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This course teaches students the rhetorical principles and writing practices
necessary for producing effective business letters, memos, reports, and
collaborative projects in professional contexts. The curriculum is informed
by current research in rhetoric and professional writing and is guided
by the needs and practices of business, industry, and society at large,
as well as by the expectations of our students and programs. All sections
of this course are offered in networked computer classrooms to ensure
that students taking the course are prepared for the writing environment
of the 21st-century workplace. The course teaches the rhetorical principles
that help students shape their business writing ethically, for multiple
audiences, in a variety of professional situations.
Course Goals
Writing in Context
Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine
how they shape the various purposes and forms of workplace writing, such
as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse, with
an emphasis on
• writing for general audiences and decision makers
• understanding the ethical dimensions of workplace communication
Writing Process
Develop and understand various strategies for planning, researching,
drafting, revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and
ethically to professional situations and audiences.
Collaboration
Learn and apply strategies for successful collaboration, such as
• working and communicating online with colleagues
• setting and achieving project goals
• responding constructively to peers' work
• working as part of a writing team and/or with a client organization
Research
Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents
• analyzing professional contexts
• assessing and using information resources
• using primary research methods such as interviews, observations,
focus groups, and surveys to collect data
• working ethically with research participants
Technology
Select technologies appropriate to the generic conventions of various
types of workplace communication, including email, memos, letters, reports,
online documents, and white papers.
Document Design
Learn the generic conventions of the design of workplace documents including
• understanding and implementing various principles of format and
layout
• interpreting and arguing with visual information.
Course Projects and Activities
1. Employment Project
2. White Paper Project
3. Open Source Development and Documentation Project
Grading
Project 1 20%
Project 2 30%
Project 3 40%
Daily Assignments, Online Discussion, Attendance, Participation 10%
Total=100%
Each of the 3 major projects in the course will be comprised of several
components, each of which will be worth a percentage of your final grade.
For the collaborative project(s), students will complete the required
Collaborative Evaluation Form.
All major assignments will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale:
A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or below.
Technology Requirements
In order to participate fully in the course, you should already be able
to use the technology platform and applications listed below.
Windows XP
Microsoft Office (Word and PowerPoint)
Web Browser (e.g., Netscape Communicator, Firefox, Safari, or Internet
Explorer)
Email Program (e.g., Netscape Mail, Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird, etc.)
Technology Responsibilities
Because the exchange of information and documents in this class will be
almost entirely electronic, familiarity with certain technologies is crucial
for participation and success in the course. If you need any assistance
now or at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask.
During the semester, you'll need frequent access to the Internet and email.
If you have a computer at home, you'll be responsible for configuring
your system to access course materials, to read course email and participate
in online discussions, and to complete other work. If you do not have
a system at home or cannot get your system configured, you will be able
to use any labs at the college. One of your first course assignments will
be completing a technology checklist and solving any technology access
problems that you may encounter. You are also required to subscribe to
and participate on a course mailing list.
Course Technologies
Email Discussion List
Dreamweaver (Web Editor)
Powerpoint, Word
Acrobat and Acrobat Reader
Attendance
Attendance is required at all scheduled electronic and face-to-face (F2F)
meetings. Since you will be working in project teams much of the semester,
you also will be required to attend any scheduled out-of-class meetings
with your team to complete course assignments. Three absences may result
in your final grade being lowered by as much as a letter grade. More than
three absences can result in a failing grade for the course.
Late Work
The majority of missed class assignments cannot be made up. If a serious
and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact the college
in writing prior to the deadline to determine whether or not an extension
for the work will or will not be granted.
Duration: 36 hours
Registration fee: $50.00
Tuition: $650.00
Contact:
Canada College
403-1118 Sainte-Catherine W.
Montreal, Qc. Canada
H3B 1H5
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