Course Documents
Note: These files are the basic documents for this course, but any information on this website supercedes the information contained in these files. When in doubt, refer to this site to find the most current information.
Weekly outline
7 January - 13 January
- Tuesday, January 9 (22 Ross Hall)Topic: Introduction to the course; review syllabus and policy document; Register for accounts on the class website; discuss diagnostic memo assignment.
Thursday, January 11 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: The writing process; discuss job application portfolio assignment. Read: WTW Chapter 1. Assignment: Complete diagnostic memo; due by Friday night at midnight.
14 January - 20 January
Tuesday, January 16 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: The job search; analyzing prospective employers; letters of application. Read: WTW Chapter 16; New York Times article on cover letters (please print); Ask MetaFilter discussion on cover letters (read but don't print). Assignment: Find and print out two job listings and bring them to class; these can come from a newspaper, the web, etc.
Thursday, January 18 (15 Ross Hall)Topic: Resume writing and design workshop. Read: The page of Resume Writing Resources may be helpful to you as you work on your resume. (Note: These are supplemental readings, so you will not be quizzed on them.) Assignment: Make sure you have an electronic copy of your current resume available to work on in the lab.
21 January - 27 January
- Tuesday, January 23 (22 Ross Hall)Topic: Continued discussion of resumes; individual branding and visual identity. Read: WTW Chapter 3; three online articles (linked below).
Thursday, January 25 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Branding and visual design workshop. Assignment: Bring electronic copies of your entire job application portfolio.
28 January - 3 February
- Tuesday, January 30 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Oral interviews. Assignment: Finalize the selection of the items in your portfolio.
Thursday, February 1 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Final workshop for job application portfolio; peer review; introduce correspondence unit. Assignment: Bring electronic copies of all items in your portfolio. Important: The deadline for final submission of your job application portfolio has been extended to Tuesday, February 6. Please bring the print version of your portfolio to class on that day and upload the zipped file containing your portfolio before class begins.
4 February - 10 February
- Tuesday, February 6 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Writing business correspondence; print vs. electronic correspondence; discuss correspondence unit. Read: WTW Chapter 8 (please bring your book to class). Assignment: Submit the electronic version of your job application portfolio before you come to class; the print version of your portfolio is due at the beginning of class.
Thursday, February 8 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Positive and negative messages. Read: WTW Chapter 9 (please bring your book to class). Assignment: Correspondence unit situations due. (We will discuss this mini-assignment on Tuesday.)
11 February - 17 February
- Tuesday, February 13 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: The revision process; continued discussion of complaint letters and electronic correspondence. Read: WTW Chapter 4, plus the three pieces linked below. Assignment: Start drafting your positive and negative letters.
Thursday, February 15 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Anonymous peer review workshop. Assignment: By Wednesday night, upload your letters to the website for the peer review activity. We will discuss how to do this in class on Tuesday.
18 February - 24 February
- Tuesday, February 20 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Organizational strategies; visual analysis of documents. Read: WTW Chapter 2; "Designing Proposals" PDF.
Thursday, February 22 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Website analysis; discuss Website Analysis and Recommendation Report. Assignment: Your Correspondence Unit is due at the beginning of class. Please upload a single file containing all three letters to the website, then bring to class printed and signed copies of your positive and negative letters in stamped, addressed envelopes. I will mail these letters after I have graded them.
25 February - 3 March
- Tuesday, February 27 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: International considerations; midterm exam review. Read: Please read (or re-read) the following specific pages in Writing That Works: 300-306; 69-71; 246-52; 413-415; 491-492; 530. Assignment: Come to class prepared to ask questions about the midterm exam. We will spend as much (or as little) time as you need reviewing for the exam.
Thursday, March 1 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Midterm exam. Assignment: Prepare for the midterm exam. UPDATE: The university has canceled classes for today, so we will NOT meet for the midterm. We will take the midterm next Tuesday, instead.
4 March - 10 March
- Tuesday, March 6 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Midterm exam. Assignment: Prepare for the midterm exam. In your teams, you should be researching your company and country for your website analysis and recommendation report. Please see the forum below for a list of initial online resources, and please feel free to add more resources that might be helpful for the rest of the class. NOTE: We will be meeting in the lab today, in order to complete the midterm.
