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UWP 104AV: Business Writing- ONLINE 

Sec 1, CNR 53414, Mon 9am-10:20am

Sec 2, CNR 53415, Mon. 10:30-11:50am

 

Course Description:

This course is designed to prepare students to communicate effectively in the business setting. Assignments provide practice in a variety of modes of writing and will emphasize writing as a process that involves substantive revision.  This course is particularly suitable for students entering careers that require substantial communication but is useful for all students going into the professional field.  

UWP policy requires 6000 words of original work for each course, so you should plan to spend a significant amount of time on the work for this class. Not completing the 6000 words will result in an automatic failing grade in the class.

GE credit: Wrt (cannot be used to satisfy a college or university composition requirement and GE writing experience simultaneously)—I, II, III (I, II, III).

Prerequisite: UWP 1 or English 3 or the equivalent and upper division standing. Students must earn a C- or higher in order to meet the Upper-Division Writing Requirement.

Class Format: 

This is an online class and we will be meeting via Zoom once a week. Each week will include the 1.5 hours of Zoom class time plus 1.5 hours of asynchronous online work (may include videos, PPT, readings, discussion posts, etc.). Additionally, for every hour spent in class, you should dedicate 2 additional hours to do homework. This means that there are 3 hours of “class time” and you should plan of spending 6 additional hours on studying, reading, drafting, revising and doing other assigned homework for this class each week. If this time dedication is not feasible for you due to your other courses or other commitments, this might not be best time to take this course.

Required Materials: 

· Access to the internet in order to use Canvas to download assignment prompts/readings and to upload drafts of formal and informal assignments.

· Additional self-selected readings for certain assignments.

Essential Questions: The following are important questions that you will work to answer throughout the quarter.

· How does writing differ from the academic to the professional setting?

· What the various methods of communication within the professional setting?

· How can rhetoric be utilized to communicate effectively in any setting?

Course Goals and Learning Objectives:

1. GOAL: Upon successful completion of this course, students will know the differences between academic and professional genres of writing:

· Objective 1: Students will be able to list various academic and professional genres

· Objective 2: Students will be able to identify the different characteristics and traits for the genres

· Objective 3: Students will be able to apply knowledge of genre and genre conventions to their own writing

2. GOAL: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to examine various writing situations in the professionals setting:

· Objective 1: Students will be able to analyze the exigence of the writing situations in the professional setting and apply that to their own

· Objective 2: Students will be able to analyze the audience and make appropriate rhetorical choices to address their needs

· Objective 3: Students will be able to analyze the constraints of a specific genre and use that understanding to make effective choices in their own writing.

3. GOAL: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand that writing is a process:

· Objective 1: Students will be able to list various aspects of the writing process like invention, research, drafting, revising, and editing

· Objective 2: Students will be able to apply the various aspects of the writing process to their own writing

· Objective 3: Students will be able to develop a writing process that is unique to them that they can apply in future writing situations.

4. GOAL: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to employ rhetorical strategies for effective visual and document design:

· Objective 1: Students will be able to identify and analyze rhetorical terms like the rhetorical situation, ethos, pathos, logos etc. in texts

· Objective 2: Students will be able to apply appropriate rhetorical strategies to their own writing

· Objective 3: Students will be able to describe/explain their reasoning behind the use of specific strategies used in their own writing

5. GOAL: Upon successful completion of this course, students will learn strategies for effective collaboration:

· Objective 1: Students will collaboratively develop rules to use while providing feedback to peers on drafts.

· Objective 2: Students will work with peers to provide effective feedback on rough drafts focusing on higher order concerns and utilizing the collaboratively developed workshop rules.

· Objective 2: Students will apply knowledge of the writing process to collaborative work on a writing task both formal and informal.

