ENC 3250.030: Professional Writing

Spring 2014

Mrs. Angela Eward-Mangione

Instructor Information

Office Location: Cooper 319 Office Phone: (813) 974-0082

Office Hours: M/W 9:15-10:45 Email: eward@mail.usf.edu

12:15-1:45 and by appointment

General Course Information

This is a 3 credit hour course. It carries the prerequisites of ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 or ENC 1121 and ENC 1122. It is offered through the Department of English in the School of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences. The course meets 8:00-9:15, Mondays and Wednesdays in CPR 347.

This is a Gordon-Rule 6A Communications course. Students in this course will engage in writing as a “process,” which means employing strategies such as pre-writing, co-authoring, document design, peer feedback, revising, and editing. Students will learn how to develop ideas and texts that follow academic/disciplinary conventions for different contexts, audiences, and purposes. An integral part of writing instruction is the opportunity to revise documents in response to feedback, so students will be required to revise at least some course writing assignments (including one major assignment) after receiving feedback from the instructor. At a minimum, students will write 4,500 words for this course. Students must achieve a proficiency level of at least C- in the course in order to receive Gordon Rule Communication credit.

Course Description

This course is designed to help strengthen skills of effective business and professional communication in written, oral, and digital modes. Some emphasis is placed on reviewing grammar and mechanics as students create successful written messages including e-mails, memos, letters, reports, presentations, résumés, and cover letters. This class primarily relies on collaborative strategies, including group discussions and workshops. Students will learn to negotiate personal and professional identity by adopting multiple professional points of view to write for both internal and external audiences. Students will also apply knowledge of workplace and industry concerns or trends to present and report on data to a specific audience. Finally, students will consider how to showcase and market their experience, skills, and work in written and digital formats for twenty-first century hiring managers and recruiters.

General Course Requirements

Class Format: This class primarily relies on collaborative strategies, including group discussions and workshops. I will offer some lectures on various aspects of professional writing, communication strategies, and document design. We will frequently collaborate in small groups and as a class to apply and practice the knowledge and skills learned in the lectures. Regular preparation and participation are critical for the student’s and course’s success. Additionally, all students are expected to be planning and making progress on the Formal Report Project. Time will be allotted for discussion and peer review of these projects.

Course Organization:

This course uses Canvas, which is the new Course Management System (CMS) for USF. The overarching organization of the course content and schedule is project based. Students will begin the course by imagining themselves as employees within a particular company in order to compose and send messages to other colleagues and employees. The peer-review process for this project will enable students to practice receiving and reading documents from internal colleagues. Students will progress from writing for internal audiences to writing for external audiences. Here, the peer-review process will enable students to practice reading and analyzing professional documents received from external sources. The professional presentation and formal report will enable students to bring an awareness of how external trends or data can alter or shape a department or company’s trajectory to the task of analyzing data for an audience of key decision makers. The peer-review aspect of this project will focus on the professional presentations, enabling students to evaluate and analyze effective oral communication for the workplace. Last, students will carefully consider the individual skills that they can offer in a specific position to a potential employer. As such, students will respond to a particular job announcement. Although students will compose both a cover letter and résumé for the final project, they will independently decide whether or not to submit the documents as part of the application requirements for the pertinent position. The peer-review aspect of this project will be self-directed in order to familiarize students with the necessity of seeking out multiple sources to review documents for employment applications.

Course Assignments:

By the end of the course students will have composed seven professionally written documents for four separate projects. The Formal Report will consist of a 2,000-word document. Students will draft and revise this project throughout the term. Each of the other projects will consist of two related documents that are both approximately 300-500 words each. Students will submit a copy to both Turnitin on Canvas and in class. A minimum of 4,500 words will collectively comprise the documents composed over the course of the semester. Students should also save a copy of all their work on an entity outside of Canvas, such as a USB flash drive.

Additionally, students are required to complete weekly homework assignments on the Aplia website. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/ to access the Aplia website. See Canvas for more information.

Course Resources:

The course syllabus and schedule are both available on Canvas. Students may access these documents in the “Syllabus” section. Some of the course’s support resources, such as flashcards and an online glossary, are integrated into the online companion to the course textbook. Students may access these resources through: http://www.cengagebrain.com. The “Assignments” section of Blackboard will also contain several helpful handouts and descriptions of the course’s projects. Students may find additional resources and support at the Mary Ellen Guffey and Dana Loewey Web Site for students using Essentials of Business Communication, 9e: http://college.cengage.com/business/guffey_9781111821258/student/student_home.html

Course Objectives

This course is designed to develop the following professional skills:

1. To develop or improve an ability to use clear, concise, and grammatically correct language.

2. To learn to employ appropriate formats in writing e-mail messages, memos, business letters, reports, citations, presentation outlines, cover letters, and résumés.

