Communication quiz

COM270-900-WI (ONLINE) Business Communication Syllabus Winter 18-19

1

SYLLABUS (Revised 1-28-19)

Business Communication COM270-900-WI ONLINE Winter 18-19

(CRN#20902) 1/7/19-3/19/19

Instructor: Rosemary Rys, M.A., APR Assistant Teaching Professor

Dept. of Communication

Cell: 609-471-0311 / Email: [email protected] Office Hours: By appointment: 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and

Thursdays at the Korman Center, Room 109. The

Instructional Technology Center (ITC)

I. TEXT (Required)

#1 - Successful Writing at Work 11th Edition by Philip C. Kolin, Cengage Learning © 2017 – ISBN#9780357091074

#2 - The Elements of Style” (Classic Edition 2018), by William Strunk, Jr., Publisher – Ingram, ISBN#9781643990040 (This well-known stylebook is very

inexpensive, and it is extremely useful for improving your writing skills.)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This writing-intensive course covers business letters, resumes, memos, proposals, and reports.

Writing is a key skill for effectiveness in the workplace. It reflects your professionalism and contributes to your success. This course will help you develop and hone your writing skills to meet a

variety of business needs. You’ll learn how to write clearly and with purpose for targeted audiences.

Correct grammar, punctuation and style will be emphasized. NOTE: See TIPS & RESOURCES on LEARN/left menu for common errors to keep in mind (and to avoid so you don’t lose points!).

II. OBJECTIVES

Business Communication is an advanced interdisciplinary writing course emphasizing workplace

writing appropriate to diverse professions. In the course, we practice and study selected types of

discourse employed in professional writing situations, preparing students for different systems of writing in their professional lives. Examples from the writing of workplace professionals are analyzed

and used as models to demonstrate the transition from academic to professional writing. Students

create and revise writing samples throughout the course and compile a portfolio of writing samples. Upon completion of this course, students will:

➢ Know how to write effective business documents, including memos, emails, IMs, blogs, letters, résumés, letters of application, designed documents, instructions, proposals, and

short reports ➢ Be able to analyze and evaluate audience, purpose, and situation ➢ Recognize the ethical implications of business communication

➢ Understand the importance of and strategies for communicating with international readers ➢ Know how to work as part of a collaborative team ➢ Be able to create visuals such as tables, graphs, bar charts, and pie charts

➢ Learn how to create an oral presentation with accompanying presentation-software slides ➢ Develop a portfolio of writing samples to bring to interviews

III. LEARNING OUTCOMES

During this course, students will achieve the following:

• Demonstrate polished grammar, punctuation, and usage skills necessary to create, proofread, and edit typical written business messages and oral presentations.

• Prepare clear, concise, and well-organized emails, memos, letters, and reports.

• Implement problem-solving and critical-thinking skills in preparing business messages and

COM270-900-WI (ONLINE) Business Communication Syllabus Winter 18-19

2

presentations.

• Demonstrate professionalism while developing effective listening, nonverbal, meeting, team, and cross-cultural skills.

• Gain hands-on experience in the use of digital tools for researching, reporting, composing, and interacting on the job.

• Create persuasive, professional résumés, cover letters, and other employment messages.

• Demonstrate superior interviewing techniques when applying for employment. (Source: Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition)

IV. REQUIREMENTS ➢ Checking Drexel email account regularly and Blackboard LEARN course site as needed

➢ Reading assigned text chapters and completing assignments and quizzes on text and

supplemental material ➢ Submitting professional-looking, well-written assignments online by the due date

➢ Review each week’s schedule when it becomes available on that Weds.

➢ Exercise/quizzes/homework assignments will be due the following Tues. at 11:59 p.m. Note: Exercises and activities are required, but are not graded; you will receive my

feedback, however. They are intended to help you understand the many ways to communicate effectively in today’s fast-paced business world.

➢ Please complete the Instructor Evaluation Survey when it becomes available online toward the end of the course. Your feedback will be very helpful to me and for future

classes. Thank you in advance!

V. GRADING WEIGHTS 10% Participation (Discussion Boards); see details and rubric below) 30% Quizzes (three at 10% each) 40% Homework (four at 10% each)

20% *Documentary Analysis - “Where to Invade Next” by Michael Moore

100%

*Synopsis (fandango.com) – “ W he re to Inv ade N e xt ” (See Course Reserves link.)

“Documentarian Michael Moore heads overseas to investigate the quality of life in a variety of European nations and examines different approaches to issues such as prison systems, health-care infrastructure, and education that could be adopted by the United States.”

