WRTG 3040 Writing on Business and Society
INSTRUCTOR CONTACT:
Dr. Rolf Norgaard
Senior Instructor and Associate Director
Program for Writing and Rhetoric
Email: rolf.norgaard@colorado.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Designed for juniors and seniors in the College of Business, this course will help you:
- gain familiarity with business writing genres and issues in business communication
- develop critical thinking skills
- examine ethical issues in business, law, and public policy
- create visual presentations
The purpose of this course is to teach you techniques for writing analytical and argumentative essays, to develop critical thinking skills, and to examine ethical issues in business and create visual presentations. To this end, the final project for this course is to create a document related to your field that can stand on its own in the real world.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
- developing proficiency with the tools of technology
- building relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
- designing and sharing information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
- managing, analyzing, and synthesizing multiple streams of simultaneous information
- creating, critiquing, and evaluating multi-media texts
- attending to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments
A writing class offers a special opportunity to discuss work in progress in a supportive yet critically demanding “workshop” environment. As you develop drafts and other materials for this course, 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. Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty has the professional responsibility to treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion, and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender,and nationalities. See policies at
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and
http://www.colorado.edu/policies/student-honor-code-policy
REQUIRED TEXT:
All required texts will be available online or on D2L
Occasions Online: http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/student-publications
Occasions Online is a collection of prize-winning works written by students in the Program of Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) classes. For over a decade, the PWR (Program for Writing and Rhetoric) has honored strong student writing with their print edition of Occasions, and Occasions Online continues in that tradition.
NORLIN Library website: ucblibraries.colorado.edu/
Resources for Students: http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/student-resources
GRADING:
- 20% Class Participation: includes discussion, critiques, online participation, timeliness
- 40% Short assignments: resume/cover letter/personal ePortfolio; business memo; commentary assignment; and reflection
- 40% Essays: Visual Rhetoric (4-5 pages)—20%
Final Project (7-10 pages), including visual presentation—20%