ENGL 109 Writing for the Professions

Spring/Fall 201_ Syllabus

Course Information:

Course / Section / CRN / Hours / Days / Credit Hours / Room / Final Exam

Instructor Contact Information:

Instructor Name / Email
Phone Number / Office
Office
Hours

Course Description:

ENGL- 109 Writing for the Professions (gec 1)

This course focuses on career-related writing skills. Topics include basic business letters, emails, and memos; persuasive requests; process analysis; technical instructions; reports; and proposals.

Pre-requisites: ACT English 18 or Accuplacer Sentence Skills 88. In addition, ACT Reading 17 or Accuplacer Reading 79.

Co-requisites: ENGL 097 if required by placement.

Credit Hours: 3

Required Textbook: Essentials of Business Communications; Guffey, Mary Ellen and Loewy, Dana; Cengage Learning; 10th Ed; 2016, Print Paperback 608 pages; eBook; both with Premium Website, 1 term (6 months) Printed Access Card (Paperback, rent, and e-book options, all with Premium Website; ISBN10: 1-285-85891-3; ISBN13: 978-1-285-85891-3.

Other Required Materials:

  • A computer with Internet to use a word processing program to produce/print specified assignments, to send and receive emails, and to access other required course resources.
  • A USB drive to save work completed on BVCTC computers because students may not print from most BVCTC classroom computers and may not save their work on BVCTC computers (onsite only).
  • A campus email address: Students are required to use their campus email address; personal email addresses are not acceptable.
  • Basic writing tools, including notebook paper, pens, pencils, etc. to complete assigned activities (onsite only).
  • A PDF Reader: Some course documents will be PDF files, and the PDF Reader may be downloaded for free at

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to do the following:

1. Use critical reading strategies to understand text and data.

2. Use critical writing strategies to produce drafts of increasing quality.

3. Use critical thinking strategies to research to inform decision-making.

4. Match the appropriate rhetorical mode to the composition of professional communication.

5. Use situational analysis to determine the audience, purpose, and appropriate format for business writing needs.

6. Produce written work that meets business format standards and conventions of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and documentation.

7. Describe ideas clearly and effectively in writing.

8. Summarize, retell, and synthesize ideas and information from research sources.

9. Incorporate elements of style, including tone, sentence variety, and diction.

10. Demonstrate professional and ethical standards when communicating orally in a business setting.

11. Use available and effective electronic environments to produce and improve all business communications.

12. Practice job seeking skills to explore future career placement.

BVCTC General Education Outcomes: (Bolded outcomes apply to this course.)

Upon graduating from BVCTC, the student will be able to

  1. Communicate effectively by listening, speaking, and writing using appropriate technology.
  2. Use quantitative and scientific knowledge effectively to solve problems, manipulate and interpret data, and communicate findings.
  3. Demonstrate interpersonal skills and ethical behavior appropriate for living and working in a diverse society.
  4. Apply critical thinking skills to analyze problems and make informed decisions.

Academic Calendar:

This course is designed to be completed within one semester. The beginning, ending, and drop dates for this semester are reflected in the BridgeValley Academic Calendar.

Insert Required Information Here

(ADA Compliance Statement and Disability Services Information, Counseling Services Information, IT/Technical Information, Student Success Center and Tutoring Information, Academic Integrity/Plagiarism Statement, Course Procedures and Policies, etc.)

Assessment of Assignments (Grading System):

The following methods will be used to evaluate student performance for the final grade in the course:

Major written assignments in the following rhetorical modes

Process/Procedure Analysis (Email/Memo) 20%

Expository or Narrative (Incident Report) 20%

Comparison/Contrast (Yardstick Report) 20%

Persuasion (Persuasive Request with Sources) 20%

Final Exam (Project/Presentation) 10%

Other Assignments and Class Participation 10%

These are examples of graded assignments and class participation activities in the course:

  • Professional correspondence, such as email or a memo, using proper business formats/conventions.
  • Analysis of employees and their workplace problem to determine appropriate communication with them about the problem.
  • Use of graphic aids in written and oral presentations.
  • Proposal for an essay.
  • Comparing and contrasting lab reports

 Oral presentation on a paper.

 Annotated bibliography of sources (summary and reflection/review).

 Quizzes on textbook content

In addition, these are examples specific to an online course:

 Discussion boards, weekly reflection journals, textbook exercises, etc.

  • Video presentation on a paper (in lieu of proctored assignment).

Grading Scale:

A (90-100%)

B (80-89%)

C (70-79%)

D (60-69%)

F (0-59%)