ENGL 202D.004—Business Writing

55 Kochel, MW 7:30-8:45

Ms. Patti Doss

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Email:

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In its briefest description, ENGL 202D is an intensive writing course that provides you with the opportunity to learn and practice writing skills with a professional application. Through writing assignments, class workshops, peer review sessions, and reading assignments you will learn to analyze your audience, choose appropriate patterns of organization, and use correct letter, memo, and report formats. As in all writing, your effectiveness will be judged by the accuracy, clarity, and preciseness of the result.

Because writing is a process as much as it is a result, much class time will be spent on draft material rather than finished assignments. Writing is a process of rhetorical choices and refinements; for this reason, revision of one kind or another is almost always necessary. At the same time, business writing is a more direct form of writing than many others and, for that reason, some of the rules and recommendations you learned in previous classes may not apply here.

REQUIRED TEXTS

The Business Writer’s Handbook (8th ed.), Alred, et al.

Taking Sides: Business Ethics and Society (9th ed.), Newton and Ford

The Longman Pocket Writer’s Companion (2nd ed.), Anson, et al

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to help you to develop the writing strategies that you will need to write successfully on the job and to help you to understand why those strategies are appropriate and effective. You can expect to:

  • Discover and understand the discourse features common to business communities.
  • Discover and specify the purpose(s) of your writing.
  • Develop a range of writing processes appropriate to various writing tasks.
  • Identify your readers and describe the characteristics of those readers in a way that forms a sound basis for deciding how to write to them.
  • Invent the contents of your communications through research andreflection. Arrange material to raise and satisfy readers’ expectations, using both conven-tional and rhetorical patterns of organization.
  • Reveal the organization of your communications by using forecasting and transi-tional statements, headings, and effective page design.
  • Understand the use of tables, graphs, and business illustrations.
  • Compose effective sentences.
  • Collaborate effectively with your peers in a community of writers who provide feedback on each other’s work and who also work together to produce a finished product.
  • Write several specific kinds of documents that recur in business communities.
  • Communicate in an ethically responsible manner.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES

Most of your grade will be based on the body of writing that you develop this semester, both on your own and as part of your group. Your active and full involvement in all aspects of this process is vital, however. As in the work place, your attitude, preparation, and cooperativeness will be part of your final evaluation. Attendance in class is also part of this evaluation. The bottom line in participation is being here. The following weights will apply to the final grade:

Group business ethics paper20%

Individual writing projects70%

Participation (group activities and attendance)10%

Letter Grade Equivalents

A+=100C+=77

A=95C=75

A-=90C-=70

B+=87D+=67

B=85D=65

B-=80F=35

Academic Integrity

PennStateUniversity requires that its students uphold the highest degree of academic integrity. Students guilty of plagiarism, cheating, or other infractions will be penalized according to university guidelines, and will receive a failing grade in the class. For more information, see PennState Academic Integrity Policy.

Participation

The following descriptions outline some of the most important ways in which you will be an actively participating member of this class:

Class discussion. We will spend a certain amount of class time discussing writing and the questions it raises. Some of this work will be done as a class, some in small groups. Whatever the case, always be prepared to discuss the day’s assignments. We will also periodically discuss some of the controversies

discussed in Taking Sides as preparation for the mindset necessary to prepare for the group research project (see below).

Peer group workshops. Throughout the semester, you will share your drafts with a small group of your classmates to help you in revising them. For this reason, you must usually provide each member of your group a copy of your drafts. Each group member is then responsible for giving you feedback on your draft during the peer review session or, sometimes, by the next class meeting. The quality of your responses to drafts will be considered part of your participation grade. Drafts are as important as final versions of the writing assignments and count as such toward your final grade. They are always to be part of every final revision you submit.

Individual/group presentations. While oral presentations are not the primary focus of this course, you will be expected to take part in a panel presentation concerning the assigned controversy from Taking Sides which your group will present to the class. All members of the class will be responsible for reading the material prior to the presentation. Your job will be to introduce the topic and lead the discussion on your assigned day.

