Cleveland State University

Cleveland State University Spring Semester, 2000
Levin College of Urban Affairs
Department of Urban Studies

COURSE SYLLABUS

UST 102, Professional Writing

"BE NOT DECEIVED: EVIL COMMUNICATIONS CORRUPT GOOD MANNERS.

1 Corinthians XV.33

Meeting Time: Tuesday/Thursday 8:30 – 9:45 am
Office Hours: 10:00 am–4:00 pm, MTWTh, UB 112E. Make an appointment to avoid
conflicts.
Place: UB 22
Instructor: Dr. Michael Wells, 687-2106, wells@urban.csuohio.edu
Text: Communicating At Work: Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions, Adler and Elmhorst;
The Writer’s Brief Handbook, Eshholtz.

Course Description: This course provides a practical introduction to the principles and
skills of effective communication in business and professional
settings. We will examine what makes on-the-job communication
effective, ineffective, or even destructive. We will also conduct
research on several topics and complete writing assignments based
on this research. Students will receive feedback on assignments.
Students will use electronic databases.

Course Objectives: Students will study the conventions and practices of business and
professional communication, as well as the conventions of
standard written English. They will also study the fundamentals of
research, problem definition and analysis, and report writing.

Course Requirements: Students will be required to write a minimum of 5,000 words
total for the semester. The research report should follow the
guidelines in The Writer’s Brief Handbook, p. 357.

Evaluation

Seven weekly 300-word written assignments @ 10% of the grade each =
70% of the grade

One midterm @ 10% of the grade

One research report @ 20% of the grade

The final grade is determined in the following way:

The reports and midterm will receive an alphabetical grade; at the end of the semester, the alpha grades are converted to numerical scored using the following:

A+ = 12, A = 11, A- = 10, B+ = 9, B = 8, B- = 7, C+ = 6, C = 5, C- = 4, D+ = 3,

D = 2, D- = 1. The percentage of a report/memorandum is multiplied by its grade numerical value. The products of this multiplication are then added together, and the total of this addition is matched against the numerical values above to determine the final grade.

Class attendance and consultation participation are always evaluative criteria when determining final grades.

Rules for the Course:

All projects turned in or completed late will suffer a penalty of one letter grade for each class day they are late.

Failure to keep your consultation appointment will result in the loss of points.

Follow the APA’s style guidelines and make sure all writing assignments are machine generated.

STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY URGED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LIBRARY’S INTERNET TRAINING.

Specific Class Assignments:

Week One – January 18 & 20
Jan. 18, Discussion, Chapter 1, Communicating at Work
Assignment: Activity 4, p. 34, Due Jan. 20^th (min. 300 words)

Week Two – January 25 & 27
Jan. 25, Discussion, Chapter 2, Communicating at Work, "Communication, Culture, &Work"
Assignment: Activity 5, p. 66, Due Jan. 27^th (min. 300 words)

Week Three – February 1 & 3
Feb. 1, Discussion, Chapter 3, Communicating at Work, "Verbal & Nonverbal Messages"
Assignment: Activity 7, p.99, Due Feb. 3^rd (min. 300 words)

Week Four – February 8 & 10
Feb. 8, Discussion, Chapter 4, Communicating at Work, "Listening"
Assignment: Activity 1, p. 121, Due Feb. 10^th (min. 300 words)

Week Five – February 15 & 17
Feb. 15 Discussion, Chapter 5, Communicating at Work, "Interpersonal Skills"
Assignment: Activity 3, p. 155, Due Feb. 17^th (min. 300 words)

Week Six – February 22 & 24
Feb. 22 Discussion, Chapter 10, Communicating at Work, "Developing the Presentation"
Assignment: Activity 2, p. 305, Due Feb. 24^th (min. 300 words)

Week Seven – February 29 & March 2
Feb. 29 Review, Weeks 1-7
Mar. 2 Study for Midterm on March 14

Week Eight – March 7 & 9
Spring Recess – Sunday, March 5 – Sunday, March 12

Week Nine - March 14 & 16
Midterm March 14
Midterm Results March 16
Last Day to Drop Class March 17

Week Ten – March 21 & 23
Mar. 21 Discussion, Chapter 11, Communicating at Work, "Organizing Your Ideas"
Mar 23 Assignment, Activity 1, This starts your research project (min. 300 words)

Week Eleven – March 28 & 30
Mar. 28 Discussion, Chapter 13, Communicating at Work, "Delivering the Presentation"
Mar. 30 Continue work on research project

Week Twelve – April 4 & 6
Apr. 4 Discussion, Chapter 15, Communicating at Work, "Persuasive Presentations"
Apr. 6 Continue work on research project

Week Thirteen – April 11 & 13
Apr. 11 Discussion, Format and Design Research Project
Apr. 13 Continue work on research project

Week Fourteen – April 18 & 20
Apr. 18 In-class consultation on research projects
Apr. 20 Research project drafts due

Week Fifteen – April 25 & 27
Apr. 25 Research project drafts returned
Apr. 27 Research project due (min. 2,800 words)

Reading Period – April 28 & 30

Tuesday, May 2, 8:30-10:30 am, Research projects returned with grade