will encourage the development and application of practical writing techniques.
MAKE-UP POLICY: As is the case in the business world, timely, accurate work is expected in this class; however, should lateness occur, any major assignments other than the Report/Proposal (E-mail, Memo, Routine Letter, Negative Letter, Persuasive Letter) can be submitted up to one week after the due date. There will be a ten percent deduction from the maximum possible score. NOTE: Participation assignments (any assignments) cannot be made up. The lowest grade in this category will be dropped.
USE OF TECHNOLOGY: All final drafts of graded writing pieces must be computer generated; additionally, computer research will be essential to success in this class; however, the student does not need a computer at home to participate fully in computer research. The computers in the computer labs and the library will be available for student use.
CRITICAL WORKPLACE COMPETENCIES: All of the assessments in ENGL 230, in addition to providing the student with opportunities to develop and then demonstrate research and writing skills, will also develop and assess the student’s success with critical workplace skills. Crucial to success in ENGL 230 will be timeliness, effective use of research sources, careful planning and scheduling of research and writing tasks, thorough research procedures, writing that uses the writing process, and attention to detail in the development and production of effective written documents and oral presentations of findings, all of which are encompassed in the workplace competencies. The critical workplace skills that will be emphasized in this course are Taking Responsibility, Persistence, Sense of Quality, and Information Processing.
INFORMATION LITERACY: In completing the research and writing assignments for this class, the student will develop his/her ability to acquire, evaluate, synthesize, use, and document information. This course will lay the groundwork for increasingly more diverse and in-depth information literacy experiences in other classes.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular class attendance is necessary to receive the maximum benefit from this course as well as to develop the professional work habits that are highly valued in the business community. Attendance at every class meeting is required; if a student must be absent, he or she will be held accountable for class work and due dates missed. Students who arrive on time and schedule outside appointments at times other than class time will be able to maximize the benefits of this course. See the Student Guide for an explanation of the College’s position regarding attendance and participation.
Students are required to sign the attendance sheet at each class meeting.
LEARNING PORTFOLIO: An important aspect of a Bryant & Stratton education is the development of a portfolio to demonstrate acquired skills. The writing pieces produced in ENGL 230, particularly the report/proposal, can serve as examples of strong research and writing skills.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE: It is expected that all members of the class will behave with proper decorum. If a student has a comment to make regarding a topic under discussion, he or she should be recognized and make the comment to the entire class, thereby keeping the distraction of private conversations to a minimum. Students must turn off all cell phones, personal pagers, and recording devices while class is in session.
Food and drink should not be brought into the classroom.
SKILLS ASSISTANCE/COURSE ENHANCEMENT: Students who need additional assistance outside of class should contact the instructor to set up an appointment, or can also visit the Learning Center or sign up for the tutoring program.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES (SSS): Specific blocks of time are set aside in the morning, afternoon, and evening when both students and instructors are available. At these times students will have the opportunity to work individually or in groups in labs, classrooms, and the library with the guidance of the instructors. Students may avail themselves of the services of any of the persons/resources on campus that would make them successful. These times are as follows:
MTWR 8:00 – 8:55 AM
12:00 – 12:30 PM
2:15 – 3:05 PM
4:45 – 5:40 PM
TR 1:50 – 3:05 PM
RESOURCES: Students are expected to come to class prepared with textbook, writing implement, and paper. A folder, dictionary, thesaurus, and reference manual will also be useful for class work and assignments. Bryant & Stratton makes a number of resources available to students for assistance in completing assignments. These include our Virtual Library, 24/7 Reference Librarian service, and online tutoring through Smarthinking. All of these resources can be accessed through our College library webpage, any time, day or night, at http://vl.bryantstratton.edu.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Grammar Smart: A Guide to Perfect Word Usage. (1993). New York: Villard.
Jeffries, L. (1998). Meaning in English: An Introduction. New York: St. Martin’s.
Lester, J. (1993). Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide. New York: HarperCollins.
Zinsser, W. (1998). On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-fiction. New York: HarperCollins.