English 205Business Writing, Winterim 2016
INSTRUCTOR
REQUIRED MATERIALS
AND READINGS
COURSE OBJECTIVES
ATTENDANCE,
TARDINESS, IN-CLASS
WORK, AND
ASSISTANCE
Dr. Nancy Nygaard
Office: Curtin 506
Office Hours: 8-9 Monday through Thursday Online only
Office Phone: 229-5910
E-mail: nnygaard@uwm.edu
Business Communication: Process and Product by Mary Ellen
Guffey and Dana Loewy 8th edition only
Unless otherwise indicated, readings refer to the Guffey text.
This class provides guidelines and practice for clear and
powerful writing in the workplace.
To accomplish this, we will work to
 understand the purposes, audiences, processes, and
formats of workplace communication.
 analyze effective and ineffective workplace
communication, written, oral, and visual.
 produce and practice workplace communication
appropriate for various audiences.
 learn from each other through activities and discussions.
 use language that is both grammatically and
mechanically correct.
 model effective professional communication in our
classroom and online.
 become familiar with current issues in corporate and
organizational communication.
This course relies heavily on regular daily attentions and online
attendance. Let’s go over class responsibilities and
expectations.
The most frequently asked questions:
How often do I need to log in to D2L?
Count on logging in every weekday at least once. Daily updates
will be posted Monday through Friday. Because we cover a lot
of material online that’s not covered in your textbook, regular
attention to the site and participation are very important.
How much class can I miss?
More than two days without a log-in will affect your final grade.
If you have a special situation, please see me at the beginning
of the semester to determine whether this is a good time for
English 205,Winterim 2016
you to take 205.
This not a self-paced class. All the material builds on the
previous material and must be done and submitted according to
the course schedule. In case of an emergency, please contact
me as soon as possible. The English Department reserves the
right to administratively drop any student who has not attended
the first week of class.
Can I make up work if I missed a deadline?
Because of their sensitive nature, quizzes can’t be made up.
You can, however, drop your lowest quiz grade. If you miss a
quiz, that zero can be dropped. Please contact me via e-mail if
you miss an assignment. Together we’ll determine how to best
handle that situation.
If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me. If
necessary, I can arrange some in-person office hours to help.
HOMEWORK AND
E-MAIL
This class is writing intensive; we write almost every session.
Our goal is to create polished, professional, correctly formatted,
clearly written documents, so homework is half of your final
grade. Check the daily content page for current assignments
and readings.
When is my homework due, and what format should it
be in?
Homework due dates will be posted on the calendar and on the
daily content pages. Please use the dropbox for your
homework.
How do errors affect my grade?
The business community won’t put up with incorrect spelling or
bad grammar. Our focus on quality documents will mean
attention to editing and proofreading. As a first step, use spell
check, but remember that it won’t catch all incorrect spelling.
Points are deducted for spelling errors. Three spelling errors
signals that you didn’t take adequate time or adequate care
with your document, and no credit will be given.
What else is important in my writing?
English 205,Winterim 2016
We’ll focus on all the things that go into good writing:
 grammar
 punctuation
 tone
 style
 content
 format
 sentence and paragraph construction.
All of these are factored into your grade. Please keep back-ups
of your work; you may need to revise and re-submit them
How will you contact me?
If I need to contact you, I’ll e-mail you. That’s usually the
easiest way to contact me outside of class hours. See the
guidelines for professional e-mail style in our Classroom Policies
and Procedures document available in print and on D2L. We
will have a class e-mail list using your UWM e-mail address.
Please check your e-mail regularly.
QUIZZES AND EXAMS
To encourage you to keep current with your reading, quizzes
will be given several times covering the reading and previous
lecture material.
What if I can’t take a quiz as scheduled?
Quizzes may be taken ahead of time, if you contact me at least
a week in advance.
