Unit 1 seminar

Welcome toEffective and Appropriate

Communication in the Workplace

Unit 1 seminarIntroductions and contact informationCourse outcomes Discussion guidelinesExercise guidelinesWeb resourceProject guidelinesFinal projectQuestions to consider for unit 1

Me with my son, CooperIn Forest Park (St. Louis, MO)

Contact informationEmail: sthompson3@kaplan.eduE-mails: use CM 415-01: Concern in subject line (for example: CM 415-01 Unit 3 project question)

Office hours: by appointment (on AIM)

AIM ID: sylthompson94

Course outcomes Explain the features of effective

communication in various professional contexts

Evaluate media for various professional communication contexts

Compose effective professional correspondence for various situations

Apply appropriate communication strategies for diverse audiences

Evaluate ethical issues associated with professional communication.

Grades for course (1000 points)Discussions: 270 pts Exercises: 150 pointsUnit 3 Project: 100 ptsUnit 5 Project: 100 ptsUnit 6 Project: 75 ptsUnit 9 Project: 250ptsWeb resource: 55

NOTE: seminars are not graded, but participation is encouraged!

Late policiesProjects: one-letter-grade late penalty per

unitDiscussions and exercises: must post

within one week after unit ends to receive partial credit; no credit given for responses to classmates in late postings (just your response to the question)

Substantive discussion postsAvoid short expressions of agreement or

disagreement or summaries of a classmate’s post.

Pose follow-up questions to issues raised by myself or other students in order to encourage further discussion.

Use personal experiences to illustrate your points.

Recommend alternative solutions to problems and offer constructive disagreement with issues raised by your peers.

Substantive discussion postsRefer to our course readings and offer

relevant parallels between those readings and our discussions.

Demonstrate your knowledge of the course material.

Stay on topic.Are at least 300 words in length for the

initial responses and 75-100 words for the follow-up responses to your classmates. In follow-up posts, ask questions, agree/disagree (and explain why), give additional examples.

Unit 1 discussion questions Discussion: Through either an interview or research,

identify the forms of writing you will use on a daily basis in the office and other forms you may be required to write occasionally. Identify the audience types as well, such as co-workers, external customers, executives, etc. Which of the forms of writing you identified are most challenging to you now and why? How much does writing influence what position you hold and your chances for promotion? 

Using the two articles in this week’s reading, discuss at least at least one point from each article and how it relates to the writing demands of your career. Be specific and support your answer with examples. Readings can be found in the Academic Search Premier database:  “Write Well, Go Far” (Rowh), “Veteran Communicators Look Back, and Ahead” (McGoon)

Current event exercise guidelinesCurrent events exercises in units 4-8Find articles from 2001-present on

issues related to that week’s reading/discussion

Use credible sites (like The New York Times or Washington Post, professional society sites), or use the Newspaper Source database in the Kaplan library

Current event exercise guidelinesPost the article’s bibliographic information in correct

APA format, and in four distinct paragraphs discuss: 1) the article’s relevance to the week’s unit material 2) the main ideas of the article3) your reflection on the content 4) why is this information important to professionals

in communication?  Would you recommend others read this article?  Why or why not?

Post by the final day of the unit, preferably sooner so others can respond to your post.

Web resource assignment (unit 9)Find a professional web site for your career and post

the link in the course webliography. Then, in DocSharing, under the Web Resources for Communication Professionals view, upload a Word document of at least 200 words to share with the entire class that provides the following information:

1)     the web address2)     the name of the professional organization or

society3)     what career field this organization or society

caters to

Web resource assignmentWhat special features do you find most helpful

on this site as a) a student, and b) as a professional.  Be specific and give examples. 

It is required that you describe in detail 2-3 features that would benefit a student, and 2-3 features that would benefit a professional.

Try and persuade your readers (classmates and professor) to want to view this website! Be specific and give examples to illustrate what you mean.

Post by the last day of unit 9.

Project guidelines (units 3, 5, 6, 9)Projects due Tuesdays by 11:59 p.m. Use the correct unit’s dropbox to post

assignmentsWrite documents in MS Word with “doc”

or “docx” extensionRead grading rubric and project

guidelines carefully!Be sure to review Kaplan’s plagiarism

policy (see the syllabus and the Writing Center for details)

Hybrid grading rubricsCONTENT ORGANIZATION WRITING STYLE MECHANICS and

APA

A Content clearly relates to assignment requirements. Required documents are very well-prepared for identified audience. Very thoughtful and specific discussion of documents is provided; often refers to readings as applicable. Ideas supported with references and individual opinion.

Great organization, transitions are used appropriately, and each paragraph discusses one topic with depth, details, and breadth.

Formal, interesting to read, accurate/logical, precise, and concise. Student’s ideas expressed with clarity of thought (writing is understandable).

Format and APA: Format follows suggestions from readings. Uses 12 point font and double-spacing. One-inch margins on each side.References were cited in correct APA format within text and reference list.Grammar and mechanics: Used appropriate grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Final project (unit 9)Throughout this course you will practice writing for

internal, external, and global audiences, deal with tough ethical decisions in writing, and study ways to use technology effectively in communication. The final project is your opportunity to tie this all together and create a portfolio of correspondence as examples you might want to use on the job later on.

Your correspondence will be based upon a scenario described in the final project information.

You will write 5 documents (e-mails, letters, and memo) in response to the scenario.

Final projectAll correspondence in this portfolio should

demonstrate the application of course information and discussions. 

Compose the five documents in the correct standard format for e-mails, letters, and memos as mentioned in the textbook.

Put all five pieces into one Word document with page breaks to separate them.

If any outside sources are used in this final project or used to help you compose this final project, they should be correctly cited and a complete references page included with your project.

Advantages to writingWriting gives you time to reflect and

research – shape and reshape material.Writing makes communication more

precise.Writing provides a permanent record of

thoughts, actions, and decisions.Writing saves time-- we absorb information

more swiftly when we read than when we hear.

What to know before you write

Unit 1 seminar discussion1.  What are some common writing problems you have experienced on the job with either your own writing or reading someone else’s? 

2.  What are some options companies can look at to ensure company correspondence is written according to their expectations?