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Business &

Professional Writing
English 4000 | Spring 2019

English 4000 provides an interactive learning experience that asks students to


communicate clearly and efficiently within a range of professional environments.
Dr. Nathaniel A. Rivers
In this course, students will be asked to create and deliver professionally
nathaniel.rivers@slu.edu
Adorjan Hall 232 designed and rhetorically sophisticated projects. In addition to communicating
TR 1100-1200 clearly and efficientlycoordinating projects and deadlines, working
https://slubpw.tumblr.com/ collaboratively, scheduling meetings, reporting progressstudents will learn not
only to communicate the values of their employers, but also to articulate the
value(s) of their own work. The course asks students to create a range of
professional documents that contribute to collaborative projects and refine
individual professional identities.

Course Values
With a focus on audience, context, and
the persuasion inherent to all human This course and its definition of professional communication are grounded in
endeavors, rhetoric greatly informs the rhetoric, which students will hopefully come to value as a productive method for
purpose of this course. negotiating, constructing, maintaining, and reshaping their professional lives.
Rhetoric, briefly defined, is the use of symbols to produce an effect (e.g., a
verbal command to Stop, a red traffic light, a Journey song imploring us Dont
Stop Believing, or a floor plan that privileges collaboration over isolation).
However, rhetoric necessarily exceeds the symbolic, manifesting itself in
embodied practices and spatial arrangements (e.g., curb cuts, roundabouts, and
jersey barriers that direct our movements). Though rhetoric has become a
negative word within political circles and contemporary media, it has a rich
history as one of the oldest intellectual pursuits in the Western world. With a
focus on audience, context, and the persuasion inherent to all human endeavors,
rhetoric greatly informs the purpose of this course.

Course Mission
In Things Without Honor, Arthur Stanley Pease writes of the tradition of
encomiaa speech or text praising someone or somethingdevoted to
humbler topics, such as the lower animals, plants, or inanimate objects (27).
This kind of composing is called adoxography, which means fine writing on a base
or trivial topic. Pease argues, To seek the causes of so long-continued and
widespread an epidemic of apparent nonsense is perhaps not without its
value (30). He connects this epidemic to the traditional work of delighting and
entertaining audiences. He also traces this practice to the development of
Alina Wheeler, Designing Brand Identity. natural science in thinkers like Aristotle, for whom no least detail was too trivial
5th ed. Wiley Press, 2017 for earnest consideration (32). Most importantly, though, Pease argues that
(ISBN-13:978-1118099209) such encomia are intimately connected to the workings of rhetorical training:

ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !1


what better training, from the sophistic standpoint, than this exercise of
defending the indefensible or salvaging the universally rejected (31).

Working within the spirit and tradition of adoxography in the context of the
What better training, from the sophistic
standpoint, than this exercise of defending practice of rebranding, teams of students will select a mundane thing (an object
the indefensible or salvaging the like a pebble or dust; practice such as getting lost or stubbing your toe) that
universally rejected. needs rebranding. Something that we think needs to be celebrated and
circulated more widely and more intensely. Crucially, this mundane thing
cannot be proprietary: it cannot be something owned as property, intellectual or
otherwise. For the first phase of this work, teams will assess the mundane things
marketing strategy and propose a new strategy to effect change. In the second,
final portion of the class, teams will embark on a marketing campaign. This
campaign will ask you to put into practice all the forms of business and
professional writing through the creation of a trend analysis, a media kit and a
presentation.

Course Requirements Project Due Dates


Class Participation 10%

A 100-94 C+ 79-77 Rebranding Proposal 25% February 12, 2018

A- 93-90 C 76-73 Marketing Campaign

B+ 89-87 C- 72-70 Trend Analysis 20% February 26, 2018


B 86-83 D 69-60
Media Kit 30% April 2, 2018
B- 82-80 F
Oral Presentation 15% April 25, 2018
The grading scale used for this course.

Late Work
Late work will not be accepted and will result in a failed grade unless there is an
emergency, which, of course, requires documentation. If for some reason you
feel you cannot complete an assignment by the provided due date, please speak
with me well in advance of when the assignment is due. The work for this course
is carefully sequenced and will grow out of ongoing class work and homework
assignments. Staying on top of these assignments, completing them diligently,
and turning them in on time are crucial for your success in this course.

Course Goals
Writing in Context negotiating the ethical
Analyze cultures, social contexts, and dimensions of rhetorical action
audiences to determine how they
shape the various purposes and forms Project Management
of writing, such as persuasion, understanding, developing and
This class hopes to cultivate a set of
organizational communication, and deploying various strategies for
habits vital to successful professional
communication. The best way to good public discourse, with an emphasis on: planning, researching, drafting,
habits is lots of practice. writing for a range of defined revising, and editing documents
audiences and stakeholders

ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !2


both individually and analyzing historical and
collaboratively contemporary contexts
selecting and using appropriate locating, evaluating, and using
styles that effectively and print and online information
ethically address contexts and selectively for particular
audiences audiences and purposes
building ethos through voice, triangulating sources of evidence
evidence, documentation and
accountability Teamwork
Learn and apply strategies for
Document Design successful teamwork and
Make rhetorical design decisions collaboration, such as:
Students have access to software and about documents, including: working online with colleagues
hardware as well as a work space through understanding and adapting to determining responsibilities
the Computer Assisted Instruction Lab in
Des Peres Hall 216.
genre conventions and audience managing team conflicts
expectations soliciting and using peer feedback
understanding and implementing effectively
design principles of format and achieving team goals
layout
interpreting and arguing with Technology
design Use and evaluate the writing
drafting, researching, testing, and technologies frequently employed in
revising visual designs and the workplace, such as emailing,
Students have one unexcused absence,
information architecture instant messaging, image editing,
but remain responsible for any missed
work. video editing, presentation design and
Research d e l i v e r y, H TM L e d i t i n g, We b
Understand and use various research browsing, content management, and
methods and sources to produce desktop publishing technologies.
professional documents, including:

This class hopes to cultivate a set of habits vital to successful professional


communication. The best way to good habits is lots of practice. The course,
then, at times, has a heavy workload. This workload, however, is calculated to
create the experience of professional communication: projects overlap,
deadlines loom, and expectations are often high (as are the stakes). Developing
the work and writing habits necessary to successfully complete assignments on
time is itself a desired outcome of this course.

Attendance
Attendance
Regular attendance is expected, and is fundamental to your success in this class.
Adoxography challenges a writer to wax
We will be working constantly with your writing, so your presence is quite
poetic about the minuscule, mundane or important. Because it is so important for your success in the course, the Writing
simply unmentionabledust and bees, for Program has instituted a program-wide attendance and tardiness policy. You
instance.
may have three unexcused absences over the course of the semester. Starting
with your fourth absence, your final course average will be lowered by 3 points
for each new absence. So, if you have five unexcused absences, you lose 6

ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !3


points from your final average. In that case, if your average were an 84, it would
then become a 78.

Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is honest, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic
endeavors. The mission of Saint Louis University is the pursuit of truth for the
greater glory of God and for the service of humanity. Accordingly, all acts of
falsehood demean and compromise the corporate endeavors of teaching,
research, health care, and community service via which SLU embodies its
mission. The University strives to prepare students for lives of personal and
professional integrity, and therefore regards all breaches of academic integrity as
matters of serious concern. The governing University-level Academic Integrity
Policy was adopted in Spring 2015, and can be accessed on the Provosts Office
Sample media kit. w e b s i t e a t : h t t p : / /w w w. s l u . e d u /a c a d e m i c s /g r a d u a t e /u n i v e r s i t y -
wide_academic_integrity_policy_final_6-26-15.pdf

Additionally, each SLU College, School, and Center has adopted its own
academic integrity policies, available on their respective websites. All SLU
students are expected to know and abide by these policies, which detail
definitions of violations, processes for reporting violations, sanctions, and
appeals. Please direct questions about any facet of academic integrity to your
faculty, the chair of the department of your academic program, or the Dean/
Director of the College, School or Center in which your program is housed.
Specific College of Arts and Sciences Academic Honesty Policies and
Procedures may be found at: http://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/student-
resources/academic-honesty.php

Title IX Statement
Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students
Of animals we find representatives of and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination and harassment. If
those which are more or less homely or you have encountered any form of sexual misconduct (e.g. sexual assault, sexual
mean, such as the ass, the horse, the
harassment, stalking, domestic or dating violence), we encourage you to report
cow, the parrot, the ant, and the
bumblebee, but also of those which are this to the University. If you speak with a faculty member about an incident of
annoying or dangerous, as flies, gnats, misconduct, that faculty member must notify SLUs Title IX coordinator, Anna
fleas, lice, and bedbugs. Of encomia of R. Kratky (DuBourg Hall, room 36; anna.kratky@slu.edu; 314-977-3886) and
plants I have already spoken; in the field
of inanimate objects we find thus honored share the basic fact of your experience with her. The Title IX coordinator will
the Dog Star, pots, pebbles, salt, wine, then be available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in
figs, the lyre, dust and smoke, and even connecting you with all possible resources on and off campus. If you wish to
ashes and dung.
speak with a confidential source, you may contact the counselors at the
University Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK. View SLUs sexual misconduct
policy: http://www.slu.edu/about/safety/pdfs/sexual-misconduct-policy-
version7.0.pdf.

Student Success Center


Student Success Center Syllabus Statement
In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is

ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !4


influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning
disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. The
Student Success Center assists students with academic related services, and is
located in the Busch Student Center (Suite, 331) and the School of Nursing
(Suite, 114). Students who think they might benefit from these resources can
find out more about:
I am open to discussing matters Course-level support (e.g., faculty member, departmental resources,
pertaining to course policies, readings,
writing assignments, teamwork, and
etc.) by asking your course instructor.
grades. Please feel free to contact me via University-level support (e.g., tutoring services, university writing
email as well as in person. I hope you will services, disability services, academic coaching, career services, and/or
also take advantage of my office hours.
facets of curriculum planning) by visiting the Student Success Center.