Contract Grading

In this class, we will be using the contract grading system rather than the traditional points-based grading system. This system of grading involves a contract between the students and the instructor where you are graded for the effort or labor you put into the class rather than points for assignments based on evaluative criteria. With this system of grading, you are in control of your grade based on the time and effort you put into the class to meet the requirements listed in the contract below:

The class is broken down into the following categories and here is what each category entails:

Ø Homework/Classwork/Participation:

1. Review weekly canvas Modules/Pages and participate meaningfully in the online discussions/activities.

2. Complete weekly activities and readings listed in Modules/Pages. Participate thoughtfully in reading related discussion posts.

3. Follow directions and make sure each activity is completed thoroughly and thoughtfully.

4. Submit activities on the date and time specified on Canvas.

5. Not miss more than 2 online classes (that’s 2 weeks!). Must notify me via email.

Ø Rough Drafts for Formal Assignments:

6. Address the prompt requirements thoroughly and thoughtfully, including the minimum word requirement. Follow any other instructions, guidelines, or requirements.

7. Complete draft 1 of each assignment for peer-feedback, making sure minimum requirements are met.

8. Revise 1st draft of each assignment based on peer-feedback and resubmit Draft 2 for instructor feedback. I will provide you feedback and you will use that feedback to help revise your draft for Final Portfolio.

9. Exception: If deemed appropriate by me, you may be except from a third revision. This may be due to exceptional work on 2^nd draft that meets all requirements and writing criteria listed on the prompt.

Ø Peer-Review Workshops (you will be assigned peers randomly):

1. Provide thorough and clear feedback to all of the peers assigned to you.

2. Feedback must address both what the peer did well and what they can improve on.

3. Use the feedback to reflect and revise the draft for instructor feedback as stated above.

Ø Final Portfolio: Metacognitive Reflection Letter. 

4. Include the Metacognitive Reflection Letter and addresses the prompt thoroughly and thoughtfully (meeting the minimum word requirement).

5. Include revised 3^rd draft of any assignment you were asked to revise during instructor feedback.

Formal Assignments:

· Assignment 1: Formal Report

· Assignment 2: Professional Email with Analysis

· Assignment 3: Resume and Cover Letter with Analysis

· Assignment 4: Problem/Solution Proposal

· Final Portfolio: Includes Metacognitive Reflection Letter and any revised drafts of the formal assignments if assigned by me.

Late Work/Incomplete Grade: 

As you will notice on the contract grading chart below, you can submit late work as long as it is submitted within one week of the original due date. Submit as soon as you can once you realize you missed a deadline. In some cases, if you are only a few minutes late, your submission will not be counted late. You do not have to ask permission to submit late work as long as it is within the 1 week limit of the original due date. However, be aware that excessive late submissions will affect your grade.

If you submit work on time but the assignment/activity was done incorrectly or was not done thoroughly, you will get an Incomplete grade (X). However, you will have an additional 7 days from the date it was graded to resubmit it for a grade change. It will, however, be considered Late.

If you do not submit work within 7 days of the deadline, you will receive an Incomplete grade (X) on the assignment and will no longer be eligible to resubmit it.

Important Note: Missing certain assignments can have a snowball effect. If you miss a draft or submit it late, you will not be assigned peers for the workshop and so you miss the workshop. If that happens, you cannot revise and submit a 2^nd draft since those revisions are based on peer feedback and you will also not be able to do the revision and reflection activity. Therefore, please be careful and communicate with me if something is going on and you need help.

Use of AI Writing Tools:

The use of generative AI writing tools (such as ChatGPT, GrammarlyGO, GPT-3, GPT-4, Elicit, BERT, or others) to support you as a writer is allowed in this class within specific contexts. Such use must be properly acknowledged in the references/works cited page and must be discussed with me in advance.

Learning to use AI in productive, responsible, and ethical ways to support writing processes is an emerging literacy skill, one that we will try to cultivate in this course. We will also review and practice as a class how to properly acknowledge use of AI writing tools and properly cite and reference AI generated content.

As we learn about AI and how AI writing tools can support different aspects of the writing process, we will be guided by two core principles:

1. Cognitive dimension: Working with AI should not reduce your ability to think clearly. We will practice using AI to facilitate—rather than hinder—learning. 