GRADE LEVELS

A+ (97-100) C+ (77-79) A (93-96) C (73-76) A- (90-92) C- (70-72)

B+ (87-89) D+ (67-69)

B (83-86) D (60-66)

B- (80-82) F (59 and below)

Discussion Board Rubric: Starting in Week 1, by each Weds. morning you'll see a new business- discussion topic posted. This activity will be required each week, and the content will vary. You

should do at least three posts per week—one original and two responses to others--worth a total of

10 pts. (for 100 pts. overall), with your posts due by the following Tues. at 11:59 p.m. There are 10 Discussion Boards required,

Instructions:

a. Reflect on the discussion-board prompt. It is related to the course learning and the connections you are making. How will you apply this focus? What stands out for you? What

questions do you have? What is new for you?

b. One-word expressions or short phrases that simply agree or disagree with another student are too minimal.

RUBRIC/Points

10 The author explores several aspects of the material and makes connections. The writing includes specific examples, reflective thinking, and insights about the topics. The

writer should create one post (or more) and respond to at least two others over the course

of the week with constructive feedback and/or a connection, link or illustration. Do not just

COM270-900-WI (ONLINE) Business Communication Syllabus Winter 18-19

3

say, "You're right" or "I agree"--make your comments count; they should be insightful.

8 The writing is adequately developed and includes one to two examples. The writer acknowledges and responds to at least two ideas posted by others.

6 The writer only summarizes the reading, includes one example, and responds to one

other writer. 4 The writing is not related to the reading or the prompt.

2 The writing is haphazard and unfocused.

VI. COURSE SCHEDULE/ASSIGNMENTS

The course itself will begin on Mon., 1/7/18, and future weeks open on Weds. at 7 a.m. and close at

11:59 p.m. on the following Tues., at which time your assignments/quizzes will be due.

Special Assignment: Write your autobiography! See left menu/LEARN for details. This is a practice exercise that is due on Sun., 1/13, at 11:59 p.m. so I can learn more about your

writing style and give you important feedback that will help you do future assignments.

Week 1

1/7-1/15 Review of syllabus/read Chapters 1 & 2

Assignment: Peer Self Introductions—please post a short writeup (and photo, if you wish) under the “Introduce Yourself” blog and tell us about yourself so we can get to

know each other better. (This one is ungraded, but required).

Your autobiography is due on Sun., 1/13, at 11:59 p.m. Discussion Board #1 – See this week’s topic and follow the rubric shown above. Exercise #1 – StrengthFinder

Week 2

1/16-1/22 Discussion Board #2/Exercise #2

Read Chapters 3 & 4

Week 3

1/23-1/29 Homework #1 due at 11:59 p.m. on 1/29

Discussion Board #3/Exercise #3

Read Chapters 5 & 6 Week 4

1/30-2/5 Quiz #1-11th on Chapters 4, 5 & 6

Homework #2 due at 11:59 p.m., on 2/5

Discussion Board #4/Exercise #4 Read Chapters 7 & 8

Week 5

2/6-2/12 Homework #3 due at 11:59 p.m. on 2/12 Discussion Board #5/Exercise #5 Functional Resume Workshop Read Chapter 9 & 10

Week 6

2/13-2/19 Quiz #2-11th on Chapters 8, 9 & 10

Discussion Board #6/Exercise #6

Read Chapters 11 & 12/Document Design Workshop

Week 7 2/20-2/26 Homework #4 due at 11:59 p.m. on 2/26

Discussion Board #7/Exercise #7

Read Chapters 13 & 14 – Writing Instructions and

Procedures Confusing Instructions Activity

Week 8

2/27-3/5 Quiz #3 on Chapters 11, 12 & 13 Discussion Board #8/Exercise #8

Read Chapter 15

Week 9 3/6-3/12 Documentary Analysis is due on at 11:59 p.m. on 3/12

Discussion Board #9/Exercise #9

Read Chapter 16/Presentation software slide show analysis and public speaking tips

COM270-900-WI (ONLINE) Business Communication Syllabus Winter 18-19

4

Week 10 3/13-3/19 Course wrap-up; reading materials (no final exam)

Discussion Board #10

(NOTE: This course will close completely on Tues., 3/19, at

11:59 p.m., by which time all work should have been submitted.)

VII. ASSIGNMENTS Three online quizzes will cover lecture and classroom discussion, as well as textbook assignments and outside reading materials. Additionally, four homework assignments and one documentary

analysis will be graded on creativity, syntax, grammar, spelling and punctuation. I do not tolerate typographical errors; therefore, each spelling mistake is an automatic three-point deduction. Each

punctuation/grammar error is a two-point deduction. Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments must be submitted online by the assigned due date.

