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Unit
1:
Job Packet
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Purpose of the Course:
English 320 is a course in professional communication
focusing on workplace written, oral, visual, and collaborative communication;
therefore, the objectives of this course are to help you learn to
respond to a variety of workplace writing tasks by designing appropriate
documents and presentations, individually and in teams. I know I
can't duplicate a work environment in this classroom, but the goal
is to provide activities, assignments, and opportunities that will
develop skills and habits you will need in corporate, non-profit,
or small business environments.
Course Objectives:
Throughout the course, I will stress the following
concepts:
- the importance of audience analysis for creating
effective communication
- the importance of not only knowing audience,
but considering the entire rhetorical situation: situational/organizational
constraints, reader needs, and communicator purpose
- the importance and impact of visual rhetoric
- the ethical issues involved in workplace communication
- the rhetorical complexity of workplace communication
- the importance of revision and peer input in
creating a professional finished product
- the usefulness (and necessity) of collaboration
in workplace teams
Texts, Materials, and Expenses:
TEXTS:
- Flynn, Nancy, and Tom Flynn. Writing Effective
E-Mail. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications, 1998.
- Graber, Steven. The Everything Get-A-Job Book.
Avon, MA: Adams Media Corp., 2000.
- Mandel, Steve. Effective Presentation Skills,
3rd Ed. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications, 2000.
- McGourty, Jack and Kenneth P. De Meuse. The Team
Developer. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
- Williams, Robin. The Non-Designers Design Book.
Berkley, CA: Peachpit Press, 1994.
OTHER EXPENSES:
- You will need to present materials professionally
when you turn in final projects to me or a client. This will incur
costs.
- You will need to provide draft copies of your
work for peer review.
A NOTE ON TEXTS:
In addition to the assigned texts, you are responsible for all assigned
secondary material linked to our on-line course calendar. Be certain
to check this weekly for readings, assignments and due dates. Expect
weekly quizzes. They will likely come directly from the books and
will occasionally ask you to apply what you’ve learned in your
reading. These will help keep you aware of your progress in understanding
the material we’re reading.
Assignments and Grading:
All projects will be graded on a point scale, from
a total of 1000 points —910-1000= A; 810-909= B; 700-809=C;
600-699=D; below 590=F. Keep track of your points and you will know
how you are doing in the class.
Grading:
- A means truly excellent work—exceeding expectations
in all areas
- B means very strong work that exceeds expectations
in several areas
- C means work that adequately completes the assignment
- D reflects work that does not adequately meet
the assignment in one or more areas
- F means you did not turn in work
All assignment packets include explicit criteria
and grading rubrics for individual projects.
Format for written assignments:
Out-of-class assignments, major and minor, must be
typed and must show attention to the needs of your audience (that
means the form and format will vary, but they must be appropriate,
and usually within the conventional norms for the type of document
you're designing). Major projects must be professionally presented—that
means how they look, what they're made of, how they are printed,
count. I require that you always print a copy of your document for
your records. Never hand in your only copy of a document. In addition,
have a copy in your computer file and have a copy on a backup disk.
This is for your own protection in case of lost projects—these
projects require much time and effort.
Attendance:
I assume you will be here, and plan my class based
on the assumption that you will each be here, prepared for class.
If you can't be here because of another commitment, you'll need
to take another section of this course that meets at a more convenient
time for you. As at a job, much of what we do in class is collaborative
in nature, so absences hurt those people counting on you, as well
as hurt your ability to complete your work. I will excuse one sick
day and one personal day each semester. The sick day is excused
if followed (the next class period) by a memo, the personal day
is excused if preceded by a memo—in correct memo form. I will
not remind you to get this to me.
In case of family emergency or serious illness, contact your advisor
or the office of Dean of Students as soon as possible. Either will
provide excuses to all your teachers—no memo required. Absences
for official university business must be cleared well in advance
to be excused. If you miss more than a week of class, unexcused,
your grade will drop one letter grade for every two absences and
after three weeks of missed class (6 classes) I will remove you
from group work and ask you to drop the course. I am very serious
about this—not attending class is the most common reason for
failing this class.
Due Dates and Revision:
Because I advocate a process approach to designing
rhetorically appropriate documents, I expect you to rethink and
revise documents throughout the semester. Therefore, I can be flexible
on the due dates for major assignments. The projects are large,
though, and I don't want you to be scrambling to complete all of
them during finals week, so I've included some due dates on the
assignment sheets to help you plan your time. However, the small
assignments are designed to help us (you and I) evaluate your progress
on the major assignments; therefore, I'll want at least drafts of
them by the due dates on the assignment sheets. Please turn in projects
in class or during office hours, and not into my mailbox, or under
my door, or anyplace else where they might be misplaced.
All work is due on the last regular day of class. No work or revisions
will be accepted after that time except under extraordinary circumstances.
Any assignment you do in this class may be revised; in fact, I encourage
revision. But if you choose to revise an assignment, you must turn
your revision in with a one-page memo describing for me the changes
you made and explaining why you feel those changes significantly
improve your document. A good revision memo will cite your texts
or online sources to support your reasons for the changes you’ve
made.
Plagiarism:
I assume all the work you turn in will be your own.
This doesn't mean that I do not encourage you to collaborate with
others in this class, or get input or feedback from other class
members or outside sources. But the work you turn in must be yours
and must cite secondary sources in a manner consistent with NDSU
University Senate policy, Section 335: Code
of Academic Responsibility and Conduct.
Special Needs:
If you have any disabilities or special needs, or
need special accommodations in this course, please share your concerns
or requests with me as soon as possible.
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Class
Calendar
This is where you will
find info on the day-to-day course activities: calendar.
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