3. To develop or improve an ability to select, organize, and deliver information in business like and professional presentations.

4. To study and practice effective verbal and nonverbal techniques in a non-threatening, supportive environment.

5. To develop skills in using visual aids, handouts, and multimedia presentation materials.

6. To develop or improve an ability to contribute to team performance, to plan and participate in productive meetings.

7. To use collaborative technologies; to use digital technologies safely and effectively.

8. To understand and employ nonverbal skills to advance your career and work in diverse environments and to gain a competitive edge with professionalism and business etiquette skills.

General Course Outcomes

· Students will demonstrate an ability to use clear, concise, and grammatically correct language.

· Students will demonstrate knowledge of appropriate formats for professional documents by using them correctly in e-mail messages, memos, business letters, reports, presentations, cover letters, and resumes.

· Students will demonstrate an ability to select, organize, and deliver information in professional presentations.

· Students will demonstrate knowledge in employing effective visual aids, handouts, and multimedia presentation materials.

· Students will demonstrate an aptitude for contributing to team performance by planning and participating in productive meetings.

· Students will demonstrate awareness of collaborative technologies by using digital technologies safely and effectively.

· Students will demonstrate how to write within and for diverse environments.

· Students will demonstrate how to gain a competitive edge with professionalism and business etiquette skills.

Critical Assignment (Learning Outcomes Assignment)

Formal Report (30%)

Students will write a formal report for an audience of key decision makers within a company of their choice. Students will also offer a 10-minute presentation on their report topic to solicit feedback and reviews from their peers/colleagues. Students will submit the final draft of the prose-based portion of project three on Monday, April 21. Prior to this final submission, students will submit an intermediate draft (1,200 words) on Wednesday, March 19. Students will present March 24, March 26, March 31, and April 2.

Attendance Policy

Attendance:

Regular attendance is expected and mandatory. Classes will be spent engaged in activities and discussions that directly address your needs as a student of professional writing. Since this class only meets twice per week, students are permitted two absences. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Students are encouraged to reserve their absences for unexpected emergencies or illness. Students who have incurred more than two absences will have their final grade lowered by 1/3 for each missed class beyond two (e.g., If you have an “A-”at the end of the semester, yet you have missed two classes, your final adjusted grade is a “B+”). Blackboard will always reflect your current grade as well as an “adjusted” grade for attendance deductions, if applicable.

Scheduled Absences:

Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting. Should an examination or the due date for an assignment fall on one of these dates, I will make arrangements with you for a make-up exam or an alternate date for submission of written work.

Unscheduled absences:

Unscheduled absences involve rare, unforeseen emergencies such as illness, injury, hospitalization, deaths in the immediate family, consequences of severe weather, and other crises. Students should contact the instructors as soon as possible in these cases. Documentation or verification to excuse unscheduled absences may be required. Students who miss more than five class meetings--regardless of the reason--will be advised to drop the course.

Perfect Attendance Incentive:

Students who achieve perfect attendance will receive two bonus percentage points at the end of the semester. These points will be added to the student’s final grade at the conclusion of the term. For example, if you have a 92.11% (A-) at the end of the semester, and you achieve perfect attendance, you will receive a final grade of 94.11% (A). Only students with perfect attendance (no missed classes and no more than one tardy) are eligible for the bonus percentage points, and students who utilize cell phones, laptops, or other electronic devices in class without permission will be automatically disqualified from receiving the extra points.

Late Work:

Final projects that are submitted on the due date, but after the start of class, will be penalized by 1/3 of a letter grade. For each class day the project is late (for a limit of one week), one whole letter grade will be deducted (an “A” becomes a “B” and so on).

Assignments cannot be made up.

Grading

Graded Assignments and Projects:

Project or Assignment

Percentage

First-Day Persuasive Essay (This must be written in class and turned in the first day.)

N/A

Project 1: Communicating Effectively within Organizations: E-mails and Memos

10 %

Project 2: Communicating Effectively with External Audiences: Business Letters that Communicate Positive and Negative Messages

20%

Project 3: Presenting and Reporting Data in the Workplace

30%

Project 4: Marketing Your Sills in the Job Market

25%

Homework Assignments and Discussion Board (accessed through Aplia Web Site)

15%

Individual conferences (Ideally these occur during office hours; if necessary, I may cancel class for each set of conferences.)

N/A

I will record your grades on Canvas throughout the semester. Letter grades, including plus and minus grades, will be assigned as follows:

A+ (97–100) 4.00

B+ (87–89.9) 3.33

C+ (77–79.9) 2.33

D+ (67–69.9) 1.33

A (94–96.9) 4.00

B (84–86.9) 3.00

C (74–76.9) 2.00

D (64–66.9) 1.00

A– (90–93.9) 3.67

B– (80–83.9) 2.67

C– (70–73.9) 1.67

D– (60–63.9) 0.67

A grade of “I” will be awarded only in the case of a medical or family emergency and, in conjunction with University policy, only when a small portion of the student’s work is incomplete and only when the student is otherwise earning a passing grade.

