A senior recruiter at Citigroup in New York City said, "If I have two job candidates in front of me, equally qualified except that one can write well and the other can't, I'll hire the one who can -- every time."

Source: Fortune, 12/7/98

Sample Syllabus

W231: Professional Writing Skills

Fall '99 Section C567 Instructor:

Tuesdays 11:00 - 1:40 Office: CA 343A T 9:00-11:00

CA 347 & CA 323 email addess phone number

Prerequisite: W131 (or comparable transfer credit)

Course Description: W231 focuses on learning to write effectively in nonacademic, professional settings and on developing writing skills you may use in your career. Although the course does not emphasize conventions of any particular field or profession, you will learn to adapt your own writing to fulfill the needs and expectations of readers in organizational settings of interest to you. In addition to the memos, letters, and reports assigned, you will be asked to complete assigned readings, conduct primary and secondary (library) research, respond in writing to classmates' work, and occasionally do informal writing to explain process or progress.

Attendance and Participation. Participation in a scholarly community of writers and researchers involves certain responsibilities. Students must attend class regularly and on time, come prepared with assigned drafts or other materials, and be ready to discuss assigned readings. Experience has shown that those students who miss class because they are unprepared quickly fall behind, not only on the current assignment, but on the next assignment as well because they miss out on important instructions and class activities. Students who routinely miss class rarely achieve satisfactory grades in W231. If you must miss class, please call or email me ahead of time to make arrangements to complete your work. Attendance will be taken during both the regular classroom session and the computer room session.

Course Goals: Our course goals support IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning:

Write reports, research tools, letters, and memos that fulfill their assigned purposes through use of content, organization, style, tone, and format designed to meet audience expectations.

Conceptualize, plan, and manage an applied research writing project by defining a research objective, proposing a plan to fulfill that objective, designing appropriate research tools, and completing the process in timely fashion.

Conduct primary and secondary research using relevant sources and methods to obtain information for a previously defined purpose.

Write reports that analyze and synthesize information obtained through research to fulfill a previously defined purpose for a designated audience.

Demonstrate awareness of qualities of your writing and writing process that have been developed through this course.

Computer Guidelines and Lab Policies: Part of each class session we will meet in CA 323, a computer classroom; however, class time will be structured and you will need access to an IBM-compatible computer outside of class to complete assignments. You must be able to access your files in class. Our computer consultant is trained to assist you with word processing problems involving documents created in WordPerfect and Word.

Activate your university email account on the Internet at http://www.iupui.edu/~support if you have not already done so. We will be communicating online.

Use back-up disks; loss of disks or hard copies is an invalid reason for failing to complete assignments.

Slide in keyboards during class discussions; typing when someone is speaking is distracting and impolite.

Do not get on the Internet or access programs other than the one being used in class.

No food, drink, or tobacco in the computer room.

Be aware that you are responsible and can be held liable for activity on your computer accounts.

Textbooks: : Anderson, Paul. (1999). Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach.

(4^th ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace.

Supplies: three-ring notebook for notes, handouts, & drafts. Four highlighters. Computer disks. Folders for portfolios.

Conferences: An essential ingredient to success in W231 is frequent communication with your instructor. Please feel free to ask questions at all stages of the course. Don’t allow yourself to get behind due to problems choosing a project topic, understanding an assignment, or completing a research component. Call me, email me, and/or confer with me in my office (CA 343A.) I expect and welcome frequent consultations with you throughout the semester; I want you to be successful!

University Writing Center: The UWC provides free assistance to students at any stage of the writing process. Please visit them for friendly advice about your writing assignments. Call 274-2049 or stop by CA 427 to make an appointment.

Policy on Plagiarism: Students are responsible for all information on the English Department handout titled "On Ethics, Collaboration, and Citing Sources."

Evaluation: Each assignment will be drafted, revised, and submitted in a portfolio for a grade. The W231 Evaluation Rubrics used to assess portfolios include the following categories: management of purpose and audience, research plan and methods, synthesis, analysis, organization, style, tone, and mechanics. These rubrics are based on the course goals, which are listed above. Students are evaluated not only on their writing skills, but also on their ability to design a focused, comprehensive research project in which they collect sufficient meaningful data in order to fulfill the purpose of the project.

You will submit three portfolios, each worth 15% of your course grade, as we progress through the semester. Your final portfolio, due at the end of the semester, will be worth 55% of your course grade. It will contain assignments submitted in your previous portfolios which you have revised and edited based on the evaluation received. The evaluation of previous drafts will include various components to help you revise, such as a checklist corresponding to the grading rubrics, as well as summary comments.

Policy on Late Work: Deadlines are important both in the university setting and in the workplace. Success in W231 is very difficult without staying up-to-date with the assignments; therefore, the guidelines below will regulate acceptance of assignments.

You may not submit the next portfolio on the syllabus if you have not submitted the preceding one.

You may not submit your Final Project Two Portfolio if I have not received all assignments and past due work, even if they are no longer worth any points.

Portfolios will be penalized _ of a letter grade each weekday they are late.

Portfolios missing required components will be returned unread and will receive a failing grade.

A grade of incomplete is assigned only in consultation with Writing Program administrators. To be considered for an Incomplete, you must have submitted the Project One portfolio, the Secondary Research Portfolio, and the Primary Research Portfolio, and you must have earned a C or better on each of them. In addition, you must have a documented emergency situation which prevents completion of the Final ProjectTwo Portfolio by the deadline.

 Project One Assignment Sequences and Descriptions

You will receive a detailed guideline explaining the requirements, formats, and strategies for completing each assignment as we progress through the course.

­ The Project One Portfolio includes the three documents described above & other items to be announced. It is worth 15% of the course grade. Due Tuesday, September 28.

 Project Two Assignment Sequences and Descriptions

Your first task in the second part of the course will be to select an appropriate applied research topic. Do not proceed with your research project until your topic has been approved!