Fall 2010 / WRTG 3040-039-042 Traditions in Business Writing 039: T/R, 3:30-4:45, CHEM

Fall 2010 / WRTG 3040-039-042 Traditions in Business Writing 039: T/R, 3:30-4:45, CHEM 133 042: T/R, 5:00-6:15, CHEM 133 Instructor: Dr. Peter Kratzke

"No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." - Samuel Johnson

Office: The Stadium, 266C. Go to Gate 11 (far northeastern corner--all the way going counterclockwise). Go past Women's Volleyball Office to next door on left. Go up stairs. Turn right at top of stairs, then left into Hallway 266. 266C is a corner office with a wonderful eastern view. Office Hours ("Comma Club"): T/R, 11:00-12:15, 2:00-3:15. Also by appointment. Also by appointment. Office Phone: 303-(49)2-7282 (note: do not leave messages; email is better) Email: [email protected] Notes regarding email: * No unsolicited attachments (copy and paste texts; use double spacing between single-spaced paragraphs). * So that I can file emails properly, please title "subject" line with your name and course/section. For instance: "Joe Tate, 3040-036"

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section One: CCHE Criteria Section Two: CU and the Program for Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) Section Three: Brief Course Overview Section Four: Course Delivery Section Five: Texts and Materials Section Six: Course Policies Section Seven: University Policies Section Eight: Assignments Section Nine: Information Literacy Section Ten: Technology Section Eleven: Evaluation and Assessment Section Twelve: Schedule/Calendar Section Thirteen: Assignment Prompts

SECTION ONE: CCHE CRITERIA

WRTG 3040 meets the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) criteria for an advanced writing course (GT-CO3) in the Colorado system of higher education through the following principles.

Extend Rhetorical Knowledge. Rhetoric is, according to Aristotle, "to see the available means of persuasion." In this course, we will consider effective strategies for distributing ideas, using evidence, and shaping language for given audiences and purposes--one need only observe the radical differences across our three major assignments to see how these strategies must come into play (from academic argument to job-seeking materials to formulating proposals). We will also employ reflective practices in workshop by informed response to each other's and our own work.

Extend Experience in Writing Processes. Reading, speaking, and writing are dynamically related in developing, revising, and editing our writing. In this course, writing and speaking will be emphasized within a community of colleagues. Our workshops will provide opportunities for constructive feedback as well as incorporating feedback into the development of subsequent work. Assignments demand research methods and handling specialized sources connected to issues, language, and modes of analysis across disciplines. Along the way, we will attend to the accuracy and relevance of sources.

Extend Mastery of Writing Conventions. Conventions define "discourse communities" (or, as I like to say, "communities of expectations"). Elements of effective writing style create awareness of the writing process. In addition, individual attention during student conferencing addresses how elements of writing that can be improved (including syntax, semantics, and grammar).

Demonstrate Content Knowledge and Advanced Communication Strategies. Advanced writing means understanding the dynamic concept of genre. In this course, the progression of assignments, as well as work with peers, heightens awareness of the relationship between content and audience. All writing is "situational," after all, and never was this idea more true than with business writing.

SECTION TWO: CU AND THE PROGRAM FOR WRITING AND RHETORIC (PWR)

Let us shift to how the Program for Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) responds to the CCHE's stipulations.

"The following is an overview of objectives for 3030, 3035, and 3040. WRTG 3040, in particular, fulfills the core upper-division writing requirement for students majoring in business, economics, and international studies [IAFS]. The course is approved for the Arts and Sciences core curriculum and builds on the skills practiced through the first-year writing core requirement by applying an advanced understanding of rhetorical concepts to communication within specialized fields.

The professional writing courses offered by the Program for Writing and Rhetoric are centered on goals that are universal to writing courses, goals that are in turn extended to address the demands of a particular field. Effective professional writing grows out of sound, incisive critical thinking. For the professional, exceptional thinking must be grounded in an understanding of the rhetorical context--not only the immediate audience and purpose, but also the professional and social contexts that shape the field. As writers analyze issues within this interplay of contexts, they learn to exercise their abilities and responsibilities as individuals within the profession. By the end of a semester in an upper-division WRTG course for business, engineering, or the sciences, students should meet the following core goals:

Critical Thinking Rhetorical Context The Writing Process

Critical Thinking

* Analyze issues, problems, or opportunities relevant to their field or profession. * Identify and evaluate information sources for relevance, validity, and credibility. * Recognize the elements of sound reasoning. * Pose questions that lead to sustained inquiry and innovative thinking. * Frame an issue and develop a stance based on evidence and sound reasoning. * Recognize the elements and logical progression of persuasive arguments. * Employ rhetorical strategies to produce a coherent and persuasive argument.

Rhetorical Context

* Analyze the professional and, as appropriate, societal context of issues, problems, or opportunities under consideration. * Understand writing and other forms of communication as collaborative dialogues among authors, audiences, editors, critics, and colleagues. * Recognize and address the imperatives of social responsibility. * Understand how constraints such as time, resources, professional protocols, conflicting obligations, or political pressures influence any rhetorical situation. * Analyze the values, perspectives, and expectations of different audiences. * Base rhetorical strategies on a thorough understanding of audience and a highly focused purpose. * Shape rhetorical strategies from an understanding of the elements of genre, persuasion, voice, and style. * Use field-specific language appropriate for other professionals that is also intelligible to a non-expert audience. * Understand the impact of information technologies on communication strategy.

The Writing Process

* Understand writing as an ongoing, recursive process that requires multiple drafts as well as various strategies for developing, revising, and editing texts. * Develop skill in critiquing works in progress, whether it is their own or the work of colleagues. * Convey meaning through concise, precise, highly readable language and understand options for shaping meaning through syntax and diction. * Use standard grammar and mechanics and develop the habit of proofreading.

SECTION THREE: BRIEF COURSE OVERVIEW This section of WRTG 3040 will emphasize what may be called practical rhetoric: what sort of decisions in business situations will be effective? Although our assignments will center on traditional forms of business writing, our readings will raise larger issues about business procedure and, ultimately, citizenship. After a series of shorter assignments based on writing skills, critical thinking, and rhetorical decisions, a longer project will culminate the semester. In the end, all students will have the opportunity to leave WRTG 3040 with a thorough understanding of the writing process that they can use for any occasion in pursuing their professional careers.

In keeping with the course's role in CU's curriculum, our topic will provide only the occasion for students to continue developing their writing skills; assignments will include succinct essays and three rhetorically driven assignments. In the process, the metacognitive engine running this course is defined in the Liberal Arts core tradition of critical thinking and literacy. Through hearing, speaking, reading, and writing, students will develop these two facilities that define, I would argue, nothing less than one's personal and cultural identities. In all, students should heed the words of Alexander Pope, whose words are the truest ever inked on education:

"A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again."

In the spirit of Pope's warning, I demand only three overriding, sequential qualities in students whenever they enter my classroom: curiosity, hard work, and honesty. The plain truth so well encapsulated in the Latin phrase Nullum Gratuitum Prandium ("There Is No Free Lunch"). Only given this approach, I believe, might one ever achieve true enthusiasm.

SECTION FOUR: COURSE DELIVERY

Sections Three and Four of this syllabus bleed into each other, but allow me to consider for a second the classroom environment. At some level, how one teaches is what one teaches, so to discuss "course delivery" is more than a matter of formulating assignment progression, assessment, classroom format, and even use of technology. Perhaps the best encapsulation of delivery for any good writing course was rendered by Sir Francis Bacon, who distinguished, "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, writing an exact man." This relationship between reading, speaking, and writing is one I stress in "delivering" our curriculum and keeping our focus on one question: how will what we learn apply to your future?

We will treat the classroom as a "space" for responding to our readings and writings. Our goal is to become "reflective" writers, so workshops center on the principle of collaboration and will involve brainstorming ideas, peer editing drafts, and reading aloud before small and large groups. Email exchange of drafts between partners might also ensue. For my part, assessment of the first two major assignments will feature a recursive process (called "revisiting") that will allow you to improve your skills based on my quantitative grades and qualitative comments. Where the classroom stops and individual conferencing begins, sometimes, is fuzzy, but everyone will find his way to my office for one-on-one conferencing. To whatever delivery mode, "academic citizenship"--and, in the end, social responsibility--hangs in the balance.

For our readings, our textbook will be Tim Peeples' collection, Professional Writing and Rhetoric. See the schedule for more details, but suffice it to say here that selections range from Aristotle's On Rhetoric to Steven Katz's study of rhetoric during the Holocaust to Chris Anson and Lee Lorsberg's view of how academic training translates to professional writing situations. In the main, the readings will engage you in a larger conversation even while providing a solid curricular/professional footing. To complement the theoretical readings of Peeples collection, we you will be required to subscribe to Business Communication Headline News daily blog.

What are the writing assignments involved in our journey? After a period of orientation (OK: call it "boot camp" if you wish) to what is called the Rhetorical Triangle, we shall dive into three major assignments (a number that is a more-or- less specified curricular requirement for any PWR upper-division course). By the end of the term, "the ball," as it were, "will be in your court." As for the substance to our three major units, the first explores categories ("creating a box," I call it). The second moves to genre, cultivating a generic sensibility relevant to your engaging any job market. The third moves to argumentation with a formal analytical report. For more information, please consider the prefatory discussions in both the schedule (Section Twelve) and assignment prompts (Section Thirteen). Throughout the course, we will never lose sight of key skills: considering rhetorical strategy, taking positions, distributing our ideas, substantiating the resulting lines of thought, honing style, and publishing with professionalism.

Beyond the classroom, you might two underused resources: my office hours and the Writing Center (Norlin E111). Not to use these resources, I think, is like buying a movie ticket but not going into the theater. As well, we shall use CULearn (Blackboard) in its various capacities, especially with the Discussion forum feature. SECTION FIVE: TEXTS AND MATERIALS

Required Texts

All students are expected to have their own textbooks (i.e., "sharing" is counter to classroom discussion and academic citizenship).

* A dictionary of your choice. Dictionaries are more than just "hard word" and spelling lists. Rather, they record language as it functions and evolves.

* On-line: Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/. Contains material that lays a foundation for communication in theoretical and practical terms. Our use of this site extends our use of information literacy by balancing electronic reference with our own (print) texts.

* Peeples, Tim. Professional Writing and Rhetoric: Readings from the Field. This book serves as our anchor for the course in linking content to the formal study of rhetoric. All the readings in same way explore genres and occasions from professional, theoretical, and pedagogical angles. Because it is addressed to both teachers and students; the book (taken as a whole) invites you into the larger conversations about curriculum.

* Business Communication Headline News daily blog: To subscribe, see the following: http://www.businesscommunicationblog.com/blog/

Supplies

* Fine-point pens (blue ink) * A folder with two horizontal pockets (i.e., not a manilla folder, three-ring binder, etc.) * Notebook paper * Reliable access to printing. Consider printer costs part of your course supplies. A tip: never find yourself without back-up printer supplies. "My printer ran out of ink" is, for all teachers, a very tired comment. SECTION SIX: COURSE POLICIES "Competence is of a piece"

Attendance. Attendance is assumed and can affect your overall grade. I do not distinguish between "excused" and "unexcused" absences. For this course, here's a breakdown of the barren policy. Note that to be absent also means you do not participate in classroom activities, and classroom participation is a factor in your overall grade.

1-4 absences (2 weeks): no change in overall grade 5 absences: no grade higher than a 3.0 6 absences: no grade higher than a 2.3 7 or more absences: no grade higher than a 1.7 8 absences: failure in course

* Do not bother emailing me about missing a class. Do make sure, of course, to get notes from your class contact(s). * Prearranged, university-recognized absences count toward your overall allotment of absences. One proviso: I shall not lower an overall grade for only university-recognized absences. In such cases, I shall allow one "grace" absence. Please ask questions should this policy affect you. * Two late entries to class equal one absence. If your absence total is thereby accounted between increments, your total will be rounded up (e.g., from 2.5 to 3 absences). * An entry to class more than 10 minutes late will be counted as a full absence; likewise, leaving class early will be counted as a full absence (in that case, please advise me before class). * Missing a scheduled office appointment will count as one absence. * Regardless of your attendance, you are responsible for all material covered in class. Do not email me to "see what I missed." Rather, practice the "buddy system"! To do as much, maintain a roster of at least three class contacts. * Unless arranged prior to class, no make-up work will be allowed. * Plan to get sick; do not "skip" arbitrarily. Overall, plan your absences and be on time. Should a situation beyond your control compromise your attendance, you might consider other grading options (that is, an Incomplete). * Lapses in classroom protocol (for instance, "texting" during class) will count at least as an absence for the day (see special note under grading).

Complaints. Before you do anything, please consult with me should you have a question, comment, or other consideration about the class content or my conduct/teaching. If we can reach no amicable solution, then I shall work for you in discussing the matter with the appropriate authorities.

Institutional. A writing class offers a special opportunity to discuss work in progress in a supportive yet critically demanding environment. As you develop drafts, you should bear in mind that you are "going public" with your work. This act carries with it an obligation for civil discussion and for understanding the concerns of your audience and their interests in your point of view.

* Unless you prefer otherwise, I might use your writing for classroom discussion. * Last day to drop. Should the occasion arise, students are responsible for dropping themselves from the course and verifying the process. * I may not report or discuss grades by phone or e-mail. Should, at any time during the semester, you want to know how you are doing in the course, please see me during office hours.

Preparation and Participation (Classroom Protocol)

* Use the restroom prior to class; presuming to leave the classroom is not acceptable behavior. If you find yourself needing to leave the classroom during class time, please request to do so. You will also have to give to me any electronic devices before leaving the classroom. * Turn off and stow all cellular phones, laptop computers, and other electronic devices. Yes, I'm "old school" in this way. Failure to comply will be considered under both attendance and Academic Citizenship (see section on grading). Let me be crystal clear: it is rude to both me and your fellow students to be "texting" in class. * Prepare to discuss, extemporaneously, the who, what, where, and when of any assigned text (the full measure of the how and why are the job of the class). Be certain to look up any word that you do not know. As a result, writing in the margins ("glossing") of your texts is a skill that will truly distinguish you in the classroom--and beyond. * Beyond glossing the readings, be prepared to answer the following questions for each assigned text: (1) Why does/does not the text "fit" the syllabus? (2) What is the author's implicit or explicit thesis? (3) What are the author's organizational and rhetorical strategies? (4) How does the author's style complement substance? * For each class session, your preparation and voluntary, informed participation include having your own copy of any texts (no sharing) and the entire reading assignment prepared (not almost all of it). Have notebook paper and pen ready. Remember: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance (PPPPP). Put another way, "When you fail to plan, you should plan to fail."

* All exercise prompts will be developed in class. * Do not send unsolicited drafts to me over the email. * Exercises are due at the beginning of the class period for each due date. * Only those exercises that have been drafted according to the syllabus schedule will be accepted for full credit. * When requested, be prepared to submit all written assignments in a folder with two horizontal pockets. The left side will contain all previously graded or requested work (and nothing else), the right side only those materials to be graded. This modified portfolio reflects your progress: work that manifests work responding to previous work and feedback. * Keep Xerox copies of all assignments you submit--just in case. I am not responsible should one get misplaced or lost. Also, I may ask that you supply clean copies for program assessment.

SECTION SEVEN: UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Disabilities. If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities (303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices).

English as a Foreign Language. If you speak English as a second language, then you need to contact me before the third class meeting so that I can better assist you in the course, advise you about special ESL courses, and/or refer you to appropriate services on campus.

Religious Observances. Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. See me in advance of such observances. Also, see full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html

Behavior. Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See polices at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code

Honor Code. All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council ([email protected]; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and nonacademic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

A Special Note about Plagiarism. Consult with me or the appropriate bibliographic guides should you have any questions about the procedures of documentation or the penalties for infractions of academic dishonesty. Any infractions will result in sanctions that include (but are not limited to) peremptory failure for the course. See, as well, honor code information at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

Discrimination and Sexual Harassment. The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html. Such policies apply to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh

SECTION EIGHT: ASSIGNMENTS

After shorter assignments based on writing skills, critical thinking, and rhetorical decisions, we will turn to three longer assignments that build one to the next. These exercises emphasize increasingly complex logic underlying argument as well as increasingly sensitivity to audience and rhetorical purpose. The first assignment centers on categorical polemics and is geared toward a general academic audience. The second assignment cultivates generic awareness and, so, moves to a wider (even global) perspective. The third assignment culminates in sustained discussion of a given problem in business communication.

Beyond the preceding short overview of our assignments, please refer to unit headings in the schedule (Section Twelve) and the full assignment prompts (Section Thirteen) for more information about pedagogical purpose, rhetorical issues, concrete occasion, and assignment stipulations/direction.

SECTION NINE: INFORMATION LITERACY

Building on your training in 1150 (remember RIOT?), we will pursue "informed conversation" through "information literacy." Part of "information literacy" means that you be able to employ various technologies related to word processing, internet and library research (e.g., on-line databases, electronic books and journals, bibliographic software). Another part of informational literacy involves, simply enough, that you be able to ask good questions--that you be able to determine, evaluate, and incorporate information for a given purpose . Still another part of information literacy centers on knowing the economic, legal, and social issues underlying the production of information. Taken together, these aspects of information literacy show that argumentation is not only practical but social: it reveals why we think what we do as we move to collective decisions. Argumentation, Aristotle observed, thus verifies knowledge in the civic sphere.

SECTION TEN: TECHNOLOGY

This class will use e-mail communication for messages from me, for general discussion, and at times for the circulation of drafts. Please check your university e-mail account (Colorado.edu) each day. If you use a non-university e-mail account (e.g., hotmail, msn, et al.), be sure to link it to the university e-mail account. On occasion, I shall also employ other elements of the "smart" classroom (videos and "Elmo"-type projection). Finally, we shall employ CULearn (Blackboard) to discuss readings and, on occasion, distribute materials.

Because of our subject's ever-changing nature, we will use web-based readings. Some will require CU's VPN: http://www.colorado.edu/its/vpn/clients.html. For assistance with other technical computing matters, contact 735- HELP for the Information Technology Help Line. SECTION ELEVEN: EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

"Never mistake activity for achievement." - John Wooden

Grading. Grades are more and less complicated than they might seem. Should you have any questions--at any time-- please consult with me in my office (you might ask, "Should the course end today, what would be my grade?").

On a philosophical basis, I evaluate (both for exercises and overall grades) in the spirit of William F. Irmscher's Teaching Expository Writing, here adapted. Note that each word in Irmscher's formulation is important: demonstrates . . . unusual . . . competence.

Demonstrates unusual competence: A Suggests unusual competence: B Demonstrates competence: C Suggests unusual incompetence: D Demonstrates unusual incompetence: F On a quantitative basis, your grade in the course will be a semester grade, not a direct response to any given assignment. Regardless, here is a rough breakdown:

* "Academic Citizenship": attendance (for instance, perfect attendance); preparation for responding to readings; language skills test ("Qu-est"); informed and voluntary in-class participation; substantive and timely contribution to CULearn Discussion forum: 10%--a very important, deciding factor in increments such as 3.3 versus 3.7, etc. * Unit 1: 0% * Unit 2: 30% * Unit 3: 30% * Unit 4: 30%

* For all grades (including longer exercise grades and overall grades in the course), here is a breakdown on a scale of 100. For the first major assignment (categorical exposition), I shall supply a "rubric" (a.k.a. "Exercise Contract") that guide us toward the latter two assignments. The Contact includes information about matters of style as well as procedure (including penalties for late submission, etc.).

4.0 (A): 95 3.7: 90 3.3: 85 3.0 (B): 80 2.7: 75 2.3: 70 2.0 (C): 65 1.7: 60 1.3: 55 1.0 (D): 50 0.7: 45 0.0 (F): 40 and below

* Failure to bring course materials (books, etc.) to class will result in a .5 absence penalty for that day. * Because you will have the opportunity to earn a higher grade through "revisiting" (revision) your first two major assignments, you cannot earn an overall grade higher than one full letter increment of your lowest assignment grade (e.g., if your Stage Two assignment grade is a 2.7, then you cannot earn better than a 3.7 for the overall semester grade). All revisiting should be completed within one week prior to the next major assignment due date. * After a first occurrence of "texting" in class (which will result in an automatic absence), I reserve the right to lower the grade of any student in that class for the overall semester for each subsequent infractions (e.g., from a 3.7 to a 3.3, a 3.3 to a 3.0, and so forth). That is correct: you are part of a community. For anyone caught texting, we will also have a mandatory office hour meeting before you resume the course. In all, I almost need not say that your continued disrespect with texting--the act is conscious, after all--will mark deeper problems.

SECTION TWELVE: SCHEDULE

* Subject to change--especially the assignment prompts--so watch for announcements. * For all workshops, bring a printed copy of draft/requested materials to class. * OWL = Purdue OWL. I list some key references in the schedule, but the point is that you get nosy: set OWL as your computer's home page and explore! * PWR = Professional Writing and Rhetoric * For all web readings, you are required to have a printed copy for class discussion. * Note that an absence for a workshop will count against you in the larger assignment's final grade. * A tip: prepare all weekly readings for each Tuesday; to prepare Thursday's readings between Tuesday and Thursday will only create unwanted pressure (and haste).

Unit #1: Exploring the Rhetorical Triangle Purpose toward Rhetorical Knowledge. As the ways persuading a given audience for a given occasions, rhetoric involves that we achieve of a systemic view at the heart of any competency. By "systemic view," I mean an awareness of how parts relate to the process of the whole. Syntax, semantics, grammar, and even genre: all are "at play" as we become aware of why we are doing what we are doing while we are doing it--such is the heart of "reflective practice."

WEEK ONE (Aug. 24, 26): Words, Words, Words Tuesday Learning Objective: overview of language and rhetoric / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Course and unit introduction * "Inventing the university" * Ideology/ occasion / "situation": academic, professional, and civic writing * A Contemporary Rhetorical Triangle: author, subject, and audience surrounding text * PAEOFTS: Purpose, Audience, Evidence, Organization, Format, Tone, and Style * Competence: rules and principles in a systemic view * Metacognition: literacy (awareness/knowing) versus fluency (consciousness/feeling) * Syntax, semantics, and grammar Reading * "Just Between You and I" (handout) * "Notes on Language" (handout) A one-page crib sheet of all the terms you'll ever need to know. Compare the wall of formulas and equations inside the covers of math books. Not bad, eh? Still, too many people do not bother to know even these basic terms. The result: they guess when they should know. Thursday Learning Objective: overview of language and rhetoric / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing convention Topics/Content * Rules and principles: the key to all competencies * Grammatical functionality * Denotation and connotation * Inference versus implication * "Sexist" language * "Little" and/or "hard" words: denotation and connotation * Figurative language in argumentation Reading * "Book preparation examples" (CULearn) * Jack London, "To Build a Fire" (CULearn) Two questions: (1) Where do we see curiosity, hard work, honesty, and enthusiasm at issue to the man's fate? (2) When, exactly, do we know the man shall die? The lesson: listen to the Old-Timer! Assignment * Exercise 1A due (see Section Thirteen of this syllabus)

WEEK TWO (Aug. 31, Sept. 2): Sentence Dynamics Tuesday Learning Objective: sentence Dynamics / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Approaches to writing/the writer's craft: pragmatic, cognitive, romantic, and ideological * Subjects and (simple) predicates: more important than you think! * Sentence dynamics * Sentence patterns (simple; complex--periodic, loose; compound; etc. ) * Sentence linking ("monkeys in a barrel") Reading * "Four Principles of Syntax" (handout) * Style sheet: "Rules and Principles" We'll follow this sheet as our official course style guide. Call it a "tips of the trade" that I've learned over the years-- usually, through the school of hard knocks. Let me be clear: you should pay strict attention to this document. * "Core Knowledge (5th grade)" (CULearn) * OWL: "Grammar and Mechanics" * OWL: "General Academic Writing" Thursday Learning Objective: sentence dynamics / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Punctuation * Errors and mistakes Reading * "100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English" http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html * "100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English" http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/mispron.html These two sites are worth a good look. Yes, you'll probably already know most of these distinctions when you scroll down the lists, but, perhaps, one or two might jump out and change your thinking. * Andrea Lunsford common errors (CULearn) Assignment * Advertising show-and-tell (details TBA)

WEEK THREE (Sept. 7, 9): Evidence and Paragraphs Tuesday Learning Objective: evidence and paragraphs / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Paragraphing ("claim-data-warrant"/introduction-evidence-commentary: the "paragraph template") * Style and clarity * The Classical Rhetorical Triangle (Aristotle): ethos, logos, and pathos surrounding rhetorician * Inference versus implication Readings * PWR: Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, and Robert Trapp. "Perspectives on the Study of Rhetoric." (11. ff.) * PWR: Aristotle. On Rhetoric, Book 1, Chapters 1-3. Trans. George A. Kennedy. (20 ff.) * PWR: Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, excerpts from Book VI. Trans. David Ross. (37 ff.) * OWL: "Paragraphs and paragraphing" * "Tough Sweet Stuffy (Measuring Style)" (CULearn) http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/style3.html An interesting site by L. Kip Wheeler, of Carson-Newman College (Tennessee). The point is that you start recognizing what elements/aspects of language drive/constitute a particular style. Again my driving principle for this course is that you be able to answer whatever are the terms of the writing game at hand. * "Fog Index" (CULearn) Thursday Learning Objective: evidence and paragraphs / CU/PWR: critical thinking and the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * The Writing Process Readings * PWR: [Cicero]. Rhetorica Ad Herennium, excerpts from Book I. Trans. Harry Caplan. (40 ff.) * "Accenture cuts Woods" (CULearn) * Web reading (a fun one!): Word Bingo. http://www.wordspy.com/words/buzzwordbingo.asp Assignment * Workshop on workshops (in-class)

WEEK FOUR (Sept. 14, 16): Research and Bibliographic Form and Philosophy Tuesday Learning Objective: research and bibliographic form and philosophy / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * MLA/APA form and philosophy * "Incorporation" versus documentation * "Primary" versus "secondary" evidence * Quotation, paraphrase, and summary Reading * "MLA 2009 Update" (CULearn) Note: Do not print this long document, but you will want to save (and even treasure) it. Along the way this semester, I shall note where we shall modify it for our purposes. * OWL: "MLA Formatting and Style Guide" * OWL: "Quotation Marks and Quotations," "Documentation," etc. * PWR: James R. Kalmbach. "Publishing Before Computers." (221 ff.) Thursday Learning Objective: research and bibliographic form and philosophy / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Cultural capital" * "Information literacy" * "Global literacy": cultural literacy, scientific literacy, and multiple literacies * The web versus the library Reading * "'Genius Is Perseverance In Disguise'" (CULearn) Assignment * Language skills Qu-est * Exercise 1B due

* * * * * Unit #2: Categorical Exposition Purpose toward Rhetorical Knowledge. Categorical logic is a key methodological tool for argumentation across academic disciplines. Ideological criticism, in particular, centers on categorical issues associated with race, gender, and/or class. However, any polemical "lens" is prone to overemphasis at the expense of accommodating counterargument and appreciating nuance. In response, exploring how categories compose full spectra (what may thus be parsed as "categorical polemics") is crucial to cross-cultural appreciation. Along the way, synthesis of information (content)--and how to evaluate and handle information--is central to this unit. Research will derive from web-generated and library-based materials.

WEEK FIVE (Sept. 21, 23): Distribution of Ideas Tuesday Learning Objective: distribution of ideas / CU/PWR: critical thinking / CCHE: content knowledge and advanced communication strategies Topics/Content * Unit introduction * Central questions at issue * Logical distribution ("distribution of ideas") * Deduction and induction in categorical logic * Cultural "texts": "Read the word, read the world" * Syllogisms / enthymemes * "Polemics" * Binary terms * "Texts" * "Straw man" fallacy Reading * "The War Against Grammar" (CULearn) * "On the Uses of a Liberal Education" (CULearn) Thursday Learning Objective: distribution of ideas / CU/PWR: critical thinking and the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * "The Big Five Questions" (for successful response to assignments) * Basic structure, emphasizing exordium and peroration * Introductions, thesis statements, and conclusions Reading * "Pieces of Evidence" (handout) * PWR: James E. Porter. "Framing Postmodern Commitment and Solidarity." (202 ff.)

WEEK SIX (Sept. 28, 30): The Structure of Argument (Introductions, Topics, Conclusions) Tuesday Learning Objective: the structure of argument / CU/PWR: critical thinking and the writing process / CCHE: rhetorical knowledge Topics/Content * Topic Sentences (three criteria) * Strategies/rationales for arrangement (organizational strategies: "patterns of development"): spatial, creative, importance, process, topical (tied to the text at issue), chronological, et al. Readings * OWL: "Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for Argument Papers" * Grading criteria: "Grading Rubric" (a.k.a "Exercise Contract") * "Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts" (CULearn) Thursday Learning Objective: the structure of argument: introductions, topics, conclusions / CU/PWR: critical thinking and the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Logical fallacies (including the so-called intentional and affective fallacies) Reading * PWR: Carolyn Miller. "What's Practical About Technical Writing?" (61 ff.) * PWR: Steven B. Katz. "The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust." (183 ff.)

WEEK SEVEN (Oct. 5, 7): Planning Your Work (Distribution into Lines of Thought) Tuesday Learning Objective: distribution / CU: critical thinking and the writing process / CCHE: rhetorical knowledge Topics/Content * Workshop: introductions Reading * OWL: "The Argumentative Essay" Thursday Learning Objective: planning your work: distribution into lines of thought / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop: sample body paragraphs and lines of thought

WEEK EIGHT (Oct. 12, 14): Working Your Plan (Revision) Tuesday Learning Objective: voice, tone, and audience / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: content knowledge and advanced communication strategies Topics/Content * Revision * Editing * Word processing * Reading aloud * Workshop full drafts (bring stapled printed copies) Readings * OWL: "Peer Review Presentation" * OWL: "Proofreading Your Writing" Assignment * "Pieces of Evidence" due Thursday Learning Objective: voice, tone, and audience / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: content knowledge and advanced communication strategies Topics/Content * Workshop full drafts ("dress rehearsal")

* * * * * Unit #3: Business Genres and Analysis Purpose toward Rhetoric Knowledge. This unit builds on the academic exercise of categorical polemics, overlaying critical thinking given the encompassing concept of genre. At issue are elements of format and style given the audience expectations defining genre. Research will derive from web- and library-based materials.

WEEK NINE (Oct. 19, 21): "The Rubber Hits the Road" Tuesday Learning Objective: genre / CU/PWR: rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Unit introduction * "Transaction" (Rosenblatt) * Genre: sonnet, cup o' coffee, "Jump the Shark," * Document design * Argument as narrative: "Tell me a story" (Don Hewitt, 60 Minutes creator) Reading * "Genre Encyclopedia of Rhet Com" (CU Learn) * Genre: review of Devitt (CU Learn) Assignment * Unit #2 materials due (submit in folder) Thursday Learning Objective: survey of genres / CU/PWR: rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Varieties of genre Reading * OWL: "Business Letters: Accentuating the Positives" * OWL: "Memo Writing" * OWL: "Email Etiquette" Examples: * Complaint letter to restaurant (CULearn) * Rejection letter to job applicant (CULearn) * Resignation letter (Olson) (CULearn) * PWR: Lester Faigley. "Nonacademic Writing: The Social Perspective." (47 ff.)

WEEK TEN (Oct. 26, 28): Thinking on Your Feet Tuesday Learning Objective: analysis / CU: critical thinking and the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Revisiting explained Reading * OWL: relevant sections about job searching ("Job Skills Checklist," "Resumes Design," etc.) * PWR: Linda Driskell. "Understanding the Writing Context in Organizations." (105 ff.) Thursday Learning Objective: analysis / CU/PWR: rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Interviews (details TBA) Reading * "Crazy Interview Questions" (CULearn) * PWR: Rachel Spilka. "Orality and Literacy in the Workplace: Process- and Text-Based Strategies for Multiple- Audience Adaptation." (146 ff.) WEEK ELEVEN (Nov. 2, 4): Thinking on Your Feet, Continued Tuesday Learning Objective: drafting / CU/PWR: rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Interviews, continued Thursday Learning Objective: drafting / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop: resumes

WEEK TWELVE (Nov. 9, 11): Collaboration Festival Tuesday Learning Objective: publication / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop: cover letters Thursday Learning Objective: publication / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop: Part IV (regarding genre) essays

* * * * *

Unit #4: Formal Analysis Purpose toward Rhetorical Knowledge. "Everything is an argument," the saying (and the title to a well-circulated composition book) goes, and in this sustained, generic argument we will "bring it all together." Of particular concern to us will be formal analysis. As well, collaboration will be a key feature to the unit.

WEEK THIRTEEN (Nov. 16, 18): "Everything is an Argument" Tuesday Learning Objective: critical thinking / CU/PWR: critical thinking / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Unit introduction * Stases: of fact (conjecture), definition, quality, or jurisdiction (place). * Topoi: ill (what is the problem?), credit (who or what is to blame?), cure (will the proposal solve the problem?), and cost (will the proposal make things better?) * Document design Reading * PWR: Chris M. Anson and L. Lee Forsberg. "Moving Beyond the Academic Community: Transitional Stages in Professional Writing." (388 ff.) * OWL: "Stasis Theory" Assignment * Unit #3 materials due (submit in folder) Thursday Learning Objective: the writing process / CU/PWR: the writing process / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Annotations in bibliographies (Works Cited pages) Reading * OWL: "Reports and Proposals"

Nov. 23, 25: Fall Break (Thanksgiving) WEEK FOURTEEN (Nov. 30, Dec. 2): The End is Near Tuesday Learning Objective: the writing process / CU/PWR: the writing process and rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop: Ten-Minute Group Presentations (details TBA) Thursday Learning Objective: the writing process / CU/PWR: academic writing / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop: Ten-Minute Group Presentations (details TBA)

WEEK FIFTEEN (Dec. 7, 9): Finished but Never Done Tuesday Learning Objective: across and beyond the curriculum / CU/PWR: rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Workshop full drafts ("dress rehearsal") Thursday Learning Objective: across and beyond the curriculum / CU/PWR: rhetorical context / CCHE: writing conventions Topics/Content * Edmundson revisited Assignment * Unit #4 materials due (no folder)

SECTION THIRTEEN: ASSIGNMENT PROMPTS "If we had to say what writing is, we would define it essentially as an act of courage." - Cynthia Ozick

Notes: All assignment prompts will be developed ("tweaked") in class. The following prompts, in other words, are meant as much to complement our discussions as they are in some way fully explanatory.

Unit #1: Exploring the Rhetorical Triangle "A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." - Thomas Mann

Purpose/Pedagogy. The following two short exercises work toward a rhetorical awareness of sentence and paragraph craft. The former will build on a principle-based view of syntax and diction; the latter on the rhetorical underpinnings of "handling evidence for a purpose." The second assignment, in particular, begins our engagement with "discourse communities" (that is, how and about what specialized groups think). The use of marginal annotations ensures metacognition.

Assignment Prompts for Unit #1

Exercise #1A: Personal Connection. One paragraph (no more than seven sentences) In one paragraph, explain what you hope to achieve in this course. Consider, if you wish, content from the syllabus, identifying whether any aspect(s) of it might be of special concern. Use Courier 12 font, double-space, and format given MLA (header, etc.).

Exercise #1B: Paragraphing and Reflection. One paragraph (no more than seven sentences). Consider how a textbook from your major (Business, Accounting, or other) attempts to connect to its audience in terms of language. For the paragraph's first sentence (what we'll call here the "topic sentence"), orient your reader with an overall assertion (for example, "In his textbook, Macroeconomics, Bill Jones attempts to demystify the subject of value maximization"). For your two pieces of evidence, use one quotation and one paraphrasing (both should be incorporated and documented). Now, a screw-ball: use Track Changes to identify (annotate) the following elements of the "paragraph template":

(1) topic sentence (TS) (2) introduction of first piece of evidence (Intro.) (3) first piece of evidence (Ev. #1) (4) commentary about first piece of evidence (Com. #1) (5) transition/introduction of second piece of evidence (Trans./Intro) (6) second piece of evidence (Ev. #2) (7) commentary about second piece of evidence (Com. #2)

Notes and Reminders

* If you cannot figure out Track Changes, simply annotate--legibly!--by hand. * Each paragraph element will not necessarily equal one sentence, so attend to how single sentences often serve multiple rhetorical purposes. * In addition to the elements of our "paragraph template," use Track Changes to identify (annotate) one element of style from "Rules and Principles" and one interesting element not from Rules and Principles about syntax, semantics, or grammar. * Follow (on the same page) with a Works Cited. * Be sure to title the assignment response. * Track Changes will probably reduce the font size, but do not worry.

Unit #2: Categorical Exposition Bonnie: Don't let it end this way. Brian: Everything ends badly. Otherwise, it wouldn't end. - Cocktail (1988)

Purpose/Pedagogy. This "nuts-and-bolts" assignment ensures a rhetorical knowledge of academic (traditional) argumentation in discussing business-related issues or subjects. All rhetorical elements of argumentation are at issue in this expository exercise: taking a position (thesis), distributing a thesis across a line of thought, mastering bibliographic form and function in handling primary and secondary materials, crafting sentences with precision, and presenting a correctly formatted manuscript. The continued use of marginal annotations reinforces how paragraphs are rhetorically framed in lines of thought. The assignment will be graded given a "rubric" that formulates academic argumentation both quantitatively and qualitatively. Finally, we will begin "workshops." These sessions involve "going public" by formulating ("brainstorming") ideas, reading aloud before individuals and groups, and critiquing each other's writing.

Assignment Prompt for Exercise #2. 4-5 pages (no fewer than 4 body paragraphs). Audience: general academic. At least 4 sources.

Explain a given category given two people (individual human beings) who exemplify the category's range formulated in binary terms.

General

* No repeat exemplary case groupings within classes. * Disallowed: Hitler, Ghandi, Stalin, any figure pre-1500 * Vocabulary ("jargon"): Thesis Statement: culminating statement of position, ending introduction Topic Sentence: lead sentence to each body paragraph Line of Thought: "flow" from one topic to the next Periodic Sentence: sentence with conspicuous subordination before independent main clause (e.g., "Because I did not study, I must begin afresh") Category, Binary Terms, Exemplary Cases "Text": item to be studied * In this exercise, your job will be to "teach" your audience about a category first, the category's boundaries second, and the exemplary cases third. Pretty much, you will be arguing nothing. Indeed, you should be able to substitute other exemplary cases if you had to do so--the cases, ultimately, are not the point.

Example

Category: business managers Exemplary cases: Machiavelli and Andrew Carneigie Binary terms: contained and expansive

Example "Scratch Outline"

Thesis: In the category of how business managers [the category], Machiavelli and Carnegie [the "exemplifying cases"] exemplify the difference from contained to expansive [the "binary terms"]. Distributive question for topics that compose the line of thought: What are the essential considerations for all people who wish to manipulate business relations? Distributed topic sentences: (1) Business management styles [relevance to thesis] differ first by employee relations [Topic #1]. (2) Although business management styles [relevance to thesis] begin with human interaction [transition/subordinate clause in periodic sentence], how managers position their product or service creates a wider effect [Topic #2]. (3) Given the tangible results of business [transition/subordinate phrase acting], business managers [relevance to thesis] must negotiate demands from their larger competitive arenas [Topic #3]. (4) Regardless of the degree of success represented in differing business management styles [transition/subordinate phrase], at ultimate issue is a general sense of economic principles [Topic #4].

Introduction/Formulation

* In your introduction/thesis, do not list the topics from your line of thought. * Beware the "either/or" fallacy (i.e., false polemic). * Use adjectives (not nouns) for binary terms. Do not use adjectives that have chronological implications (e.g., "old school" versus "new school"). * Binary terms should not be substantively connected to either your category (much less your exemplary cases). In other words, the binary terms should be widely applicable to other categories (e.g., in the category of scientists, "tinkerer" and "thinker" are too close to actual methods and are not encompassing enough). * For the sake of rhetorical completion, keep categories as "tight" as possible. * Given that your introduction should be about 57 sentences (two-thirds of a page), you should bring up your exemplary cases no later than your third sentence. Not to mention them until, at the worst, your thesis is almost a sure sign that you're funneling, and remember: "To funnel is to fail." * Not to mention the actual binary terms until the thesis statement (remember: the last sentence of the intro) is fine. In fact, given our thesis statement template (in which the binary terms are clearly formulated), I think not mentioning the binary terms until the end of the introduction works nicely. * Thesis statement template: all students must use: "In the category of C, Exemplary Case 1 and Exemplary Case 2 exemplify the difference between Binary Term 1 and Binary Term 2."

Topic and Topic Sentences (for the Body/Line of Thought)

* The "gut check" question for a topic: Does the topic necessarily separate the two sides of a category? Anything particular to the biography, for instance, is almost never an element of categorical distribution. For instance, for a skier to be born is Austria does mean that he/she necessarily is a downhill racer. * In keeping with our "gut check" question, remember that categorical logic is never equivocal (a topic is or is not part of the category). As such, words such as "perhaps," "sometimes," "usually," or "often" do not pertain. * Keep topics (which you should be able to identify in a word or phrase) focused solely on distributing the category. As such, do not mention binary terms or exemplary cases in topic sentences. Do, however, do mention the category in each topic sentence. * Topic sentences should not have a sense of issue or chronology. * For topic sentences #2-#4, use periodic sentences. To define: a periodic sentence has a subordinate (dependent) element before the independent main clause ("After we took the test, we began to study"). * Pay strict attention to transitional phrasing, often building that phrasing from your rationale for arrangement ("Why am I moving from Topic X to Topic Y?"). * Beware of topics that shift from the intrinsic (that is, integral to the category) to the extrinsic (that is, associated with the category through audience reception). Thus, to shift from "play on the field" to "conduct off the field" is a very bad sign. * Do not in any fashion lapse to side-after-side presentation (this assignment centers on topic-by-topic distribution).

Paragraphing

* In each body paragraph, use your binary terms in handling evidence--that is, in your introduction or evaluation of evidence. Although the practice might seem dogged, it will serve our purpose for this exercise. * Use a mixture of approximately 50% primary and 50% secondary evidence. * Use two (and only two) pieces of documented evidence in each body paragraph--one for each "side." For this assignment, one paragraph = one topic. * Maintain order of presentation (which "side" goes first) throughout the body paragraphs/rhetorical sections. * After first mention of full names (e.g., "Thomas Edison"), use only last name ("Edison"). One curious possibility is that a person is known by his/her first name. When that is the case, formulate the first time: for example, "Emeril Lagassi (commonly called 'Emeril') is a cook." * In your conclusion, you might consider the range within the category because, after all, a range should indeed be at issue.

As You Draft * For any web sites, please supply a brief (abbreviated) URL for your parenthetical documentation. * The best responses (A- and B-level) will mix on-line and print publications as well as primary and secondary sources. * Remember to disable all "Autocorrect" features (in Word, go to Tools > Autocorrect). Some of you have already seen that I, a walking-talking MLA handbook, can spot those who have not disabled Autocorrect from a mile away. See the Exercise Contract for some notes on the matter. * MLA format: ellipses have spaces, and we shall use brackets: [. . .]. * For any web sites, please supply a one-word parenthetical reference. Example, "Joe Smith writes in this web site, 'The sky is blue'" (Smith).

Unit #3: Business Genres and Analysis "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London

Purpose/Pedagogy. This assignment builds on the rhetorical elements of the previous assignment but directly employs them in the audience-centered genres at issue to business communication. In considering genre, we will emphasize purpose, audience, evidence, organization, format, tone, and style. Our work involves two parts: a series of business documents and a reflective essay about business writing language and rhetoric.

I like to call this part of 3040 "The Generic Center," and it involves a series of documents/activities:

Part I. A resume Part II. A cover letter for a professional job listing Part III. Interview fun (to be conducted in class) Part IV. A generic analysis and evaluation of a sample of your choosing

Part I. Create a general-purpose professional resume for a particular job listing

Part II. Write a one-page cover letter for the same professional job listing as Part I

Part II. Let us prepare for our classroom activity with the following: http://hubpages.com/hub/Off-The-Wall http://www.quintcareers.com/wild_card_interview_questions.html

Part IV. General. 2-3 pages (Courier 12, double-spaced, MLA form and documentation, 2-3 sources--at least one of which must be from PWR). Here, we turn to connecting our experiences (the resume, cover letter, generic piece, and interview) with theory--the heart of praxis. To start, produce an example of genre from business communication. Examples might include a press release, a dunning letter, a good news letter, minutes, an advertisement , and so forth. Then, in 2-3 pages, analyze the example in terms of genre as a socially situated practice.

The following are some scattered questions to get you thinking toward/in response to a defined subject (issue).

* Where, exactly, does concrete experience start to reveal weaknesses in a formulation of rhetoric such as PAEOFTS (Purpose, Audience, Evidence, Organization, Tone, and Style)?

* How do you see implicit in the generic workings of the example the Classical canons? A review of the canons:

1. Invention, including the general logic formulated with deduction and induction 2. Arrangement, including principles for lines of thought and uses of evidence 3. Style, including questions of diction, syntax, and even bibliographic practice 4. Memory, including the ways we learn. 5. Delivery, including modes of discourse

* Does the use of genre embrace a particular critical ideology?

* What rhetorical options are at issue within the genre?

Unit #4: Formal Analysis "Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it." - David Sedaris (June 5, 2005) Purpose/Pedagogy. This assignment represents a collision of the rhetorical elements to academic writing (Unit #2) and the generic considerations to business communication (Unit #3). It combines induction (evidence to institutional level) and deduction (institutional level to evidence).

Assignment Prompt.

