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Lincoln University

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course: Business Communication

Department and number: English 93

Credit: 3 units

Course prerequisites: none

Semester: May-June 2011

Instructor: Dr. Sylvia Y. Schoemaker Rippel

Email: sysr@lincolnuca.edu

Course-related email for the semester: profsylvia@gmail.com

Instructional Materials and References:

Required text:

Angell, Pamela A. Business Communication Design. (2^nd Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. ( ISBN- 9780073223582 )

Recommended text:

Business Communication Handbook

Text site: http://www.mhhe.com/angell2e

Additional print and online materials as needed will be announced in class.

Course Description

Communication and information science in the applied context of business studies, including vocabulary, reading, writing, and speaking skills in the subject areas of marketing, international business, data processing, accounting, finance, management. (3 units)

The course emphasizes the role of critical and creative thinking in the business communication process. Students learn a systematic approach to designing messages for targeted business communication situations.

Course Objectives

Primary E93: Business Communication objectives include improved ability to:

· comprehend and produce effective written and oral business communications

· evaluate business messages within appropriate local and global contexts

· Apply systematic language processing strategies for critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making in a variety of business settings.

Students will demonstrate competency in achieving the course objectives through presentations, discussion, and applications. They will be able to create effective business documents to mastery level with increasing competence in composition and mechanics.

Topical Outline

The scope of the course involves applying and extending communication skills relevant to managerial discourse, including the theoretical foundation and technological extensions of business communications.

For each of the following units (as well as additional assignments given in class), students will do the following:

• · Read assigned materials with care and understanding,
• · Reflect on the assignments in writing (a brief paragraph or two), discussing your thoughts on the primary content; include points of personal interest,
• · Create a personalized, three-level outline for assigned readings, turning headings into questions for the first level of the outline, and the second and third level for the primary and more detailed answers to the formulated questions.

Email your assignments to me at profsylvia@gmail.com, with your outline and reflections written (or copied and pasted) in the body of your email. Be sure to keep a copy of the email for yourself and add it to your ePortfolios/PowerPoint presentations for midterm and final submission and sharing.

Assignments are due on the dates indicated in the schedule below. Additions/revisions to the schedule will be announced in class as needed. Class attendance is mandatory for content, interactions, and presentations. Researched materials must be documented using a consistent style for both in-text and end-text citations of sources using the published standards of the most recent subject-appropriate style guide, such as APA (social sciences) or MLA (humanities), for example.

SCHEDULE

Day	#	Date	Time	Unit	Assignment
1	1	Tuesday, May 24, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Intro	Letter of Introduction
	2		12-1:00	Basics	C1 The Basics
2	3	Wednesday, May 25, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Communication	C2 How Business Communicates
	4		12-1:00	Messages	C3 Creating Effective Messages
3	5	Thursday, May 26, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Listening	C4 Listening: A Silent Hero
	6		12-1:00	Meaning	C5 Creating and Using Meaning;
4	7	Friday, May 27, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Language	C6 Designing Messages with Words
	8		12-1:00	On Oral Presentations	C7 Designing Oral Presentations C8 Business Writing Design
5	9	Saturday, May 28, 2011	9-10:45	Review	Review Presentations, ePortfolios I
	10		11:00-12:30	MIDTERM
NC	NC	Sunday, May 29, 2011	No Class
6	11	Monday, May 30, 2011	9-10:45	Written Communication	C9 Direct and Indirect Communication Strategies
	12		12-1:00	Communication Structures	C10 The Business of Reports: Informal and Formal Report Writing
7	13	Tuesday, May 31, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Report Formats Report and Proposal Strategies	C11 Writing Strategies for Reports and Proposals
	14		11-1:00	Culture	C12 Culture: Inside and Out
8	15	Wednesday, June 01, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Collaboration	C13 Interpersonal and Collaborative Messages
	16		12-1:00	Change and Conflict	C14 The Business of Change and Conflict
9	17	Thursday, June 02, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Career Communications, Written	C15 Creating a Career and Designing Resumes,
	18		11-1:00	Career Communications,   Oral	C16 Interviewing to Get the Job
10	19	Friday, June 03, 2011	9-10:15 10:30-11:45	Design ePortfolio	C17 Creativity and Visual Design, ePortfolios II
	20		12-1:00	ePortfolio	ePortfolios II
NC	NC	Saturday, June 04, 2011	N O C L A S S
		Sunday, June 05, 2011	FINAL EXAM 9:30-11:30

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA & METHOD OF EVALUATING STUDENTS

Students will demonstrate their level of achievement through appropriate and accurate application of classic and contemporary business communication theory and best practices. Students will be evaluated on their increased communicative competence, including effective business communication skills for analysis, problem-solving, decision-making. Students attaining the higher levels of course goals will show successful application of critical and creative communication skills in approaching and solving academic and real-world examples, individually and as group
participants. The following tables quantify assignment areas and grade distribution scales.

	Class Participation	10%
	Midterm	15%
	Projects/Extra Credit	15%
	ePortfolios / Blogs	25%
	Presentations	15%
	Final Exam	20%
	Total	100%

100-95	A
94-90	A-
89-87	B+
86-84	B
83-80	B-
79-77	C+
76-74	C
73-70	C-
69-67	D+
66-64	D
63-60	D-
59 or <	F

Rev: Dec. 11

<Eng93 Syllabus SYSR>