Writing 101: Workplace Communications 1
Mt. Hood Community College Summer 2015
Summer 2015 Syllabus
Section: 01
Instructor: Joe Van
Zutphen
Room: AC ------ Office: Humanities
Meeting Times: MTWTH 2:00 – 3:30
E-mail: Joe.VanZutphen@mhcc.edu
Office Hours: 3:30 – 4:00 in Humanities Department
Prerequisite: Successful completion of WR90; or completion of
ENL 201R and ENL 201W with a grade of C or better; or suitable performance on
the writing placement section of the CPT. Proficiency required: reading and
writing.
Text: Technical
Communication Today, Sheehan, 4th ed., (Pub) Pearson
Course Description:
This three-credit class is designed for students in
professional/technical programs; WR101 helps students improve their ability to communicate
effectively by developing skills in preparing and presenting documents such as
resumes, letters, memos, short reports, and instructions.
Course Objectives/Student
Learner Outcomes:
1.
Demonstrate the communication process and its various forms,
including the most appropriate form for a specific situation.
2.
Demonstrate how to respond to the needs, abilities, and
expectations of a variety of workplace audiences.
3.
Demonstrate the intended purpose and potential results of
workplace documents.
4.
Demonstrate how to organize, format, and label content to meet a
variety of audience expectations.
5.
Demonstrate tone, style, and word choice appropriate to specific
audiences.
6.
Demonstrate conventions of Edited American English adequate for
daily workplace writing in a variety of fields.
7.
Demonstrate appropriate use of technology for workplace
communication.
Instructional Methods Used:
Writing 101 is a class best taught by a combination of
instructional methods. The method students will encounter most frequently is
the class discussion, in which the teacher is not so much a lecturer as a
facilitator of student conversation. We will use class discussion to explore the
issues we will be writing about. Additionally, students will often evaluate
their writing or explore class concepts using small group discussions or
workshops. On a few occasions during the quarter I will give formal lectures,
particularly to explain grammar, format, technical, or citation concepts.
Finally, and most importantly, students will spend a good deal of time writing
in class, both as a tool for discovery, for assessment of student ability, and
for practicing writing skills.
Course Requirements:
Grading
Week Homework Projects
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Total
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Week One 8 25
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33
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Week Two 8 35
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43
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Week Three 8 40
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48
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Week Four 8 60
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68
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Week Five 8 60
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68
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Week Six 50
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50
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Attendance, Participation,
other 90
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90
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Total
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400
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360-400 = A
320 – 359 = B 280 – 319 = C 240 – 279 = D
Below 240 = F
Policy for Late Work
All students have a kind of “get out of jail free” card for the
class: you can turn in any one assignment up to four days late
without incurring a grade penalty. There’s a little form to fill out and email
to me; you can find it on the class web page:
Other than this permission,
late assignments will NOT be accepted. Papers are due at the
start of class and an assignment that is turned in later that day is
considered late and will not be accepted. If you miss a class, e-mail me the
assignment BEFORE the start of class in order to get credit. I accept no other
assignments via e-mail.
Other Materials:
You will need to have access to a computer with a word processor
and an Internet connection. Don’t despair if you don’t own a computer: there
are many computer labs at MHCC for student use. While we’re on the
subject, it’s a good idea to save your work in two places, such as on a thumb
drive and in an email account: please back up your work frequently, as assignments
which are erased/virus-infected/eaten by computers are your responsibility.
Finally, you’ll need some kind of paper notebook or folder for
day-to-day writing. A single spiral bound notebook should be fine.
CLASS POLICIES:
Attendance: Please come to class and
be on time. While I can work with students who must miss a class because of a
genuine emergency, students simply will not do well in the course if they make
a habit of missing class. You only get one chance this quarter to turn your
work in late, and a good share of your final grade corresponds to work you will
be doing in class. Also, students are given credit for peer response workshops
only if they participate in the workshops during class time. In short, you need
to be here regularly if you want to do well. I will be taking attendance to
encourage your staying caught up with the challenging class material. Students
who have missed more than six class days will automatically receive a final
class grade of D or lower.
The only exception to these rules occurs in the first week of
the quarter. During that time, in accordance with English department policy, I
will drop any student who misses a class during the first two class meetings
and does not get in touch with me.
Class Courtesy: Having a safe and civil
atmosphere for learning depends on all of us. When we speak with one another,
especially when disagreeing, it is vital that we do so with mutual respect.
Students who are disruptive or abusive towards others may be asked to leave the
class. On a related note, it is both disruptive and rude to leave your cell
phone on in the classroom. Please turn it off when you come to class.
