English 205 – Business Writing
INSTRUCTOR
Mark Grass
Classroom:
Office Hours:
Phone:
Fax:
Mailbox:
E-mail:
Curtin 368
By appointment / phone
414-630-9624 (Cell)
414-229-2643
Fourth floor of Curtin
mjgrass@gmail.com
MATERIALS
The following textbook is required for this class:

Oliu, Brusaw, and Alred – Writing that Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job, 11th
Edition. You can rent this from Amazon or buy online from a variety of vendors found here:
http://bit.ly/13YVZAR ISBN: 978-1-4576-1113-1
The following textbook is optional, but it is highly recommended that you purchase it:

Alred, Brusaw, and Oliu - The Business Writer’s Handbook, 10th edition (any edition is
acceptable). You can order it from Amazon: http://amzn.to/11DQl5X ISBN: 978-0-31267943-9
COURSE OBJECTIVES

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Analyze a variety of business contexts (audience, purpose), and produce documents that fulfill goals
of those contexts
Use language that has appropriate form, tone, and style coupled with grammatical and mechanical
correctness
Employ writing as process, including research, drafting, testing, revising, and editing
Develop rhetorical strategies for effective visual and document design through exercises based on real
world applications.
Become familiar with current issues specific to corporate and organizational communication
Exhibit mastery of the most common genres of written and oral business communication
Learn effective collaboration strategies
Learn proficiency in computer-mediated communications
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University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
English 205 (Online) – Spring 2016
PREREQUISITES
You need the following to be in ENG 205: score 4 or higher in the English Proficiency Test or a
grade of “C” or better in English 102 (or equivalent college-level course), sophomore standing.
The English Department reserves the right to administratively drop students who have not
attended the first week of class.
COURSE POLICIES

Actively Participate! In order to do well in this class you will need to regularly participate.
Note that a good portion of your participation is directly associated with your attendance.
You will be allowed two (2) excused absences. An absence is excused if an only if you
inform me at least two hours before the start of class that you will not be attending class!!!
Some helpful hints regarding participation:
o Check D2L each day. All important announcements and updates will be available on
D2L. There will also be an open forum section in D2L in which you can ask questions.
o Inform the instructor if you are having problems keeping up with the course work.
I am willing to grant extensions should you find yourself overwhelmed or experience
unforeseen circumstances that prevent you from meeting a deadline. It happens to the
best of us! However, I must be informed of your intentions at least one day before the
assignment is due. You must provide a firm date on which you intend to turn in the work
you missed. If the new date is not met or this guideline is not followed, the assignment
will be lowered by one third of a grade for each day it is late.

Writing Assignment Guidelines. We will have a number of smaller assignments (10-20)
points) and a few larger ones (75 - 300 points). One revision per project worth 75 points or
more is permitted! Note that you will receive the higher of your revised or original
grade…there is no penalty for submitting revised assignments.
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Special Note: I spend a lot of time providing in-depth feedback, but you are absolutely
expected to read and follow the directions in a given assignment sheet! If you do not
follow instructions, you will still be able to revise, but you will not receive initial feedback.
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You are required to complete all written assignments to pass this course.

Do not plagiarize. This is a serious offense that will result in a failing grade for the
assignment, and it may lead directly to failing the course. Be sure to cite your sources when
you use ideas, information, and material from those sources. Please review the English
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English 205 (Online) – Spring 2016
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Department website on “Academic Dishonesty and Grievances” located here:
http://www4.uwm.edu/dos/conduct/academic-misconduct.cfm Tips on avoiding plagiarism
can be found here: owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

University Policies. Please see http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf for
university policies on religious observances, military duty, etc.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Desire 2 Learn (D2L) will be the central hub for class-related information. It is recommended
that you check D2L frequently for:

Content – All course content will be located in the course’s D2L site. Content for the
following week’s class will be available no later than Saturday at 5:00 PM. A link to the
course syllabus, policy sheets, and weekly assignments will all be available in the Content
section of D2L.