Students may not take this course S/U.

Students with Disabilities

Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Students with Disabilities Services to arrange appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable notice prior to requesting an accommodation. Contact SDS at 974-4309 or www.sds.usf.edu. For more information about student responsibilities related to disability accommodations, see http://www.sds.usf.edu/content/docs/SDS%20Student%20Handbook.pdf.

Academic Integrity

Students attending USF are awarded degrees in recognition of successful completion of coursework in their chosen fields of study. Each individual is expected to earn his/her degree on the basis of personal effort. Consequently, any form of cheating on examinations or plagiarism on assigned papers constitutes unacceptable deceit and dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as “literary theft” and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, web sites, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large, or the form, structure, or style of a secondary source must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as one’s own another person’s work in part or in total.

Students will submit writing projects to a plagiarism detection site called Turnitin, which is accessed through Canvas. A student who submits a plagiarized assignment will receive an “F” with a numerical value of zero on the assignment, and the “F” shall be used to determine the final course grade. The instructor has the right to assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course. An “FF” grade assigned to indicate academic dishonesty is reflected only on internal records and prevents the student from repeating the course using the Grade Forgiveness Policy. If a student who has been accused of academic dishonesty drops the course, the student’s registration in the course may be reinstated until the issue is resolved. A student who is suspected of cheating may not drop a course to avoid a penalty.

See http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/1112/pdf/AcademicIntegrityOfStudents.pdf for USF’s definitions of plagiarism and its policy on academic honesty. The catalogue outlines the policies regarding academic integrity beginning on page 52. Consult with me if you have any questions about these issues.

The University of South Florida has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service which allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I reserve the right to submit assignments to this detection system. Assignments are compared automatically with a huge database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper was plagiarized.

Academic Grievance Procedures

If a serious issue or conflict arises, the student should first make an attempt to reach a satisfactory resolution with the course instructor. It the instructor and student are unable to resolve the situation to their mutual satisfaction, the student may, within three weeks of the incident, file a letter of notification with Dr. Joyce Karpay, the Assistant to the Chair of the English Department.

Other Course Requirements and Policies

Required Texts

Course Textbook (Bundle):

Guffey Essentials of Business Communication, 9e + access codes to Aplia and MEGuffey.com website

Print Essentials Bundle

Bundle: Guffey/Loewy Essentials of Business Communication, 9e + Aplia with eBook

Printed Access Card + MEGuffey.com Printed Access Card

Bundle ISBN: 978-128-547-7527

Bundle Price: $ 75.50

Digital Essentials Bundle

Bundle: Aplia with eBook for Guffey/Loewy Essentials of Business Communication, 9e

+ Printed Access Card + MEGuffey.com Printed Access Card

Bundle ISBN: 9781111968472

Bundle Price: $ 68.00

Technology Requirements and Instructions

Aplia Web Site

Weekly homework assignments can be located on the Aplia website. These assignments will collectively comprise 15% of your grade. The homework assignments on Aplia may include but are not limited to chapter reviews, group assignments, and discussion board posts. The Aplia site requires a separate registration process.

Aplia assignments: Most Aplia assignments are graded. You will have three attempts to correctly answer each question, and you will receive feedback about your answer and an explanation of the question. You also have the option to save your work and come back later to finish the question and check your answer; if you choose this option and do not return, the work you had completed will be graded at the due date. After the due date passes, you will be unable to change your answers or submit any new work. These assignments are posted weeks in advance.

The cost of Aplia is included as part of the bundle that is offered by the Bookstore, together with the ENC 3250 textbook. The course fee will include access to a digital copy of the text.

Disclaimer: I am not financially affiliated with Aplia and do not receive any monetary benefit for requiring this material.

Aplia Instructions:

Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/
Complete the Configuration Test and make adjustments to your configuration if necessary.
Return to the Sign In page and click Create a New Account.
Choose Student Account.
You will then be asked to enter your course key, which will be provided to you by your instructor.
You will be prompted to enter your e-mail address and select a password.

You will only need to register once. After the registration process is complete, you will not need to enter the course key again. For any technical or sign-in problems, please contact Support. See the document entitled “Accessing Aplia through CengageBrain” in the “Information” section of our course on Blackboard for additional information and instructions as well.

Turnitin Web Site

Students will submit writing projects to a plagiarism detection site called Turnitin, which is accessed through Canvas. In order to comply with federal (FERPA) and state privacy laws, you are not required to include personal identifying information such as your name, SSN, and/or U# in the body of the work (text) or use such information in the file naming convention prior to submitting. Please follow carefully your instructor’s instructions regarding what identifying information to include. Your submission will be placed in the course grade center in your account that can be accessed by the instructor and attributed to you.

