Sanjac ENGL2311 Full Course Latest 2020 (No Final Exam)

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Team and Individual Project #1

Here is your first formal project, which will involve teamwork and individual work. I will assign students to teams on the first day of class–Monday, December 14. The first step is to click the “My Team” button and introduce yourselves to your teammates. In the team environment, I will include several functions to help with your successful completion of the project. I will include an email that is team-exclusive, Blackboard Collaborate (which allows teams to schedule and have live face-to-face meetings), and a document upload function.

It is important to be team players and fully cooperate with your teammates. I expect all student interactions to be conducted professionally and politely. If any conflicts or lack of professional behavior occurs, I expect it to be brought to my attention immediately, so we can fix the problem ASAP. Be helpful to your teammates; if a team member has questions or is confused about any elements of the project, please, work together to make sure that team member can fully participate.

Do not share phone numbers. There are online programs that can allow students to encrypt phone numbers, while still allowing students to send each other text messages. Texting is not required, but I wanted to mention this to avoid potential problems.

Please, do your best, and give 100% effort. I expect college-level, high-quality work from my students. I grade fairly, but I do look carefully for effort and quality.

 

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Team and Individual Project #2

Brainstorming

Let’s begin with some brainstorming. What are your career goals? List every detail you can think of. Don’t worry if you are not entirely sure yet. Give me what you have thought of so far. Also, include what you may have as a back-up plan. Some details to include might be any of the following: occupation, education required, time needed to prepare, permits, licenses. Additionally, consider where you will need to live for your career, travel, cost of living, expected salaries at entry and over time, career advantages, disadvantages. Are you choosing this career out of necessity or desire? Is this career just a path toward another goal? Would you like to own your own business? If so, explain why and how you plan to achieve this. At what age would you like to retire? Include any other thoughts you have. Be thorough, and write in a way that a reader can fully understand your thoughts. It is okay for this section to be informal.

Career Plan

Considering what you have brainstormed above, we are now going to put it into a more formal “plan” format. I want you to be creative and artful with this career plan. You may simply use MS Word and organize the plan in a clear and precise manner. You may choose to present this part as a PowerPoint. Use whatever type of organization you like, but make sure this career plan is high-quality and something you would be proud to present to a teacher or a potential employer.

Inventory

A career ‘inventory’ is a way of organizing the requirements of a career plan. The best format is a chart or spreadsheet. You may use MS Word or Excel for this. I want you to personalize your career inventory, but I will give you a short example below. Yours will be much more detailed and based on the specifics of your career plan.

 

XXXXXXXXXXX	Time Required	Cost / Benefit	Best Locations	Contacts / References	Additional Requirements
Education	4 years	-$12,000. For tuition +$28,000. From PT/FT jobs -$18,000. Rent and expenses -$10,000. loans	Houston area -San Jac -UH Clear Lake	-HS Teachers -College professors -Former employers	-Laptop computer -car -PT job
Job Search	6 months	-$6,000.	Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma . . .	-HS contact -College contact	-Travel costs -Licenses
Entry to Field	3 months	+$9,000.	To Be Determined (TBD)	TBD	TBD

As stated above, be much more detailed with your inventory. Think carefully about as many elements of the process as you can. This tool is designed to set goals and provide a realistic picture of your path forward. The best part is—there is no rule stating that you must adhere to this plan. When situations change along the way, you simply adjust and continue on your forward path. Something very important to remember is that you should anticipate setbacks. It is simply part of the process. Sometimes the world gets in our way. Then, when the issue is resolved, we jump back in, make necessary adjustments, and continue forward. Remember this: Do not let obstacles stop your forward momentum. You will succeed if you set your mind to it. You are stronger than any obstacles.

What if . . .

Have fun with this part. If you were handed $100,000 (one-hundred-thousand dollars) and told to start your own business from the ground up, what would you do? I want this section in the form of a short 1-page min., size 12, Times New Roman, double-spaced essay. I am purposely not giving you any specific requirements other than the amount of money and the minimum length.

Finally

Consider what you discussed and worked on in the team project #1 and the thought exercises listed here in project #2. Now, compose a functional business plan. Use the information and examples found at the following link: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan . Read over the website thoroughly. Make sure that your business plan is thorough and complete. Ask yourself, “If somebody came to me with this business plan, would I invest money in the endeavor?”

