WRITING 340 ADVANCED WRITING for BUSINESS



WRITING 340 ADVANCED WRITING for BUSINESS

Spring 2008 (#66706)

T/TH 8:00-9:20 a.m. / HOH 410

SYLLABUS

Hovig Tchalian, Ph.D.

tchalian@marshall.usc.edu

Office: ACC 402

Phone: (213) 740-0627 (*not a direct line – secretary will leave a note in my box)

Office Hours: T/TH 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS

Writing 340 explores business writing techniques and strategies through in-class lectures and exercises, individual writing assignments, writing conferences, and a group project.

Specifically, we will:

• Engage in a number of in-class writing and peer-review exercises.

• Prepare and participate in several in-class oral presentations;

• Complete four out-of-class assignments (three individual, one group) as well as a non-graded diagnostic essay;

• Carefully select (in consultation with me) two papers to revise to include in an end-of-term portfolio;

• Complete a small-group project intended to simulate the kind of collaborative work you will be expected to do in many firms and corporations;

The specific topics we will address range from word-, sentence-, and paragraph-level issues of correctness, conciseness, coherence, and clarity to more global considerations of argumentation and organization, including a major unit on critical thinking.

Throughout the semester, we will pay close attention to developing ways of identifying essential from non-essential information and effectively and appropriately communicating what is relevant to a particular audience. You will learn to regard effective business writing in terms of a series of strategic choices, including choosing from among a repertoire of tones and styles appropriate in different situations and with different audiences. You will also improve your editing and critiquing skills, so that you can distinguish effective from ineffective writing and help not just yourself but your fellow students (and in the future, work colleagues) to become better writers in the business context.

UPPER-DIVISION WRITING AT USC

This course builds on the work you did in Writing 140, Writing and Critical Reasoning (or its equivalent if you are a transfer student). That course or its equivalent is, therefore, a prerequisite for this one. So while we will not spend much time reviewing what you covered in WRIT 140, we will implicitly draw upon the fundamentals that you mastered in it and, in some cases, review concepts relevant for our purposes.

The university has a two-semester writing requirement, and Writing 340 Advanced Writing for Business is the course that satisfies the second semester of this requirement. All undergraduates have the shared experience of taking a version of Writing 340 here on campus. The courses are designed to increase students’ capacity to analyze audiences and tailor content and style to fit those audiences while communicating information with knowledge and confidence. (Here in 340, we will give precedence to clear written communication, while in the companion course, Writing 302, you will focus on oral and interpersonal communication, although you will observe some overlap between the two classes.)

In our case, the course offered through the Marshall School will help you hone your writing skills in the context of the business world. In addition, it also aims to help you explore and apply – through reading, research, writing, and oral presentation – the art of communication in the business context, including considerations of business ethics. Finally, the course will provide an opportunity for you to research and analyze complex ideas, to appreciate and develop the skill of effective argumentation, and to write clear, grammatical, well-structured communications aimed at a business audience.

Writing 340 Advanced Writing emerged from the university’s Provost’s directive in 1997 that such a course be created. Among the guidelines established by the Provost for the class are these:

• It will teach students to write for particular audiences, in distinct voices, and to use the writing process to explore complex ideas;

• It will address disciplinary or professional issues with some concentration on writing for a non-specialist audience on issues of broad public concern;

• It will instruct students in the writing of clear, grammatical, well-structured prose, in the discovery and conveying of complex ideas critically, and in appreciation of the nuances of good argument.

SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This course focuses on improving your skills in gathering, analyzing, and organizing information, and in communicating that information in effective and persuasive form in a variety of business documents. During the semester, you will learn to:

• Recognize and implement the qualities associated with effective business writing;

• Identify different audiences and learn to communicate effectively to each;

• Evaluate options and choose the most appropriate tone, style, and form of communication to use;

• Conduct research using a broad range of sources, synthesizing and judging the quality of information;

• Collaborate productively with others in completing writing and editing tasks;

• Support your own written claims with logical and persuasive reasoning, and evaluate the reasoning in the writing of others;

• Orally articulate and present aspects of written work;

• Express your ideas and conduct yourself in a professional manner;

• Become familiar with important ethical and professional questions being discussed within business and economics.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Writing for Work: A Practical Guide to Written Communication in Business, Custom Edition for USC, Center for Management Communication WRIT 340

[Optional Aid: ]

Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, 8th ed. by M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley

(The two texts above are required. From time to time I may supplement them with selected materials from Joseph M. Williams, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 8th ed., and Alred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu, The Business Writer’s Handbook, 5th ed. (also on reserve, listed below). You do not need to purchase these supplementary books; I will relay the important information from them to you in class.)

ON RESERVE AT THE CROCKER LIBRARY

The Business Writer’s Companion, 5th ed. by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and

Walter E. Oliu

(The text above is not required, although it is a good text to have, as it will serve you well in whatever business environment you choose to enter. In this class, we will be using it primarily as a reference text available to you to consult in the library. I may refer a complex question about grammatical, punctuation or stylistic issue that we do not have the time to cover in class or in person to this handbook.)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• The online writing lab at Purdue University: . This is a very useful and authoritative online resource for writing, grammar, mechanics, style and reference-related issues and questions. Consult the site as a reference guide. But, as with The Business Writer’s Companion, please be careful to use the APA, not the MLA, style guide for quoting and reference.

• (UNIX, not Marshall, password required to access Blackboard)

• consumer/plaine.htm

•

•

• sbaonline.plain/

•

• links/

•

I may provide you a copy of a document called “WriteSmart” that I put together a few years ago, which will give you some additional tips on good writing in an academic context.

OTHER MATERIALS

• Standard word-processing software (Microsoft Word)

• Access to a laser printer or equivalent

• A working e-mail account that you check regularly and before every class

• The newspaper (online and in print)

• A flash drive or other method for saving your work in the computer lab

Note: the university computer systems are PC-based and run on the Microsoft Office platform. You must have a compatible flash drive or some other method of saving your lab work. If you own a Mac, however, you can use it outside the classroom as well as accessing E-learning’s computer rooms on the lower level of Hoffman Hall. The help desk is located in HOH 300.

DOCUMENT FORMATTING

I generally require all assignments, both major and minor, to be typed in 12-point, times new roman font, on single-spaced, numbered pages (standard practice in business settings), with one-inch margins. All references should adhere to APA format, the standard in the social sciences, which include business and economics. Please do not enclose any of your work in binders or folders. Stapled printouts work just fine.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

The course content of Advanced Writing for Business can be put into practice immediately. But please keep in mind that our goal is not simply to acquire information but to have an opportunity to learn, practice, strengthen and polish your skills, which requires genuine effort and commitment on your part.

As a student in this course, therefore, you will be expected to:

1) Attend class regularly, as attendance constitutes a portion of your grade. (See Grading Weights, below.)

2) Complete all written and oral assignments plus a diagnostic essay, all of which must be submitted in timely fashion in order for you to get full credit for them and be eligible to turn in your portfolio at semester’s end.

Please note that Friday, May 1, the last day of the final week of class, is the due date for the portfolio. While you may submit the portfolio early, I cannot accept it after the due date.

3) Participate in all lab sessions and in-class activities, including peer editing.

4) Attend individual writing conferences you schedule with me.

GRADING WEIGHTS

Your final grade in this class will be based on the following:

Trend Analysis or Current Issues Memo 20%

(Here you will write a brief research paper in which you explore a significant,

contemporary business issue or trend and advocate a position that your

audience ought to take in response to it.)

Business Ethics Position Paper 20 %

(This is an analysis of a case or issue touching on business or professional

ethics. You will examine the crux of the conflict and the differing sides or

options, state your position, and then defend it persuasively.)

Critical Thinking Analysis 20%

(This assignment calls for you to analyze comprehensively material

addressing business communications and to do so based on the critical

thinking methodology that we will emphasize in class.)