Class Participation

Students are expected to come to class prepared. Reading the assigned material prior to class, completing assignments, and formulating at least two questions or points about the assigned reading and activities will prepare you for class. Always bring your course textbook, journal or binder, works in progress, and any projects or assignments due to each class.

Recording of Class Lectures

Students may record class lectures or discussions only with prior permission of the instructor. Students are not permitted to sell notes or tapes of class lectures.

Course Projects and Other Assignments

Exams

There will be no final exam in this section of ENC 3250.

Project 1 (10%)

Project 1 asks you to write an e-mail and a memo. You will assume both a non-managerial and a managerial employee’s perspective, respectively, to draft an e-mail that requests information and a memo that provides step-by-step instructions. You will choose a company within which to assume your role, conduct research about the company, and maintain an awareness of the company’s culture as you draft these documents. If you already work for a company, you may use that company for these scenarios. Students will submit the final draft of project one on Monday, February 3.

Project 2 (20%)

Project 2 asks you to write two business letters: (1) a direct-request letter and (2) a proposal rejection letter. You will maintain the same point of view, that of an employee working for Stremer Media Group, as you write both of these letters. Students will submit project two on Wednesday, February 26.

Project 3 (Major Project) (30%)

Project 3 asks you to write a formal report for an audience of decision makers. Students will also offer a 10-minute (maximum) presentation on their report topic to solicit feedback and reviews from their peers/colleagues. Students will submit the final draft of the report for project three on Monday, April 21. Prior to this final submission, students will submit an intermediate draft (1,200 words) on Wednesday, March 19. Students will present on March 24, March 26, March 31, and April 2.

Project 4 (25%)

Project 4 asks you to consider the current job market as you create a résumé and a cover letter. After searching both print and online job listings for positions within the career of your choice, you will create a cover letter and a résumé for a particular job announcement. You will be required to submit the letter and résumé for a grade in this course, but you may decide independently whether or not you wish to actually apply for the position. Students will submit project four on Wednesday, April 16.

Peer Work (3% of each project grade)

Students will be required to review their peers’ work for each major project.

Grading: Peer Reviews will be assigned full credit (A), three-quarters credit (C), half credit (F), or no credit (0).

To receive an A (95%), the review should offer a substantial note (end note) in which the reviewer identifies, describes, and analyzes at least two strengths and two areas of opportunity in the writer’s paper. Additionally, an “A” review offers at least two in-text comments per page. In-text comments should be written in complete and correct sentences. An “A” review demonstrates a high level of integrity, work ethic, and commitment to a mutually beneficial peer review process.

To receive a C (75%), the review should offer a substantial note (end note) in which the reviewer identifies, describes, and analyzes at least one strength and one area of opportunity in the writer’s paper. Additionally, a “C” review offers at least two in-text comments per page. In-text comments should be written in complete and correct sentences. Since a “C” review does not demonstrate the highest level of integrity, work ethic, and commitment to a mutually beneficial peer review process (a “C”-level review is incomplete and thus does not offer the writer adequate feedback), students are strongly encouraged to fulfill the requirements to earn an “A” on their reviews.

Half credit (50%/F) will be assigned to entries that offer a substantial note (end note) in which the reviewer identifies, describes, and analyzes at least one strength and one area of opportunity in the writer’s paper. Since an “F” review does not demonstrate the highest level of integrity, work ethic, and commitment to a mutually beneficial peer review process (a “F”-level review is incomplete and thus does not offer the writer adequate feedback), students are strongly encouraged to fulfill the requirements to earn an “A” on their reviews.

No credit (0%/F) will only be assigned if a review is not submitted at all. As the peer-review process depends upon the integrity, work ethic, and commitment of all class members, peer reviews that receive a “0” must be made up (no late credit assigned). If the opportunity to complete the review on My Reviewers has passed, the reviewer must e-mail writer(s) in his or her peer-review group an end note and four in-text comments to help the writer revise his or her paper. The reviewer must copy the instructor on the e-mail as well. No credit will be assigned for the make-up peer review.

Aplia Assignments and Discussion Board (15%)

Students will complete weekly assignments on Aplia. Some assignments will develop and test knowledge, concepts, and principles discussed in each chapter. The assignments will also offer grammar and writing tutorials. For these assignments, you will have three attempts at each question, and you will receive feedback about your answer and an explanation of the question. You also have the option to save your work and come back later to finish the question and check your answer; if you choose this option and do not return, the work you had completed will be graded at the due date. After the due date passes, you will be unable to change your answers or submit any new work. See the course schedule for due dates.

Other assignments will require you to read and participate in a discussion about an article that addresses the topic of business communication. A link to these articles (located at http://community.cengage.com/GECResource/blogs/bus_comm/) will be provided in the discussion board prompt. See the course schedule for due dates.