The mission of  New Mexico State University at Alamogordo is
to provide quality learning opportunities for individuals in the diverse communities we serve.

Prerequisite: Credit for English 111G, Rhetoric & Composition

Catalogue Description: Effective writing for courses and careers in business, law, government, and other professions. Strategies for researching and writing correspondence and reports, with an emphasis on understanding and responding to a variety of communication tasks with a strong purpose, clear organization, and vigorous professional style.

Background: In the past, many business and accounting students at NMSU-A have found that the course English 218G, Scientific and Technical Communication fits--or is accepted--in their degree plans, including business degree plans. There will still be some overlap of rhetorical information and communication skill development between English 218G and English 203G. But, in order to better prepare students for specific disciplinary demands and work place demands, we offer English 203G to target the skills needed for success in the business environment. To that end, this course will draw upon communications assignments, such as case analyses, commonly found in the fields of business and law.

Course Objectives: Students will gain the ability to

• read and critically analyze management texts and case studies
• analyze audiences and, to some extent, organizational cultures
• plan and research written and oral communication using planning guides and various research tools, including the Internet
• draft and revise written and oral communication, striving for professional style
• design documents based on sound principles of layout and reader reception
• use current communications technologies
• work in effective project teams

Grading: Grades will be figured as follows:
 

Grade Points	Assignments
0, but required	Self-introduction posted to the Class Discussion Tool
10	Diagnostic Test
20	Individual Project:  1 pg. Memo. May be revised
20	Individual Student's Chapter Presentation:  Chapter Summary, Summary and analysis of chapter weblinks, discussion questions.  May use WebCT Chat tool, Discussion tool, email attachments.  Students do not need to use the Presentation Tool for this assignment.
20	Group Project:  1-2 pg. Bad News Letter.  May be revised.
10	1 pg. Application (Cover) Letter.  May be revised.
20	1-3 pg. Resume, formatted in Word or WordPerfect, and formatted for ASCI.  May be revised.
20	Group Project:  2 pg. Project Plan
20	Group Project:  2 pg. Progress Report
40	Group Website:  Publishable Product. 3-4 web pages.
50	Quizzes, short writing assignments, responses to case studies:  6 @ 10 points each: drop the lowest score.
20	1 pg. Proposal for Formal Business Report, Proposal, or Plan
40	Annotated Bibliography for Formal Report, Proposal, or Plan
30	Presentation Based on Formal Report, uploaded as a website in WebCT's Presentation Tool
80	Formal Business Report, Proposal, or Plan.  4-8 pages of text, not counting formal elements; requires graphics
0	Required Final Exam:  2 pages.  Specific Assignment, Time (2 hour block of time), and Date to be announced.  Times and dates may vary by individual students to accommodate distant learners.  If you cannot take this final exam under supervision on NMSU-A's campus, arrange for a Proctor (university official, librarian, work supervisor) who will mail to me a signed letter vouching for the fact that you presented a picture ID, took the exam under supervision, and did not use aids or outside help prohibited in the exam instructions.  Although there are no points assigned to this exam, it is required; it is graded pass/fail; and you must pass the final exam to pass the course.  This sounds scary, but it won't be--if you are the person who has been doing the work of the course all along.  If your cousin, who completed this course a year ago, is the person who has been doing all the assignments, then I want it to be scary--even impossible.
400 Total Points

Semester Grade Totals:  400-360=A; 359-320=B; 319-280=C; 279-240=D; Below 240=F

Attendance Policy

Attendance
This is NOT a self-paced course.  Although it isn't easy, it is possible to create a community of learners online.  One way to do this is to work together on some common tasks, and to read the same chapters at the same time.  So, we will work together, week by week, even if we don't always do it synchronously.
(Vocabulary note:  synchronous computer mediated communication means that participants in computer communications are all online at the same time, as in a Chat Room, or on the telephone.  Asynchronous computer mediated communication means that participants use computers to communicate, but may not all be online at the same time, as with Email or with Discussion Tools, or leaving a message on an answering machine.)

Attendance will be taken weekly in the Discussions Tool or the Chat Tool..  (I also have sneaky ways to check on whether you logon or not, but I'd rather note your participation as a "talker").  Absences (that is, no evidence of a student logging in and participating in a calendar week--Sunday through Saturday) will be reported to the financial aid office, possibly resulting in loss of financial aid.  There are no make-ups for attendance.  However, the way to "make-up" for trouble with WebCT is to email me directly with your comments on the week's reading assignment: mcneel@nmsua.nmsu.edu.