Group business ethics paper. By the time you begin working on this project, you will be no stranger to business ethics or to the debates about what your text calls “the moral imperatives and values [that] should be at work in the conduct of business.” For this assignment, you will work with the members of your group to craft a sophisticated argument on the subject of ethics and business. You may draw your topic from any of the controversies discussed in Taking Sides (regard-less of whether we covered it in class), or choose a business ethics question wholly removed from our text. You may not replicate an argument already made by an author in our book, but you are welcome to use Taking Sides as source for statistics, quotations, and other evidence that may be useful for your argument. In short, I am looking for you as a group to produce an original, narrow, and well-supported argument on an ethical issue that interests you.The next four pages of this packet will discuss the project in detail.

Attendance

Being on time for class is as important as being on time at the work place. Latecomers interrupt class activities and miss important information. If you miss class, I expect to see a bona fide excuse, whatever the reason. When you know in advance that you must miss class, tell me in advance, preferably by the close of the preceding class meeting. This includes absences approved by the university (as for athletes). Absence because of work is not a bona fide excuse. After two unexcused absences, your semester grade will begin to be reduced by .4 for each class missed: 4.0 (A)=3.6 (B+/A-)=3.2 (B/B+)=2.8 (B-) and so on.

LearningResourceCenter

The LearningResourceCenter(Library 203) promotes the academic success of Penn State Erie students through peer tutoring, supplemental instruction, and study skills advising. I encourage you to take advantage of such of a valuable resource.

BUSINESS ETHICS PAPER

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The first stage of this project is to write a brief (2 pages, double-spaced) research proposal. Your research proposal should address the following points:

PURPOSE AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

What one specific business ethics issue would you like to explore? Phrase the issue as a research question that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no” (e.g. Is Wal-Mart a Good Model for Retail Sales?)

BACKGROUND

Discuss why the members of your group are interested in this particular issue.

What is the importance of this issue to you as well as to others?

WHAT YOU HOPE TO LEARN

Explain how your investigation and research of this issue may help you.

Your proposal is DUE October 10. It will be evaluated as either “Pass” or “Revise.” Do not begin your paper until your proposal has been approved.

COMPLETING THE FINAL PAPER

You should begin your paper with an introduction based on your research proposal. Then, with your research question in mind, first discuss the position of the experts you found in your research who are on one side of the issue; this will be the first one-third of your paper. Next, discuss the position of the experts you found in your research who are on the other side of the issue; this will be the second one-third of your paper. A minimum of fivesources is required: at least one book, one internet source, and one magazine or journal (database or print). The other two sources (primary or secondary) are up to you. The final one-third of the paper will be YOUR POSITION. In other words, now that you have analyzed what the experts on opposite sides of the issue have to say, WHAT DO YOU THINK, ANDWHY DO YOU THINK SO?

You will follow the American Psychological Association (APA) system of citation that is often used in the social sciences and business. As your Business Writer’s Handbook explains, “[APA] is referred to as an author/date method of documentation because parenthetical in-text citations and a references list (at the end of the paper) in APA style emphasize the author(s) and date of publication so that the currency of the research is clear.” (See Handbook, pp. 148-156)

Your final paper should be a minimum of 5 full pages of text (in other words, the References page does not count). Double-space all elements of the paper: title page, abstract, text of paper, reference list, and any supplementary material. APA encourages the use of serif fonts (those with cross marks on individual letters) for the text of the paper. Times Roman or Courier is preferred. Arial or Century Gothic should be used to label figures and illustrations. Font sizes for all elements of the paper except for figures should be 12-points, the default size in most word-processing programs. Use italics (slanted type), not underlining, in all parts of your paper.

Leave one-inch margins at the left, right, top, and bottom of each page. Do not justify the right margin (that is, create a straight text edge on the right); instead, use left justification, which aligns the text on the left but leaves the right margin irregular (ragged). Do not hyphenate

words at ends of lines.

Your final research paper should then be stapled in the upper left corner and should contain, in order:

  • Title Page
  • Abstract
  • Text of your research paper
  • References Page

In a large manila envelope, insert the final research paper and your approved proposal.

I will evaluate your final paper according to the following:

  • The quality of your argument
  • Proper use of APA documentation
  • Your use of standard written English

The final research paper isDUE December 5. A paper submitted one day late will receive a 5% deduction; two days late, a 10% deduction. After this, no paper will be accepted.

a) Title Page

The title page needs to include four items:

1.The title of your paper. The title, centered in the middle of the page, should concisely state the topic of the paper and thevariables or theoretical issues that are being explored in relation to that topic.

