University of Massachusetts Boston
BC 230 Fundamentals of Business Communication & Critical Analysis
Spring 2015, January 26 – May 13
M/W 4-5:15p.m.
Instructor Name: Katie Almeida Spencer
Office Hours: By appointment, via Skype or on-campus Office: M-5-237
E-mail: Katherine.Almeida@umb.edu
Course Description
This course provides rigorous instruction in the basics of written communication for managers.
Instruction will focus on necessary writing, analytical reading, and critical thinking required in
business. This is a writing-intensive course that prepares students for the challenges of BC 290.
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:
• Evaluate the role of writing in your professional field.
• Analyze the intended audience of business-related communications and adapting your
writing style as appropriate.
• Compose and produce (by planning, drafting, and revising) clear, effective, properly
formatted business documents, including email, memorandums and persuasive essays.
• Read and respond constructively to the writing of peers.
• Recognize and correct common grammatical, style, and usage errors.
• Improve your credibility and success in both school and in the workplace by producing
clear, effective written documents
• Evaluate and reflect on your own writing processes and documents and their role in the
practice of critical reasoning.
• Practice intercultural competence in writing and speaking
Required Text/Material(s):
• “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White
http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf
• MyFoundations Lab
• UMB Blackboard Website
• OWL website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Course Requirements
1. Your final exam will be ON CAMPUS in one of the computer labs during final exam week.
2. You need to get 80% in the course AND on the exam to advance to BC 290. Regardless of your
course grade, if you score below 80% on the final exam, you will not be able to move on to BC
290.
3. Participation/Attendance: You are expected to participate in class and online consistently. Make
sure to check your UMB email DAILY.
4. Late Work: Not accepted without prior approval of the Instructor and there will be a grade
deduction. Failure to speak with me BEFORE the assignment due date will result in a zero for
that assignment. This is true for all assignments, homework, etc.
5. Submit all assignments as PDF or DOCX. These are the only two formats I can grade on
Blackboard. Discussions on Blackboard can be typed directly into the submission box.
6. Writing Format: All written work submitted during the semester should be typed, single spaced,
Times New Roman 12 point font, 1 to 1 ¼ inch margins, pages numbered, and free from spelling
and grammatical errors. If you feel you need help with your writing, you may get assistance from
other campus resources, such as the tutors in M5-240. Remember that most computer programs
have spell-checking options that will help you find many, but not all, spelling and typographical
errors. Keep a copy of all written assignments SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN BLACKBOARD
for your records.
7. Email: You can reach me most easily via email (the address is on the first page of this syllabus). I
will regularly be emailing you with instructions, assignments and updates via email to your
WISER account. This is the account whose address is first.last001@umb.edu.
You can go into your WISER account and forward your WISER email to your preferred account
(yahoo, hotmail, etc.). It is important that you learn to send completely professional emails. When
emailing me, use professional language and tone.
• Use a salutation (e.g., “Dear Prof. Almeida Spencer,”).
• Use a closing (e.g., “Yours, Marsha”).
• Pay attention to the subject line – include the course number in all emails.
• Keep the message as short as possible.
• Proof read everything to make sure your emails are in coherent English-no text or
Facebook language.
7. Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism includes copying someone else's words and claiming them as your own, paraphrasing
someone else's words and/or ideas and claiming them as your own, or collaborating excessively
with another person or persons and claiming the work as solely your own. If you are unclear
about what constitutes plagiarism, please come see me and I will be happy to explain things to
you. Plagiarism on any assignment in this class will at minimum result in an "F" for the
assignment. I reserve the right to pursue further disciplinary action if appropriate (e.g., any
student caught cheating on an exam will receive an "F" for the course). I strongly recommend
students maintain a record of the preparation of their assignments. Please refer to the University
Student Handbook for further clarification on this.
Grading/Evaluation Standards
Specific criteria for each writing project will be provided as we go; however the following criteria
for evaluating writing will be reflected in your grade for individual written assignments: Your
assignments are evaluated on the basis of: (1) content, (2) clarity of expression, (3) extent of
research, (4) analysis of material, (5) professional appearance and (6) quality of writing. All
written assignments should be typed, single-spaced. Assignment due dates are on Blackboard.
Your final grade for this course will be based on the following:
Class participation and attendance
Writing Assignments
Midterm
Final Exam
TOTAL
10.00%
40.00%
10.00%
40.00%
100%
Grading Scale: the course is worth a total of 100 points and is graded as follows:
A 94-100
C 74-76
A- 90-93
C- 70-73
B+ 87-89
D+ 67-69
B 84-86
D 64-66
B- 80-83
D- 60-63
C+ 77-79
F 59 and under
Class Schedule & Assignments (Subject to Revision if Necessary)
Week/Date
Week 1, 1/26
Week 2, 2/2
Week 3, 2/9
Week 4, 2/16 President's Day
Week 5, 2/23
Week 6, 3/2
Week 7, 3/9
Week 8, 3/16 Spring Break
Week 9, 3/23
Week 10, 3/30
Week 11, 4/6
Week 12, 4/13
Week 13, 4/20
Week 14, 4/27
Week 15, 5/4
Week 16, 5/11
Final Exam – ON CAMPUS
Topics & Assignments
Introduction to the Course and Introduction to Business
Communication
• Blackboard Readings and Quiz
Professional Bios and Basics of Grammar, Syntax, and
Analysis (going over the grading matrix)
• Professional Bio Due (8% of your final grade
Summarization
• Professional Summary Due (8% of your final
grade)
• Using Words Correctly – commonly misused
business words
No class on Monday
Wednesday, Intro to the midterm format and content
Grammar overview
• Blackboard Readings and Quiz
Grammar continued
MIDTERM EXAM (10% of your final grade)
No Class
Understanding the professional writing process
• Writing a Business Letter (8% of your final grade)
Introduction to Persuasive Writing
• Grammar and construction of persuasion
Persuasive Business Communication
• Persuasive Business Email (8% of your final
grade )
Persuasive Essays and the Persuasive Writing Process
• Planning your persuasive essay
Grammar for Persuasive Essays
Persuasive Essays continued
• First draft of Persuasive Essay
• Peer review Persuasive Essay
Submit Persuasive Essay (8% of final grade)
Practice final exam grammar format
Preparing for the final exam
• Review of the persuasive essays
• Review the grammatical part of the exam
Final Exam (40%) will be a 3 hour writing and grammar
exam in a computer lab during this exam week. Date and
time TBD.