If you miss any two weeks by not logging in and participating, your semester grade will be lowered by one letter grade.  That is, an A grade becomes a B grade for the semester. If you miss any three weeks by not loggin in and participating, your semester grade will be lowered by two letter grades.  That is, a C grade would become an F grade.

How to attend: Students must log in and participate in the weekly discussions, some of which may be student-led.  Help your fellow students who are trying to stimulate learning through online discussions, questions, web links,  and presentations  by showing up online and commenting on their discussion questions or prompts.

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Required Texts:

Oliu, Walter E., Charles T. Brusaw, and Gerald J. Alred.  Writing That Works:  Communicating Effectively on the Job.  8th ed.     Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.

Hacker, Diane.  A Pocket Style Manual. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2004.

Optional Text:

Alred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu. The Business Writer's Handbook. 7th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 2004.

• A reliable  internet account; unfortunately, I cannot recommend NMSU-Alamogordo's dial-up service as your only connection.
• MS Office or WordPerfect Suite.  These include spreadsheet and presentation programs.
• Both Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator are recommended.  Netscape has a simple--and free--html editor. Sometimes  websites work in IE, but not Netscape, and vice-versa.  For instance, the anchors, or "jumps," within this syllabus will work in Netscape (probably because I made it in Netscape's html editor, Netscape Composer) and not in Internet Explorer (definitely because I don't know enough html to go into the code to fix the anchors.)
• A good dictionary.  
  

 

Instructor Contact Information	email:  mcneel@nmsua.nmsu.edu website: http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~rmcneel
Ron McNeel  Professor of English Faculty Mentor for Web Course Development	Face-to-Face Office Hours as of January 12, 2005:  Tu, W, Th: 1:00-4:00    and by appointment, and online Office #115, Faculty Office Building  Office Phone with voice-mail:  439-3742

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Any changes will be announced in advance.
 

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Plagiarism, and Grading Policies

•  You are responsible for the information presented at each class session whether or not you can get online from home. 
•  Since a first year college writing course is a prerequisite for this course; and since every first year college writing course will cover issues of plagiarism; I  am confident that you have been exposed to the rules governing plagiarism.  If you are not, refer to any first year college English textbook. 
• Plagiarized papers will receive a grade of zero.  Disciplinary action may be initiated against students who engage in academic dishonesty.  You should familiarize yourselves with the Student Code of Conduct in the NMSU-A Student Handbook.  A plagiarized formal written report is sufficient cause for a failure grade for the entire course. In such a case, disciplinary action at the University level will be initiated. In case I have a question about whether or not your formal written report is indeed authored by you, keep all pre-final drafts, notes, bibliography cards, and other research and drafting materials. Be prepared to deliver these pre-final research materials by mail.
• The formal written report is a requirement for passing the course.
• The Final Exam is a requirement for passing the course.
• ALL late papers will lose 10% of the possible points.  A paper is late if it is received by me,  either on  the WebCT email system or by another email system I use, with a "Sent" time and date after Saturday midnight of the week the assignment is due.  I will not take late papers or revisions after Midnight, April 23.
• So that NMSU-A may engage in assessment activities, the instructor reserves the right to keep early drafts and final drafts of your assignments.

In Case of Holloman Air Force Base Closure
National or international events may cause Holloman Air Force Base to close, keeping students from leaving the base to attend classes on campus, and keeping instructors from entering the base to teach classes there.  To alleviate the problems a closure would cause,
• the instructor may collect student phone numbers and email addresses;
• the instructor may use email addresses to create a distribution list to keep students up-to-date on assignments and activities;
• students should note the instructor’s email address and be adept at sending word-processed assignments as attachments via computer;
• instructors and students may need to mutually agree on a make-up class or classes, times, places, and modes of instruction (including email or chat room discussions), in order to abide by state requirements of 750 minutes of class time per credit hour.

Classroom Conduct
• You are not allowed to use tobacco products in classrooms at NMSU-A or HAFB.
• You are not allowed to eat or drink in computer classrooms at NMSU-A or HAFB.
• Any student engaging in disruptive behavior will be required to leave the class.  This may include harassment via email.

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