Habits of Mind Working Group

Applicationfor the Writing in the Discipline Course

Business Administration Programs

October 19, 2012

1) Purpose:BusAd 127, Business Communication will

(a) teach students how to write and do research in business areas

(b)further develop BusAd students’ disciplinary thinking skills

(c)introduce or give students practice with the language and writing conventions of the discipline

(d)emphasize that writing and critical inquiry are intertwined

2) Expectations the CCC has for the WID Course:

BusAd 127

a) is a current course, required in the major, beginning with the Freshman class of Fall 2012

b) includes disciplinary content, including but not limited to the disciplines of finance, marketing, operations, and management

c) includes proper disciplinary rhetoric—the particular style, format, disciplinary standard, citation, terminology, organization, tone, etc.,

d) The Committee will see on syllabus pages 2 to 3 the schedule for editing and revising prose; emphasis on clear, correct, and concise writing;

Pages 3 and top of 4 show the objectives and schedule for an informative message that includes peer and professor review and rewriting from rough draft(s) to final draft.

See also page 5 Note to Committee.

e) This course not only scaffolds writing assignments, but scaffolds speaking and writing assignments. The committee will see, on page 3, introduction to oral presentation with impromptu speeches; the placement of this unit is purposeful because the primary emphasis in the impromptu unit is principled organization—this is carried on, we hope seamlessly, to the informative writing unit that follows impromptus.

In addition, the persuasive exercises (some turned in, some read aloud in class) build on the informative writing unit.

And finally, the written argument unit builds on all of the writing previously covered.

f) The course involves significant writing. In terms of “substantial”writing, students write something most days, even if only a paragraph, either in class, or an assignment to be turned in. Much of this involves peer review, sometimes in small groups, sometimes with the document camera, sometimes on the board.

Graded writing assignments include a diagnostic pre-test; informative writing assignment; argument paper; post-test; final exam.

In terms of“important”writing, as a rhetorician I’m probably biased, but learning how to craft an argument is one of the most important skills students can develop. We live in a culture in which everyone’s opinion is valid and (strangely) equal. This is not the case. Students must learn how to analyze an audience; consider tone and diction; develop solid and ethical claims, reasons, and assumptions; and avoid logical fallacies. This occurs in the argument portion of this course. The assignment involves research, multiple drafts, and final written assignments that must be of professional quality.

See syllabus pages 3, 4, 5, and 6.

g)As stated in the College Catalog for BusAd 127, English 5 is apre-requisite, and 127 most definitely builds on skills from English 5, including but not limited to audience analysis, tone, diction, grammar, mechanics, library research, and argument.

h) The syllabus should include the Core Learning Outcomesbelow. We welcome departments/programs torephrase the outcomes as appropriate.

The Committee will see that this syllabus contains all of the learning outcomes, not necessarily in the words below, as explained:

Core Learning Outcomes:

Written and Oral Communication

  1. Recognize and compose readable prose, as characterized by clear and careful organization, coherent paragraphs, and well-constructed sentences that employ the conventions of Business English and appropriate diction

Note to Committee: This occurs in the editing unit and the writing units. See Unit objectives, page 2, Unit 1; page 3, Unit 3; page 4, Unit 4

  1. Recognize and formulate effective written and oral communication, giving appropriate consideration to audience, context, and format

Note to Committee: This occurs in every unit, and the objectives are stated at the beginning of each unit.

  1. Analyze arguments so as to construct ones that are well supported, are well reasoned, and are controlled by a thesis or exploratory question

Note to Committee: Please see Unit 4 Objectives

  1. Use the process of writing to enhance intellectual discovery and unravel complexities of thought.

Note to Committee: Students are fascinated to learn that their opinions, though often valid, are not arguments, and by building arguments in Unit 4 (objectives on page 4), they meet outcome four above.

Building simple syllogisms gives students a look at a range of valid to rather weird assumptions.

For example, this was reported by a student from the Maury Povich show:

Conclusion: You are my baby’s daddy.

Main Reason: You look my baby.

Assumption: Anyone who looks like my baby is my baby’s daddy.

We discuss the fact that we do not speak in syllogisms, but in enthymemes (assumption + main reason), and students discover the value of “unraveling complexities of thought.”

Note to Committee: The following outcomes are not explicitly spelled out in the syllabus. I’ll be glad to add them, if necessary, but they are most certainly included in the instruction and are reinforced throughout the course. Please see syllabus, page 3.

Information Evaluation and Research Practices

1.Develop search strategies and use library catalogs and databases to find relevant material

2.Critically evaluate sources

3.Integrate and cite evidence appropriately

4.Understand the concept of intellectual property and practice academic honesty.

i) To offer students support, the syllabus will include information about free writing advising through the Center for Writing Across the Curriculum.

Please see syllabus page 10.

To the Committee:

Thank you for your work. It’s great to –finally— see Saint Mary’s implement an upper-division writing requirement.

The BusAdDept looks forward to hearing from you.

~Rebecca