Course Overview -- Business Communication

Assignments for next week: 

    Read:   Unit One – Building Blocks for Effective Messages, Chapters 1 – 5. 
    Exercises: 
    (For all exercises, print out your results, bring them to class ready to turn in, and be ready for class discussion.) 

        Complete exercise 1.11 on p. 16.  Be prepared to present the material in class. 
      
        Complete the exercise on the bottom of p. 73 – “Polishing Your Prose.”
       
        Complete exercise 3.8 on p. 56. 
       
        Complete exercise 5.12 on p. 87.

Questions for study (be prepared for class discussion):

    Why do you need to understand the purposes, audience, and context for a message to know whether a
        specific set of words will work?  (p. 14)

    Why do writing and speaking become even more important as people rise in the organization?  (p. 14)

    What are the five kinds of audiences?  (p. 33)

    What are ways to analyze your audience?  (p. 33)

    What four methods make a sentence nonsexist?  (p. 55)

    What three aspects of a document does thorough revision cover?  (p. 71)

    What are three criteria for good Web pages?  (p. 83)

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Unit One – Building Blocks for Effective Messages, Chapters 1 – 5.

Assignments for next week:
   
    Read:   Unit Two – Creating Goodwill, Chapters 6-8.

    Exercises: 
    (For all exercises, print out your results, bring them to class ready to turn in, and be ready for class discussion.)

        Complete the exercise on the bottom of p. 102 – “Polishing Your Prose.”
        Complete the exercise on the bottom of p. 125 – “Polishing Your Prose.”

Questions for study (be prepared for class discussion):

    What is you-attitude?  How can you create you-attitude within sentences (p. 100)

    How can you prevent positive emphasis?  (p. 111)

    What are reader benefits?  (p. 124)

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Unit Two – Creating Goodwill, Chapters 6-8.

Assignments for next week: 

Read:   Unit Three – Letters, Memos, E-Mail Messages and Web Writing. Chapters 9-13.

Exercises:  (For all exercises, print out your results, bring them to class ready to turn in, and be ready for class discussion.)

    Complete the exercise on p. 144 – “Polishing Your Prose.”

    Complete the exercise on p. 167 – “Polishing Your Prose.”

    Complete the exercise on p. 221 – “Polishing Your Prose.”

Questions for study (be prepared for class discussion): 

Which letter format do you prefer?  Why?  (p. 143)

                         What are the three criteria for good subject lines?  (p. 160)

 How should you organize a positive or informative message?  (p. 160)

                         How should a negative letter to customers or clients be organized?  (p. 185)

                         How do you decide whether to use a direct request or a problem-solving persuasive message?  (p. 214)

                         How do you organize a problem-solving persuasive message?  (p. 214)

                         What e-mail “netiquette” rules should I follow?  (p. 231)

 Why should you compose important e-mail messages off-line?  (p 234)

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Unit Three – Letters, Memos, E-Mail Messages and Web Writing.  Chapters 9-13.

 Assignments for next week: 

Examination I – Will take essay form and will cover material from Chapters 1-13. 
To study for the exam, focus on the “Questions for Study” that have been assigned to this point. 
Bring 8.5" by 11" notebook paper.  Pens or pencils are acceptable, but you must write legibly. 

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Examination I – Will take essay form and will cover material from Chapters 9-13.  You must print or write legibly.

Assignments for next week: 

Read:  Unit Four – Polishing Your Writing. Chapters 14-16.

Exercises:
(For all exercises, print out your results, bring them to class ready to turn in, and be ready for class discussion.) 

     Complete the exercise on p. 261 – “Polishing Your Prose.”

     Complete exercises 15.17, 15.18, 15.19 on p. 275. 

     Complete exercise 16.12 on p. 292. 

                       Questions for study: 

     Why is it better to fix errors in grammar and punctuation only after you’ve revised for content,
     organization, and style?  (p. 258) 

     Define the following terms:  denotation, connotation, bypassing.  Describe each and give examples using each term. 

     What problems do passive verbs create and when are they desirable?  (p. 290) \

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Unit Four – Polishing Your Writing. Chapters 14-16. 

    Assignments for next week: 

Read:  Unit Five – Interpersonal Communication. Chapters 17-19.  

            Unit Seven – Job Hunting.  Chapters 27-29. 

Exercises:
(For all exercises, print out your results, bring them to class ready to turn in, and be ready for class discussion.) 

 Complete the exercise on p. 261 – “Polishing Your Prose.”

 Complete exercise 17.12 on p. 304.  Construct a memo of your findings to the instructor and be prepared to
 make an oral report in class. 

 Exercise 28.10:  Construct a resume, an application letter, and prepare for an interview for the Pepsi-Cola
 position listed under section d.1. 

                         Questions for study: 

                 What is the difference between hearing and listening?  (p. 303)

                 What is active listening?  (p. 303)

                 What are the three kinds of group leadership?  (p. 318)

                 What is groupthink?  (p. 318) 

 

Unit Five – Interpersonal Communication. Chapters 17-19. 

    Unit Seven – Job Hunting.  Chapters 27-29. 

     Assignments for next week: 

Sales presentations – to be discussed in class. 

Read:  Unit Five – Interpersonal Communication. Chapters 20, 25. 

Visit the course website at www.wakh.net.  Click on information for current students, then your course (BA 200),
then click on visual aids and sales presentation links.  Review the materials there.