English 3301: Principles of Professional and Report Writing

WELCOME to this writing community. In this setting you will be involved in various writing projects that allow you (1) to identify needs related to your academic objectives and your future workplace and respond to those needs, and (2) to address concerns or problems in the community that affect you in some manner. The main objective of this class is to help you gain the skills needed to think through these needs/concerns, analyze the audience(s) involved, secure various types of resources, generate solutions, and present these solutions in an effective manner. In class and beyond the classroom, you will work collaboratively with your classmates to benefit from the competencies that each one of you brings to this writing and learning community as we immerse ourselves in each project.

In this classroom context, your teacher will function as an active participant in this community. You have authority as a writer; your teacher is not the only expert in this class. In fact, in this student-centered course you will not passively receive information from the teachers. Instead, you will actively develop your own expertise; you will seek information through conducting interviews with professionals in your future workplaces, requesting information from contact persons within the community, studying and responding to the ideas of other writers, searching both traditional sources and online sources, and interacting with your peers. YOUR ROLE as a student is to make important decisions and choices based on the information you gather and interpret. You will work as an independent and active learner in a collaborative environment.

Course Objectives and Outcomes
By becoming aware of the writing required to be successful in the workplace and analyzing the different types of writing, you will gain an understanding of the following concepts and be able to apply them to multiple writing situations:

• Audience - identify and understand the audience, writing for multiple readers
• Purpose - what do you want your writing to do
• Format - how will you present the information
• Role of collaboration in the writing process - peer review, roles and functions of collaborating members
• Revision/Editing - how revision is different from editing, how does revision relate to audience and purpose
• Role of Others (including your teacher) in the Writing Process
• Design Elements - white space, paragraphing, headers & footers, document styles, typefaces, and visual aids
• Role of Research - questionnaires & surveys, company publications and in-house documents, computer databases, and other sources of information

You will understand and use these elements by writing and working with the following types of writing:

• Memos and Short Reports
• Reports and Proposals
• Interviews
• Instructions and Other Forms of Technical Writing
• Correspondence
• Job Search Documents
• Oral Reports
• Numerous Other Formats Based on the Needs of the Audience

Writing Workshop
This class is designed as a hands-on writing workshop class. You will have an active role as you work on the phases of each project and respond to the work of your classmates and receive on your work. This class is designed to give you experiences that are similar to those you will experience in the workplace so you will also receive feedback from others outside the class. We will work on assignments everyday. The work is on-going and hands-on. Writing is an active process and the more you actively participate, the better results you will see in your writing progress.

Peer Review
Professional writing means always having someone (usually a supervisor or co-worker) read, evaluate, and assess your work before it "goes out." As a regular part of the class, you will bring drafts to class of what you have written, and your classmates will review it for you. "Draft" means "as good as you can make it," not a few lines thrown together. If you do not have a draft during a peer review session, your portfolio final grade will be docked ten percent.

Required Texts and Materials

• Garza, Susan Loudermilk. Every Audience Has a Different Purpose: New Ways to Engage in Technical and Professional Writing, 2nd ed. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead Press, 2006.
• Flash drive or disks to save and transport your work.
• Notebooks/folders in which to submit your portfolios (see instructions for submission on each portfolio assignment)

Grading

75% of your grade will come from 3 portfolio projects.

• Portfolio One: 20%
• Portfolio Two: 10%
• Porfolio Three: 35% (includes an oral presentation component)

10% of your grade will be based on responsibility, which equals active participation and a professional attitude. If you are prepared, turn your work in on time, and exhibit an attitude of personal responsibility for your grade and your writing progress, you will receive full credit in this area as well. If you habitually leave class early, don't provide your peers with feedback on their writing, or don't do daily assignments, this, too, will be factored in.

15% will come from your in-class writing and your reflective summaries about reading.

Because this is a course about professional writing, earning high grades for any assignment, no matter how small, requires excellence. In the workplace, submitting last-minute, poorly researched, sloppy, and/or unedited work will likely get you fired. Thus in this class, it will likely earn failing grades. While rough drafts and in-class work don't have to be perfect, they do have to demonstrate your willingness to learn, participate, and grow in your knowledge and skills. For final drafts, however, perfection is the norm, not the exception.

That said, the main objective of this class is to help you gain the skills needed in order to be a good writer and thinker in the workplace. If you have problems with writing, do not like writing, or have phobias about writing, this class will probably help. If you keep up with classwork, even though it may be difficult at times, you will probably see a big difference at the end of the class and have a much different attitude toward writing. Writing improvement, however, does require a great deal of effort. If you truly put forth that effort to work on your writing skills, you should see a big difference in your writing when you finish the course and will have a better chance of meeting the high expectations of the course.

Attendance and Participation
This course is about writing in professional workplace settings. Therefore, what is expected of an employee in such settings is what is expected of you in this class. That means you must be present. Absences will greatly affect your grade because credit will be assigned for in-class activities and writing nearly every day. In addition, excessive absences will result in an automatic reduction of your final grade average. You have up to four (4) days of personal leave. You may take these days for any reason; you do not have to document your absences. However, each absence over four will result in a 5% reduction of your final grade. This is comparable to a workplace setting--if you go over your allotted leave days, it is very likely your pay would be docked for any additional days missed.

Late Assignments
In the workplace, turning work in late has serious consequences and can affect an entire organization. Thus late work in this class is not acceptable. However, if you know ahead of time that you will not be able to turn in an assignment on the due date, please discuss it with me in advance. It may (or may not--no guarantees) be possible to make alternative arrangements for you if the reason is valid. Otherwise, any work turned in late will have 10% deducted from the grade for each day late. That means each day, not class day. No late assignments will be accepted after one week past the original due date.

Do NOT e-mail assignments to me unless you have specifically been asked to do so.

In-Class Conduct
Again, this is a course about writing in professional setting. That means we should treat each other with courtesy and respect, work together, and applaud each other's successes. However, this also means that you must not talk out of turn, be tardy, leave early, use your cell phone, or use the computers for work outside of English 3301. Anybody who consistently behaves in these negative, unprofessional manners will be asked to leave and will lose credit for anything that we are working on that day.

Tutoring and Learning Center
Located on the second floor of the library, the TLC is a valuable, free service for all students. I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of it. Consider going there for additional feedback beyond peer exchange in the class.

Academic Integrity and Dishonesty
Students are expected to "demonstrate a high level of maturity, self-direction and ability to manage their own affairs" and to "conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty." Please refer to the current Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Catalog for additional requirements.

Additional Assistance
If you require additional assistance, please contact the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities at 825-5970.

Academic Advising
The College of Liberal Arts requires that students meet with an Academic Advisor as soon as they are ready to declare a major. The Academic Advisor will set up a degree plan, which must be signed by the student, a faculty mentor, and the department chair. The College's Academic Advising Center is located in Driftwood 203E, and can be reached at 825-3466. If your major is in another college, please contact that college's advising center.