GRADING
Grades in the course will be based primarily on your writing
assignments. They’re graded on content, organization, tone,
and correctness for the context in which you are writing. Your
class participation in discussions, activities, and workshops is
also important because it will help prepare you for your next
writing assignment.
GRADE WEIGHTINGS
IN %
Homework
50%
Quizzes
15%
Formal Report and other Group Projects
25%
Professionalism and Participation
10%
English 205,Winterim 2016
Total
ACADEMIC
HONESTY
AND
RELIGIOUS
OBSERVANCE
ACCOMMODATION
100
The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee has a responsibility to
promote academic honesty and integrity. Academic
misconduct is carefully monitored in this course. Cheating on
examinations, quizzes, or homework activities, turning in
assignments or other material which are not your own, or
using someone else's print and/or non-print material without
proper citation, improper collaboration on homework, papers,
etc., all constitute academic misconduct. Such behaviors may
result in the immediate failure of the course in which the
misconduct occurs. Academic misconduct will be reported to
the Investigating Officer of the College of Letters and Science
and additional sanctions may be recommended. If you’re not
sure about what’s permissible, please ask!
You may be allowed to complete examinations or other
course requirements at an alternative date and time if your
participation in a religious observation prevents you from
completing the assignment on the scheduled date. You are
responsible for contacting me during the first two weeks of
the semester regarding the need to reschedule the
assignment dates.
For other important enrollment information, including
information on grade appeals, military duty absences,
religious observance, discriminatory conduct, incompletes,
and disabilities see:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Course Schedule
Monday, January 4
Online. Read daily content page. See online daily content
page. Three intros due. Read Chapters 1 and 4 for
Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 5
Read daily content page. You view and conversational
language The communication model
Audience analysis
Discussion about punctuation, grammar, and correctness
Chapter 4 Exercises. Memo rewrite assigned that’s due on
Wednesday. Read Chapter 5 and 7 for Wednesday.
Wednesday, January 6
Read daily content page. Chapter 5 exercises in on
English 205,Winterim 2016
discussion board. Discussion of conciseness and sentence
structure. E-mail guidelines and discussion. Rewrite 7.1 and
7.2 as a shared document. Exercise 7.3 due on Thursday in
dropbox. Memo rewrite due Quiz. Read Chapter 8 for
Thursday.
Thursday, January 7
Read daily content page. Routine and direct messages.
Writing Instructions. Exercise 8.2 due in dropbox by 11:59.
Read Chapter 9 for Friday.
Friday, January 8
Read daily content page. Draft of Exercise 8.6 due in
dropbox and to partners by 11:59 p.m. Comment and
return partner drafts by Monday at noon. Read Chapter 3 on
Intercultural Communication.
Monday, January 11
Read daily content page. Return partner drafts by noon.
Read Chapter 9 on negative news for Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 12
Read daily content page. Exercise 8.6 final copies due in
dropbox. Discuss Exercise 8.24. Drafts due Wednesday as
a shared document. Discuss options for negative news
delivery.
Wednesday, January 13
Read daily content page. Quiz. Discuss negative news
assignment. Critique and offer feedback on three versions
of 8.24 Discuss informational report. Get informational report
assignment.
Thursday, January 14
Read daily content page. Final copy of 8.24 due in dropbox
by 11:59. Read Chapter 11 on reports
Friday, January 15
Read daily content page. Online. Share drafts of negative
news assignment with partners. Final negative news
assignment due Monday at 11:59 in dropbox. Read Chapter
12 on reports
Monday, January 18
Online. Final negative news assignment due. Begin intense
focus on informational report. Read Chapter 13 on reports.
Tuesday, January 19
Online. Progress toward informational report due. See page
439. Read Chapter 15 on resumes.
Wednesday, January 20
Read daily content page. Online quiz on
reports and resumes. Work on report and resume.
English 205,Winterim 2016
Submit resume to partners for review. Share report
components with partners.
Thursday, January 21
Read daily content page. Work on reports and resumes.
Reports & resumes due Friday at 11:59.