BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 305
Course Syllabus
Description: Business Communication 305 is concerned with improving your communication skills--both oral and written. The focus of the course is on the adaptation of language when communicating in a business environment.
You will be assigned a variety of problems to learn to apply your knowledge and experience. Specifically, the course is divided into three broad categories: (1) language skills, (2) business correspondence, and (3) interpersonal communica-tion.
Text: Materials to study for BSCM 305 will be posted on Moodle.
Prerequisites: English 102, proficiency with and computer access to a word processing software package, and computer access to Moodle.
Course The primary objectives of the course are designed to provide you with the Objectives: opportunity to develop
1. a competency in basic writing skills and
2. an ability to compose business communications in solving different types of business problems.
Course Reading assignments will be given on a regular basis (please reference
Require- Moodle where these assignments may be accessed).
ments:
It will be necessary that you have access to a computer that will enable you to either download or access Moodle . Required handouts and reading assignments will be “posted” via Moodle, and you should be able to print these handouts and assignments on a daily basis.
Typewritten/printed assignments will be required in the course. (Note: It is important that all written assignments be turned in by the date on which the assignment is due.) A penalty of one letter grade will be assessed for a written assignment that is up to one week late. A penalty of two letter grades will be assessed for a written assignment that is up to two weeks late, and a penalty of three letter grades will be assessed for a written assignment that is over two weeks late. WARNING: Always submit a “hard copy” of any transmitted e-mail attachment during the class period immediately following your e-mail transmission. The e-mail transmission will be used to determine your “late submission” date for your grade reduction (if any). Save a copy of your e-mail and attachment for “proof of submission” date. It is the hard copy personally submitted to Dr. Pullis, however, that is graded. Should a class absence be
unavoidable (illness, death in the family, TDY, etc.), I will be reasonable in assisting you in making up your homework assignments. A midterm and a final examination will be administered to all students enrolled for credit in BSCM 305.
Attendance: Punctual and regular class attendance is expected. Should a class absence be unavoidable, please arrange with a classmate to obtain for you copies of any handouts you may have missed. Also, arrange for your classmate to turn in any homework for you that is due on the date you will be unable to attend a class session. As was noted in the discussion of course requirements, should a class absence be unavoidable (illness, death in the family, TDY, etc.), I will be reasonable in assisting you in making up the homework assignments without penalty. A missed spelling/multitasking test, a missed weekly writing quiz, or a missed in-class or out-of-class writing assignment (up to a maximum of two) will be made up at a designated time during the quarter. A missed midterm exam will be made up during (i.e., immediately following) the next class period.
Remember: A late assignment that is submitted up to one week after the original due date will be penalized one letter grade. A late assignment that is submitted up to two weeks following the original due date will be penalized two letter grades. A late assignment that is submitted over two weeks after the original due date will be penalized three letter grades (see Course Requirements).
You should always submit a “Late Assignment Submission Form” with any late assignment submission.
Class absences exceeding 20% of the total class meetings, regardless of the reason for the absences, are considered to be excessive.
Special If you are officially registered (and have a letter/memorandum to that effect) from
Accommo- the Office of Disabled Student Services and are requesting special accommoda-
dations: tions for this class, please explain privately to Dr. Pullis early in the quarter what accommodations are necessary in order that appropriate arrangements can be made. Students needing testing or classroom accommodations based on a dis-
ability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me as soon as possible.
Grading: Two major objective examinations (a midterm examination and a final examination) will be given in the course. The midterm examination will represent 25% of your overall grade, and the final examination will constitute 25% of your overall grade. In-class and out-of-class writing assignments and daily/weekly writing tests and spelling/multitasking/diligence tests will constitute 50% of your grade. The "weight" given to each writing assignment will be a function of the difficulty of the assignment. For example, should a writing assignment receive a grade of 9/10, you would have received 90% on a writing assignment weighted ten points. Should you receive a 14/20 on the next writing assignment, you would have received 70% on a writing assignment weighted twenty points. Your "grade average" on the first two writing assignments would be 23/30, or 77% (C+). A grading scale of 60, 70, 80, and 90 is used for letter grades of D, C, B, and A, respectively. A grade of A represents outstanding performance; a grade of B represents excellent performance; a grade of C represents good performance; a grade of D represents fair (marginally acceptable) performance; and a grade of F represents poor (unacceptable) performance.