Instructor Review Process: Since this is a writing-intensive course, students will have the

opportunity to submit a draft for my review/comments before the assignment is fully graded. You may email me your homework or project draft for review up until 5 p.m. two days

BEFORE it is due. I will send you my general comments as soon as possible.

VIII. WRITTEN WORK REQUIREMENTS

Unless you are otherwise instructed, all assigned work must be posted where indicated online (see Assignments on LEARN). You may NOT email me assigned work without prior permission. All work must be typed and double-spaced. I will not accept any hand-written work.

Please note, correct spelling, grammar and punctuation count substantially in your graded

assignments. If you do not feel confident of your mastery of basic grammar, syntax, and punctuation, I suggest you contact the University Writing Center in MacAlister Hall about a brush-

up session or tutoring! We’ll use www.merriam-webster.com as our resource for spelling.

IX. WRITING CENTER

Writing-Intensive Course Details/Resources for Students

The Drexel Writing Center (DWC) is staffed by Peer Readers and ESL Specialist Faculty Readers who

will help you develop as a writer through one-on-one consultations on current writing projects.

The DWC website has more details. The DWC is located in 0032 MacAlister Hall and can be reached at

215-895-6633.

If you are an international/multilingual student, the Center offers, in collaboration with the

English Language Center (ELC) and the Drexel Library, a focused way to support you through their “Language, Writing, and Research” (LWR) Initiative. If you are working on these types of issues,

please send your writing projects to [email protected]. A Writing Center ESL specialist will review them

with an ELC language tutor and a librarian, and their team will then contact you to set up a focused appointment. Here is the ELC's website link with more information.

If you need additional tutoring or academic coaching services, please visit the website for Drexel’s Center for Learning and Academic Success Services (CLASS).

X. PLAGIARISM/ACADEMIC HONESTY

Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own work. When a student submits work for credit that includes the words, ideas, or data of others, the source of that

information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific references, and, if

verbatim statements are included, through quotation marks as well. By placing his/her name on work submitted for credit, the student certifies the originality of all work not otherwise identified by

appropriate acknowledgments. Plagiarism covers unpublished, as well as published sources. Examples

of plagiarism include, but are not limited to:

* Quoting another person’s actual words, complete sentences or paragraphs, or an entire

piece of written work without acknowledgment of the source * Using another person’s ideas, opinions, or theory, even if completely paraphrased in one’s

own words, without acknowledgment of the source

* Borrowing facts, statistics, or other illustrative materials that are not clearly common knowledge without acknowledgment of the source

COM270-900-WI (ONLINE) Business Communication Syllabus Winter 18-19

5

* Copying another student’s essay test answers

* Copying, or allowing another student to copy, a computer file that contains another

student’s assignment, and submitting it, in part or in its entirety, as one’s own * Working together on an assignment, sharing the computer files and programs involved,

and then submitting individual copies of the assignment as one’s own individual work

Students are urged to consult with individual faculty members, academic departments, or recognized handbooks in their field if in doubt regarding issues of plagiarism. For further information on Drexel

University’s academic integrity policies and resources, please consult the following university web

pages:

Academic Honesty Policy[M1]

Student Handbook / Academic Integrity Policy Academic Integrity Resources

XI. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS It is the University's policy to provide a learning environment that provides all students with the

opportunity to realize their full potential. To this end, the goal of the Office of Disability Resources

("ODR") is to assist students with disabilities in becoming self-sufficient, independent, and successful members of the University's community and to provide students with disabilities with equal

opportunity of access to University courses, programs, facilities, services, and activities. Students

seeking reasonable accommodations for their disabilities must first register with ODR. The staff of

ODR will work closely with students to review medical documentation, assess their individual needs, and link them with the services necessary to ensure them the opportunity to participate fully in

college life. Please visit the Office of Disability Resources website for more information.

XII. ADD, DROP AND WITHDRAWAL POLICIES

• You can add or drop this course until the end of Week 1 (Sun., 1/13 at 11 p.m.), meaning

the course will then be removed from your transcript. More information can be found here on

the Add/Drop web page.

• If you add this course after the start of the term, you are responsible for completing ALL work

that you may have missed.

The course withdrawal deadline deadline is Fri., 2/22, at 11:59 p.m. You may have received

some graded work prior to this deadline. If you have any questions about your progress at any time

in the quarter, please contact me. If you choose to Withdraw, a “W” will be recorded in your

transcript. Please read the Course Withdrawal web page for more information.