Group Project 10%

(Folded into this last assignment is a collaborative written report plus

oral presentation that is meant to simulate a small-team approach to

addressing a core business issue within or without a company. You

will present the completed project to the class. You will be assessed

on your deliverables as well as your professionalism. I will have

more details for you about this project after the term is underway.)

Portfolio 20%

(You will select any two of the above individual written assignments

And then revise them extensively to constitute your portfolio.)

Professionalism 10%

(This encompasses attendance, punctuality, preparation, discussion

participation, and conscientious engagement with the class as a whole.)

Total 100%

NOTE: As you can see from the above, your grade reflects your performance, professional writing, and your contributions to the classroom learning environment. It is not based on pre-set percentages or on the Marshall target GPA. The grade may not represent every single instance of effort in the class. The writing component, especially, is determined by the USC rubric and is based on the work you submit in comparison to that of your peers. As a rule, more effort generally results in better writing and results.

Evaluation of your Work

I will do my best to make my expectations for the various assignments clear and to evaluate them as fairly and objectively as I can. (Of course, you don’t have to agree with me regarding the positions that you take in your work. But you do have to follow the mandates of the class and individual assignments.) I’ll also do my best to return your papers to you within ten days of your submitting them to me.

And finally, please note that all grades assigned are final. Please bear in mind, therefore, that apart from the two papers you will revise specifically for the portfolio assignment that completes our semester, I will not reassess any assignments after they have been returned to you. You have the right to seek explanation, guidance and counsel and reasons for the assignment of a final grade. You may appeal a final grade according to university policy as set forth in the university catalog and SCampus (usc.edu/scampus). However, a student may not request a faculty member to change a final grade, nor is a faculty member allowed to change a final grade outside of this appeal process.

Individual Conferences

In addition to my office hours, we will meet, one-on-one, after each major assignment is graded. This will offer you an opportunity to discuss specific difficulties you may have in the writing process and is not intended to be a discussion about your grades. Failure to attend a scheduled conference, or showing up late to one, counts the same as an absence or lateness in a regular class session (see “grading weights,” above, and “professionalism and class protocols,” below).

Be sure to bring with you to the conferences your last graded assignment as well as an advanced copy of the assignment you are working on – early drafts are far less helpful in a conference setting, as they will reflect more of your thinking process and less of your actual writing. (Early drafts are fine for office hours or other individual meetings.) Please note, too, that participation in a writing conference does not insure that you will receive a certain grade on any particular paper. Conferences are usually very helpful to individual writers, but they do not guarantee high grades in and of themselves.

Note: In order to cut down on inevitable temptation to procrastinate, I will respond by email or in person to questions about assignments up until 48 hours before an assignment is due but no later. Providing feedback any later than that would be ineffective and will allow you very little time, if any, to act on the suggestions.

Peer Review/In-Class Editing Workshops

A major part of our work in this class will involve writing and re-writing, while helping each other with specific comments and suggestions about how to improve specific assignments. With that in mind, we’ll be scheduling in-class sessions where all of you will critique each others’ papers. These will typically take place a week in advance of a major writing assignment.

You are expected to come to class prepared for theses sessions, both to review other papers and to have your own reviewed. I will provide explicit instructions about how to do that. It’s up to you to make sure you abide by them. I may require you to turn in drafts edited by other students as well as your own comments about other students’ work. Failure to participate fully in these assignments may result in a grade penalty for that assignment and will definitely negatively impact your professionalism grade.

Professionalism and Class Protocols

Attendance and punctuality are required in all Writing 340 classes, in part because the course is intended to function as a writing workshop or conference. For a professional business writer, workshops provide a format for obtaining essential critique of a particular writing project and for providing the same help to other writers. To replicate this interactive atmosphere in class, each of us must attend. (And if you find that this rationale fails to convince you, another, perhaps even more pragmatic, reason to attend is that you will do better on the assignments if you are present for the information presented in class.)

You are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions and to be in your seat, ready to learn, at the start of class. More than two absences of any kind or instances of tardiness will negatively impact your final grade, by as much as 5% of your final grade for each additional instance; if you are absent three or more times prior to the last day to withdraw from a course with a grade of W, you will be asked to withdraw by that date. Because this class is based on business protocol, you must e-mail me before class to notify me of your absence. If a last-minute emergency occurs, I still expect an e-mail by the end of the teaching day explaining why you did not attend class. An email does not constitute an absence. I reserve the right to consider absences and make grade adjustments on a case-by-case basis. Also please remember that attending class is about choices. Not attending class to avail yourself of a seminar or other events (i.e. study sessions, extended personal trips, field trips) may result in missing an important class activity that cannot be made up and you will be marked absent.

Please come to class prepared. You are expected to come to class fully prepared, with all required written assignments and reading completed. This includes being fully prepared even if you were unable to attend a previous class meeting. It is imperative that you get a phone number or e-mail address from a class member so you can get the assignments. Please do not e-mail to ask me what happened in class if you were absent.

Please complete homework assignments on time. In order to derive the maximum benefit from your homework, it is due on the day that we’ll be working on the assignment. I do not accept late homework or e-mailed homework assignments. If you forget to bring the assignment to class, I must have it by the end of the working day; however, you’ll miss out on the benefit of in-class homework discussion. If you have an excused absence, bring the assignment to the next class meeting and hand it to me. Homework is not graded but you get credit for doing it.

Please observe due dates for papers. Assignments are due at the close of the business day stipulated in the calendar below. (See schedule below. These dates are tentative; circumstances may cause them to change. If that should ever happen, I will notify you as soon as possible.) Generally and without a documented excuse that entails illness or a family emergency, assignment grades will be lowered one full grade (e.g., from a B to a C) for each calendar day (e.g., from Monday to Tuesday) that they are late. Anything else would be unfair to those who sacrifice to submit their work on time.

If you are unable to attend class on the day a major written assignment is due, make arrangements for it to be delivered to the classroom, to my mailbox by the end of the working day or ahead of the due date. Late or not, you must complete all major writing assignments to pass this course. I do not accept e-mailed papers.

Actively engage in this class. Part of your grade is based on your participation, and more is expected of you than merely being physically present and on time. This means you are expected to be an active contributor to the class, not a passive listener. Volunteer answers to the questions I ask; ask questions yourself; request clarification if something isn’t clear; contribute useful and relevant comments. Your active participation can help determine whether our class atmosphere will be dull and pedantic or energetic and engaging. Non-participation will affect your final grade no matter what your writing level is.

Please also note the following important aspects of classroom management:

• Turn off your cell phone, iPod, Blackberry, or any other electronic device or PDA that beeps, chirps, plays music or otherwise makes its presence felt;

• Do not use class time to catch up on the LA times, WSJ, or any other reading, whether or not we are discussing it that particular day.

• Straighten up your area before you leave, so that the next class finds a clean and pleasant learning environment.

• No laptop computers in class. We don’t use them, and they are distracting.

Express yourself, but always respect the opinions of others. You do not need to agree with me in our discussions or with the opinions of your colleagues. Indeed, part of our purpose in the class is to learn how to construct and express counter-arguments effectively and gracefully. Still, never disparage the beliefs, dignity, or self-respect of anyone else in the class, even if you strongly disagree with that person’s opinion, stated or otherwise. We will learn much more from each other and get a lot more out of this class if we feel free to express our opinions while listening and appreciating dissenting opinions.

If you do your best to discuss issues and opinions this way in class, you will contribute to positive, lively and engaging class meetings. Both your classmates and I will be grateful to you for doing so.

The USC Writing Center

Located in THH (Taper Hall) 321, the Writing Center, part of the Writing Program within the College of Letters, Arts, & Sciences, is an excellent resource for any writing-related help or guidance you may need. This is not remedial help but the kind that would be useful for any college writer. During the semester, the Center is open 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. on Friday. You can reach the Center at (213) 740-3691 or online at usc.edu/schools/college/writingcenter/.

