PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION, Dr. Eric Burger
This course aims to ready you for the on-the-job writing required in the business world. You will produce documents such as memos, proposals, reports, policy statements, letters and resumes; you will practice critical thinking, audience assessment and reading/writing skills in doing so. Since effective business writers demonstrate a strong understanding of audience and professional context, you will study the workplace audience(s) in your intended profession and you will research a social or ethical issue in your field of interest. Additionally, in this course we will study and practice effective collaboration, since much of the writing done in the business world is produced by teams rather than individuals.
[Back to top]
REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS, Sigman Byrd
This course aims to prepare you for thinking critically and responding effectively to the challenges you will meet in the business world. The primary text will be your writing supplemented with background readings from the course textbook. Assignments will include a variety of professional documents through which you will practice critical thinking, reading, and writing skills and learn how to address the practical needs of different audiences in a variety of rhetorical situations. Some assignments will be practical in nature and based on real-world scenarios, while other assignments will be academic and focus on public policy concerns. In addition, you will learn reader-centered writing strategies and apply them to your work and the work of your classmates in a collaborative workshop setting. You will experience how business writing is fundamentally a cooperative effort between reader and writer, an ongoing negotiation between you and your colleagues, your employer and clients.
PROFESSIONAL WRITING, Allison Carr Waechter
Writing on Business and Society is an upper-division course designed specifically to prepare students to write in a professional setting. This course will help students become familiar with the kinds of writing they will do in the workplace such as memos, reports, cover letters and proposals. Students will learn to write from a reader-centered perspective and to improve their critical reading skills, both in their writing and that of others. Students should be prepared to do a good deal of collaborative work in workshop processes and writing projects. A significant portion of the course will be devoted to the development of a portfolio of documents that will address a business-related issue of the student’s choice.
[Back to top]
CROSS-CULTURAL WRITING FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, Dr. Andrea Feldman
Cross-Cultural Writing for International Students is a section of WRTG 3020, 3030, and 3040 that is intended for non-native speakers of English who wish to enroll in an upper-division writing course. The course is taught as a rigorous writing workshop using advanced readings and materials, emphasizing critical thinking, analysis, and argumentative writing. Course readings focus on cross-cultural communication in the arts, business, and scientific fields. Assignments will be tailored to meet the needs and interests of individual students.
[Back to top]
WRITING FOR BUSINESS, Dr. Tracy Ferrell
Writing for Business is an upper division writing course developed particularly for students in the School of Business. As such, you will be introduced to the theories and practices of professional writing for a business setting. This class will begin with an overview of preparing employment documents, after which you will create a cover letter and resume. We will then move on to cover the conventions of various business writing styles including memos, letters and proposals. You will conclude this section of the course by writing a recommendation letter. Finally, we will move on to the final section of the class, involving business ethics. You will choose an area of ethical inquiry based on 6 major areas of ethical concern in the current business world. You will then research and do a collaborative presentation on an issue within your area. We will read various articles and case studies on a number of ethical issues, which we will discuss in class and which you will respond to in writing. Finally, you will create a final project that includes a white paper and power point presentation that propose a solution to an ethical issue. Collaboration with peers both in writing and review/editing will be a key component of the course. In addition, document design, grammar, style, and overall professionalism will be continuous themes throughout the semester.
[Back to top]
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION, Nancy Hightower
Students will examine different ethical issues in business through reading essays and articles and respond to them in short, one page analytical papers. Through letters and memos, we will analyze how to effectively communicate one’s purpose to the appropriate audience, taking into account their values and perspectives. We will also have an extensive resume and cover letter workshop with an emphasis on persuasive writing as well as the use of layout. Lastly, students will write one paper in which they analyze a current issue in their industry and propose a solution based on well-researched evidence. This is a workshop format, so revision is an essential component to the class.
[Back to top]
PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL WRITING, Eliza Klinger
Students will develop business writing skills based on a strong sense of document purpose and audience needs and expectations. We will work on practical documents, such as memos, professional emails, resumes, and cover letters, in addition to more extensive writing assignments. This class emphasizes collaborative learning and writing as a process; therefore, students must attend class regularly and participate in class discussions and workshops.
[Back to top]
PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL WRITING, Eric Klinger
This course examines theories and practices of professional and technical writing in business and academic settings. Reading, discussion and assignments introduce students to writing conventions for memos, reports, instructions/procedures, cover letters, resumes, etc. Writing projects are process oriented with emphasis on planning, drafting and revision. Collaboration, peer review and presentations are key features of the class. Peer reviews address audience awareness and usability issues. Students will propose a topic relevant to professional ethics and write a substantial argumentative paper supported with scholarly research. Document design, grammar and style are continuous themes throughout the semester.
[Back to top]
TRADITIONS IN BUSINESS WRITING, Dr. Peter Kratzke
This section of WRTG 3040 will emphasize what may be called practical rhetoric: what sort of decisions in business situations will be effective? Through a series of readings, we will consider larger issues about business procedure and, ultimately, citizenship. Meanwhile, after a series of shorter exercises, our three major writing assignments will involve both critical thinking and traditional forms of business writing (resumes and cover letters, memoranda, instructions, reports, and proposals). Group collaboration and oral presentation will inform our work throughout the semester. In the end, all students should leave WRTG 3040 with a thorough understanding of the writing process that they can use for any occasion in their pursuit of professional careers.
[Back to top]
WRITING IN BUSINESS, Anna MacBriar
In this course, you will write a business proposal, an ethical policy white paper, and a series of business letters. Each of these assignments requires strong analytical skills and careful reasoning, and emphasizes awareness of focus, audience, purpose and occasion in a variety of real-world business and organizational contexts. You will practice writing clear, concise, highly readable prose, all the while exploring and developing your own personal ethos. In addition, these assignments provide numerous opportunities to explore your professional interests as you prepare for post-graduate life. Throughout the semester, you will share your writing and ideas through workshops of preliminary drafts and a professional-quality class presentation.
