English 302B:
Advanced Composition for Business
Summer Session A 2005
Professor Chris Thaiss
Website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~cthaiss/302bsu05.html
Phone: 703-993-1273
E-mail: cthaiss@gmu.edu
Office: Robinson A423
Hours: MT 2-3 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.
MISSED DEADLINES
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 Economics
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, which is open in the summer and where you can
schedule appointments with a tutor to get additional comment on your
drafts.
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 Document 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 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/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 purposes and intended audiences. Most
likely, these differences will be shown indirectly: that is, you will need
to read closely to see differences in the bias of each article
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!
We'll look at the six areas of comparison
listed above to help us see these differences. Of these six areas,
clearly the most important are purposes
and intended audiences.
The other four areas of comparison: evidence,
organization, style/tone, and graphic presentation, are the
tools used by the writer to fulfill purposes and reach audiences. As a
business reader and decision-maker, you need to see and understand
these differences in order to make wise judgments. As a business
writer, you need to learn how to use these tools in order to reach your
objectives for the poeple you wish to serve.
C. Judgment: Which article does
the better job of meeting its purposes for its intended readers?--In 300
well-chosen words, argue for your
preference. 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.
MLA or
APA
Documentation Style: Your comparison report should cite your
sources in either American Psychological
Assocation (APA) style, the Documentation style often
preferred by scholars in the
School of Management, or Modern Language Association
(MLA) style, which is required in SOM 301 and some other
SOM courses. This style you choose should be used both for "in-text"
citations and for your list of sources at the end of the report.
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 (on the final day 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 six features learned and applied in the Comparative Document Analysis assignment, and a detailed interview or interviews (minimum of 5 double-spaced pages) with an experienced 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 my adaptation of a website evaluation assignment originally designed 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 for 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;
(4) cite sources using APA or MLA style.
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.
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.
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.
Since this course is heavily collaborative, I will expect individuals to help one another with constructive feedback. Nevertheless, I expect that any help (e.g., with editing) received outside of normal class workshops and discussions will be approved by me and will be credited in documents. Certainly, I expect that all uses of sources (oral, online, printed) will be documented. If I suspect plagiarism, I will report it to the University Honor Committee (it is your responsibility to be familiar with the GMU Honor Code and to abide by it).M May 23:: Introductions and Exercises; activate e-mail
accounts (see ITU
Support if you need help); **read WOJ,
Introduction
T May 24:: Townhall--Getting Started and
the "Junk Mail" exercise; The
Process and Principles of Business
Writing; **begin
group formation and proposal-writing for team field
research; **read
WOJ, Chapters 1, 6b
W May 25:: 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.)
R May 26:: Teams compose detailed interview
questionnaire
to conduct fieldwork Continue
making contact arrangements with research informants; post revised
research proposal; **read WOJ,
Chapter 3a, to begin prep
for research interviews post.
F May 27:: Last day to ADD classes.
M May 30:: Memorial Day (No Class)
T May 31:: Small-group workshop: compose and post letter of introduction/commitment to company. Teams continue composing interview questionnaires and POST them to Townhall group sites..
W June 1:: Begin discussion
of "Comparative Document Analysis" assignment and do exercises in
class. **Choose
two articles for Comparative Document Analysis.
R June 2:: We will not meet in class
this day. Teams should meet, if possible, with their workplace
informants on June 2 or 3. Teams should post Field Research
Progress Memos to Townhall team sites.
NOTE: Friday June 3 is the last day to drop classes without the Dean's permission.
M June 6:: Continue discussion of Document Analysis criteria (exercise);Bring two (2) articles for CDA to class. **draft Comparative Document Analysis **read WOJ, Ch. 6a as prep for discussion of "White Papers"
T June 7:: Principles of the "White
Paper"--after our discussion of
examples, submit
proposal paragraphs and
begin
drafting
W June 8:: Small-group workshop on drafts of comparative analyses; discussion of research progress; **revise and edit comparative analyses;
R June 9::Workshop: continue drafting of white papers in class; post Field Research progress memos (interview results); discussion
M June 13:: Revised drafts of Comparative Analyses (plus addenda) due in classWorkshop: Drafting, Organizing, and Formatting Research Reports; small-group workshop on drafts of white papers;**begin drafting reports of field research; revise and edit white papers
T June 14:: Critique Workshop--Evaluating WEB Pages Pertinent to Team Field Research; **continue drafting of Field Research reports
W June 15:: Revised white papers (plus addenda) due in class; Workshop on Web Page Evaluation II--draft and post web critiques by end of class
R June 16:: Cross-group workshop on drafts of field research interview reports; **revise and edit reports; read handout/web-based material on oral presentation techniques
M June 20:: Cross-group workshop on drafts of field research document-analysis reports; workshop on ten-fifteen minute oral presentations of team field research; **prepare and practice oral presentations
T June 21:: Revised drafts of both parts of Team Field Research reports, plus addenda, due in class; ten-fifteen minute presentations; course review.
There will be no final exam in this course.