Fall
2004 Website:
http://mason.gmu.edu/~cthaiss/302bf04.html
Phone:
703-993-1273
E-mail:
cthaiss@gmu.edu
Office:
Robinson A423
Hours:
M 9-10 AM; MW 1:30-2:30 PM and
by appt.
*memos
*letters
*proposals
*brief
research reports
*white
papers
*webpage
construction (optional--see Technical
Support)
As
customary in business, the writing
in this course will be highly
collaborative. Its effectiveness depends on both individual
energy
and cooperation. In these sections, the collaborative writing will
be carried out by such means as
*electronic
mail and real-time
discussion/response (via GMU
Townhall)
*planning,
preparation, and
presentation of a small-group field research
project and of a "white paper" based on that research
*small-group
"feedback" on drafted
writings
*dialogue
with the instructor.
I
trust that each person in the course
will emerge from it with a better-developed
sense of the principles and typical methods of business
writing,
plus improved ability to carry out typical business-writing tasks.
Check out the English Department's TEC
Program (Technology in the English Concentrations) for tutorials on
a wide range of web skills, from basic webpage design and searching
databases
to such advanced skills as image manipulation, sound recording, and
video
capture. ITU
Support at GMU (Innovation Hall 233) offers a range of services and
guides for students who want to improve their computer skills. Grading
standards are as follows
(grades to be determined at the discretion
of the instructor):
A
= outstanding work: among the
specific virtues, full, active, cooperative,
and imaginative participation in all activities, exercises, and
projects
of the course; prose that consistently demonstrates the principles of
effective
business writing, as outlined in the core text;
B
= very good work: full, active, and
cooperative participation in all
activities, exercises and projects; prose that almost always
demonstrates
the principles of effective business writing;
C
= satisfactory work: full,
cooperative participation in all activities,
exercises, and projects; prose that, with revision, almost always
demonstrates
the principles of effective business writing;
D
= almost satisfactory work: almost
full, usually cooperative participation
in all activities, exercises, and projects: prose that, with revision,
usually demonstrates the principles of effective business writing;
F
= unsatisfactory work: inconsistent
participation in activities, exercises,
and projects; or prose that, with revision, still fails to demonstrate
consistent application of the principles of effective business writing.
I
will give plusses and minuses
according to GMU policy.
NOTE:
A written project will
receive an F if a student does not
participate in every phase of the development of the project
and
meet all deadlines for preliminary materials.
Incidental
expenses for xeroxed copying
of project materials.
The
University Library System contains
extensive holdings of business-related
books and periodicals, plus online access to many business-related
services.
See Subject
Guides
in Business and International Commerce
Although
we will be working daily in
the computer lab, it will be useful
to you, though not essential, to have home access to Townhall, for any
necessary communication with other members of your research group after
class hours.
I
also strongly recommend the
additional advice on your writing that
you can receive through the University
Writing Center. Further
advice on your writing in the
School of Management is available in the SOM online writing guide
sponsored by the GMU writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) program. ASSIGNMENTS:
COURSE PROJECTS and
PROPORTIONS
OF CREDIT
2.
Comparative Business News
Analysis (10%)--We will work on comparative analysis of two
articles on the same issue
or event from business-related publications. My aim in this assignment
is (1) to increase your attentiveness to both the blatant and the
subtle
differences between accounts of the "same" event by different
publications.
Whether as producer or consumer, you need to be aware of these
differences
in building your own informed perspectives on the issues. Practice in
doing
this sort of analysis will also make you more articulate in writing
"white
papers" (position statements or formal recommendations) on any issue.
Only
one of these articles may be from
a national general interest online
news source (such as www.washingtonpost.com). The other must be from a
print business publication, such as the Wall Street Journal,
Forbes, etc. We will practice in class using databases (e.g.,
Lexis-Nexis,
Dow Jones Interactive) that index print and electronic materials on
business-relevant
topics. I must approve your sources. We will develop in class questions
to ask about the two articles by which to do a well-informed
comparison.
Among the areas of comparison will be purposes, intended audiences,
kinds of evidence, organization, writing style and tone, and graphic
presentation. Your
completed analysis will consist of
three
main sections:
A.
Summary of the
Issue/Event--In 500 well-chosen words,
you will summarize the contents of the issue/event, using the two
articles
as your sources. Since the articles will more than likely agree on many
of the details, summarizing should not be difficult. However, where the
two articles differ, you'll need accurately to state these differences.
B.
Assessment of the Important
Differences between the
Articles--In 500 well-chosen words, you will show how the two
pieces
differ in their bias and in the kinds of information
they
use to elaborate and explain. Most journalists strive for balance in
their
reporting, so that articles often appear unbiased and fair. But all
publications
subtly try to sway opinion and action of readers both
by
what they include and by what they leave out. Hence,
the
need for comparative reading on all public issues!
C.