[Back to top]
BUSINESS RHETORIC, Susan McArthur
The emphasis for this course is persuasive business writing in a competitive context. Students will analyze and practice classical argument as applied to standard business formats, expanding this framework to write recommendation reports and proposals. Two research projects are completed, based on each student’s focus within the business major; these papers must demonstrate a thorough understanding of audience and purpose. The bulk of class time is conducted as workshops, with student-run critiques intended to result in substantive revision. Finished papers will adhere to modern business standards and avoid the most common barriers to readability and retention. Further, they will be rich in reasoning, empty of logical fallacies, and designed with the reader’s needs in mind. Finally, students deliver two brief oral reports, one a progress update and the other a presentation of their final proposal.
[Back to top]
CONVINCING AUDIENCES, Robert McBrearty
Business writing often involves explaining material to an audience and presenting evidence to recommend a course of action. Using business and social issues as subject material, students will receive instruction in traditional argumentative principles, and learn how to apply those principles in fair-minded, thoughtful, practical ways. Students will consider the needs of their audiences as they develop an effective writing style. Students will write a four-page personal experience essay based on an ethical decision, two four-page arguments, a 5-7 page research assignment, several short business communications including a resume, cover letter, and responses to work-place problems. They will also write a one-page proposal for a final project, and upon approval, will then write the final paper.
[Back to top]
PROFESSIONAL WRITING: RHETORICS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY, Dr. Lonni Pearce
This course is designed to teach you the rhetorical principles and writing practices you will use primarily in the workplace, although our discussions will also address how these principles and practices are applicable to many communication situations. Thematically, the course will focus on sustainability, looking at various definitions of sustainability within business and industry and exploring ways that businesses are evolving to become more sustainable--both economically and environmentally. In this class you will write and revise a cover letter and resume, reports, letters, memos, and emails. Underlying the course and woven in throughout the semester is the question of ethics: what does it mean to communicate ethically in the workplace?
[Back to top]
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION: TIGHT THINKING, TIGHT WRITING, Tobin von der Nuell
In this course you will practice successful business writing strategies, and you will do so by focusing on three main rhetorical concerns: audience, purpose and voice. You will critically read and discuss a variety of business articles and case studies to arm you with “data” that you then will use to frame and defend various arguments written to specific audiences. You will create a number of business documents, ranging from memos and letters to reports. In each, you will need to define your purpose for writing, your audience’s needs, and your method of argumentation to meet both. The course functions as a writing workshop, wherein you will help your classmates, as they will help you, to critically work through the writing process. You will revise often your work, and will practice developing a tight prose style. Your final project will consist of a proposal, a paper and a 10-minute Power Point presentation. Attendance and participation are vital to your success in the course.
[Back to top]
MAKING DECISIONS, Paula Wenger
The aim of professional communication is to convey or influence the decisions that drive business. Drawing on field-specific decision-making models as well as principles of corporate social responsibility, you will hone your skills in identifying the evidence and reasoning and selecting the communication strategies that will move a particular audience to a particular course of action. We will explore the critical thinking and rhetorical analysis involved in shaping effective communication strategies, in light of the moral as well as the profit-making challenges of a global marketplace. In addition to writing a cover letter and resume, you will select a research project to develop through a range of written and oral assignments that include a project proposal, annotated bibliography, proposal, and oral presentation. Writing workshops will test your writing with an audience and sharpen your skills in collaborating and giving feedback. We will also cover revising techniques and business writing style.
[Back to top]
BUSINESS PLANS AND PUBLIC POLICY DEBATE, Don Wilkerson
As a semester-long project, you will write ONE of the following: a preliminary draft of a business plan, an essay on business and public policy, a curriculum reform proposal, or a preliminary draft of an honors thesis. You will choose a topic and genre, and then compile an annotated bibliography. Midway through the semester you will begin drafting your paper or proposal. At the end of the term, you will convert your paper into a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation. While you are doing preliminary research for your project, you will write a brief essay on ONE of the following topics: business ethics, the nature of innovation and creativity in business, the elements of effective leadership, the effects of technological innovation on business, the nature of competition and cooperation in business, the role of government in the economy, or the elements of a strong business education. This essay will prepare you for your term project by teaching you how to define terms, clarify unstated assumptions, present evidence in support of an assertion and respond to likely objections. It will also give you practical preparation for the GMAT writing test.
[Back to top]
ASPECTS OF EFFECTIVE WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION, Dr. Matthew Wilsey-Cleveland
In any professional setting, the possession of ambition, specialized knowledge/education, and a strong work ethic does not guarantee success. In the increasingly globalized 21st Century, it is essential that emerging professionals are able to communicate effectively and be problem solvers. This section of WRTG 3040 will empower business-oriented students who seek to progress in their careers by (1) familiarizing them with the fundamental ethics and conventions of formal and informal professional discourse; and (2) enhancing their ability to effectively negotiate a range of pertinent professional situations and contexts.
In service of these goals, students will apprehend, assess, discourse upon, and learn to navigate:
- Ethical and rhetorical dimensions of face-to-face, textual, and electronic workplace communication,
- Issues of communication within and without organizational culture,
- Verbal and non-verbal rhetorics used in presentations and document design,
- Research methodologies that establish credibility for arguments posed,
- Formal expository and argumentative writing for different audiences/purposes.
A significant emphasis will be placed on collaborative learning and writing as a process. Students are expected to attend class regularly and demonstrate a strong degree of engagement and investment.
[Back to top]
|
