SYLLABUS – Professional Communication for Science,
Business and Industry
Section:
661-110 (09)
Term:
January 27 to April 28
Time:
Wednesday – 1:30 to 4:15
Location:
Hodson – Room 303
Instructor:
Peter Porosky
Professional Communication Program
The Center for Leadership Education
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
Office: 102 Whitehead Hall
Cell Phone: 252-548-0783
Hours: Wednesday = 4 to 5 pm Wednesday or by appointment
Email: peterporosky@yahoo.com
Web Site: http://web.jhu.edu/leadership
Biography:
Peter H. Porosky has been a college teacher since 1965. He has taught at the University
of Arizona, George Washington University, the University of Maryland (both in the
United States and Europe), Johns Hopkins University, and Elizabeth City State
University (North Carolina). He has also originated and served as a Director of two major
writing programs, at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins.
In addition, he teaches Online for both the University of Phoenix and Elizabeth City State
University, as well as on campus at Johns Hopkins and ECSU.
Currently, he has been hired by the United States Government in Washington, D.C. to
teach Federal employees the New Grammar and other researched innovations concerning
the English language and the writing process. He acts as a consultant and makes speeches
regarding his research to various interested groups across the country.
He has been a practicing free-lance writer for the same length of time, having published
five trade books and three novels, plus numerous short stories, poems, articles and
translations (Russian). He is currently working on a major textbook on technical
communication. He also acts as a professional writing consultant and has obtained
nationwide publication for over fifty clients, including one who appeared on the Oprah
Winfrey television show. He currently lives with his wife Linda on the Outer Banks of
North Carolina.
Description:
This course introduces you to a variety of technical and business
writing theories and practices designed to be applicable to the
production of business communication in the real world. It teaches
the fundamentals of good business and scientific writing, including
protocols for business letters, memoranda, electronic mail,
business messages, instructions, as well as formal reports and
proposals. In addition, there will be instruction in oral presentation
and in depth practice on both an individual and a collaborative
basis. Students will learn how to enhance their real/world
communication with technically based media.
Objectives:
1 – This course will make you conversant with the basic forms,
formats and techniques of business and scientific writing so that
you will be thoroughly prepared to take part in real-world fields in
a variety of industries.
2 – This course will give you the latest research information on
language in general and the writing process specifically so that you
will become a highly confident and skilled writer.
3 – This course will provide discussion of all relevant
communicational theories so that you can apply this knowledge to
a myriad of different communicational tasks and genres.
Text:
Technical Communication, Lannon, tenth edition, ISBN 0-32127076-2
Business Communication Today, Bovee/Thill, tenth edition, ISBN
978-0-13-815539-1
Student Packet: available online from the instructor
Recommended:
Language in Thought and Action, S. I. Hayakawa
A Message in a Bottle, Walker Percy
How to Find Your Own Voice, Peter Porosky
Requirements:
Writing:
Paper #1 – Resume/Application Letter
[plus 3 pages]
Paper #2– Persuasive Message
[plus 2 pages]
Paper #3 – Instruction Brochure (collaborative)
[6-sided/folded]
Paper #4 – Short Informal Report
[plus 4 pages]
Paper #5 – Short Formal Report
[plus 5 pages]
Paper #6 – Proposal
[plus 8 pages]
Paper #7 – Long Formal Report (collaborative) [plus 15 pages]
Note: specific instructions for all assignments are available in the
student packet.
In addition to the above papers, there will be numerous in-class
writing exercises that provide practice of the principles and
procedures inherent in the text and my lectures. They will be
graded on the basis of completion and overall performance.
Oral:
#1 - There will be an oral presentation covering the material in
Paper #7 – specific instructions regarding this presentation are
available in the student packet. (Collaborative)
Note: There are no examinations in this course.
Workshops:
Each major paper will be presented in a Peer Workshop activity,
and the following procedures will be followed:
1 – You will bring a near final draft of each assignment on
the days so indicated by the schedule below. You will make two
identical copies of this draft. If you happen to miss the Workshop,
access to my comments or your students’ comments will not be
available. Missing the workshop does not remove your
responsibility to meet the due date of the final draft.
2 – Each assignment will have a specific rubric or list of
expected goals to reach, and you need to be thoroughly familiar
with these objectives both in the production of your own work and
your appraisals of others’ work. You will respond to a written form
in your appraisals and give your responses to the student writers in
question. In turn, they will do the same, and when you submit your
final draft copy of your assignment, you will attach: a/ the original
near final draft; and b/ a copy of the appraisers’ responses. In your
appraisal, you will respond to the specific objectives, as well as all
other issues of style, coherence and rhetoric that you are capable of
discerning. You will make WRITTEN comments on the drafts, as
well as on the response sheets. Then you will discuss these
comments with each writer prior to leaving the Workshop.
At the end of each workshop, you will receive a response
from me in written form on the second, identical draft copy. You
will attach this response to the final draft.
3- After you receive the graded final draft from me, the
Peer Workshop groups will be reconvened to note the pluses and
minuses of the review process. If it seems that you are not
participating fully in the workshop process, it may occur that you
receive actual grades on your review performances.
4- You will revise each assignment if directed by me. The
assignment will not be credited until this revision is completed, but
the revision will NOT receive a new grade.
Assignment Policies:
1/All drafts should be printed in 12-font type.
2/All drafts should be single-sided.
3/All drafts should be free of mechanical/grammatical
errors.
4/All drafts should be turned in on time unless a reasonable
reason for lateness is presented to me. No assignment will
be accepted after the last day of class in any given term.
5/All drafts will be formatted according to the specific
instructions in each assignment sheet.
6/No extraneous cover sheets or folders should be used.
7/ Except when asked to do so, do not send any
assignments to me via email. Bring the final draft on the
day of your return to class.
Attendance:
Attendance will be taken on a regular basis, via the production of
day-to-day exercises, workshops or roll calls. If you miss a
particular exercise or assignment on an excused basis, you can turn
it in by the second day after your return to class. More than two
unexcused absences will negatively affect your grade. Remember
that any absence does not relieve you of the responsibility to
complete all assignments.
Grading:
Final grades will be determined by the following criteria:
1/Completion of ALL assignments and exercises and the
quality of your performance.
2/Attendance
3/ Participation in workshops and collaborative
assignments. These class days are especially crucial to your
progress in the course and my measurement of that progress.
4/Class discussions
5/If you dispute a particular grade on an assignment or the
final grade in the course, please feel free to discuss your concern
with me, prior to going to any higher authority.
6/Incomplete grades are not available. If you miss a
particular assignment, it will be assigned an “F” grade and be
calculated into the final grade average.
7 - The final grade will be determined by an overall
average of your seven primary grades, but some recognition may
be given to improvement. Of the papers, the grade for Paper # 5 is
the most important since it is your final individual assignment
Portfolios:
You will keep on your hard drive all copies of all papers that will
be emailed to me in one mailing after the last day of the term.
These should be kept in the order they were produced, and there
can be no missing copies.
Plagiarism:
Johns Hopkins University’s policy on theft of other people’s ideas
and work is also my policy. Familiarize yourself with this policy at
the library or at any other source. Any attempt at plagiarism will
result in an automatic failing grade, as well as probable action by
the University itself.
Ethics:
The strength of the university depends on academic and personal
integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Ethical
violations include cheating on exams, plagiarism, reuse of
assignments, improper use of the Internet and electronic devices,
unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments,
forgery and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty,
and unfair competition. Unethical practices include any use of
someone else’s work without their permission or permission of the
instructor. Report any violations you witness to me. You may
consult the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and/or the
Chairperson of the Ethics Board beforehand. See the guide on
“Academic Ethics for Undergraduates” and the Ethics Board Web
Site (http://ethics.jhu.edu) for more information.
Class Behavior:
The usual courtesies will hold sway. Lateness should be avoided,
but if unavoidable, please let me know the reason(s). Talking to
other students while class is in session is not permitted except
during workshops. If you have a question, ask me, not your
neighbor. Talking to one’s friend nearby is an understandable way
to make you feel more comfortable in the class, but it distracts me
as well as your fellow students, and it should be avoided.
Ethics:
See the student packet.
Disabilities:
If you have a disability, follow the University’s policy below:
“Students must present their instructor with a letter from Dr.
Richard Sanders (Director of Academic Advising in Arts and
Sciences), stating the disability and the exact accommodations
needed. If the student is unable to provide a letter, no special
accommodations should be given.”
Schedule:
Week One: January 27
Course Introduction
Discussion of Paper #1
Reading Assignments: Specific Reading Assignments will
be made in class
Week Two: February 3
Rough Draft Paper #1
Week Three: February 10
Final Draft of Paper #1 due
Discussion of Paper #2
Week Four: February 17
Rough Draft Paper #2
Week Five: February 24
Final Draft Paper #2 due
Discussion of Paper #3
Week Six: March 3
Nothing due
Week Seven: March 10
Discussion of Paper #4
___________Spring Vacation__________
Week Eight: March 24
Rough Draft Paper #4
Discussion of Papers #5, #7 and the Oral Presentation
Final Draft Paper #3 due
Week Nine: March 31
Final Draft Paper #4 due
Discussion Paper #6
Rough Draft Paper #5
Week Ten: April 7
Final Draft Paper #5
Week Eleven: April 14
Rough Draft Paper #6
Week Twelve: April 21
Final Draft Paper #6
Week Thirteen: April 28
Final Draft Paper #7
Oral Presentations (Paper #7)
Last day of class
Suggested Readings: Language in Thought and Action, S. I. Hayakawa
English 2600, 3200 and 3600, Joseph C. Blumenthal
A Message in the Bottle, Walker Percy
How to Find Your Own Voice, Peter Porosky
WELCOME TO THE CLASS AND GOOD LUCK!