2. Ethical dimension: Students using AI should be transparent about their use and make sure it aligns with academic integrity. 

Acknowledgement: The core principles about the cognitive and ethical dimensions discussed are based on Joel Gladd’s “Policies related to ChatGPT and other AI Tools.” They are reproduced here under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution license.

For each grade range, the plus (+) will be added if no or fewer things are late or missing in some of the categories For example, if you are in the “A” range and you have no late HW, Drafts, Workshop submissions at all, all , you will get an A+. If you are in the B grade range and you have fewer missing and/or late things than is acceptable for that grade range (or perhaps you are in the A grade range for one of the categories), you may end up getting a B+.

For each grade range, the minus (-) will be added if you have slightly more missing or late work but not enough to go down to the next grade category (For example, if you are in the B range for all categories but you have 4 late HW submissions instead of 3, you will get a B- instead of a C).

In order to be eligible to pass the class with a grade of C- or better, students must submit all major writing assignments. If a student does not submit a major writing assignment, the highest grade that student can receive in the course is a D+.

Note: Majority of your readings, prompts for formal assignments, and submission of all formal and informal work will be done on Canvas. Please come see me if you have any trouble navigating Canvas and I will be happy to help you (https://login.canvas.ucdavis.edu/).

Instructor Communication: I love to meet with students during virtual office hours. Take advantage of that and utilize the office hours to ask questions or get help with your drafts. You can also email your questions to me (though I will not respond to drafts via email). Expect slower response time for emails sent overnight or on the weekend. I usually send short responses via email for efficiency.

Peers: Your classmates should also be a point of contact when you have questions. Use the chat, discussion and other Canvas features to connect with your classmates.

Academic Honesty: Plagiarism is a serious offence and will be reported to the Student Judicial Affairs promptly. All work you produce in this class must be your own. Reusing assignments from other classes also constitutes as plagiarism. All source used in your writing must be documented correctly. If you are unsure about what constitutes as plagiarism, please do not hesitate to ask me. You can also access the OSSJA website at http://sja.ucdavis.edu/ for more information.

Academic Assistance and Tutoring Center: Please be sure to visit the website at https://tutoring.ucdavis.edu/writing for online tutoring assistance using Zoom and other helpful services. They provide additional academic, personal, social, and transitional support if needed.

Multilingual Writing: This is a diverse learning environment with students from a range of linguistic backgrounds and levels of proficiency. This learning environment reflects a realistic writing and collaborative situation from today’s world. Many of us write with an accent (missed articles, incorrect prepositions, incorrect verb tenses) and it should be treated with respect.  We will not focus on aspects of English that take many years to acquire (i.e. articles, verb tenses, prepositions) but instead focus on expression of ideas, communicative competence, and rhetorical savvy. This is a Writing course, not an English Language course.

Accommodations: Since we all learn differently, if an aspect of the course prevents you from learning or participating fully, please let me know so we can make reasonable adjustments to make it the best learning environment for you. If you need official accommodations for this course, please provide me with the necessary information and documentation from the SDC (sdc.ucdavis.edu; (530) 752-3184) and discuss with me what we can do during virtual office hours or by virtual appointment. I will be happy to assist you in any way possible.

Ø Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS): http://www.shcs.ucdavis.edu/services/caps

Ø Student Health & Counseling Services (SHCS): http://shcs.ucdavis.edu/ 

Ø Health Education and Promotion (HEP): http://shcs.ucdavis.edu/hep

Ø Women’s Resources & Research Center (WRRC): http://wrrc.ucdavis.edu/

Ø Cross Cultural Center (CCC): http://ccc.ucdavis.edu

Ø Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC): http://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/

Ø MP3s for Mindfulness and Meditation: https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/self-help-library

Ø Resources on Mental & Emotional Well-being: http://healthy.ucdsitefarm.acsitefactory.com/mental-emotional-wellbeing/open-access-resources