Plagiarism: To plagiarize means
to take someone else's words and/or ideas (or pattern of ideas) and to present
them to the reader as if they are yours. Plagiarism, then, is an act of
stealing. It is also an unwise act because it does not help you learn, and it
is a dangerous act because you can be severely punished for it. Students who copy the words or ideas of any other writer without
acknowledging the original author of those words or ideas are engaging in
plagiarism. Plagiarism is grounds for failing this course. One of the goals of
this course is to understand how to use information effectively and ethically
in your writing. Once those concepts have been introduced, any instances of
plagiarism will result in severe grade penalties for the student. In most
cases, these penalties lead to failure of the class.
Academic Honesty - Cheating, plagiarism, and other
acts of academic dishonesty are regarded as serious offenses. Instructors have
the responsibility to submit, in a written report to the Associate Vice
President of Student Life, any such
incident that cannot be resolved between the instructor and student.
Depending on the nature of the offense, serious
penalties may be imposed, ranging from loss of points to expulsion from the
class or college. Student rightsand responsibilities can be located in the MHCC
Student Handbook.
Classroom Behavior - Instructors have the
responsibility to set and maintain standards of classroom behavior appropriate
to the discipline and method of teaching. Students may not engage in any
activity which the instructor deems disruptive or counterproductive to the
goals of the class. Beepers, pagers, and
cellular phones can be a nuisance and are not to be brought
to the classroom. Instructors have the right to remove offending students from
class. Repetition of the offense may result in expulsion from the course.
Americans with Disability Act – If you have a documented
disability that may require assistance, you will need to contact the Disability
Services Office for coordination of your academic accommodations. The
Disability Services Office is located on the Gresham campus in AC 2182. Please
call the following
numbers for more information- (503) 491-6923 or
(503) 491-7670 TDD.
Equal Opportunity – It is the policy of MHCC to
provide equal educational opportunity and employment opportunities and to
provide service benefits to all students and employees without regard to race,
color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or any other status or
characteristic protected by applicable state of federal law.
Safety and Security
Considerations
There are Public Safety officers on duty 24 hours
every day. They patrol the entire campus in marked vehicles. In the event of an
emergency dial "33" from any campus phone. There are 20 emergency and
information telephones placed throughout the campus. They are located at the
front flagpoles, at the
main gym entrance and at various points on both the
upper and lower levels of
the main academic center. The community
service/campus information office (at the southwest corner of
the library wing, near the flagpoles) is open Monday
through Friday until 7 p.m. for students waiting for rides or buses. The office
is not open on Saturdays. Doors leading to the Jazz Café are open Monday
through Friday from 6 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. This well- lit area is equipped
with tables and vending
machines. It is a great place for study groups.
Restrooms adjacent to the café are open during Jazz Café hours.
Public Safety officers are
available to escort you through our "Safe Walk" program. Officers are
available at any time through the campus switchboard. Dial "7310"
from any campus phone to reach an officer. Closed-circuit cameras monitor broad
areas of the campus at all times.
Affirmative
Action
Inquiries about these and other regulations should be directed
to the College Affirmative Action Office at (503) 491-7200 or TDD (503)
491-7202.
Tentative Schedule
Date
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Class Activities
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Chapters
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Week 1
(6/23- 6/26)
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Introduction to the course; discussion of syllabus; in-class writing process. Pages 2-40.
HW, Quiz 1 and Project 1
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Chapters 1 and 2
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Week 2
(6/30 – 7/3)
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Ethics and Genres. Pages
68- 130. HW and Project 2
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Chapters 3 and 4
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Week 3
( 7/7 – 7/10)
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Specifications and Instructions. Pages 132 – 204. HW
and Project 3
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Chapters 6 and 7
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Week 4
(7/14- 7/17)
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Proposals and Reports. Pages 205 – 313. HW
and Project 4
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Chapters 8,9,10
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Week 5
(7/21 - 7/24)
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Resumes,
Graphics, Application letters – Final exam
Pages 314 – 348; and pages 482 - 516. HW
and Project 5
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Chapters 11 and 18
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NOTES:
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Please note: while I have done my best to provide all necessary
information for the class here, this syllabus is subject to change. Also, many
assignments like quizzes, specific readings, grammar exercises, and in-class
writing exercises do not appear on this schedule, as their scheduling depends
on how quickly or slowly the class proceeds. Please attend class and talk with
me regularly so that you will not be surprised by changes. I will provide a
more detailed day-by-day schedule for each essay; these schedules will
supersede the schedule given here. Note also that any changes to the syllabus
will be announced in the assignment sheets and made as changes to the syllabus
on my web page.
