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2111F: Writing in the World: Introduction to Professional Writing

Distance Studies / Fall 2020 / Section 652

Instructor: Professor Tim Freeborn Contact: Please use OWL Message

Course Description and Objectives

This course aims to introduce you to the basic grammatical and stylistic principles of good, clear, written English within a specific context. That context is professional writing. You will be introduced as well to basic theories and concepts in professional writing, given opportunities to develop skills applicable to writing in a professional context, and encouraged to read about and apply findings from research in professional writing. Generally, the course aims to help you develop “the ability to communicate information, arguments, and analyses accurately and reliably, orally and in writing to a range of audiences” (Ontario Council of Academic Vice Presidents’ statement on ‘University Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations’ 24 October 2005). More specifically, upon successful completion of this course, you will have demonstrated the ability to

1. identify and define rhetorical contexts for professional communication; 2. identify, define, and understand ‘purpose for writing’ within those rhetorical contexts; 3. understand the relationship between context, purpose and audience and how that relationship should shape a message; 4. use that understanding to develop a persuasive argument; 5. generate ideas for a variety of communicative purposes, such as communicating a negative message with positive emphasis; 6. understand basic principles of cross-cultural communication and their significance; 7. understand basic principles of document design and apply them; 8. write cohesive and coherent prose using the grammar and conventions of Standard Written English; 9. identify and correct errors in composition, grammar, and mechanics; and 10. incorporate feedback into revisions.

To provide the context for the course assignments, this course makes use of case studies. You will read a chapter about concepts of professional writing in the textbook and read a case study in which those concepts are operational. You will be asked to complete a written assignment that incorporates those concepts (see ‘Final Course Grades’ below).

Required Texts

Locker, Kitty O. and Isobel Findlay. Business Communication Now. Fourth Canadian ed. McGraw-Hill Ryerson: Toronto, 2018.

Messenger, de Bruyn et al. The Canadian Writer’s Handbook: Second Essentials Edition. Toronto: OUP, 2017.

Custom Course Book (The BookStore, Western) for Writing 2111F/G (e-book; order through The BookStore, Western).

“Cross-Cultural Negotiation: Americans Negotiating a Contract in China” (see link on Assignment Prompts page)

Instructor postings on section OWL site.

Course Requirements and Grade Allocations

Diagnostic Paper: Audience Analysis Ungraded (up to 500 words)

Assignment #1: Negative Message with positive emphasis 20% (up to 1000 words)

Assignment #2: Persuasive Message with visual 25% (up to 1200 words)

Assignment #3: Formal Report 40% (up to 1250 words, excluding front and back matter)

Sentence Grammar/Structure Test (online on OWL site) 15%

Course Policies Assignment Format All assignments are to be typed and double-spaced, and must have your name, course name, section number, and instructor’s name on the first page. Do not use a cover page; these are particularly unnecessary for online submissions. When using sources in a paper, you will be expected to follow MLA citation practice. See Messenger chapter 37a and Appendix B.

Submitting Assignments Assignments are due on the dates specified in the syllabus. Late papers will be penalized at 2.5% per day unless I have permitted an extension of the due date. You must contact me ahead of time for an extension and provide a suitable reason (see also the section ‘Medical Accommodation Policy’ below). Our class ‘week’ runs from Monday to Friday, so assignments for a particular week are due by Friday (mid)night, Eastern Standard Time unless otherwise stated. Important: you are responsible for keeping a copy of all assignments you submit.

Procedure for Assignment Submission Under policies adopted by Writing Studies, final drafts of all assignments in 2100-level writing courses must be submitted through Turnitin.com (see Scholastic Offences, including Plagiarism below). Consequently, you will find Turnitin submission links for each of Assignments 1 to 4. You will upload your final version of each assignment through its link, as a single Word (.doc or .docx extension) file,* titled to identify you as author. Your graded assignment, with comments, will be returned to you in the same format, through Sakai.

*Note: Pdf or other ‘read only’ formats, and compressed/zipped files are not acceptable. Please note also that Turnitin will not accept more than a single file submission. In other words, do not try to submit an assignment twice, or in parts as two or more files. Also note that I access your original uploaded Word file; typically any formatting errors etc. which show in the Turnitin ‘preview’ function will not appear on your uploaded file.

