BA 290 Business Communication
Fall 2012
Cathlyn Coons
ccoons@mail.sdsu.edu
SSE 3322
Office Hours: Monday 5:30-7 p.m. or by appointment
Classes:
Monday 7-9:40 p.m.
Classroom: EBA-259
Wednesday 7-9:40 p.m.
Classroom: EBA-259
Course Description: In this class you will learn concepts and develop skills directed
toward written business communication.
BSBA students will graduate being:
 Effective Communicators
 Critical Thinkers
 Able to Analyze Ethical Problems
 Global in their perspective
 Knowledgeable about the essentials of business
BA 290 contributes to these goals through its student learning outcomes as follows:
Learning Objectives:
 Learn the essentials of organizing business messages
 Gather primary information and interpret it effectively
 Prepare short documents for business such as memos, letters, e-mail, and
business reports.
 Prepare a substantial analytical report using both primary and secondary
research and supported with suitable graphics.
At the end of this course students should be able to:
 Adapt the concepts of the basic communication model to written messages and
oral presentations through careful audience analysis and message planning.
 Choose words, write sentences, and develop paragraphs for good news, bad
news, and persuasive messages that are clear, concise, complete, and accurate.
 Incorporate technology effectively in gathering, organizing, writing, and
presenting written and oral messages.
 Effectively gather, interpret, and organize both secondary and primary
information needed to support written and oral reports.
 Evaluate and produce graphics to communicate messages quickly and
accurately.
 Write effectively for those with English as a second language.

Collaborate effectively on written documents.
Required Text:
Business Communication
Authors: Marie Flatley, Kathryn Rentz, & Paula Lentz
ISBN-10: 0073403164
ISBN-13: 978-0073403168
Publication Date: February 2, 2011
Edition: 2
Recommended Text:
The Business Writer's Handbook, Tenth Edition by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw and
Walter E. Oliu
Class Website: http://blackboard.sdsu.edu
Students are expected to check BlackBoard and email before each class session. Updates
or changes will be posted to BlackBoard.
Reading: There is reading assigned for nearly every class period we will meet. It is much
more valuable for you to read the assignment before we have the class lecture on that
material. To help ensure readings are completed I may assign a short homework exercise
based on the chapter reading that is to be turned in at the beginning of the class. This
assignment will be announced the week before and will also be posted on Blackboard. All
work is expected to be in typed format with a standard font of no smaller than 12.
Attendance: Attendance is critical to your success. I will take attendance every class
period. If you know you will miss a class and there is an assignment due you are
responsible for ensuring I receive it (via email and in a pdf format) prior to the beginning of
class. There is NO late work accepted.
Grading: There are a variety of assignments that will be required for completion of this
course. Their weight is listed below:
Homework/Quizzes related to Chapter Readings
One article write-up
Written Assignments:
Good news message
Bad news message
10%
5%
5%
5%
Persuasive message
Analytical Report
Visual Support Project
Mid-term Exam
Final Exam
5%
15%
15%
20%
20%
Your written work in this class will be evaluated using a rubric that has been approved by
the MIS department. Grades will be posted on Blackboard. You must notify me within 7
days of any grading discrepancy.
Electronic Devices: As a courtesy to your instructor and classmates please turn off cell
phones, IPods, tablets, etc. Please do not answer cell phones or leave class to answer a call.
If there is an extraordinary reason why you must have an electronic device on, please
discuss this with me before class.
Standard of Conduct: Students are expected to treat each other courteously. This class is
an environment where we are all learning. To that end, patience and consideration are
essential. Please arrive at class well prepared (notebooks, pens, texts) and ready to be fully
engaged in the course lecture and discussion. Your success in this class is your
responsibility.
Academic Dishonesty (Cheating or Plagiarism):
Cheating is behavior that undermines the learning objectives of a paper, exam, quiz or any
other graded work. Among other things, cheating is working with a classmate on an
individual project; using a quiz from a previous semester to study for a quiz in your class;
or passing someone else’s work off as your own.
The SDSU policy file defines Plagiarism as:
the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether
purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the university
as one’s own work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the
appropriate source. Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to (a) submitting
work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; (b) omitting footnotes for
ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong to another; (c) omitting
quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph,
sentence, or part thereof; (d) close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of
another; (e) submitting another person’s artistic works, such as musical
compositions, photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting as
one’s own work papers purchased from research companies.
The SDSU library has a self-paced tutorial called “Plagiarism: The Crime of Intellectual
Kidnapping” which is accessed at the following website:
http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism/index.cfm
Your first assignment is to complete this tutorial before our next class and to turn in
evidence of its completion.
Class Schedule:
Monday
8/27/2012
9/10/2012*
Wednesday
8/29/2012
9/5/2012
9/17/2012
9/24/2012
10/1/2012
10/8/2012
10/15/2012
9/12/2012
9/19/2012
9/26/2012
10/3/2012
10/10/2012
10/17/2012
10/24/2012
10/31/2012
11/7/2012
11/14/2012
11/28/2012
12/5/2012
12/12/2012
10/22/2012
10/29/2012
11/5/2012
11/19/2012**
11/26/2012
12/3/2012
12/10/2012
Introduction to Class
Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Chapter 2: Understanding the Writing Process and the Main
Forms of Business Messages
Chapter 3: Using Visuals in Written and Oral Communication
Chapter 4: Using an Appropriate Style
Chapter 5: Writing Good-News and Nuetral Messages
Chapter 6: Writing Bad-News Messages
Chapter 7: Writing Persuasive Messages + Proposals
TBD
Midterm Exam
Chapter 8: Researching + Writing Reports
Chapter 9: Writing Short Reports
Chapter 10: Communicating Orally
Chapter 11: Communicating in the Job Search
Review
Final Exam at 7 pm (see
http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/registrar/finalexams/12_fall.html)
Note: For classes with chapter references - you should read these chapters before class.
This schedule may be revised during the semester.
All changes will be announced in class and posted on Blackboard.
* No class 9/3/2012 in observance of Labor Day
** No class 11/12/2012 in observance of Veteran's Day