Written Communication

  
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Written Communication focuses on developing the skills needed for accurate and effective writing, both in daily living and on the job.  You will recognize and deal with written communication strengths and weaknesses through class activities, individual assignments, and discussions. You will practice the pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing stages of the writing process. We will emphasize grammar, sentence structure, idea organization, and writing style. Assignments, readings, and web resources are listed below.

Why are writing skills important??

You may also download copies of course materials and detailed instructions for using Turnitin.com (you will need to download an Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer to read these documents).
 

Course Syllabus

MyCompLab Help

At the bottom of this page I will periodically add web resources to supplement class activities.

Assignment handouts & samples will be posted below as they are assigned in class.

written Assignments

DOcuments
Plagiarism Quiz  (15 Points) Handout
Letter Writing Unit  
Purpose Statement – First Draft + Peer Review    (5 + 5 Points) Handout

Purpose Statement – Final Draft (10 Points)

Sample
Audience Analysis – First Draft + Peer Review (5 + 10 Points) Handout
Audience Analysis – Final Draft (20 Points) Sample

Business Letter – First Draft + Peer Review (5 + 10  Points)

Handout
Business Letter – Final Draft  (30 Points) Sample
Research Writing Unit  
Library Exercise  (30 Points)  
Work Plan – First Draft  (5 Points) Handout
Paraphrasing Quiz  (15 Points)  
Work Plan Peer Review  (20 Points) Handout
Work Plan – Final Draft  (20 Points)  
Research Notes  (50 Points)                                       APA formatting handout Handout
Outline – First Draft + Peer Review  (5 + 10 Points) Handout
Outline – Final Draft  (40 Points) Sample
Research Report – First Draft + Peer Review  (5 + 25 Points) Handout
                                Sample
Research Report – Final Draft  (50 Points) Handout
  Sample
Instructions Writing Unit  
Instructions – First Draft Peer Review  (15 Points) Handout
Instructions – Final Draft (50 Points) Sample
ASSIGNMENT TOTAL - 445 Points  

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Reading Assignments

Date
Lunsford: WRITING Section 1 (pp. 12-25) 1-16-12

Pearsall:  Chapter 1: Know Your Purpose (pp. 2-6)

 1-23-12
Lunsford: SENTENCE GRAMMAR Sections 7-13 (pp. 60-92) 1-30-12
Pearsall:  Chapter 2: Know Your Audience (pp. 10-18)
Lunsford: PUNCTUATION/MECHANICS Sections 19-28 (pp. 106-140) 		2-6-12

Pearsall:  Chapter 4: Write Clearly and Precisely (pp. 34-46)
               Chapter 10: Formats of Correspondence (pp. 143-153)

2-13-12

Lunsford: SENTENCE STYLE Sections 14-18 (pp. 92-104) 
               LANGUAGE Sections 29-32 (pp. 142-155)

2-20-12

Lunsford:    RESEARCH Section 38-40 (pp. 176-202)

3-5-12

Lunsford: DOCUMENTATION Section 43 (pp. 253-282)
               RESEARCH Section 40 (pp. 197-202)

4-2-12

Pearsall:  Chapter 3: Choose and Organize Content around Your Purpose & Audience
                  (pp. 20-31)

4-9-12
Pearsall:    Chapter 5: Use Good Page Design (pp. 48-62)
                  Chapter 7: Write Ethically (pp. 83-86 & 93-97 only) 		4-16-12
Lunsford:   WRITING Section 3 (pp. 25-38) & Sections 5-6 (pp. 46-58)
                  RESEARCH Section 41 (pp. 202-204)

4-23-12
Pearsall: Chapter 6: Think Visually (pp. 63-80) 4-30-12
Pearsall: Chapter 9: Formats of Reports “Instructions” (pp. 123-130) 5-7-12

 
   

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WEB WRITING RESOURCES

College Success Skills:
Time Management: An Education in Organization from CNN.com

Audience & Purpose:
Tom Cruise Today Show Interview: Transcript and Streaming Video (Purpose and Audience Exercise)
        Article: Paramount cuts ties with Tom Cruise

Spelling:
 Richard's Grammar and Composition Blog identifies news articles about misspellings, including an item related to the Rothschild/Schofield sign on I-39, on which the only word spelled correctly was "exit." 

APA Citations and reference pages:
In-text citation exercise from the English Language Centre at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (NOTE: Contrary to what this web site states, page numbers are included in the in-text citation only when you are quoting the source directly. You do not need page numbers for paraphrases or summaries.)

Research:
 Where's the line between research and marketing? By Elizabeth Landau, CNN

Miscellaneous:
Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language

Vandals in Hot Water for 'Fixing' Typo on Historic Grand Canyon Sign

How to say nothing in 500 words by Paul McHenry Roberts

Monty Python's Argument Clinic

Kick-ass Sales Proposal Written by The Onion

Commas, Turning Up, Everywhere by The Onion