Links – I will add links throughout the course that I believe you may find helpful or
informative. Please share suggestions for links if you find content you think is relevant or
will be helpful. If you find and post a link, I will count this as one of your required
participation responses for the week.
GRADES AND GRADING STANDARDS

You may check your grade at any time, and grades will be updated whenever there is a new
grade available.
o You can determine where you stand fairly easily by dividing the total number of
points you received by the total number of points possible to that point in the
course.
o Multiply the result by 100
o Compare with the following chart:
A
AB+
B
BC+
93+
90-93
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
C
CD+
D
DF
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
59 and under
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English 205 (Online) – Spring 2016
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Because the work in this class is intended to simulate the workplace, the following criteria will
apply to grades. I play the role of manager in this scenario (courtesy of Jerry Alred):
Grades
Workplace Standards
A
Manager would be impressed and remember the work when
considering a promotion for you.
B
Manger would be satisfied with the job, but not impressed.
C
Manager would be disappointed and ask you to revise or rewrite
sections before allowing clients and others to see the work.
D
Manager would be troubled by the poor quality of the work.
F
Manager would start looking for someone to replace you.
Assignments and Values
Shorter Assignments (no revisions allowed)
Proofreading Exercise #1
Proofreading Exercise #2
Proofreading Exercise #3
Table of Contents
Bibliography / Works Cited
10
10
10
50
45
Writing Assignments (eligible for revision)
Informational Memo
Refusal Letter
Complaint Letter
Individual Project
Unsolicited Recommendation
Other
Participation
Total
75
75
75
200
300
150
1000
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English 205 (Online) – Spring 2016
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
TENTATIVE SYLLABUS – Fall 2015
DATE
TOPICS
DUE
Week One
01/25 – 01/30
Week Two
02/01 – 02/07
Syllabus, D2L content available.
Class introductions.
Assessing Audience, Purpose, and Medium
- Introduction, housecleaning, expectations
Week Three
02/08 – 02/14
Revising the Draft
Week Four
02/15 – 02/21
Week Five
02/22 – 02/28
Understanding the Principles of Business
Correspondence – Memos, Email, and IM
Protocols and Strategies
Writing Business Correspondence – Inquiries,
Refusals, Complaints, Sales
Week Six
02/29 – 03/06
Designing Documents and Visuals
Writing Instructions
- Read Oliu, Ch. 7
- Read Oliu, Ch. 12
- Table of contents exercise due in D2L by
midnight on 03/06
- Final revision of information memo due in
D2L by midnight on 03/06
Week Seven
03/07 – 03/13
Ethics in Business Communication
Finding the Right Job
Week Eight
03/14 – 03/20
*** Spring Break!!! ***
- Read Oliu, Ch. 16
- Individual projects due in D2L by midnight
on 03/13
- No class or discussions this week!
Week Nine
03/21 – 03/27
Flex Day
Week Ten
03/28 – 04/03
Writing Informal Reports
Writing Formal Reports
Week Eleven
04/04 – 04/10
Writing Proposals
Week Twelve
04/11 – 04/17
Collaborative Writing
- Read Oliu, Ch. 1
- Proofreading Exercise #1 due in D2L by
midnight on 02/07
- Read Oliu, Ch. 4
- Proofreading exercise #2 due in D2L by
midnight on 02/14 <3
- Read Oliu, Ch. 8
- Information memo due in D2L by midnight
on 02/21
- Read Oliu, Ch. 9
- Reading assignment TBD
- In-class fire escape exercise
- Complaint letter due in D2L by midnight on
03/27
- Read Oliu, Ch. 10
- Read Oliu, Ch. 11
- Proofreading Exercise # 3 due in D2L by
midnight on 04/03
- Read Oliu, Ch. 13
- Refusal letter due in D2L by midnight on
11/08
- Final revision of individual projects due in
D2L by midnight on 04/10
- Read Oliu, Ch. 5
- Unsolicited recommendation proposal due
in D2L by midnight on 04/17
- Final revision of complaint letter due in
D2L by midnight on 04/17
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University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Week Thirteen
04/18 – 04/24
Giving Presentations
Week Fourteen
04/25 – 05/01
Researching Your Subject
Week Fifteen
05/02 – 05/08
Writing for the web and e-communications
Exam Week
***No discussions this week***
English 205 (Online) – Spring 2016
- Read Oliu, Ch. 14
- Bibliography / works cited assignment due
on Sunday, 04/24 by midnight
- Final revisions of refusal letter due on
Sunday, 04/24 by midnight
- Read Oliu, Ch. 6
- Unsolicited recommendation due in D2L by
midnight on 05/01
- Read Oliu, Ch. 15
All discussion postings are due on or before
midnight on Thursday, December 11th
Final revisions of the unsolicited
recommendations due in D2L by
midnight on 05/20
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