Welcome to W231! Professional Writing Skills Julie Freeman, Instructor

What is W231? W231 builds on the lessons of English W131 to introduce students to expanded research and writing skills, especially within writing situations and tasks encountered in workplace and organizational settings. Course assignments and activities emphasize the role of professional writing and the importance of developing professional writing skills.

More about the Course The course focuses on the rhetorical principles that guide students in creating effective writing in a variety of professional situations. The objective of professional and organizational writing is to produce results—it is aimed at helping people get work done. Students learn how people typically read and use work documents by analyzing the functions, structure, and language of professional writing.

Course Goals Determine the appropriate content, format, and style for creating effective documents. Adapt writing to different situations, audiences, and purposes. Organize documents clearly and effectively for the intended audience. Develop teamwork skills and collaborate effectively in teams. Develop good research questions and strategies. Gather, evaluate, interpret, and apply information accurately, logically, and ethically. Produce accessible, well-designed documents. Develop a clear, concise writing style.

Who Are We? 2 nd - semester freshmen, sophomores, juniors and perhaps a couple of seniors Psychology, Criminal Justice, Journalism, Social Work, Physical Education majors English, Communications Studies majors Biology, Pre-Med, Pre-Vet majors Exploratory

Technology Skills The course also teaches you the importance of information technology by introducing you to research skills that will be of value not only in the workplace, but also in upper-level courses in your majors.

Dealing with Deadlines 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.

Participation, Collaboration & Attendance Grade (10%) Based on your attendance and on your contributions in this class. You are expected to become an active participant in an academic community of writers and learners; to contribute to the learning environment by attending regularly, prepared with assigned work; to collaborate both online and face-to-face and to meet all deadlines. The team member evaluations completed at the end of the semester will help me assess contributions made by each team member.

Attendance Policy Clearly, you cannot contribute if you are absent. After the fourth absence a grade penalty of one- third of a letter grade will be applied for each subsequent absence. While I certainly understand that there are good reasons for missing class, I do not want to judge which reasons merit an excused absence. So while you should inform me of extenuating circumstances that result in a missed deadline or absence, the grade penalty begins with the 5th absence regardless of the reason. Save your absences for emergencies and illness.

Participation, Collaboration, and Attendance Grade Students who are habitually tardy will be marked absent. If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed, including the homework assignment, for which you are still responsible. Any in-class work you miss due to an absence or tardiness generally cannot be made up. If you miss class the day an assignment is due, you may it to me before 3:00 p.m. that day with no grade penalty. However, do not miss class because you don’t have an assignment ready; that practice will make you fall even further behind.

Policy on Late Work You may not submit the next assignment if I have not received the preceding one. 1/3 grade penalty for late work Folders missing required components will be penalized All assignments must be completed Projects 1 & 2 must be completed before you can join a team for the research project

Classroom Policies Don’t type during lectures or discussions. (This is my pet peeve!) You are responsible and can be held liable for activity on your computer accounts. Set to vibration mode on your cell phone and pager prior to entering the classroom, Use Word so your files can be opened in class and in Oncourse.

More policies Do not get on the Internet, check , or access programs other than those used during class. Do not bring food, drink, or tobacco into the computer room. Use back-up disks and save files in File Manager and Group Space on Oncourse; loss of files is an invalid reason for failing to submit assignments.

Individual Assignments Project 1: Correspondence Case (10%) Project 2: Workplace Problem-Solving (10%) Project 3: Preliminary Proposal (10%) End of semester Performance Review (10%) Two quizzes (10%)

Team Project (40%) Teams will be supplied with principles for successful collaboration and clear guidelines for completing the work. Team members will complete evaluation forms to ensure fair and equitable distribution and evaluation of the work. W231 students PREFER team projects!

Semester Timeline Project 1 Weeks One and Two Project 2 Week Three and Four Project 3 Weeks Five through Fifteen

Expectations Attend class Participate in class activities Submit assignments on time Get instructor feedback Read the book Access Oncourse regularly Commit yourself to your team project Consult your instructor with all questions and concerns Safeguard your files

Switch Schedule Starting next week, we will meet in CA 323 on Tuesdays in CA 347 on Thursdays

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 or stop by CA 427 to make an appointment.

Come See Me! 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 or understanding an assignment. Call me, 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!