The document outlines the requirements and policies for a business writing course, including required materials, course objectives, assignments such as emails, memos, reports and presentations, attendance and late policies, academic honesty, and classroom etiquette. Students will develop professional communication skills through various business-focused writing assignments and are expected to adhere to formatting and citation guidelines.

1. Textbook and other required materials:
 Text(s): _____________________________
 College ruled notebook; 1-subject, 10.5 x 8 in. At least
70 pages.
 Course Google page access (see top of syllabus)
 A Twitter.com account (subscribe to ‘ProfAnderson’)
 Regular internet access
 Strongly suggested: An internet-enabled laptop or
tablet
Business Writing (EN3130)
Fall 2014
TR 9:30-10:45, Classroom South 303
Georgia State University
Prof. Joe Anderson
Course Google page: http://goo.gl/cXxotK Email: eanderson35@gsu.edu
Twitter: @ProfAnderson (#GSU3130) YouTube channel: http://ow.ly/nU8ic
Office: General Classroom Bldg. (GCB) 960 Instagram: profanderson1979
Office hours: Before and after class, Saxby’s by appointment (GSU University Library), other times TBD
Prerequisite
Non-major prerequisite: ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1103 with grade of C or higher
Catalogue Description
Advanced composition applied to business writing techniques and problems.
Anderson’s Description
Despite what you may have heard, we’re not reading and writing less, but more. A lot more. Given all the ways we
communicate with one another, whether via email, texting, social media, or the good old memo, business recognizes that
one of the most valuable tools it can acquire and cultivate is good writers. In this course, we’ll explore as many of the
means of business communication as can be fit into a semester, and we’ll also explore some of the ways that business may
be doing business in the next few years and how today’s communication-savvy workers will have to adapt to stay relevant
and hirable.
Objectives
By the end of the term, you must be able to…
 assess the various modes of communication being
used in business, as well as foreseeing how these
and new technologies might affect business
communication in the future
 effectively compose and transmit various types of
business documents via the most appropriate
technology option, given your audience and
purpose
 assess and employ appropriate vocabulary
 use proper grammar and punctuation
 proofread and revise documents to make them suitable for sending or presenting
 create and present at least one multi-media report in a business-like situation.
Assignments
Following is a tentative list of the assignments you will complete throughout the term, listed in no particular order. This
list, and the description of each item, is subject to change.
Google
coursepage
Twitterfeed
YouTube
Channel
Instagram
feed

