This document is a syllabus for an English 313 business writing course. It outlines the course objectives, which include communicating solutions to rhetorical problems through print and electronic genres while addressing ethical, political, social, and cultural concerns for culturally diverse audiences. The syllabus details 5 projects students will complete, focused on interpersonal, visual, intercultural, crisis, and professional communication. It also provides information on grading, course policies regarding COVID-19 safety and technology requirements, and contact information for the instructor.

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Business
Writing
MWF 11:30am-12:20pm TLC 139
Katie Krahn
katiek@uidaho.edu
Office Hours:
→ Tuesdays 9:30am-11:30
→ Wednesday 1pm-3pm
→ By appointment
All Office Hours and One-on-One
Meetings are held on Zoom:
https://uidaho.zoom.us/my/katiekrahn
This course will help you build communication competencies identified by the United States
Department of Labor and industry focus groups as the most important to employers. In
addition to problem solving and writing skills, employers list oral communication skills as
among the most important for graduates.
Moreover, the ability to effectively apply these skills within intercultural contexts is highly
valued in today’s global workplace. Finally, business communication is increasingly
produced across a wide variety of multi-media platforms requiring skills in aural, oral,
textual, and visual literacies. The projects in this course are designed to help you meet these
challenges and prepare you to successfully communicate in today's workplace.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completing this course, you will be able to:
• respond to rhetorical situations that arise within business environments complicated
by ethical, political, social, and cultural concerns,
• learn and apply specific conventions used in US business communities such as tone,
style, and genre and adjust those conventions to meet the needs of culturally diverse
audiences,
• communicate solutions to rhetorical problems through a variety of print and
electronic genres
TEXTBOOK: Textbook is not required. All reading will be accessed through slidedocs and
PDFs that are available via BBLearn.
GRADES: Final grades are based on successful completion of the following:

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Participation in Brainstorming and Peer Review Forums 100 points
Project 1: Interpersonal Communication 150
Project 2: Visual Communication 190
Project 3: Intercultural Communication 170
Project 4: Crisis Communication 300
Project 5: Professional Identity 100
Total Points Possible 1000 points

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Project Descriptions
PROJECT 1: Interpersonal Communication. In this project, you will select and study a
negative review for a product on Amazon requiring written communication to three different
audiences using both external and internal workplace genres. Next, you will create an audio-
only podcast about presentation speaking style. Deliverables:
1. External Positive News Letter, about 250 words.
2. Internal Negative News Memo Report, about 400 words.
3. Internal Neutral Email, about 150 words.
4. Audio-Only Podcast, 1-3 minutes.
PROJECT 2: Visual Communication. In this project, you will create a Public Service
Announcements for a client and justify design choices in a screencast. Deliverables:
1. PSA announcement designed as a poster or for a billboard.
2. Screencast Design Justification, about 3 minutes.
PROJECT 3: Intercultural Communication. In this project, you will compose a creative
design brief to plan and create an intercultural slidecast guide for an American business or
organization whose employees will soon be working in another country and culture.
Deliverables:
1. Intercultural Slidecast Guide, about 5 minutes.
PROJECT 4: Crisis Communication. In this project, you will gather and analyze
communication before, during, and after a crisis event using a research dossier in
Evernote. You will then draw upon this research to write a white paper and compose a
screencast that analyzes a spokesperson's apology. This project includes composing and
populating an electronic research dossier. Deliverables:
1. Research Dossier, digital workspace or document file.
2. White Paper, about 1500 words.
3. Screencast Presentation, about 3 minutes.
PROJECT 5: Professional Identity. In this project, you will write a targeted cover letter and
resume or curriculum vitae and create a LinkedIn profile. Deliverables:
1. Cover Letter, about 350 words.
2. Resume or CV, 1-2 pages.
3. LinkedIn Profile page.

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Course Policies
Healthy Vandals Policies. It is a longstanding tradition that Vandals take care of Vandals,
and we all do our best to look out for the Vandal Family. These simple precautions go a long
way in reducing the impact of coronavirus on our campuses and in our communities. With
everyone engaging in these small actions, we can continue to participate in our vibrant
campus culture where we are able to learn, live, and grow. Please bookmark the University
of Idaho Covid-19 webpage and visit it often for the most up-to-date information about the U
of I’s response to Covid-19.
1. Daily Symptom Monitoring and In-Person Class Attendance. Evaluate your own
health status before attending in-person classes and refrain from attending class
in-person if you are ill, if you are experiencing any of the known symptoms of
coronavirus, or if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been potentially
exposed to someone with COVID-19.
• If you display symptoms and/or test positive, you should quarantine
following the CDC’s recommendations. Do not return to class until you
meet the CDC’s requirements.
• If you have been exposed but are asymptomatic, you should stay home
for 10-14 days from last exposure if you remain asymptomatic; each
situation is unique and you should adhere to the CDC’s requirements.
If you miss an in-person class session, you are be able to make up participation
points. Please email me to make arrangements to submit any missed work and make
plans to use Zoom and/or online course materials to stay current with the course
schedule.
2. Face Coverings. It is REQUIRED that all faculty, staff, students, and visitors
across all U of I locations wear face coverings whenever in any U of I buildings. It
is that you wear a face covering over your nose and mouth in this classroom at
all times.
a. If you have a medical condition that you believe affects your ability to
comply with the face covering policy, please contact the Center for
Disability Access and Resources (CDAR) to request a reasonable
accommodation.
b. If you have other reasons you believe make you exempt from wearing
face coverings, please contact the Covid-19 Coordinator at
covid19questions@uidaho.edu.
c. Failure to wear a face covering means you will be required to leave the
classroom. If a disruption to the learning experience occurs due to
repeated offence and/or egregious behavior, it will be referred to the Dean
of Students Office for potential code violation.
Participation. You will be graded on participation in this course. We won’t meet every class
period, especially when you’re working on major projects. However, when we do meet, we’ll
be sharing ideas and critiquing each other’s work, so it’s vital that you are here and ready to
participate.

