BC 352: Fundamentals of Business Writing

Overview

The quote above puts into perspective how important writing effectively is to a businessperson. Communication in the workplace is about getting people to think about our ideas and thoughts regarding policies, procedures, projects, products, etc.; and that is done through our writing. As technology has advanced, there have been vast improvements in how we communicate locally as well as globally. We use electronic mail when we once made a phone call. Staff updates and proposals are now written so they can be read on an airplane. Gone are the days of two-hour staff meetings. Now we meet via the Internet, keeping meetings short and to the point. In order for people to be truly competitive in this new environment, they need to communicate effectively through their writing.

In addition to the technological advancements, target audiences are more sophisticated and strapped for time. They don't have the time necessary to read a 20-page proposal. They need the information organized, and presented logically and concisely. If it is not presented in a straightforward manner, the audience may not take the time to even read it. Then what do you do?

The Fundamentals of Business Writing course provides you with many techniques and strategies for writing effectively and efficiently. You will learn organization methods to present your information in a manner so that the audience understands the message. After all, most business writing is persuading people to think what you think. You want the audience to do something and the challenge is figuring out the best communication avenue.

This is a writing course and there will be a writing assignment in each module as well as a weekly reflection paper. Many of your writing assignments will be used to help you complete your final project.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Use the components of effective writing to develop well-written business documents.
• Create mind maps and outlines to use in expanding their ideas into effective documents.
• Evaluate word choice, sentence structure, and verb use as they relate to effective business documents.
• Write a resume using the appropriate format for the type of information presented.
• Use different writing tools to ensure effective and efficient documentation.
• Determine the proper situations and effective patterns to use in business documents such as e-mails, memos, letters, summaries, short and long reports, and online writing.

Required Texts
BC 352 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore