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GEB 3213 schedule

Writing in Business
Fall 2005

 

GEB 3213 Syllabus

GEB 3213 Assignments

GEB 3213 Schedule

GEB 3213 Gradebook

Vista login

Instructor: Cathlena Martin
Email: cmartin@english.ufl.edu
Section: 9217
Office: Bryan 125
Office Hours: The period directly following class, Tuesday night period 9, or by appointment
Mailbox: 4301 Turlington
Class Times: MW per 4
Class Room: Matherly 118
Class Website: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/cmartin
Class Gradebook: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/~cmartin/gradebook/
Class Listserv: f05-9217@clas.ufl.edu

Course Texts
Business and Administrative Communication. 7th edition. Kitty O. Locker, McGraw-Hill, 2005, combined with Business Writing CPR: 16 Principles for Writing Virtually Anything Effectively. Jane Douglas.

Course Schedule and Assignments
Unless prefaced with CPR, course reading assignments refer to Business and Administrative Communication.

Week 1: 24 - 26 August

DISCUSSION 1– Course introduction: syllabus, assignments, materials.
READING –Read Chapter 1: Business Communication, Management, and Success (pp. 3-28); Chapter 3: Adapting Your Message to Your Audience (pp. 58-80).

Week 2: 29 August - 2 September

LECTURE 1 (8/30)– Introduction to Business Writing.
-Lecture handout: Y2Kpaper and Y2Kmemo.
-Lecture notes are available on Vista
DISCUSSION 1 (8/29) – Diagnostic writing
DISCUSSION 2 (8/31)- Achieving action-oriented business writing.
READING — Read Chapter 17: Résumés (pp. 490-520), and Appendix C: Making and Communicating Meaning (pp. 615-627) before next Tuesday night (9/6).
HW – Sometime before Friday, you need to take Quiz #1 through Vista. Also, you will need to complete the Pre-test, which will not count for a grade.
-Diagnostic writing due next Tuesday night (9/6).
-Choose one of the three bad business memos to revise --due next Tuesday night (9/6).
-Begin drafting resume by making a list of every possible activity, honor, membership that could possibly go on your resume and bring to class next Wednesday (9/7).

Week 3: 6 September - 9 September (No class Monday)

LECTURE 2 (Tuesday, 9/6) – Writing for Purpose and Audience: Producing an Effective Resume (lecture notes are also available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 9/7)– Resume analysis and discussion. Go over lists.
- Draft of resume due Monday (9/12).

DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 9/12)– Exchange drafts and peer review resumes.
READING - Read Chapter 2: Building Goodwill (pp. 34-52) and Chapter 18: Job Application Letters (pp. 524-543) before next Tuesday night (9/13).
HW – Assignment 1: Final resume due next Tuesday night (9/13).
-Begin draft of cover letter.

Week 4: 12 – 16 September

LECTURE 3 (Tuesday 9/13)– Business Letters: producing the Cover Letter (lecture notes are also available on Vista).
Forget Quiz#2. Forget Quiz#3. We will not be using Vista any longer for quizzes.
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 9/14)–Disscuss email etiquette. Cover letter analysis and discussion. Cover letter draft due Monday (9/19).
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 9/19)– Exchange drafts and peer review cover letters.
READING - Read Chapter 4: Making Your Writing Easy to Read (pp. 86-109), Chapter 7: Informative and Positive Messages (pp. 150-168); and Writing CPR, Chapter 1: Call 911 (pp. 1-3) and Chapter 2: Check for Pulse: Clarity (pp. 5-14).
HW – Assignment 1: Final cover letters due next Tuesday night (9/20).

-Sign up by Friday on the class listserv.
Send an email to "f05-9217-request@clas.ufl.edu" with a one word message in the body of the email: "subscribe" (without the quote makes). Note that Majordomo will ignore any text entered in the 'Subject' line. After you have sucessfully sent this email, you will receive a confirmation email. You will need to follow that email's directions to the letter. You will have to cut and past a command line into a final email. Don't forget to do this second confirmation step or you will not be signed up for the listserv. Email me if you have any problems.


Week 5: 19 – 23 September

LECTURE 4 (Tuesday 9/20)– Clear Writing and Good News Messages. (lecture notes are also available on Vista)

DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 9/21)– Frontloading your message and writing for the reader’s needs; Take Quiz #4 in class.
Homework due Monday: pages 111-112 exercises 4.7-4.14. And yes, you need to type out the answers and bring them to class on Monday.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 9/26)– The memo format and giving positive information effectively.
READING — Read Chapter 6: Designing Documents, Slides, and Screens (pp. 127-147); Chapter 15: Using Graphs and Other Visuals (pp. 442-459); Appendix A: Formats for Letters, Memos, and E-Mail Messages (pp. 572-588)

Week 6: 26 – 30 September

LECTURE 5 (Tuesday 9/27)– Document and Graphic Design.(lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1(Wednesday 9/28)– No class today due to the Career Showcase; Take quiz #5 on Vista by Friday; Positive Memo draft due Monday (10/3). For the Positive Memo, you will select either exercise 7.15 or 7.17 from chapter 7.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 10/3)– Peer Review of positive memo drafts.
READING – Read CPR: Chapter 3: Clear Airway: Continuity (pp. 15-26).
HW – Assignment 2: Informative/Positive memo due next Tuesday night

Week 7: 3 – 7 October

LECTURE 6 (Tuesday)— Using Continuity in Your Writing.(lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1(Wednesday) – Introduce reports, form teams, start planning process; Take Quiz #6 on Vista by Friday; Financial Aid form draft due Monday (group assignment p.146-7).
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday) – Discuss creating continuity. Peer Review of Financial Aid Forms – team exchange.
READING — Read Chapter 5: Planning, Composing, Revising (pp. 115-124); and Chapter 8: Negative Messages (pp. 183-202).
HW — Assignment 3: Improving a Financial Aid Form (team assignment) due next Tuesday night

Week 8: 10 – 14 October

LECTURE 7(Tuesday)— Bad News Memos (lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday) – Discuss team project, team groups, and proposal see p. 354-356; The Bad News Memo and Negative messages powerpoint: discuss examples; Take Quiz#7 on Vista by Friday; Negative Message memo draft due Monday.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday) - peer review Negative Memo.
READING — CPR Chapter 5: Provide Chest Compressions: Concision (pp. 39-45).
HW — Assignment 4: Negative Message due next Tuesday night

Week 9: 17 – 21 October

LECTURE 8 (Tuesday)– Concision and E-mail.(lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday)– Meet with team; Team work on proposal see p. 354-356; Work on concision examples and exercises and active verb exercies; Take Quiz#8 on Vista by Friday.
Team Proposal draft due Monday.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 24th) – peer review proposals; E-mail discussion and responses.
READING —CPR: Chapter 4: Give Artificial Respiration: Coherence (pp. 27-38), and Chapter 14: Analyzing Information and Writing Reports (pp. 390-433).
HW-Team Proposal due next Tuesday night

Week 10: 24 – 28 October

LECTURE 9 (Tuesday 25th)– Analyzing Information and Coherence (lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 26th)– Gantt Chart see p. 452, 454;
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010346051033.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart
http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/gantt/
Creating coherence and effective paragraphing; Take Quiz#9 on Vista by Friday.
Bring me the graded copy (with my comments on it) of your postive memo and your financial aid form next Tuesday, November 1.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 31st)– Business library research workshop for reports. Work on team Gantt chart.
READING — Read Chapter 9: Persuasive Messages (pp. 212-241), and Appendix D: Crafting Logical Arguments (pp. 632-363).
HW- Team Gantt chart due next Tuesday night. Remember to bring me the graded copy (with my comments on it) of your postive memo and your financial aid form next Tuesday, November 1.

Week 11: 31 October – 4 November

LECTURE 10 (Tuesday 1st)— Persuasion and Reports.(lecture notes are available on Vista) Remember to bring me the graded copy (with my comments on it) of your postive memo and your financial aid form tonight to class.
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 2nd)(evaluation by Fiona)— Discuss Persuasive writing assignment contest and case study; Persuasive writing techniques; Persuasive exercise; Persuasive message draft due Monday.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 7th)– Peer review persuasive memo.
READING - Chapter 12: Working and Writing in Groups (pp. 316-337); and Chapter 13: Planning, Proposing and Researching Reports (pp. 348-382).
HW — Assignment 5: Persuasive Memo due Monday the 14th in class

Week 12: 7 – 10 November

LECTURE 11(Tuesday 8th) — Working in Teams and Writing Reports
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 9th)– Meet in Teams; Collaborative writing and team project planning.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 14th) –Sample report analysis, document design and organization.; project progress report due Wednesday.
READING – Chapter 11: Communicating Across Cultures (pp. 292-310).

Week 13: 14 – 18 November

LECTURE 12 (Tuesday 15th)– Communicating across Cultures.(lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 16th )– Effective inter-cultural communication; Project Progress Report due today; Intercultural Memo draft due Monday to your team mates either in person or over email.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 21st) – Peer review with team mates intercultural memo
READING – Read Chapter 16: Making Successful Presentations (pp. 468-484).
HW – Assignment 6: Intercultural Memo due Monday 28th in class


Week 14: 21 – 23 November (Thanksgiving: no classes Thursday and Friday)

LECTURE 13 (Tuesday 22nd)– Making Successful Presentations.(lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 23rd)– Work in teams; Refining your team presentation. Report draft due Monday the 28th in class.
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 28th)– Peer review of reports.
HW — Assignment 8: Oral Presentation due next week

Week 15: 28 November – 2 December

LECTURE 14 (Tuesday 29th)– Team conferences.
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 30th)– Oral presentations (2 teams).
DISCUSSION 2 (Monday 5th)– Oral presentations (2 teams).

Week 16: 5 December – 7 December (no classes Thursday or Friday)

LECTURE 15 (Tuesday 6th)– Professional writing for your career (lecture notes are available on Vista)
DISCUSSION 1 (Wednesday 7th)– Oral presentations (1 team). Final team reports due today. Turn in Team Evaluations. Final cummulative quiz, conclusions and final in-class writing assignment.