Course Description
This course offers an introduction to the techniques and types of professional writing, including correspondence and reports. It is designed to help strengthen skills of effective business and professional communication in both oral and written modes. After successful completion of this course, students will have the skills necessary to communicate effectively in a variety of professional situations.
Each project in the course is paired with a selection of readings and resources in order to provide the information necessary to complete the tasks required in each project. You may notice that some readings are paired with more than one project—in this way, each project can be approached as a self-contained unit. However, the projects are also designed to complement each other, and approaching the course as a whole exposes students to a variety of business and professional writing situations.
After completing this course, students will have gained exposure to the following genres of business and professional writing:
- Business Letter (Positive News Letter, Negative News Letter, Fundraising Letter, Cover Letter)
- Memo
- Proposal
- Press Release
- Promotional Video
- Presentation
- Résumé
- Report (Progress Report, Informative Report, Recommendation Report, Business Plan)
Additionally, students will gain valuable experience with research, reading and analyzing popular press business articles, issues in business ethics, and working with teams.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Analyze written and verbal communications and evaluate their usefulness, relevance, rhetorical components, and stylistic elements
- Think critically about rhetorical choices and audience awareness
- Compose effective and persuasive written, visual, and oral texts for diverse audiences
- Recognize and implement the qualities associated with effective business writing, particularly the hallmarks of correctness, conciseness, coherence, and clarity
- Design visually attractive documents with informative and eye-catching visual elements
- Use technology to effectively present your messages
- Conduct research using a broad range of sources, synthesizing and judging the quality of collected information
- Communicate ethically
- Write in a variety of workplace genres including resumes, letters, emails, memos, white papers, and reports
- Collaborate effectively with peers