 

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Module 1 Homework

Homework Module 1

When completing assignments, be as thorough as you believe necessary. A strong demonstration of effort is very important.

Either complete all parts of the assignment on a single document, or paste all parts onto a single document before submitting them for a grade.

When composing essay-style assignments, always use 12 Times New Roman font. Always double-space essay text.

When composing technical and business documents, follow the guidelines that are appropriate for the particular document, (Usually single-spacing).

Part 1

A ‘memorandum’ (or memo) is an ‘in-house’ document. To say that it is ‘in-house’, we say that memos should only be written and distributed within an organization—never to outside recipients.

Look at the following link:

https://www.dummies.com/careers/business-communication/business-writing/how-to-format-a-business-memorandum/

Notice the format of a memorandum is very similar to a basic email message. 1) At the top of the document, the word “Memorandum” is centered and in bold font. 2) The heading is left justified and double-spaced. 3) The heading consists of {TO:, FROM:, CC:, DATE:, and SUBJECT:}. Then, the message is single spaced with spaces between parts of the message.

In technical writing, we refer to sections of documents as “blocks”, instead of ‘paragraphs’.

Question: What does CC: stand for?

I’ll bet many students reply ‘Carbon Copy’. If you do, that’s okay.

But, CC: really means ‘Courtesy Copy’, meaning that the person or people named in the CC: block are not primary recipients of the memo, but a copy of the memo was sent to them as a courtesy.

Compose your own perfectly formatted memorandum on a topic of your choice. Use the link as a guide. Your memo should be about the same length as the example.

Part 2

Visit the class ‘discussion board’. Under the appropriate prompt, introduce yourself to the class and me. Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Why are you taking this class? What is your major, and what are your career goals? . . .and anything else you want us to know. Do not post anything too personal.

Part 3

Understandably, business writing has a higher level of formality than casual writing. Therefore, there are some rules we must follow when writing for business.

Now—I could write a page about the etiquette of business and technical writing, but, instead, I want you to compose a thorough list of at least 10 (using complete sentences) ways business writing differs from casual communication. I am confident that you already know many things you will list, and you may use online or other sources to gather more information. Use bullets or numbers when creating your list. If you take something directly from a source, include the URL for reference.

All assignment sets will be accompanied by ‘learning objectives’ as listed below. They are not part of the assignment, but are identified to demonstrate the purpose/s of the assignment/s.

 

 

 

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Module 2 Homework

Homework Module

When completing assignments, be as thorough as you believe necessary. A strong demonstration of effort is very important.

Either complete all parts of the assignment on a single document, or paste all parts onto a single document before submitting them for a grade.

When composing essay-style assignments, always use 12 Times New Roman font. Always double-space essay text.

When composing technical and business documents, follow the guidelines that are appropriate for the particular document, (Usually single-spacing).

Part 1

When using Microsoft Office Word in a composition class, have you ever wondered why we have to do so much additional formatting to prepare the page for a college essay—double spacing, font size, hanging indentations, page numbering, etc.? Well, the reason is in the name of the program: Microsoft “OFFICE”. The ‘Word’ program along with many of the other features are designed for the office—not essays. For this class, thankfully, when it comes to memos, business letters and other technical documents, MS Word Office is mostly format-ready as soon as you log on. However, no program is perfect all the time, and sometimes format changes are required.

(In this class, we will have some traditional “essay-style” assignments as well as business documents. Remember to use appropriate format when the assignment type requires.)

Visit the following link:

https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word2016/

I want you to explore all 32 short tutorials listed there. When you are done, take the ‘Word 2016 Quiz”. Tell me what score you receive.

Using bullets or numbers, clearly list 15 helpful hints that you learned while completing the tutorials.

Part 2

We previously discussed memorandums, which are meant for less-formal internal communications. Business letters are more formal documents, and they can be used for external communications or internal—depending on the nature of what is being communicated.

An example of an internal business letter is a letter of resignation. Another example is a letter indicating interest in a promotion opportunity. When we use business letters internally, we have decided that the matter requires more formality that a simple memo.

Externally, business letters can be used for anything from a request for contractor services, up to communication with the Internal Revenue Service and other very serious issues.

Visit the following link: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/basic_business_letters/index.html

Read through the web page, being mindful to take notes where appropriate. At the bottom of the page, you will see three (3) examples of business letters. For the sake of simplicity, we will use the first example as our reference.

Using the sample letter as a guide, compose a perfectly formatted business letter that applies in some way to the team project we are currently working on. The length should be roughly that of the sample letter. Use your imagination, and give me a letter that is interesting to read and relevant to your project.

Part 3

We are in an age of political correctness and inclusivity. No longer can we pay one gender or ethnicity more or less than another based solely on these measures. Instead, we should, and must, focus on equality and fairness. This not only makes for a more productive workplace, but, also, a more enjoyable work experience for all involved.

Watch the following video: https://www.ted.com/talks/christine_porath_why_being_nice_to_your_coworkers_is_good_for_business/transcript?language=en

Compose a summary of this video in at least ½ page.

Now, in at least another ½ page, compose a short essay that includes your own thoughts about this topic.

Always demonstrate effort and be thorough when responding to prompts. Assignments that appear hastily or quickly thrown together will not receive good grades. Therefore, always pay attention to detail and be thorough.

Follow the instructions at the top of this assignment set for submission.

All assignment sets will be accompanied by ‘learning objectives’ as listed below. They are not part of the assignment, but are identified to demonstrate the purpose/s of the assignment/s.

 

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Module 3 Homework

Homework Module #3

Part 1

The first part of this assignment set deals with persuasion skills and also visual document skills.

We briefly discussed persuasion in a previous assignment, but let’s review some basics. As a professional, in any field,excellent persuasive skills will benefit you. Think about this: a job interview involves a prospective employee convincing the interviewer to hire him or her. When in a position of authority, it is essential to earn the trust of subordinates. Making deals, asking for raises, composing and presenting proposals—these all involve good persuasion skills. Two very old philosophers decided that the best way to persuade humans is through the deployment of pathos, logos, and ethos (emotion, logic, and ethics). 2,500 years later, we still use these appeals to persuade people.

I will paste an assignment below that I often use in my face-to-face tech writing classes. Follow the instructions as stated in the assignment. At the end, when you are asked to create a brochure, you may use a MS Word page, or you might use MS Publisher; you may also use any other tool that works and is able to be attached to this assignment set for upload.

Part 2

Internet-Based Persuasion Assignment

*This assignment “Joe Chemo” is adapted from one first created by and with permission from Scott Plous, Wesleyan University.

                The topic of this assignment is Internet-based persuasion, and the challenge is to offer a social-psychological critique of an interactive web site that attempts to persuade people not to smoke. The end product will be a brochure that will be circulated within your organization. Successful completion of this assignment should benefit your organization by reducing medical leave, increasing productivity due to employee time spent consuming tobacco products, reducing health insurance costs, and reducing life insurance costs—all of which cost companies millions of dollars per year.

To complete the assignment, follow these steps:

1.            Visit the JoeChemo.org web site andindividually:

•             Test your Tobacco IQ

•             Get your personalized Smoke-o-Scope

•             Explore the rest of the web site

2.            Considerthe web site’s strengths and weaknesses in persuading people not to smoke. For example, you might answer questions such as:

•             Which feature of the web site — the Tobacco IQ Test, Smoke-o-Scope, E-Card, or something else — is most persuasive, and why?

•             How does the web site compare with more traditional methods of persuasion such as television commercials, billboard advertisements, and other techniques?

•             Is the web site more persuasive when it comes to (a) preventing nonsmokers from smoking or (b) getting smokers to kick the habit?

•             What effect did the web site have on you personally?

•             Can you think of ways to make the web site more persuasive?

•             Did you find and non sequitur or logical fallacy?

•             Identify use of the 3 appeals: pathos, logos, ethos.

3.            The product you produce will bean informative brochure to help reduce smoking in the workplace. The “JoeChemo” website will be your primary resource from which you will gather data. You may choose to use the website’s persuasive material, or you may decide to manipulate it to suit your organization. You may also use data from other sources. Citations must be included as footed citations. Every individual will produce a unique brochure. While you may discuss the assignment with members your team and use some of the same materials and data, each student’s brochure will be his or her own unique product and should not be identical to any other.

