Writing in Business Contexts

Overview

This course focuses on the principles of business writing as distinct from other writing contexts. This course teaches students to use interpretive strategies and critical thinking to analyze workplace contexts and identify writing strategies best suited to accommodate business problems. Students will research, organize, and design reader-centered documents and various electronic and print texts that relate to practical situations they will encounter in their careers. Students will gain competence in creating documents aimed at the current multi-cultural and multi-generational business world. Basic computer literacy is required.

Learning Outcomes 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Discover business writing as a specialized writing form  in terms of setting objectives, anticipating the readers’ questions, conducting research, planning documents, and communicating ideas to resolve problems and achieve outcomes;
• Create documents which use various rhetorical modes such as persuasion, definition, and analysis;
• Practice critical thinking when selecting a writing style and format best suited for the purpose and audience;
• Conceptualize, draft, and revise documents of various length, detail, and visual design that incorporate the elements of business writing discussed in the course;
• Participate in online collaboration and communication as a way to a peer-edit written submissions;
•  Demonstrate increasing autonomy in reaching each of these goals.

Topics

• Basic Principles of Business Writing
• Researching and Writing in the Business World
• Persuasive Writing
• Writing in the Workplace
• Communicating News
• Document Design
• Workplace Reports