2.The authors’ names and institutional affiliation. The institutional affiliation is just the

name of the place (usually a college or university) where the research was conducted.

The authors’ names and institutional affiliation should be centered and placed directly

below the title. In this case, I would also like the name of our class and the date of sub-

mission to appear under the name of the school.

3.A running head. This is just an abbreviated version of your title, and should include no

more than 50 characters (including spaces and punctuation). The running head is what

appears at the top of each page next to the page number throughout the paper. The run-

ning head designation should be left-justified and appear at the top of the page after the

page number.

4.A page number. Page numbers should appear on the title page in the upper right-hand

corner, after the running head. Pages should then be numbered consecutively in the upper

right-hand corner throughout the paper.

Here is a sample title page in APA format. Note how it includes the running head and page number in the upper right-hand corner, defines the running head that will title all manuscript pages, and centers the title and author information in the middle of the page.

Patenting Life 1

Running Head: PATENTING LIFE

Patenting Life: Should It Be Forbidden?

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck

PennStateErie, The BehrendCollege

Business Writing

November 28, 2007

b) Abstract

The abstract follows the title page (it is page 2 of your final paper) and provides a brief description of the major ideas in the paper (see sample below). Because it must summarize the full range of ideas and information in the paper, it is generally written after the paper is complete. It must adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Heading. Three lines below the page header, type the word Abstract, centered but not italicized. Two lines below the label, begin the paragraph.
  • Format. The abstract is a single, unindented, double-spaced paragraph.
  • Length. The abstract should be no more than 120 words.
  • Content. In the opening sentence, describe the topic or problem addressed in the paper. Use the remaining words in the paragraph to identify main ideas, and to explain results or conclusions.

(Top of page 2)------

Patenting Life 2

Abstract

Although scholars continue to assert that if the trend to patenting life continues, all the genes in our bodies will belong to the global pharmaceutical firms that own the patents rather than to us, our research has led us, with certain stipulations, to embrace the reality of genuine progress in the fields of genetic engineering.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

AUG 27

  • Introduction to course
  • Communicating in organizations

AUG 29

  • Rhetorical strategies in planning messages

SEPT 3

  • LABOR DAY: NO CLASS

SEPT 5

  • Critical thinking and fallacies of argument

SEPT 10

  • APA Documentation
  • Business ethics paper WORKSHOP #1

SEPT 12

  • Giving routine and good news

SEPT 17

  • Letters, e-mails, and memos
  • Business ethics paper WORKSHOP #2

SEPT 19

  • Peer review WORKSHOP: letters, e-mails, and memos
  • Panel presentation WORKSHOP #1

SEPT 24

  • Letter, e-mail, and memo assignments DUE
  • Refusals or giving bad news

SEPT 26

  • Peer review WORKSHOP: bad news
  • Panel presentation WORKSHOP #2

OCT 1

  • Bad news assignments DUE
  • Panel presentation: Group #1
  • Business ethics paper WORKSHOP #2

OCT 3

  • Informal reports and proposals

OCT 8

  • Informal reports and proposals

OCT 10

  • Peer review WORKSHOP: informal reports and proposals
  • Panel presentation: Group #2
  • BUSINESS ETHICS PAPER PROPOSAL DUE

OCT 15

  • Informal report and proposal assignments DUE
  • Oral presentations and meeting management

OCT 17

  • The job search

OCT 22

  • Resumes

OCT 24

  • Resumes
  • Panel presentation: Group #3

OCT 29

  • Peer review WORKSHOP: resumes

OCT 31

  • Business ethics paper WORKSHOP #4

NOV 5

  • Resume assignments DUE
  • Cover letters

NOV 7

  • Peer review WORKSHOP: cover letters
  • Panel presentation: Group #4

NOV 12

  • Cover letter assignment DUE
  • Employment interviewing and follow-up messages

NOV 14

  • Employment interviewing and follow-up messages
  • Panel presentation: Group #5

NOV 19-21

  • THANKSGIVING VACATION: NO CLASSES

NOV 26

  • Peer review WORKSHOP: interviewing and follow-up messages

NOV 28

  • Business ethics paper FINAL WORKSHOP

DEC 3

  • Interviewing and follow-up message assignments DUE
  • TBA

DEC 5

  • Business ethics papers DUE
  • TBA

DEC 10

  • TBA

DEC 12

  • TBA

There will be no final in this course.