Essentials of Professional and Business Writing

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Analyze written texts to understand how they relate to particular audiences, purposes, and contexts as a way to inform your own writing.
• Create and revise written texts for particular audiences, purposes, and contexts.
• Through oral or written reflection demonstrate awareness of your writing choices as well as how your own writing contributes to ongoing conversations.
• Identify and employ fundamental rhetorical concepts including the rhetorical triangle, the canons, and/or the appeals in both formal and informal discourse;
• Summarize, quote, paraphrase, and synthesize source material in support of an argument;
• Employ drafting, peer review, and revision techniques in order to improve content, style, and structure of their own writing

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Minor Assessments (~15-18 across all modules, marked as Complete/Incomplete)	200 points
Organization Profile & Source Set	50 points
Professional Email	50 points
Audience Analysis Memo	100 points
Professional Email Exchange	100 points
Résumé	75 points
Cover Letter	100 points
Short Analytical Report	275 points
Final Portfolio	150 points

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
93.0% and above	A
90.0% – 92.9%	A-
87.0% – 89.9%	B+
83.0% – 86.9%	B
80.0% – 82.9%	B-
77.0% – 79.9%	C+
73.0% – 76.9%	C
70.0% – 72.9%	C-
67.0% – 69.9%	D+
63.0% – 66.9%	D
60.0% – 62.9%	D-
Below 60.0%	F

Attendance/Participation:

In an asynchronous course, attendance means active, consistent engagement with course materials and the timely completion of assignments, not physical presence in a room at a set time.

What Counts as Attendance:

Logging into our Canvas course regularly

Completing assigned tasks

Responding to my emails or feedback within 48 hours

You should expect to visit our Canvas site every day if you hope to stay on track and succeed in this course. Missed work can still be completed according to the Late Work Policy below, so falling behind on a single day is not a crisis, but falling silent is.

Minimum Assignment Requirement: You must submit no fewer than 11 minor assignments and earn a grade of "Complete" on each to remain eligible for a passing grade in this course.

Religious holidays: State law requires that you be allowed two absences per semester for religious observance. Please notify me at least 48 hours prior to your anticipated observance so we can plan around it together.

Intercollegiate athletics: If you're a student-athlete, please provide official documentation of anticipated absences early in the semester.

Missed engagement or coursework tied to a religious holiday or documented athletic event will generally be handled according to the Late Work Policy below: no penalty, provided the work is completed before the relevant module closes.

If you fall behind, fail to begin, or stop participating without communicating, the instructor will email you to check in and offer support. If there's no response within 48 hours, a Starfish report may be submitted to connect you with additional campus resources or withdrawal-related procedures may begin.

Late Work Policy:

Minor Assignments: Due date is the target for on-time submission. Hard close is 24 hours after due date. Late penalty is -2% per hour late (maximum -48% at 24 hours). Grace submissions: You have 3 grace submissions for the semester allowing submission up to 48 hours late with no penalty.

Major Assignments: Hard deadline is posted due date. No late submissions accepted.

Modules close 48 hours after the major assignment deadline. Once closed, no work from that module will be accepted. Modules must be completed sequentially.

Contact the instructor no later than 96 hours (4 days) before a module closes if struggling or requesting a modified deadline.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

You are required to use Microsoft Office for all submissions.

Microsoft Office is available to you free of charge as an enrolled student. You are expected to download and set it up before the first assignment is due. You can find the link to download at https://software.uncg.edu/Students.