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You must earn a total of 350 points of participation throughout the class. Coming prepared
to class each day means completing the reading, homework, and coming with
topics/questions to discuss in class. Below are tables that outline how you will be graded on
participation and how you can earn points outside of the classroom.
In Class Participation Points:
10 Points You attend class, complete readings and assignments, come prepared with
topics to discuss or questions to ask, and actively contribute to
conversations by asking questions or discussing the topic at hand
8 Points You attend class, complete readings and assignments, and partially
contribute to conversations.
5 Points You attend class, do not complete readings and assignments, and
minimally contribute to conversations.
3 Points You attend class and do not contribute to conversations.
0 Points You do not attend class.
Participation Points Outside of Class:
8 Points Plan an optional one-on-one writing conference with Katie to discuss
5 Points Watch the recorded lecture and write a summary of the class and outlines
three (3) key take-aways from the class. Submitted on BbLearn within a
week of the missed class. This option only works if you communicate with
your instructor at least 24 hours ahead of time so she can record class.
5 Points Meet with Katie during her office hours.
Technology Requirements.
• Computer in good working order.
• Reliable Internet Connectivity.
• Microphone. Most computers have an integrated microphone, but if you need to
purchase one, however, here are two inexpensive microphones that bblearn
recommends: Logitech 1 ($14.99) and Logitech 2 ($19.99).
• Reliable Backup. You will need a reliable backup to store the latest drafts of your
work other than the hard drive of your computer or an easily lost thumb drive. Here is
one I recommend http://www.dropbox.com
• Microsoft Word. Students are strongly encouraged to use Microsoft Word because it
is the most commonly used software in the workplace today. Microsoft Office is
provided at no extra cost to all students and as part of the UI Microsoft Licensing
Agreement. You can install it on up to five separate devices. To install, go to ITS
Technology Services https://www.uidaho.edu/infrastructure/its/self-help/ms-
office/office-365

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Contacting Me. You are encouraged to email me when you have a question, comment, or a
concern; when you want to request a writing conference; or when you would like feedback
on a draft via email. You may expect a prompt reply M-F 9am-5pm.
I am available most days for a conference via Zoom; please email me if you would like to
meet.
Multimedia Project Deliverables. Four of the projects require both print
and multimedia deliverables. Students are not expected to have prior experience in
producing multimedia products and will be invited to create these using free, cloud-
computing tools.
Warning: Digital media files (MP3, MP4, WAV, WMV etc.) and Zip Files are not accepted in
this course. All digital files are required to be on a host site and play without a user needing
to download the file (or advance slides) because you are practicing how to share media as it
is shared in workplace environments.
Accepted File Formats. The following are the only accepted file formats:
• Print Deliverables: Word or PDF.
• PSA Billboard or Poster Deliverable: jpg, png, or other image file; Word, PPT or
PPTX, PDF file; or the URL where the file is hosted.
• Multimedia Deliverables: URL where the file is hosted.
Deadlines. All work is due by 11:59 PM on the day/date indicated in the project schedules.
Late work will lose 10% per day late including weekends. When I start to grade your work, if
a file will not open or a URL link does not work, I will notify you by email, and you will be
given 24 hours to submit work correctly in BbLearn and a late work point penalty will apply.
To avoid this problem, verify your submission.
You can submit work that is late, but only if it is in the project we are currently covering;
meaning, you may only submit late work for Project 1 assignments if we are still covering
Interpersonal Communication. You will not receive credit for work from Project 1 when we
start our Visual Communication Project.
I do not accept work via email. All submissions must be made via BbLearn.
Verify Submissions to Avoid Point Penalties. When submitting assignments, students are
responsible for verifying that files they uploaded are not corrupted and will open and that
the URL to your
This means you must return to the submissions box and open any files you uploaded and
check that a URL works. If your work does not submit correctly or if you failed to submit part
of it, you will need to submit all work again in a single attempt because the last submission
is the only one I grade.
University Disability Support Services. Reasonable accommodations will be made for
students with disabilities. Disability Support Services must approve your request: (208) 885-
6307• dss@uidaho.edu

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Plagiarism. Violation of the University of Idaho Student Code of Conduct for Plagiarism will
result in a course grade of ‘F'. See PDF in BbLearn for more information about what
Plagiarism is and how to avoid it.