Part 3

When writing technical and/or business documents, there are nine (9) ways to judge a professional writer. The nine characteristics are listed below:

1.            Correctness

2.            Accuracy

3.            Conciseness

4.            Honesty

5.            Clarity

6.            Professionalism

7.            Usability

8.            Comprehensiveness

9.            Accessibility

Most of these are easy enough to understand. Nonetheless, I want you to provide concise and comprehensive definitions of each. You may be able to define these on your own, but it is entirely fine if you use a dictionary for clues. However, do not give me dictionary definitions; paraphrase the definition in your own words. Next to each definition, I would like you to write a thorough explanation why you believe each of these nine characteristics contribute to effective professional writing.

Part 4

Look online at different websites and locate a short (approx.. 10-20 lines) piece of writing that you believe demonstrates all nine (or most of the nine) characteristics of professional writing. Copy and paste the extract onto a word page, and then identify examples of the nine characteristics by highlighting or underlining them. Be sure to identify, for me, which characteristic you have identified.

Part 5

Since changing from teaching this class using a textbook to now teaching this class without a textbook, I feel it allows us to focus on the most important knowledge and skills needed by technical writers. Some of it is traditional, like resumes, business letters, and memos. However, in between those common skills, we have the opportunity to expose ourselves to the more modern elements of tech writing. For example, web-based content, email, blogs—even text messaging, which, believe it or not, is one of the most useful tools to this modern workforce.

https://www.textrequest.com/blog/complete-overview-business-texting/

Read the resource at the link above.

In detail, respond to what is indicated in these articles. What parts do you agree with? Which parts do you disagree with? Do you use text messaging daily for work? For personal reasons? Does this almost instantaneous form of communication help us? Hurt us? How so? Explain your opinions. Feel free to elaborate beyond the linked source if you like.

On a personal note—there are some people I would rather text with than talk to. Do you feel that way at times?

Do you have any funny or interesting stories related to text messaging? If so, share them with the class through the prompt on the discussion board.

Part 6

Every innovation has a downside. While text messaging saves time and money, there have been tragedies related to texting. Some municipalities make texting while driving an offence. What are your thoughts on this? What other negative effects of text messaging can you think of? How can we reduce or eliminate the negative effects? Think of other recommendations you can offer to keep text messaging in a positive light. List them here.

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Module 4 Homework

No matter what field your occupation falls into, expect that your boss is likely to hand you an assignment without much notice. You may have to stop what you are working on and complete the task in a short window. The following two assignments are just examples of the types of tasks you may be asked to undertake.

Part 1

Follow the instructions in the following memo.

Memorandum

To: Administrative Assistant

From: The Boss

Date: Today

Subject: Quarterly Staff Luncheon Meeting

Please, organize the following details of our quarterly lunch meeting and send details to me for approval before finalizing and distributing invitation to staff.

The luncheon will be held exactly 2 weeks from today and should take place from 10:30 until 2:30.

Locate a reasonably-priced meeting hall that will accommodate our 100 employees. Provide me with 2 options to choose from (include prices).

Identify a catering company to provide lunch and dessert. Provide me with 2 options and pricing.

I want to have 3 door prize drawings. Find 3 useful gadgets or other items to be given away to the winners. Each prize should not exceed a cost of $100.

Finally, write the draft of the invitation memo we plan to distribute to the staff.

Thank you in advance.

Part 2

Follow the instructions in the following memo. Use of a spreadsheet or calendar template is suggested.

Memorandum

To: Administrative Assistant

From: The Boss

Date: Today

Subject: Arrange My Schedule

Notes: Our location is here in Pasadena; we have 30 employees including you and me; our work day is 9:00 – 5:00

Please, arrange my schedule for the following week. I have many tasks, meetings, and business that must be carefully slated to precise times. Please be aware of travel time to and from engagements. Also, allow me appropriate time for lunch and a suitable break now and then. Arrange the following into a workable schedule.

1.            Sometime early during the week, I need to meet with my employees to deliver a 1-1/2-hour motivational speech. Following the speech, I will allow for a question/answer session not to exceed 30 minutes.

2.            I have out-of-town colleagues arriving for a meeting Thursday @ 10:00 AM. I estimate we will be done by 2:00 PM. *Schedule a 1-hour lunch for us.