Judgment: Which article
does
the better job of conveying information
fully and fairly?--In 300 well-chosen words, argue for your
preference
based on the evidence. HINT: the longer article need not be the more
fair
nor the more thorough, though it often is. HINT TWO: be aware of your
own
political and other biases (you have them) and try to do a fair
analysis. Procedure:
Drafts and revised drafts should be submitted using standard
memo
format (see WOJ, 21-25) and should be roughly 1300 words.
Revised
drafts must be accompanied by first drafts (with annotations by
peer reviewers), filled-in critique sheets from peer reviewers,
a one-page "change" memo that describes and justifies the
changes in the
revised draft, and an Appendix that includes photocopies
of the compared documents. 3.
Team Field Research Project
(50%)--Throughout the course,
we will be developing aspects of a two- to three-person project that
will
be based on your investigation of the documents and writing practices
of
a local business organization of your choice (I must approve proposed
choices).
In class, we will discuss methods, materials, and presentation of the
projects.
Chapters 3a and 6 of WOJ will be assigned and adapted. Aspects
of
the project include the project research proposal, a letter
of
introduction to the firm, a series of progress memos sent
electronically,
the full report of the research, and a 10-15 minute oral
presentation
by each group to the class (in the final week of the course).
The
research report itself will consist
of two main parts: an analysis
of five or more typical, significant documents written by the firm
(1-2 double-spaced pages per document analyzed), analyzed for those
features
learned and applied in the Comparative Business News Analysis
assignment, and
a detailed interview (minimum of 5 double-spaced pages) with an
employee or employees of the firm knowledgeable about the range and
types
of writing done by the firm as part of its work.
A
third part of the report will be done
online in class: an evaluation
of a web page either produced by the firm or closely related to a
primary
kind of work done by the firm. The method of analysis will be based on
a prototype website
evaluation assignment by Professor Virginia Montecino.
Due
dates are noted in the schedule
below. Remember that credit for
the entire project is contingent on full, active, and cooperative
participation
in all phases. My criteria for evaluating the written projects are
based
on the principles of effective business writing detailed in the
pertinent
chapters of WOJ and in our class discussions.
Because
there will be comparatively
little time to prepare and practice
the oral presentations, evaluation will be less formal;
nevertheless,
I will be devoting class time to explaining principles of effective
oral
presentation, and these should be followed precisely. I have been
generally
pleased by the presentations that students have worked up in this
course,
even under severe time constraints. You CAN do it! The deadlines of
this
course are excellent practice for the time pressure you'll regularly be
under in the workplace.
These
projects will receive a group
grade; thus, the grade earned by
the team will be the grade earned by each individual on the team.
Nevertheless,
one element of the final report will be the team's self-assessment
of
each person's contribution, and I will take the liberty of
adjusting
individual credit, if necessary.Team members who contribute little
(this
happens rarely, but it does happen) will receive significantly less
credit.
4.
"White Paper" Based on Team
Field Research (10%)
In
the course of your team field
research on the writing culture of
a business organization, each team member will identify a communication
issue or problem at the company/agency/business that will form the
basis of a "white paper" (i.e., a position statement or formal
recommendation).
The white paper is an important form of business report that is used in
both university courses and the workplace. Each
member of the team
will
write a separate white paper on a separate issue. I must approve
topics.
Your white paper should be addressed to a relevant manager with the
firm
(though whether you indeed deliver the white paper is up to you!),
rather
than to me as an interested outsider. Your white paper will need to
(1)
succinctly describe the issue or
problem, including any relevant
background the reader needs;
(2)
state your position on the issue
and/or make recommendations toward
solving the problem;
(3)
support your position and/or
recommendations with all relevant data
and sources; Source
material may include
your
own relevant experience and
observation and that of others whom you can accurately and specifically
cite; sources may also include print or online articles or product specifications that you must
accurately cite and document. Databases may come in handy in
this
project. A table (e.g., of data, options, or pros and cons)
must
be included somewhere in the document, as appropriate to your subject.
Your
final draft should be between 1200
and 1500 words. Include your
first draft, critique sheets, and a
change memo in the final packet. Student writers
are often confused as to what should be cited. Some think that only
direct quotations need to be credited. While direct quotations do need
citations, so do paraphrases and summaries of opinions or factual
information formerly unknown to the writers or which the writers did
not discover themselves. Exceptions to this include factual information
which can be obtained from a variety of sources, the writers' own
insights or findings from their own field research, (what has been
called common knowledge). What constitutes common knowledge can
sometimes be precarious; what is common knowledge for one audience may
be so for another. In such situations, it is helpful to keep the reader
in mind and to think of citations as being "reader friendly." In other
words, writers provide a citation for any piece of information that
they think their readers might want to investigate further. Not only is
this attitude considerate of readers, it will almost certainly ensure
that writers will not be guilty of plagiarism. M
Aug. 30:: Introductions and
Exercises; activate e-mail
accounts (see
Technical
Support); **read WOJ,
Introduction
W
Sept. 1:: Townhall--Getting Started
and the "Junk Mail" exercise
W
Sept. 8:: The Process and Principles
of Business Writing; **begin
group formation and proposal-writing for team field research; **read WOJ,
Chapters 1, 6b
M
Sept. 13:: Composing Effective
Business Prose I (memo and letter exercises);
have read WOJ, Chapters 1,
6b; post proposal for team field
research; **read
WOJ, Chs. 10-11 (NOTE features of punctuation, usage, and grammar that
have given you problems in your writing, and be prepared to ask about them
in class.)
T
Sept. 14:: Last day to ADD classes
W
Sept. 15:: Composing Effective
Business Prose II (review of WOJ grammar
and usage sections, Chs. 10-11); post
revised research proposal; **read
WOJ, Chapter 3a, to begin prep for research interviews post; **contact
company and arrange study (if your group has not already done so) Sa
Sept. 18 - R Sept. 23:: Fall for the
Book Festival (www.fallforthebook.org)--attend one business-relevant reading or
panel during the festival, send me via your Townhall team site a brief
(200-word) summary/critique of the event you attended, and be ready to
talk about it in class on Sept. 27. M
Sept. 20:: Small-group workshop:
compose letter of
introduction/commitment
to company. Groups begin
to compose detailed interview questionnaire to
conduct fieldwork.
W
Sept. 22:: Groups complete
composing interview
questionnaires and POST
them to Townhall group sites; **collect data--post Field Research
Progress Memo to your team site before M Sept. 27. M
Sept. 27:: Discussion of Fall for the
Book events you attended; discussion of Comparative Business News
Analysis criteria (exercise); **begin
Comparative Business News Analysis assignment.
W
Sept. 29:: Comparative Business News
Analysis (exercises and discussion) M
Oct. 4:: Further discussion of
principles of analysis for Comparative Business News Analysis project; **draft comparative business news
analysis
W
Oct. 6:: Introduction to
Principles
of the "White Paper; research update
M
Oct. 11:: Columbus/Indigenous Peoples
Day Recess T
Oct. 12:: Small-group workshop on drafts of
comparative business news analyses;
discussion of research progress; **revise
and edit comparative analyses
W
Oct. 13:: post Field Research
progress memos (interview results); discussion of white paper topics: bring topic ideas to class M
Oct. 18:: Revised drafts of Comparative
Business News Analyses (plus addenda)
due in class;Have
posted proposals for white papers
to Townhall discussion;
further discussion of white paper topics, criteria, and formatting.
Begin discussion
of "Evaluation of Webpages" as part of Team Field Research
W
Oct. 20:: Workshop on progress of
field research, including interviews and documents (bring documents to class for review);
discussion of Drafting, Organizing,
and Formatting Research Reports; continue
drafting of white papers.
M
Oct. 25:: Small-group workshop
on drafts of
white papers;**begin
revising and editing white papers.
W
Oct. 27:: Workshop
on Web Page Evaluation II
M
Nov. 1:: Revised white papers
(full packet)
due in class; Workshop on Web Page Evaluation III: post web page evaluations
by end of class to your team sites W
Nov. 3:: Progress reports on drafts
of field research interview reports;
discussion;**continue drafting of
interview reports
M
Nov. 8:: Cross-group workshop
on drafts of
interview reports
W
Nov. 10:: Complete interview
report workshop;
review of principles
of document analysis for that portion of team field research report; **revise
and edit interview reports; **read handout/web-based material
on oral presentation
techniques
M
Nov. 15:: Principles and Techniques
of Oral Presentations in Business;**draft
document analysis portions of team field research reports;**prepare and
practice oral presentations
W
Nov. 17:: Progress reports on
drafts of field research document
analyses
M
Nov. 22:: Cross-group workshop
on drafts of
field research document
analyses
W
Nov. 24:: Thanksgiving Recess M
Nov. 29::Discussion of "executive
summaries" and descriptions of physical surroundings for research
reports W
Dec. 1:: Oral presentations of
team field
research projects begin. M
Dec. 5:: Oral presentations
continue. W
Dec. 7:: Oral presentations
conclude;
course review; revised drafts
of entire Team Field Research reports,
plus addenda, due in class. There
will be no final exam in this
course.English
302B:
Advanced
Composition for Business
Professor
Chris Thaiss
MISSED DEADLINES
We'll look at the six areas of comparison
listed above to help us see these differences.
.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism
means using the exact
words, opinions, or factual information from another source without
giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of
accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation,
footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and
websites is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of
intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in an academic setting.
F Oct. 1:: Last day to DROP classes without Dean's permission.
By this date, post
to designated Townhall discussion your CBNA article titles, authors,
where and when published, word length of each, and your brief rationale
for choosing these pieces. (200 words max)