Thursday, March 8 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Oral presentations; collaborative writing workshop; team meetings with Quinn to discuss your progress and future plans. Read: WTW Chapter 5. Assignment: Come to class prepared to share your research findings with your teammates.
11 March - 17 March
- Spring Break — NO CLASSES
18 March - 24 March
- Tuesday, March 20 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Writing reports; international business communication; preparing for oral presentations. Read: WTW Chapter 10; Wall Street Journal article on international advertising (linked below). Assignment: Before class on Tuesday, contribute at least one source to the Intercultural Communication Resources forum.
Thursday, March 22 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Team work session for website analysis and recommendation report. Read: WTW Chapter 11. NOTE: Quinn will not be in class on this day. Please take the quiz as soon as you get to the lab, then spend the remaining time working with your team to draft and/or revise your website analysis and recommendation report. You can also use the time to rehearse your oral presentation, which you will deliver on Tuesday, March 27.
25 March - 31 March
- Tuesday, March 27 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Oral team reports. Assignment: Your team should come to class prepared to deliver a 10-12 minutes presentation on your preliminary findings for the website analysis and recommendation report. All members of your team should participate equally, and you may use visual aids, handouts, PowerPoint, etc., as needed.
Thursday, March 29 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Discuss visual promotional mailer assignment. Discuss final assignment options; visual presentations of data. Read: WTW Chapter 7. Assignment: The Website Analysis and Recommendation Report is due at the beginning of class. In addition, each member of your team should submit an individual Team Evaluation Form. Please make sure YOUR name is written somewhere at the top of the page. If you have misplaced the form, a PDF version of it is linked below.
1 April - 7 April
- Tuesday, April 3 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Researching your final project; discuss contracts for evaluation criteria. Read: WTW Chapter 6. Assignment: Determine the topic and focus of your final project or research paper.
Thursday, April 5 (431 Ross Hall)
Topic: Individual conferences with Quinn to discuss your final project or research paper. NOTE: We will not meet as a class today, but the lab is available if you would like to work on your project or paper. Assignment: Sign up for a 15-minute conference using the link below. All conferences will be held in Quinn's office (431 Ross Hall). Come to the conference with a written proposal outlining the scope of your project/paper and a draft of the criteria you think Quinn should use to grade your work. (Use the MOU Template linked above as a starting point.)
8 April - 14 April
- Tuesday, April 10 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Oral presentations; PowerPoint presentations. Read: WTW Chapter 14; The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint (linked below; please print this out; WARNING: This is a big file); two short articles on Presentation Zen (linked below; you don't need to print these out).
Thursday, April 12 (15 Ross Hall)
Topic: Continued discussion on presentations; final project drafting workshop. Assignment: Make sure you have electronic copies of your final project materials available in the computer lab.
15 April - 21 April
- Week 15: Individual Conferences (431 Ross Hall)
Topic: Individual conferences to discuss drafts of final papers/projects. Assignment: Sign up for a conference using the link below; come to your conference with a working draft (print or electronic) of your final assignment. Your attendance at this conference will count for two days' worth of class attendance. Note: Although we will not meet as a whole class this week, the Ross 15 computer lab will be available during our normally scheduled class times, if you need lab time for individual work or peer review sessions.
22 April - 28 April
- Tuesday, April 24 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Individual presentations by Bethany Steffen, Bridgette Braswell, Alicia Higgins, Mitch Van Kley, and Mitchell Saienga. Assignment: If you are presenting today and have electronic materials that need to be displayed, please email them to Quinn in advance (if possible). - Tuesday, April 26 (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Individual presentations by Zach Mangrich, Ryan Cousins, Jessica Lambert, Kendall Claeys, Josh Holmes, and Hannah Holeman. Assignment: If you are presenting today and have electronic materials that need to be displayed, please email them to Quinn in advance (if possible).
29 April - 5 May
- FINAL: Monday, April 30, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. (22 Ross Hall)
Topic: Individual presentations by Jackie Skinner, LeMarius Wolder, Gabe Hibben, Matt Michel, Maranda Kerr, Kelly Pisarik, Brent Wilson, Erin Saunders, and Jon Canfield. Assignment: If you are presenting today and have electronic materials that need to be displayed, please email them to Quinn in advance (if possible). IMPORTANT: Your final project is due at the beginning of the final time period. Please submit printed versions of your signed MOU and all relevant materials. In addition, please use the link below to upload a zipped file containing electronic copies of your documents.