3.            It would be nice to have a company breakfast at a nearby restaurant for all employees either Monday or Friday. It should not exceed 1 hour.

4.            I have a doctor appointment in Baytown on Wednesday from 3:00-4:30.

5.            During the week, I need 3 uninterrupted periods of 2-hours during which I work in my office.

6.            On Tuesday, I will not arrive to work until 12-noon, due to personal business.

7.            I will be key-note speaker at a fundraiser at The George R. Brown convention center Friday at 1:00. I should be able to head back by 3:00, but this is not certain. Please, account for heavy lunchtime traffic to the event.

8.            On Thursday or early Friday, I will need a 2-hour slot during which I must audit and approve payroll.

9.            Wednesday morning, my immediate supervisor arrives at Hobby Airport at 10:00 AM. I must be there to pick her up and return here, and I will be with her until she leaves. She will travel alone to the airport for her 3 PM return flight.

10.          A group of school children will be visiting us here for a field trip on Monday from 11:00- 12-noon. I would like to greet them for about 15 minutes during their visit.

11.          Schedule a 2-hour meeting sometime on Thursday, during which I will discuss business with my supervisors only.

12.          During the week, I have 4 employees with whom I need to meet individually to discuss different business. Each meeting will take no more than 1-hour. The 4 employees are Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter.

13.          An employee (Sandra’s) birthday is Friday. Allow 30-minutes all employees and me to share a quick recognition with cake.

14.          Schedule me time for 2 individual 1-hour interviews with 2 potential new employees. They will meet at our scheduled time.

15.          Label all unscheduled time “Office”.

Thank you in advance. Call me with any questions or concerns

It is incredible how, over a relatively short time, the modern workforce and work environment has changed. What we considered “normal” just ten years ago is very different. What many occupations looked like fifty years ago has changed beyond recognition.

Part 3

Scroll down to the next page

  Take a look at these two images. These are two boardrooms, obviously from two very different periods in time. These images illustrate very drastic evolution in the workplace.

Brainstorm and search the Internet for examples of how far the modern workplace has evolved.

Using your own insight as well as what you brainstormed and discovered online, create aone-page visual/written display that focus on what you feel are the most important changes. Give thoughtful written explanations for what you have discovered.

Important: Make sure any images you use are “copyright free”. You can locate these by typing ‘copyright free image’ before the word you search for. For example, to locate the images above, I searched for “copyright free image boardroom”.

Part 4

My philosophy regarding vocabulary is this: We forget half of the terms we learn. However, if we remember the other half, then we are that much more knowledgeable. I have chosen the following terms and phrases from a much longer list. I chose the terms and phrases that I believe most students are more likely to encounter. Having a strong vocabulary makes us better writers, readers, speakers, and listeners.

1.            Identify and write a succinct definition of each of the following terms and phrases.

2.            Once you have a solid definition of each word or phrase, attempt to find use of the word or phrase (or as close as you can find to the exact usage) online, in a real-world example. Copy-and-paste that example, along with the URL where you found it and the date you found it.

3.            Having defined the words and phrases and then found them used in actual discourse, you should have good ideas of the meanings. Finally, compose one sentence for each, in your own words, explaining your understanding of the meanings.

Best Practices

Unique Selling position

Networking

Market Penetration

Petty Cash

Capital Expenditure

Allocations

Market Research

Skill Proficiency

Feasibility

Appropriation

Appraisal

Market Demographics

Quota

Autonomous

Solicitation

Revenue

Market Penetration

Private Contractor

Protocol

Infrastructure

Agenda

Environmental Impact

Capital

Prospecting

Liability

Dispersion

Emerging Market

Tariffs

Profit Margin

Disclosures

In the “red”

In the “black”

Real Property

Contingencies

Capital Gains

Revenue

Litigation

Frivolous Litigation

Embezzlement

Nondisclosure Agreement

Financial Settlement

Dividends

Warranty

Outsourcing

Bull Market

Bear Market

Foreclosure

Trademark

 

ENGL2311 Technical and Business Writing

Module 5 Homework

Please, to help me understand what parts of this course you find useful, please look back over the assignments in this course and respond to the following:

Which lessons do you find helpful and ultimately useful? Why?

If there are lessons you feel need additional content, tell me which assignments and what you would add. Why?

Which lessons do you feel simply are not necessary? E