Typically, you may schedule a thirty-minute appointment with a Consultant who is a graduate or professional student here at the university. (Some of the Consultants are MBA students within Marshall.) Others have special skills in working with students for whom English is a second language. The WC also offers a nine-week series of Writing Modules designed to help non-native speakers develop the skills they need to succeed in WRIT 340. In addition, there are daily workshops on troublesome language and grammar issues, open to all students.

I do not generally require students to attend writing workshops or schedule appointments with consultants. However, in cases in which I feel a student will benefit from additional practice with a writing skill we will not be able to cover sufficiently in class, I may require that student to take advantage of Writing Center services and provide documentation of having done so. I also strongly encourage all of you, no matter how confident you are in your writing and speaking abilities, to look into the Center’s services and use it to your benefit. The Center also has a website with useful information: .

Insight Business

A few years ago, the Center for Management Communication established an online journal whose student-written articles emerge principally from Writing 340 Advanced Writing for Business sections. This is Insight Business, and any student whose writing appears within it can legitimately claim to have been published in the traditional print sense. Please contact the Center for Management Communications for additional information about this publication.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

You probably know that few academic sins are worse than that of plagiarism, as exhibited by controversies in academic as well as professional and business settings. No matter the quality of one’s written work, a substantiated charge of plagiarism casts a shadow over it from which it is very difficult—if not impossible—to recover.

The university mandates severe consequences for plagiarism. I will not knowingly tolerate any instance of it and will act appropriately when I discover it. Please consult the prohibition of plagiarism outlined on p. 123 ff. of SCampus 07/08 in section 11.00, “Behavior Violating University Standards and Appropriate Sanctions,” particularly 11.11 and 11.12 (). In addition, pay close attention to the “Academic Integrity and Review Process,” section 14.00, which follows on pp. 130 f. Cases of alleged plagiarism usually end up being adjudicated by the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards, and the penalties to which a plagiarist may be subjected are well worth avoiding.

A closely related trap to watch out for is that of illegitimate assistance or collaboration. In this course we encourage peer review, since it’s almost always helpful to have “another set of eyes” take a look at your paper and offer comments and suggestions. But where exactly is the boundary between helpful advice and illegitimate collaboration? Where should you draw the line? While plagiarism typically entails acquiring a printed or online text and passing it off as one’s own creation, illegitimate assistance often involves persuading or hiring another writer to construct a paper that can similarly be submitted as one’s own. It may also consist of another author willingly—even voluntarily—drafting a text for someone else, who then claims it as one’s own.

General suggestions and recommendations that writers give to and receive from one another do not violate the academic prohibition on illegitimate assistance/collaboration. What does constitute this infraction is the creation of a text by a writer for another who, as recipient, cannot then truthfully and objectively claim that text to be his or her own. A simple guideline may help: Never allow someone else to construct a section of your text longer than one or two sentences that you would not be able to produce on your own, and never allow anyone to copy-edit more than the first page of your paper. If you have any questions at all about precisely what constitutes plagiarism or illegitimate assistance/collaboration, please see me so that you may avoid them at all costs.

While plagiarism can be either a conscious or unconscious act on the part of the writer, the Center for Management Communication is now using —a plagiarism service— to assess all major papers and to enable students to understand how to write a plagiarism-free paper. Please note that I require all major assignments in this class to be turned into and submitted to me with a copy of the site’s verification page.

Retention of Graded Work

Returned papers or portfolios which are unclaimed by students four weeks after course grades are posted by the Registrar may be discarded. So if you’d like to retrieve the graded work that you produce in our class, be sure to do so within a month after course grades appear. Please let me know, too, if you have a concern about having work forwarded to you after the term ends.

Lost and Found

The Lost and Found area for the Marshall School is located in BRI 204. If you leave anything behind in either the traditional classroom or computer lab, it will be taken there. Conversely, if you lose an item, you should report your loss to the Lost and Found. Someone will contact you if your item shows up.

Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP; once you have it, please deliver it to me as early as possible in the semester. You can reach DSP in STU 301 and by phone at (213) 740-0776. The office is open 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Looking Ahead

Communication (or, rhetoric, as it used to be called) is one of the oldest academic disciplines, having come down to us from ancient Greece and classical Rome. Both cultures realized the importance of communicating their ideas in the courts and marketplaces that are the predecessors of our own legal and commercial centers. As such, communication was both a science – the ability to apply reason in order to assess and judge arguments effectively – and an art – the ability to present facts, judgments and opinions effectively and persuasively.

The importance of practicing the art and science of communication, therefore, has been with us for over two thousand years. And during that time, it has been closely associated with commerce and the public sphere. We are stepping into that long and interesting tradition in this class. That said, “practicing” the art also requires, well . . . practicing it. In order to speak and write well, one must be able to think critically, read comprehensively, and revisit constantly one’s speech and writing in order to improve them. This is why writing is often referred to as a recursive process. That is, it is one that entails ongoing editing and revision—a returning to what one writes—in order to insure that it is as clear and concise as possible.

From experience I can attest to the intelligence, knowledge, and writing ability that most students bring with them to this course and similar ones. I firmly believe that writing well and persuasively is not easy for any of us. It is a skill that is sharpened only through lifelong practice, and this applies as much to me as to you. Hence I cannot guarantee that Writing 340 will be easy for you, or that you will readily obtain a high grade in it. Still, the rewards for those who strive to become accomplished writers are great, and I have never had a student who did not improve as a writer over the course of the term if he or she earnestly devoted time and effort to the tasks that we’ve set for ourselves.

That said, I welcome you to this Writing 340 Advanced Writing for Business section and look forward to the semester before us. You will find me to be accessible on most weekdays, and especially the days of our class meetings. In addition to my regular office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays, I encourage you to call or e-mail me when you have questions about, or difficulties with, your work. (Email works best.) To meet with you outside of class is part of my responsibility, and I will do my best to live up to it. If you need my counsel or feel that you would benefit from speaking with me, and if my posted times will not work for you, let me know, and I’m happy to make alternate arrangements to meet. Fulfilling the responsibilities of this class is something that we will take on together.

SCHEDULE

*This schedule is subject to change depending on the needs of the class. You will be notified of any change(s).

**All assignments to be turned in on due date, at the beginning of class. Due dates in bold.

Abbreviations of required texts: WW = Writing for Work; ARQ = Asking the Right Questions

| |Date |In-Class Activities |Assignments Due/ Reminders |

|WEEK 1|Tuesday January |* Course Introduction and goals |* Bring copy of syllabus to class |

|(T) |13 |- Roster and attendance |* Visit newspaper report site () |

| | |- Newspaper exercise |* NEXT TIME: Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

| | |(intro – starts wk 3, day 1) | |

| | |- 3 class "modules" | |

| | |- Group projects and | |

| | |reports | |

| | |* Norms and professionalism | |

|WEEK 1|Thursday January |* Information exchange |* Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

|(TH) |15 |* Pre-writing strategies |* Read WW, Ch. 1 (What is Good Writing?) |

| |[**Meet in |* Approaches to outlining (WS) | |

| |Writing Lab, BRI |* In-class diagnostic essay | |

| |202A] | | |

|WEEK 2|Tuesday January |* Incredible truth / believable lie |* Read ARQ, Ch. 1 (The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions) |

|(T) |20 |* Discussion of plagiarism | |

| | |* Introduction of | |

| | |* Introduction of paper topic 1 | |

| | |* Newspaper report sign-ups | |

|WEEK 2|Thursday January |* Introduction of group projects |* Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

|(TH) |22 |* Group membership and norming |* Read WW, Ch. 2 (Developing a Good Style) |

| |[**Meet in |* Clarifying/shortening sentences (PayPal) |* Complete WW, exercise 2D |