Compose a copy of an item (1-2 pages) that you propose for publication in BCHN. The subject should be associated to the wide world of business communication theory and practice. Then, write a formal analytical report presenting the problem (and the copy) and pitched to the editors of BCHN as a free-standing (i.e., previously unpublished) item. For the report, use materials from (1) BCHN, (2) scholarly discussions in the field of Rhetoric and Composition (all students will use Peeples), and (3) general sources about your problem and institution. To be clear: your report will be argumentative primarily in the sense that you press why the copy (and problem) should be of interest to BCHN readers, not what you think is the solution to the problem.

Possible general subjects:

* Social media/networking * The job market * Globalization * Visual rhetoric * Technical communication * Business etiquette and ethos * Context and genre * Electronic communication, literacies, and writing * The myths and realities of how writers measures audience * Shifting occasions and formulations such as PAEOFTS * Postmodernism * How writing style/form relates to institutional culture/ideology * The relationship of academic training to "real-world" application--i.e., "transference" * The ethics of rhetorical (persuasive) practice(s) * Collaboration and writing

Notes:

* You will work in randomly selected research groups of two. Your unit grade will be the same. * The more specific the problem, the better--go for the "brick in the wall than the whole wall." * If you choose something centered on CU's institutional life, you might consider in some fashion (whether for CU or another institution) addressing a "Flagship 2030"-like issue. These issues include sustainability (ecology), globalization, service (outreach), diversity, economic efficiency, digital literacy, social justice, and so forth. * For institutional issues, use peer and/or aspirant institutions as source materials. * No repeat responses within classes.

Group Presentations

You may proceed with your ten-minute presentations variously, following whatever pattern of rhetorical elements. Each presentation should be rehearsed and interactive between (or among, in the case of a three-person group) group members. In all, we, your audience, should be intellectually "entertained" (compelled).

To start:

(1) What is the problem? (2) Why is the problem important to readers of BCHN? (3) What plausible (given extant technology/available funding) responses might be pursued?

Beyond such, consider the following:

(1) What research have you conducted? (2) What research remains? (3) What are you learning about your institution's "corporate culture"?

...and whatever strikes you as relevant to the specifics of your proposal. General The following is adapted from http://icarus.lcc.gatech.edu/info/analytic.shtml and The Business Writer's Handbook (Gerald Alred, et al.)

The analytical report examines a problem or issue and recommends an action. Some analytical reports function as proposals that identify or define problems and argue for specific ways of resolving them. Other analytical reports are feasibility studies that examine proposed solutions and determine their practicality. Analytical reports attend to the following:

* Use professional skills to define an issue, making the study large enough in scope to identify all the factors that bear on the problem and using a standard professional methodology. * Know or learn how such issues have been resolved in other cases, inside and outside their own company. * Accommodate constraints such as cost, time, company policy, union contracts, local and federal law.

Completed report often have three groups of readers:

* Experts, who will be asked to validate the scope of the study, the data collected, the methodology used, and the practicality of the solution. * Managers who ordered the study and will consider the significance of the problem identified in the study, the practicality of the solution in terms of cost, duration, and effect on other operations, and the judgment of the experts asked to validate the report. * Managers from other units of the company, who will be asked to validate the results from their own perspectives such as whether the solution conforms to environmental or tax law or whether the company has adequate personnel to staff it.

Overview of Our Report

Presentation

* Page numbering. Do not number the title page, but begin the abstract as Page 3. Pages are always numbered, and numbers are most often placed at the bottom of the page, either centered or in the right corner. The letter of transmittal is not part of the numbering sequence because it is not strictly part of the report. * Use Times New Roman font. Single-space paragraphs, and double-space between them. * Staple the whole, including the transmittal.

Elements

1. Letter of Transmittal (not actually part of the report but included with the report). Identifies subject, briefly summarizes content, and offers contact information. This letter should be brief (three or four sentences). Address to the editors of BCHN.

2. Title Page. The title of the report should be long enough to describe the report's contents (two-line titles are acceptable) and to incorporate key words from the report to allow indexing and retrieval. Elements:

* Title * Name of the person, department, or company commissioning the report or to whom/which the report is addressed (BCHN, in this case) * Date submitted * Author corporate / departmental affiliation

3. Table of Contents. Tables of contents are necessary only when the report is more than ten pages long or has many separate parts. Nonetheless, we shall use one.

4. Abstract. One paragraph. Summarizes purpose, methods/scope, and conclusions/recommendations. A tip: consider an abstract as a bibliographic overview (that is, a paragraph suitable for researchers to sift through materials).

5. Executive Summary. No more than one page (2-3 short paragraphs). The executive summary will be read as a free- standing document and, so, is often the only part of the report considered by readers. In the main, executive summaries give all--and only--the report's essential information. In addition to the implicit rhetorical objective given certain occasions that the writer should be awarded whatever funding might be at issue, elements common to all proposals (and grants!). The arch tactic: consider whether every sentence in your executive summary correlates with longer, more substantive sections in the body.

* A brief description of the problem addressed in the report (proposal) * A brief description of the significance of the problem to the readers of BCNH. * A brief description of potential responses to the problem (see conclusions and recommendations)

6. Glossary of Terms. Glossaries are necessary only in those rare cases when the report will use a number of terms that are not familiar to the reader. I doubt many of you will need this section.

7. Body. 3-5 pages (including Conclusions and Recommendations). For our purposes, the core of the body will be driven by a coherent, sustained discussion about the central problem's institutional importance. Paragraphs should, as with all argument, distribute your position.

Notes about the body

* Each section should be about two paragraphs, excluding graphs or illustrations. * Bulleted lists can help organize and summarize information, but consider such formatting as only complementing the coherence of the core discussion. * Keep an eye on how the body complements elaborates on those elements noted for the Executive Summary. Whether these elements shape the body's arrangement (structure) is up to you.

8. Copy. 1-2 pages. Compose (with whatever graphic design) a copy of your proposed item for BCHN.

9. Conclusions and Recommendations. Conclusions and recommendations are a natural extension of the report and complete its logic. The section can be of any length. The conclusion section need not begin a new page of the report.

10. Appendices. Appendices are put at the end of the report and are labeled "A" through "Z." They are referenced in the report itself, generally with a sentence in parentheses. Example: "(see Appendix C)." Appendices are used to hold independent data or documents needed to explain or support points made in the report. For example, if the report recommends purchasing a safety device to improve a machine's operation, an appendix would contain a manufacturer's specification sheet describing the device. If the report recommended a department reorganization and change of change of titles and salaries, an appendix would contain all relevant data.

11. Bibliography/Works Cited. As usual, we shall use MLA format. The bibliography lists the published documents that are referenced in the report itself. For our purposes, the document will be annotated (more details TBA regarding this convention).