Business & Technical Writing ENG 215
Fall ‘10
Instructor: Devin Wood
Office: 151 Maine Hall
Contact: Email dwood@emcc.edu
Office hours: By appointment
Work 974-4636
Faculty page http://sharepoint.emcc.edu/faculty/dwood/Default.htm
Text: Business and Technical Writing: Communication at Work, course text (Required)
Purdue’s OWL, online writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl (Supplemental)
Catalog Description
This course is designed to give students hands-on experience writing technical communications for
business and industry. Students will learn to address a variety of writing situations by selecting
appropriate methods of development, including business letters and memoranda, informal and formal
reports, technical instructions and a professional resume. In addition to written assignments, students
will conduct research using a wide spectrum of primary and secondary resources. Prerequisite: ENG
101 or equivalent.
Course Goals
To develop skills in:
 assembling information through observation and personal interview; as well as through more
traditional methods
 arranging selected data into clear organizational patterns that arise from the nature of the
information and the topic
 presenting the selected structured information in a style and format that meets the needs of
the particular problem and intended audience.
Performance Objectives
At the end of this course of study, you will be able to:
 comfortably define “technical communications”
 discuss, in an informed manner, and from within the framework of the workplace, the critical
nature of communicating clearly and concisely
 critically evaluate writing for accuracy and completeness
 apply strong, logical organizational patterns to writing
 control the tone and style of writing
 conduct accurate technical correspondence
 illustrate technical data for written documents
 understand and prepare proposals
 prepare various types of technical reports
 prepare a quality resume and letter of application
Grading
Correspondence
Inquiry
Complaint
Transmittal
Application
(40 points)
10
10
10
10
Documents
Résumé
Instructions
(20 points)
10
10
Reports
Formal analytical
Informal proposal
(30 points)
20
10
Editing (Best 5)
(10 points)
Total
100 points
*****
Correspondence
Formal business letters that apply basic principles of good communication to address various common
workplace needs.
Reports
Formal analytical report A multi-part research document in which you’ll collect, organize and analyze
information in order to achieve a clearly defined purpose. This assignment will require the use of
primary and secondary resources and MLA documentation.
Informal proposal A document used to suggest a course of action or to request approval to take a course
of action. For this class your proposal will be a memorandum in which you’ll seek approval to pursue
your semester research project.
Documents
Résumé An advertisement designed and produced to most effectively present your relevant skills to a
prospective employer.
Technical instructions An action document that employs layout and design techniques available on
most word processors to increase usability. For this assignment you’ll conduct an operational check to
ensure your instructions work as intended.
Editing
You’ll edit classmates’ original documents using checklists (in your course manual). Your editing will
receive the same score as the document you edit minus the difference between your editing score and
mine. This portion of your grade will be based upon your 5 best efforts.
Policies and guidelines
These policies and guidelines apply to all students and all circumstances, without exception. If you
aren’t comfortable with them you should consider trying to move to another section of this course.

Attendance
□ Please legibly sign the daily attendance sheet, which will be available ONLY for the first 10
minutes of class and at the end of class. Your legible signature is your official attendance
record.
□ 10 points extra credit for perfect attendance.

Late work and make-up
□ Assignments not submitted to me before the next assignment’s due date will receive a score of
zero ( - 0 - ).
□ You may make up any two assignments (except the formal report), one at midterm and one at
the end of the semester.
□ The formal report must be submitted by its deadline* and you may not make up its grade.
 All documents produced for this course must be fully Microsoft Word-compatible.
 Please silence and stow your cell phone before entering the classroom. A first infraction will draw a
warning; subsequent infractions will result in a letter-grade drop per infraction for the current
assignment.
 Computers during class time are for course work only. No recreational internet use (email, chat,
games, surfing).
 Plagiarism, cheating, or disruptive behavior will result in administrative failure (AF).
 You’re welcome to attend any of my sections of ENG 215 (if space is available) to ask questions, work
with others, use a computer, or listen to a mini-lecture. If you do choose to drop in, please use your
time in class in serious academic pursuits, preferably related to my subject.
* Deadlines and due dates are two different things. A due date is flexible, a deadline is not. The formal
report deadline is a fixed component of the assignment, intended to reflect common workplace
expectations. It is NOT negotiable. You may submit your formal report any time before the deadline
to address any potential unforeseen circumstances, but absolutely no excuse will be accepted for
missing this deadline.
This course complies with Affirmative Action, Americans with Disabilities, and the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act, as detailed in the course catalog and student handbook.
Tentative class schedule
Week
8/30-9/2
Topic
Readings
Due
Overview .............................. 7-17
OWL Professional, Technical Writing
OWL HATS: A Design Procedure for
Routine Business Documents
9/6-9/9
Document design .................. 122-125
Technical instructions ........... 129-136 ............................... Technical instructions (draft)
9/13-9/16
Technical instructions operational check ............................. Technical instructions
9/20-9/23
Business letters .................... 21-32
OWL Basic Business Letters
Letter of inquiry .................... 34-39
9/27-9/30
Letter of inquiry .................... ............................................. Letter of inquiry
Letter of claim ....................... 40-43
10/6-10/9
Letter of claim ...................... ............................................. Letter of claim
10/11-10/14
Formal report overview ......... 55-87
Data collection & MLA........... OWL Research & Citation (MLA Style)
10/18-10/21
Memo and proposal .............. 50-51, 89-94
OWL Memos
10/25-10/28
Proposal ............................... ............................................. Proposal
11/1-11/4
Resume ................................ 101-118
OWL Job Search Writing
11/8-11/11
Letter of application .............. 44-45 .................................... Resume
11/15-/11/18
............................................. ............................................. Letter of application
11/22-11/25
Formal report ........................ ............................................. Collected Data & Works Cited
11/29-12/2
Formal report ........................ ............................................. Conclusion & Introduction
12/6-12/9
Formal report ........................ ............................................. Supplements
12/13-12/16
REPORT DEADLINE! .......... REPORT DEADLINE! ......... REPORT DEADLINE!