| |Writing Lab, BRI |* WW, exercise 2B (no prep, in class) | |

| |202A; |* Active vs. passive voice (time | |

| |**Last day to |permitting) | |

| |add] |* VISIT FROM CROCKER LIBRARIAN | |

|WEEK 3|Tuesday January |* Newspaper report |* Draft, Paper 1 (Business Memo) due |

|(T) |27 |* Peer review workshop |* Read WW, Ch. 3 (Using Examples and Comparisons) |

| | |* Common pitfalls, word usage exercise I |* 1-on-1 conferences, day 1 |

| | |* WW, exercises 3A, 3D (no prep, in class) | |

| | |* Sign up for 1-on-1 conferences | |

|WEEK 3|Thursday January |NO CLASS: |

|(TH) |29 |1-on-1 CONFERENCES |

|WEEK 4|Tuesday February |* Newspaper report |* Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

|(T) |3 |* Introduction of memos |* Read WW, Ch. 4 (Making Your Page Look Inviting) and Appendix C (Formats for Letters and Memos) |

| |[**Meet in |* Caltech memo exercise |* Complete WW, exercise 4A |

| |Writing Lab, BRI |* Common pitfalls, word usage exercise II | |

| |202A] | | |

|WEEK 4|Thursday February|* Newspaper report |* Read WW, Ch. 5 (Making Your Point Easy to Find) |

|(TH) |5 |* Review ARQ exercises (2, pp. 22-; 3, |* Read ARQ, Ch. 2 (What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?) and Ch. 3 (What Are the Reasons?) |

| | |pp.33-) |* Complete WW, exercise 5C |

| | |* Introductions and conclusions | |

| | |* Executive Summaries | |

| | |* Transitions (WS) | |

|WEEK 5|Tuesday February |* Newspaper report |* Read WW, Ch. 8 (Learning Commonsense Rules) |

|(T) |10 |* Present group progress (preliminary) |* Complete WW, exercises 8C, 8D |

| | |* Grammar review (brief) |* Prepare preliminary progress reports to present to rest of class (3-5 minutes) |

| | |* Parallelism | |

| | |* Handbook handouts | |

|WEEK 5|Thursday February|* Newspaper report |* Read WW, Ch. 12 (Documenting Your Sources) |

|(TH) |12 |* APA reference review |* Read APA pages assigned in class for Purdue Online Writing Lab site |

| | |* Reference entry exercise |() |

| | |* Introduction to journals, annual reports | |

|WEEK 6|Tuesday February |* Newspaper report |* Final, Paper 1 (Business Memo) due |

|(T) |17 |* Introduction of paper 2 topic: Ethics |* Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

| |[**Meet in |* Using figures and charts |* Read WW, Ch. 6 (Illustrating Your Ideas) and Ch. 7 (Getting Beyond Periods and Commas) |

| |Writing Lab, BRI |* Punctuation review (brief) |* WW, exercises 6A OR 6B |

| |202A] |* WW, exercise 7A (in class, no prep) | |

| | |* Journals vs. news magazines | |

|WEEK 6|Thursday February|* Newspaper report |* Read ARQ, Ch. 4 (Ambiguity) |

|(TH) |19 |* Review ARQ exercises (4, pp. 49-) | |

| | |* Textual Clarity exercise | |

|WEEK 7|Tuesday February |* Newspaper report |* Read ARQ, Ch. 5 (What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?) and Ch. 6 (What Are the |

|(T) |24 |* Review ARQ exercises (5, pp. 68-; 6, pp. |Descriptive Assumptions?). |

| | |79-) | |

| | |* Values exercise | |

|WEEK 7|Thursday February|* Newspaper report |* Take ethics quiz online () and BRING RESULTS TO CLASS |

|(TH) |26 |* Ethics and the individual profile |* Find, print out and BRING TO CLASS a sample blog for your chosen topic |

| | | |() |

|WEEK 8|Tuesday March 3 |* Newspaper report |* Read "Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision-Making" |

|(T) | |* The influence of ethical frameworks |() |

| | |* Conflict resolution simulation exercise |* Write 1-page "reaction" paper to above |

