ENGL 2114

Writing for Industry
3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course focuses on business writing. Students write professional correspondence, such as emails, letters, and memos, and are introduced to basic marketing materials, such as press releases. Attention is given to writing research material, such as questionnaires. Ethical/legal issues are also addressed. 3 Credits.

Primary Case Study: Quality Communications Inc.

In the overall class conceit, students are new interns of Quality Communications Inc., a company that specializes in writing professional documents for a variety of business concerns. Interns work on client projects as individuals and in teams.

ENGL 2114 is part of a one-year certificate in Technical Communications.

Course Objectives:

Once you successfully complete this course, you will have learned about and developed or enhanced basic skills in the following areas:

  • the multiple readers (current and future) of all business documents

  • the legal liability concerns of workplace email correspondence

  • the basics of project management in terms of planning and production

  • considerations regarding interactions between the writer and the source material (human, text, diagram, etc.), the client, the project, and the product

  • team building and interpersonal communication

  • time management on individual and team levels

  • readers' visual responses to documents
Prerequisites and Corequisites:
 Prerequisites: ENGL 1010
Course Topics:
Lesson 1: Introduction to the Course
Unit 1: Essential Workplace Documents
Lesson 2: Professional Email
Lesson 3: Letters & Memos
Unit 2: Collaborative Writing - The Case Study
Lesson 4: The Team Experience
Lesson 5: Initial Research
Lesson 6: The Questionnaire
Lesson 7: Visuals
Lesson 8: The Interview
Lesson 9: Audience
Lesson 10: The Final Product - Project 3
Unit 3: The Application Package
Lesson 11: The Job Search
Lesson 12: The Résumé
Lesson 13: The Cover & Follow-Up Letters
Lesson 14: The Complete Application
Specific Course Requirements:
See hardware/software requirements below. Keep in mind that most projects are team efforts; it is the student's responsibility to use compatible software so that team members can easily transfer files and documents.
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course.  It is located at http://rodp.bkstr.com. 
Supplementary Materials:
None. Students will need access to good reference materials (dictionary, grammar, style guide, etc.), but these are available at the Tennessee Virtual Library link noted under "Library" below.
Hardware Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.
Software Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific software requirements for this course include Microsoft Word (2000 or higher) and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Instructor Information
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures:
Timed quizzes and tests are provided online within the course.
Grading Procedure:
Grades are based on how well the student's work demonstrates skills presented in each lesson. Portions of a student's work are team efforts, and grades for those will also reflect how well the team worked together to accomplish its goal.
Grading Scale:
A---900-1000 points
B---800-899
C---700-799
F---699 or below
Students acquire points by successfully completing quizzes, tests, projects (both team and individual), discussions, and email assignments. Some projects and all discussions also reflect a student's interaction with colleagues. The majority of a student's work must receive an average grade (C range) at a minimum, or the student is not demonstrating the necessary skills to pass this course. Therefore, no "D" grade is assigned.
Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects:
See Course Topics above.
Class Participation:
Students are required to interact with colleagues via discussion postings and, most important, as part of a team assembling a multipart project. Participation--timely and professional--is essential for success.
Punctuality:
Discussion replies are due each Wednesday. Follow-up discussion postings, as well as quizzes/tests, email assignments, readings, and case studies are due each Friday. The major team project has multiple parts and requires the team to set its own "soft" deadlines so that each "hard" (instructor-set) deadline is met. Students must meet all deadlines to succeed in this course. 
Course Ground Rules
Though much of the required coursework is individual, the majority of the projects are team efforts. Participation is an essential element of this course. Beyond that, students are expected to learn how to navigate in WebCT, keep abreast of course announcements, interact with colleagues and the instructor using the WebCT email address, and observe standard rules of netiquette. The student is responsible for addressing all technical problems immediately so as to meet deadlines and stay on track. 
Guidelines for Communications
Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc., should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members.
Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion.
  • Maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather than starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of others' ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Before granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with the home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and by posting the notification and the nature of the changes on Class Announcements on the Homepage.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:

If you are having problems logging into your course, timing out of your course, or using your course website tools, or other technical problems, please contact the Eduprise Help Desk by calling:

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to their website at:

http://help.rodp.org