Writing for Corporate Organizations

Syllabus: English 310

Keith Dorwick

Contents

1. Texts
2. Academic Dishonesty
3. Goals
4. Attendance
5. Assignments
6. Evaluation

Hacker, Diane. A Writer's Reference: Second Edition. Boston: Bedford Books, 1992. (Both Available in Bookstore)

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Academic dishonesty (including plagiarism) will earn you a failing grade for the course. The 1991-93 UIC Undergraduate Catalog defines academic dishonesty under the section, "Guidelines Regarding Academic Integrity," and is available for purchase in the UIC bookstore.

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Goals: By the end of this course, you will have learned the basics of business writing, demonstrated basic computer competence including the use of e-mail, created a userid on the UIC ADN system, and improved your basic writing skills. This course does NOT attempt to teach you grammar: I assume that writers in a 300 level writing course have no problem writing so-called Standard English. I do not emphasize forms (the memo, for example) but instead stress writing as persuasion following the analysis of a rhetorical situation.

Attendance: Poor attendance and tardiness will affect your final grade for the course, at my discretion.

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Assignments: You must type all (repeat, all) written assignments for this class, including any informal exercises I might assign. Please use one inch margins all around (top, bottom, left, right).

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Evaluation: You will receive one grade for this class and it is the grade that will appear on your transcript. I will grade you holistically (that is, by looking at your performance in the class as a whole) using the following criteria:

Students who perform well (A or B final grade, if you wish to think in terms of grades) in this class will:

-- turn in all written assignments on time; the assignments will show evidence of careful thought and signs of careful crafting. Further, the assignments completed by students will exceed the requirements given for the assignment and evidence both creativity and initiative on the writers' part. Their writing will evidence a clear organization and structure appropriate to the assignment and will reflect a clear awareness of the writers' audience. Writing by these students will show no grammatical or other surface errors.

-- rewrite written assignments as necessary using the suggestions both of their peers and of the instructor. Rewrites will be substantial, involving both rethinking and reorganizing ideas, and correction of all error.

-- perform honestly and well in student peer groups and act as resource for other students. They will offer in-depth criticism of the writing produced by their peers and not allow any personal differences between members of their groups to affect the work of the group. They will meet outside class on their own time if the group decides that additional group time is necessary. They will always provide adequate copies of the work being evaluated and be open to criticism and suggestions for change.

-- take part in all discussions and show evidence of having completed all assigned readings for the course.

Students who do adequate or average work for this course (C final grade) will:

-- turn in all written assignments on time. Though carefully crafted and polished, the assignments produced by these students will only meet, not exceed, the requirements given by the instructor. Though no grammatical or surface errors exist, the writing will be flat and dull. There will be no evidence of either a great deal of creativity or of initiative. The cry of the student producing this work? "But I did what you told me to do!"

-- rewrite written assignments as necessary using the suggestions both of their peers and of the instructor; their changes will, however, tend to the local (substitution of one word for another, for instance). Their rewrites will not, for the most part, show evidence of reorganization or the creation of new text. There will be very little evidence of a distinction between rewriting and editing, but they will eliminate all grammatical error.

-- take part in all group work, but will not significantly help the other writers in their group. Their criticism will focus mostly on the local level (i.e., "you spelled 'business' with a 'z'"). They will meet outside class times, but only as a last resort. Other group members will need to police them, needing to remind them of meeting times and places. They will often attempt to justify the reasons they "did something" rather than listen to group and consider changes. They will usually provide sufficient copies of work that the group is evaluating.

-- take part in all discussions and show evidence of having completed all assigned readings for the course.

Students who do below average or failing work for this course (D or E final grade) will:

-- turn in all or some assignments late. Their writing will be both dull and flat and suffer from grammatical or other surface errors, will evidence very little to no creativity and will depend to an excessive amount on examples from the text, on the work of other students, or on models that the instructor might provide. There will be no evident organization or structure in written assignments, and it will be difficult for the instructor or peers to discern the intended audience of any written assignment.

-- turn in rewrites that show very little evidence of any actual rewriting. There will be no or few changes in structure, no or few ideas generated for the rewrite, and little or no creation of any new text. The writer in this category will use no or few suggestions from either the instructor or class peers.

-- contribute little or nothing to peer groups. Students will limit their comments to the affective ("I liked it" or "I didn't like it") but not provide either reasons why or suggestions for further change. The writer in this category will not meet outside class and will miss class sessions when the groups will work during class time. This writer will not turn in materials on time, and will usually not provide adequate numbers of copies of assignments for the group.

-- contribute little or nothing to class discussions, and will show little or no evidence of having read the assigned material for the day.

A further note on grades: This is not a course for those who are overly concerned with their final grade. Instead, this is a course for those who want to improve their writing in and for a business environment. I have no compunction about failing those who do not work hard and attempt to improve their work.

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Last Modified: February 12, 1996