2. Anderson on Grading…
100-90 A
89-80 B
79-70 C
69-60 D
59 & below F
‘C’ is AVERAGE. If your
work possesses the
standard level of
sophistication that is
expected from a college
student, this is the grade
you will earn. If you
believe that you should be
earning better than an
average grade, it is
contingent on you and you
alone to do better than
average work. By
comparison, a ‘B’ indicates
excellent work, while an
‘A’ paper is near-flawless.
Accordingly, the higher the
grade is, the harder and
more rarely it is earned.
Emailing: Some common-sense
tips to preserve your
reputation
 Are you using a
professional-sounding email
address?
 Have you filled out the
subject line? Is it brief but
clear?
 Are you opening the
message with a salutation,
such as “Dear Prof.
Anderson,”?
 Are you clearly identifying
yourself (first and last
name), either in the body or
in the signature (preferably
both)? Have you included a
signature?
 Are you paying attention to
conventions? Have you
proofread? Have you
included complete sentences
and appropriate punctuation?
Is all spelling correct?
 Have you remembered to
attach any necessary
information? This is
particularly relevant during
grade review.
If the answer to any of these is
‘no’, consider how your message
will be received, perhaps before
it’s even read!
E-mails
You will be required to complete at least 1-2 professional email messages per
week. Prompts will be provided. Messages will conform to the
conventions of professional letters and should be phrased in a tone
appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information. As with every
piece of business writing, brevity is key; each email should be no longer
than two brief paragraphs, unless otherwise specified.
Memos
At least four memos will be completed during the term. One will be a
collaborative project within small groups, the others will be completed
individually. Prompts for these memos will be provided.
Business Letters
You will compose some number of letters to outside agents, cooperating
companies, or customers. Each letter will serve as direct representation of our
company, so be sure to closely review your work so that you don’t embarrass
yourself or your team. Company letterhead will be provided, but you will be
required to learn how to deal with such formatting electronically.
Clips
Once per class period, on a rotating basis,
some number of team members will
individually gather and informally present on
any recent news items relevant to our chosen
industry. This will be informal and no specific
sources will be required, but the news must be
on-point, timely, and reliable; if someone
makes note of a story that’s several days old
but was previously unreported to the group,
whoever missed has messed up. Same goes for
propagating unverified rumors. Also, consider
the best resources and technologies for
collecting this information and be prepared to
share your tips with the group.
Business Report
You will develop a report in which you analyze how well our business has done
and where it seems to be going. You can make up whatever figures necessary and
come to whatever conclusions you wish, but be careful not to make everything
look too good. Administrators, investors, and most importantly, the employees
themselves, want a realistic idea of the company’s health and security, what
endangers those concerns, and how such issues can be most effectively addressed.
Single/Group Presentations
Informal, single-student presentations will consist the results of an interview with
an experienced, knowledgeable professional in the student’s anticipated field. The
interview should include questions on what sorts of communications skills are
being sought in qualified employees, what communications forms are common to
the industry (examples would be fantastic), and how that industry is using new
and emerging media. Every presentation should provide us with a new insight,
some takeaway that we will be able to practically apply in the workplace. The
interview materials themselves can be worked into the presentation by whatever
means would be most effective, including whatever technology is necessary and
available. Meanwhile, group presentation topics will determined in class. During
group presentations, each member must make a significant contribution to the
presentation, but this does not mean that every group-member must talk for the
same amount of time, and some may choose to contribute through other means
altogether. Presentations should be thorough, convincing, and accessible to a
broad audience; consult resources for guidance on rhetorical devices and audience
learning styles. Presentation length will be determined by group size.

3. To avoid plagiarism, give proper credit to
borrowed material whenever you:
 Directly quote another person’s actual
words, whether oral or written;
 Paraphrase the words, ideas, opinions, or
theories of others;
 Use another person’s ideas, opinions, or
theories;
 Borrow facts, statistics, or illustrative
material;
 Offer materials assembled or collected by
others in the form of projects or collections.
adapted from Indiana University Code of Student
Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct
Formatting
Many well-written submissions have
received lowered scores because of poor
formatting. All pieces of writing will be
formatted according to industry
standards. When no standard is
available, format according to the
following:
 Page size: 8 ½ x 11 inches
 Double-spaced
 12-point font size
 Times New Roman font type
 1-inch margins on every side
 Page numbers
Aside from in-class writings and other
appropriate assignments, all pieces of
writing must be typed; handwritten
submissions will not be accepted.
Though it might be counter to industry
spec, your name, my last name, the
course number and the page number
must be posted at the top of each page
after the first page (in one-page
documents, that material can be listed
where appropriate, but should still be
included). You may also be required to
submit business letters and other
documents on company-specific
letterhead, which will be provided.
Presentations will be graded on a slightly modified version of the
domain scoring guide.
Resume/Cover Letter
A solid resume and cover letter are essentials to being hired for any
professional position, so this may be the most important
assignment of the course. You will develop a modular resume that
reflects your relevant professional and educational experience and
which can be tailored to specific job opportunities. In the cover
letter that accompanies, you will elaborate on the most important
points of your education and training, explain what has drawn you
to the company to which you are applying, and how your skills
will benefit that company. Examples of each type of publication
will be provided.
Attendance:
You are expected to attend all class meetings. A student who misses
more than a week’s-worth of class meetings throughout the semester,
for whatever reason, may be dropped from the class with a grade of
“W” or receive an “F”. This could affect veterans’ benefits and
financial aid. However, you should not assume you will be dropped
if you stop attending class. You are responsible for withdrawing by
the drop date to avoid receiving a failing grade for the course. See
GSU’s website for this semester’s deadline.
Also, please remember that a high attendance rate does not
guarantee a high grade. Those who communicate and participate
more often tend to earn higher grades overall. Part of thinking is
talking; if that’s not for you, transfer to a different section.
Also, please get to class on time. A late arrival invariably causes
disruptions and can have a chilling effect on your grade.
Missed or Late Work/Test Make-Up Policy:
Late assignments will not be accepted unless the student makes
extension arrangements with me before the assigned due date, and
these opportunities will be very limited. Only in the case of an
extreme documented emergency will any other considerations be
made.
If technical problems prevent you from submitting a paper to the
course website or via email, you may submit a hard copy. To do
that, you must either hand it to me personally by the deadline, or:
1. Hand the paper to an administrative aide in the English
office before the deadline, and
2. Ask that aide to write the date and time on the paper, sign
it, and put it in my mailbox
I will not accept any paper submitted outside of class unless an
English department aide vouches for the time and date it was
submitted.

4. Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism:
Georgia State University defines plagiarism as “any paraphrasing or summarizing of the works of another person without
acknowledgement, including the submitting of another student's work as one's own. Plagiarism frequently involves a
failure to acknowledge in the text, notes, or footnotes the quotation of the paragraphs, sentences, or even a few phrases
written or spoken by someone else. The submission of research or completed papers or projects by someone else is
plagiarism, as is the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else when that use is specifically
forbidden by the faculty member. Failure to indicate the extent and nature of one's reliance on other sources is also a
form of plagiarism. Finally, there may be forms of plagiarism that are unique to an individual discipline or course,
examples of which should be provided in advanced by the faculty member. The student is responsible for understanding
the legitimate use of sources, the appropriate ways of acknowledging academic, scholarly or creative indebtedness, and
the consequences of violating this responsibility.”
Academic dishonesty of any kind is grounds for failure on the assignment in question, failure for the entire course, or
referral to the appropriate dean for additional sanctions. I reserve the right to submit any assignment for analysis by any
plagiarism software or service at my disposal.
For more on GSU’s policies, refer to ‘Academic Honesty’ in the Student Catalog, available at
http://goo.gl/EGW1Uj
Classroom Etiquette:
Students who violate classroom decorum and do not respect the rights of their fellow students to enjoy an atmosphere
conducive to learning will be asked to leave and will be counted as absent. This may be expanded to a permanent removal
from the class at my discretion. Please consult the Student Code of Conduct (http://goo.gl/37YQVW) for more
information.
Incompletes:
The notation of "I" may be given to a student who, for nonacademic reasons beyond his or her control, is unable to meet
the full requirements of a course. In order to qualify for an "I", a student must:
 Have completed most of the major assignments of the course (generally all but one); and
 Be earning a passing grade in the course (aside from the assignments not completed) in the judgment of the
instructor.
When a student has a nonacademic reason for not completing one or more of the assignments for a course, including
examinations, and wishes to receive an incomplete for the course, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the
instructor in person or in writing of the reason. The grade of "I" is awarded at the discretion of the instructor and is not
the prerogative of the student. Conditions to be met for removing an "I" are established by the instructor.
Withdrawals:
An official last day to withdrawal from a course with a grade of “W” is established each semester and can be found by
contacting the registrar’s office. It is the student’s option and responsibility to withdraw from the course by this date.
Students with Disabilities:
Georgia State University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability
Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed
Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an
accommodation is sought.
Class Cancellation Policy:
On occasion, GSU will announce a late opening or early closing of a specific campus or the entire college because of
weather conditions or other emergencies. Since classes begin at various times throughout the day, a late opening or early
closing may occur during a scheduled class period. Consult the GSU homepage (www.gsu.edu) for the most current
cancellation information.
Additionally, if I need to cancel our class on a last-minute basis, I will most likely notify students via Twitter, the Canvas
site, or our Facebook page. Please make sure that you check these resources regularly.

5. EN1102 Syllabus Contract: Please copy the following into the box below, complete the remainder of the form,
detach from the syllabus and return. No grades will be assigned until this contract is completed and returned.
I have read and understood the policies described in the syllabus, including the information regarding plagiarism and other
forms of academic dishonesty. I agree to work and produce material in a responsible and ethical manner, as defined by
the Georgia State University Student Code of Conduct, and to adhere to all other guidelines stated in this syllabus.
Name (printed):______________________________Signature:_____________________________________
Course title and times:________________ Today’s date:______________
Assignment: List three questions you have about the syllabus. These may be referred to in class.
1.
2.
3.