Disability Services Academic Accommodations


Students with a documented disability who wish to request academic
accommodations are encouraged to contact Disability Services to discuss
accommodation requests and eligibility requirements. Please contact Disability
Services, located within the Student Success Center, at
Disability_services@slu.edu or 314.977.3484 to schedule an appointment.
Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Once approved, information
about academic accommodations will be shared with course instructors via email
from Disability Services and viewed within Banner via the instructor's course
roster.

University Writing Services


Students are encouraged to take advantage of University Writing Services in the
Student Success Center; getting feedback benefits writers at all skill levels.
Trained writing consultants can help with writing projects, multimedia projects,
and oral presentations. University Writing Services offers one-on-one
consultations that address everything from brainstorming and developing ideas
to crafting strong sentences and documenting sources. For more information,
visit https://www.slu.edu/life-at-slu/student-success-center/ or call the Student
Success Center at 314-977-3484.

Basic Needs Security


Students in personal or academic distress and/or who may be specifically
experiencing challenges such as securing food or difficulty navigating campus
resources, and who believe this may affect their performance in the course, are
Sample media kit.
encouraged to contact the Dean of Students Office (deanofstudents@slu.edu
or 314-977-9378) for support. Furthermore, please notify the instructor if you
are comfortable in doing so, as this will enable them to assist you with finding the
resources you may need.

Assessment and Submission of Work


The Saint Louis University Department of English is committed to excellent and
innovative educational practices. In order to maintain quality academic offerings
and to conform to relevant accreditation requirements, we regularly assess our
courses and programs for evidence of student learning outcomes achievement.
ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !5
For this purpose, we keep on file representative examples of student work from
all courses and programs such as: assignments, papers, exams, multimedia
presentations, portfolios, and results from student surveys, focus groups, and
reflective exercises. Thus, copies of your work for this courseincluding exams,
presentations, submitted papers or other assignmentsmay be kept on file for
institutional research, assessment and accreditation purposes. All samples of
student work will be anonymized before they are used in assessment exercises. If
you prefer that the Department of English does not keep your work on file, you
need to communicate your decision in writing to your instructor.

Course Schedule
This class is designed to meet the students needs. For this reason, the syllabus is
subject to change throughout the semester. Daily agendas are posted to the
course Tumblr site before each class session.

Date Topics Assignment


Jan. 15 Course Intro Read: New York Times, Rebranding Motherhood
DBI Case Studies

Jan. 17

Jan. 22 Read: Encomium of QWERTY (Website)


Read: DBI Process Basics (103-119)
Key Dates Rebranding
Rebranding Proposal: February 12 Jan. 24 Read: DBI Brand Basics (1-33)
Trend Analysis: February 26
Media Kit: April 2 Jan. 29 Read: DBI Brand Ideals & Brand
Presentations: April 30 Elements (34-69)
Rebranding
Jan. 31 Listen: 99% Invisible, Title TK
Listen: Invisibilia, How to Become Batman

Feb. 5 Workshop
Rebranding
Feb. 7 Workshop

Feb. 12 Due: Draft of Rebranding Proposal


Rebranding Compose: Assessment Memo (due 9/27)
Review: Purdue OWL Concise Writing

Feb. 14 Read: DBI Brand Dynamics & Before and


After (70-101)
Trend Analysis Read: Bruno Latour, From Objects to
Things (Website)
Listen: 99% Invisible, The Trend Forecast

Feb. 19 Read: DBI Conducting Research (120-135)


Read: Things Come Apart; Connecting the Dots
from Brand to Demand; & Find Innovation Where
You Least Expect It
Trend Analysis
Feb. 21 Read: DBI, Clarifying Strategy & Designing
Identity (136-165)
Listen: 99% Invisible, Repackaging the Pill

Feb. 26 Trend Analysis Workshop on Recording


Due: Trend Analysis Script

ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !6


Feb. 28 No ClassUse time for recording
Read: DBI Creating Touchpoints (166-191)
Compose: Assessment Memo (due 10/16)

Mar. 5 Read: DBI, Managing Assets (192-207)


Review: DBI Case Studies

Mar. 7 Media Kit In-Class Discussion of Assigned Case Studies


Articulate Media Kit Elements: Application Design
(167)

Mar. 12 No ClassSpring Break

Mar. 14 No ClassSpring Break

Mar. 19 Workshop: Details


Media Kit
Mar. 21 Workshop: Details

Mar. 26 Media Kit Workshop: Details

Mar. 28 No ClassFinalize Media Kit Drafts

Apr. 2
Due: Media Kit Drafts
Consultations
Apr. 4 Compose: Assessment Memo (due 11/20)

Apr. 9 Media Kit Finalize Media Kit (Hard Copy)

Apr. 11

Apr. 16 Wrapping Up Plan Presentation Week

Apr. 18 No ClassEaster

Apr. 23
Presentations
Due: Marketing Campaigns
Apr. 25 Rehearsals

The original version of this course was Apr. 30


designed by Dr. Heather Bozant Witcher Presentations In-Class Presentations
at Saint Louis University. May 2

ENGL 4000 | Spring 2019 | !7

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