ENG 300: Business and Professional Writing
Dr. Miriam Chirico
Required Texts:
Alred, Gerald, Charles Brusaw and Walter Oliu, The Business Writer’s Handbook, 7th edition (packaged)
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. (2000)
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (2002)
Levitt, Steven and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. (2005)
Course Objectives: This class will focus mainly on professional writing: how to write for the business and non-profit world. Emphasis will be on mastering the various forms of professional writing, such as memos, letters, reports, reviews, and proposals, as well as learning to write in language that is concrete, persuasive, and direct as well as sensitive to the client’s or reader’s needs.
Liberal arts majors prepare themselves for the world after college by learning how to learn: how to think about issues deeply, how to read to understand complex ideas, and how to organize information into a persuasive argument. This class provides the liberal arts major with practical projects in which to apply these complex thinking skills to professional situations.
This course also encourages students to consider employment possibilities for themselves. Students should have their own agenda in taking this class: what do you want to do with your skills after you attain your degree? If you are looking for a job or an internship, if you would like to find out more information about a particular industry, if you are interested in doing some volunteer work to bolster a resume, if you would like to approach the Chamber of Commerce about a business venture, then you should use these assignments as opportunities to pursue those projects. |