Calculating a "weighted" course average: If calculating a "weighted" course average is "old hat" to you, fill free to skip this section.
If calculating a "weighted" course average is a new concept to you, please read this section very carefully.
For illustrative purposes, let us assume that a student has an in-class and out-of-class writing and daily test average of 90, a midterm exam score of 60, and a final exam score of 50. The student's course average would be 73. (90 * .50) + (60 * .25) + (50 * .25) = 73.
Do not "pool" all of your grades together without first calculating your average on each of the three major components (in-class and out-of-class writing and daily test average [50%], midterm exam [25%], and final exam [25%]) and then applying the appropriate "weight" to that specific component average. Again, the "weight" being assigned in BSCM 305 to each of the three major components is as follows: in-class and out-of-class writing and daily test average = 50%; midterm exam = 25%; and the final exam = 25%.
Instructors: Dr. Joe M. Pullis Office Phone: 257-2368
Box 3027 Tech Station Office: CoBB 335
Ruston, LA 71272 Home Phone: 318-255-8830
Dr. Robert M. Pullis Office Phone: 257-2241
Box 3027 Tech Station Office: CoBB 207
Ruston, LA 71272 Home Phone: 281-797-3268
Business Communication 305 is team taught by Dr. Joe M. Pullis and by Dr. Robert M. Pullis.
Do not be reluctant to phone Dr. Joe Pullis at home (1-318-255-8830) between
6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays or at any time on weekends. The Tech e-mail address for Dr. Joe Pullis is
Do not be reluctant to phone Dr. Rob Pullis at home (1-281-797-3268) between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on weekdays. The Tech e-mail address for Dr. Rob Pullis is
The home e-mail address for Dr. Rob Pullis is
Should you send Dr. Joe Pullis or Dr. Rob Pullis an e-mail message, please use the following subject line: BSCM 305 Also, be sure to "type your name" at the end of the e-mail message.
When sending either Dr. Joe Pullis or Dr. Rob Pullis an e-mail message, please use both of the following email address(s) in your email.
,
Always indicate your first and last name in any e-mail message. Also, if you are including an attachment to your e-mail, please indicate in your message that you have included an attachment.
Reminder: You will need computer access to Moodle in order to access and print your assignments in Business Communication 305.
Please “fill in” the appropriate dates corresponding to the class meetings for the following lectures (if not already "inserted").
Office Hours: Office hours for any given quarter will always be posted on my office door (College of Business Building 335 for Dr. Joe Pullis and College of Business Building 207 for Dr. Rob Pullis) as well as presented in class. If my office hours are not convenient for you, we can arrange a time that works best with your schedule. NEVER be reluctant to visit with me regarding any course-related matter. If possible, I will try to always be available after class to discuss any course-related topic with you.
Honor Code: Business Communication 305 will adhere to the Louisiana Tech University Honor Code (http://www.latech.edu/administration/policies-and-procedures/2207.shtml).
In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: "Being a student of higher standards, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity." Also, Louisiana Tech University adheres to the equal opportunity provisions of federal and civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability.
The Title IX Coordinator is Mrs. Carrie Flournoy, President's Office, P. O. Box 3168; phone: (318) 257-3785; E-mail:
The Section 504 Coordinator is Dr. Linda D. Griffin, 305 Keeney Hall; phone: (318) 257-2445; E-mail:
Emergency All Louisiana Tech students are strongly encouraged to enroll and update their
Notification contact information in the Emergency Notification System. It takes just a few
System: seconds to ensure you're able to receive important text and voice alerts in the
event of a campus emergency. For more information on the Emergency Notifi-
cation System, please visit http://ert.latech.edu
Attachments (2): Business Communication 305 Reading Assignments
Late Assignment Submission Form
BC 305 Syllabus Winter 2015 T-R (21) JMP & RMP v.14.09.04
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 305 READING ASSIGNMENTS
(Tentative)
Lecture Period 1 Thursday, December 4, 2014
Introduction: Writing Mechanics Overview
Mechanics of Writing
Lecture Period 2 Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mechanics of Writing
Periods, Question Marks, and Exclamation Points
Commas
Semicolons, Colons, Dashes, and Hyphens
Quotation Marks, Parentheses, Underscores, and Apostrophes
Abbreviations
Capitalization
Number Expression
Lecture Period 3 Thursday, December 11, 2014
Theme Formatting
Writing Letters to Your Clients and Customers
Selecting Order and Formatting Your Letters
Writing Letters with a Neutral or Positive Message
Writing Letters with a Negative Message
Spelling/Multitasking/Diligence Test #1
Lecture Period 4 Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Letters and Memoranda Formatting
Distinguishing a Theme from a Report from a Research Paper
Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test #1
Lecture Period 5 Thursday, December 18, 2014
Writing with Style
Planning and Organizing Messages
Choosing Words
Creating Vigorous Sentences
Building Strong Paragraphs
Editing and Proofreading Messages
Spelling/Multitasking/Diligence Test #2
Lecture Period 6 Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Writing Memos and E-mail
Uses of Internal Documents
Formatting and Writing Effective Internal Documents
Abuses of Internal Documents
Writing Meeting Communications
Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test #2
Lecture Period 7 Thursday, January 8, 2015
Technical Communication
Writing to Instruct
Writing to Describe
Writing to Persuade
Spelling/Multitasking/Diligence Test #3
Lecture Period 8 Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Getting Your Job
Analyzing Yourself and the Market
Writing Your Resume
Composing Your Letter of Application and Completing the
Application Form
Interviewing Well and Writing the Follow-up Letter
Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test #3
Lecture Period 9 Thursday, January 15, 2015
Review & Practice Test
Spelling/Multitasking/Diligence Test # 4
Lecture Period 10 Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Review
Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test #4
Lecture Period 11 Thursday, January 22, 2015
Midterm Exam – (Please bring a pencil.)
Lecture Period 12 Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Language Foundations Review
Parts of Speech
Nouns
Pronouns
Pronoun-Noun Agreement
Lecture Period 13 Thursday, January 29, 2015
Language Foundations Review (Continued)
Verbs
Subject-Verb Agreement
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Conjunctions and Interjections
Language Foundations Review (Continued)
Spelling/Multitasking/Diligence Test #5
Lecture Period 14 Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Language Foundations Review (Continued)
Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test #5
Lecture Period 15 Thursday, February 5, 2015
Nonverbal Communication: A Key to Accurate Communication
Listening: An Important Interpersonal Skill
Presentations and Meetings
Oral Presentations
Effective Meetings
Spelling/Multitasking/Diligence Test #6
Lecture Period 16 Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Descriptive Language
Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test #6
Lecture Period 17 Thursday, February 12, 2015
Descriptive Language
Lecture Period 18 Thursday, February 19, 2015
Descriptive Language
Review for Final Exam
Lecture Period 19 Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Final Exam for Graduating Seniors – (Plese bring a pencil.)
Make-up Weekly Spelling/Multitasking/diligence Tests and Weekly Sentence Punctuation and Evaluation Test
Lecture Period 20 Thursday, February 26, 2015
Final Exam – (Please bring a pencil.)
Lecture Period 21 Tuesday, March 3, 2015 .
Final Exam – (Please bring a pencil)
Please note the following "Late Assignment Submission Form."
BC 305 Syllabus Winter 2015 T-R (21) JMP & RMP v14.09.04
1
Name ______BSCM 305 Section _____
Row _____ Seat _____
LATE ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION FORM
Complete this form and submit it with your late assignment.
The date on which this assignment was originally due was
Was the late submission of this assignment due to a class absence? YES NO
If the late submission of this assignment was due to a class absence, how many class absences
including this absence have you incurred so far during this quarter in this course?