| | |* Review group progress report II (3/24) | |

|WEEK 8|Thursday March 5 |* Newspaper report |* Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

|(TH) |[**Meet in |* Review ARQ exercises (12, pp. 176-) |* Read ARQ, Ch. 12 (What Significant Information is Omitted?) |

| |Writing Lab, BRI |* Adding missing info exercise | |

| |202A] |* Sign up for 1-on-1 conferences | |

|WEEK 9|Tuesday March 10 |* Newspaper report |* Draft, Paper 2 (Ethics) due |

|(T) | |* Specious arguments, fallacies |* Read ARQ, Ch. 7 (Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?) |

| | |* Review ARQ exercises (7, p. 99-) |* 1-on-1 conferences, day 1 |

| | |* Argument and logic exercise |**NO CLASS NEXT WEEK (4/17, 4/19) – SPRING BREAK** |

| | |* Peer review workshop | |

|WEEK 9|Thursday March 12|NO CLASS: |

|(TH) | |1-on-1 CONFERENCES |

|WEEK |Tuesday March 24 |* Newspaper report |* Read ARQ, Ch. 8 (How Good is the Evidence: Intuition, etc.) and Ch. 9 (How Good is the Evidence: |

|10 (T)| |* Research tools and techniques |Personal Observation etc.). |

| | |* Use of supporting evidence | |

| | |* Review (briefly) ARQ exercises (8, pp. | |

| | |114-; 9, pp. 134-) | |

|WEEK |Thursday March 26|* Newspaper report |* Final, Paper 2 (Ethics) due |

|10 | |* Review (briefly) ARQ exercises (10, pp. |* Read ARQ, Ch. 10 (Are There Rival Causes?) |

|(TH) | |151-) | |

| | |* Identifying rival causes | |

| | |* Paper 3 topic: Crit. Thinking | |

| | |*Abstracts | |

|WEEK |Tuesday March 31 |* Newspaper report |* Read ARQ, Ch. 13 (What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?) |

|11 (T)| |* Review ARQ exercises (13, pp. 196-) |* Prepare and be ready to present group progress report II |

| | |* Present group progress reports (findings)| |

|WEEK |Thursday April 2 |* Newspaper report |* Read ARQ, Ch. 11 (Are the Statistics Deceptive?) |

|11 | |* Review ARQ exercises (11, pp. 163-) | |

|(TH) | |* Statistics primer | |

|WEEK |Tuesday April 7 |* Newspaper report |* Draft, Paper 3 (Critical Thinking) due |

|12 (T)| |* Peer review workshop | |

| | |* Sign up for group presentations (4/14, | |

| | |4/16) | |

| | |* Sign up for 1-on-1 conferences | |

|WEEK |Thursday April 9 |NO CLASS: |

|12 | |1-on-1 CONFERENCES |

|(TH) | | |

|WEEK |Tuesday April 14 |* Newspaper report |* Read Milton Friedman, |

|13 (T)| |* Discussion/debate: Business, government |"The social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits," 1970 |

| | |intervention and social responsibility |() |

| | | |* Read Reason Magazine Debate () |

|WEEK |Thursday April 16|* Newspaper report |* Final, Paper 3 (Critical Thinking) due |

|13 |[**Meet in |* Group feedback session workshop |* Meet in writing lab (BRI 202A) |

|(TH) |Writing Lab, BRI |* Collaborative group work | |

| |202A] | | |

|WEEK |Tuesday April 21 |* Group presentations I |* Present Group Projects: Recommendations (I) |

|14 (T)| | | |

|WEEK |Thursday April 23|* Group presentations II |* Present Group Projects: Recommendations (II) |

|14 | | | |

|(TH) | | | |

|WEEK |Tuesday April 28 |* Strategies for preparing portfolio |* Group Projects due |

|15 (T)| |* Portfolio feedback and review | |

|WEEK |Thursday April 30|* Course wrap-up |(Completed portfolios due last day of final week of class.) |

|15 | | | |

|(TH) | | | |

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