Attendance/Participation (Please note posting requirements) Obviously, we do not meet formally as a ‘class’ in a Distance Studies course. Therefore, ‘attendance’ and participation on the Discussion Board are intertwined. While Distance Studies classes are generally asynchronous, they are not correspondence or self-paced. You must attend class (defined as logging into our OWL section) and participate by introducing yourself, and posting questions and thoughts during the first week, and by posting (by participating in a given week’s set discussion topic) in subsequent weeks where there is a Discussion topic as indicated on this syllabus. This means at least three separate posts during each of those weeks (a week is defined for this purpose as running from Monday to Sunday), at least one of which must be a reply/response to another student and at least one of which must be a ‘new’ post. Extended absences, defined as a failure to post into the OWL classroom for more than five consecutive days, must be coordinated with the instructor.

Postings on the Discussion Board must have the following characteristics:

• Must contribute something meaningful to the Board; • Must support your opinion with sufficient reasons or evidence; • Must display good grammar and organization.

Postings should not

• Contain disrespectful, insulting, or offensive language; • Be excessively long or excessively short; • Be unrelated to the week’s topic; • Say things that do not contribute anything, e.g. “I agree with you” or “nice

comment”.

Note that ‘attendance’ as defined in this section is mandatory in this course. Failure to meet the minimum posting requirements as defined above for any week where there is Discussion will result in your earned final grade in this course being reduced by 3%. That penalty is cumulative to a maximum of five weeks. Failure to meet the minimum posting requirements for five or more weeks where there is Discussion will result in your earned final grade being reduced by 15%.

Accommodation Policy Note: the official Western Accommodation Policy appears below. This is in effect, but may be modified temporarily by the university during the academic year as conditions change.

Students with disabilities work with Accessible Education (formerly SSD) which provides recommendations for accommodation based on medical documentation or psychological and cognitive testing. The accommodation policy can be found here: Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities.

Academic Consideration for Student Absence Students will have up to two (2) opportunities during the regular academic year to use an on-line portal to self-report an absence during the term, provided the following conditions are met: the absence is no more than 48 hours in duration, and the assessment for which consideration is being sought is worth 30% or less of the student’s final grade. Students are expected to contact their instructors by email within 24 hours of the end of the period of the self-reported absence. Students are not able to use the self-reporting option in the following circumstances:

• for exams scheduled by the Office of the Registrar (e.g., December and April exams) • absence of a duration greater than 48 hours, • assessments worth more than 30% of the student’s final grade,

https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic%2520Accommodation_disabilities.pdf
• if a student has already used the self-reporting portal twice during the academic year If the conditions for a Self-Reported Absence are not met, students will need to provide a Student Medical Certificate if the absence is medical, or provide appropriate documentation if there are compassionate grounds for the absence in question. Students are encouraged to contact their Faculty academic counselling office to obtain more information about the relevant documentation.

Students should also note that individual instructors are not permitted to receive documentation directly from a student, whether in support of an application for consideration on medical grounds, or for other reasons. All documentation required for absences that are not covered by the Self-Reported Absence Policy must be submitted to the Academic Counselling office of a student's Home Faculty.

For Western University policy on Consideration for Student Absence, see Policy on Academic Consideration for Student Absences - Undergraduate Students in First Entry Programs and for the Student Medical Certificate (SMC), see: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/medicalform.pdf.

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to MentalHealth@Western: (https://www.uwo.ca/health/psych/index.html) for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

Religious Accommodation Students should consult the University's list of recognized religious holidays, and should give reasonable notice in writing, prior to the holiday, to the Instructor and an Academic Counsellor if their course requirements will be affected by a religious observance. Additional information is given in the Western Multicultural Calendar.

Special Requests: Special Examinations, Incomplete Standing, Aegrotat Standing Please refer to the “Information for All Students in a Writing Course” for more detailed information. Briefly, remember that I do not have the discretion to initiate, consider, or grant (or not) such requests; you must go directly to the Dean’s office of your home faculty.

Scholastic Offences, including Plagiarism The University Senate requires the following statements, and Web site references, to appear on course outlines: “Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/ scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf.