This website served as the course site for Suzanne Black's Fall 2007 Business Writing class. The site has been archived and is no longer interactive, but feel free to browse.

What to turn in on Wed, Dec 12:

Required Elements

• Revised pre-proposal
• Revised client proposal
• Revised Progress Report
• Any presentation slides
• Paper and/or electronic copy of final deliverable (brochure, pamphlet, URL for website)
• Project Assessment for each group member
• Client's contact info

Optional:

• Drafts & Peer review

Format and Logistics:

For Wednesday, Dec 5, prepare a 5-7 presentation on your final project. This presentation won't be graded, but it shouldn't rehash your project report or workshop the rough draft of your brochure/ website/ booklet. Powerpoints are optional. Guidelines link here.

Here's a link to this week (Dead week) on the calendar.

Here’s how to fix a "Forbidden" 403 error message.

Method 1 

1. Open the www folder in your career account.
2. Right-click on the HTML file for this project.
3. Select Properties in the Pop-up menu.
4. Click on the “Security” tab.
5. Make sure all users have “read and execute” privileges.
6. Repeat for any other project files (PDF, pictures)

Method 2:

http://help.itap.purdue.edu/1534

• Checklist of what to turn in on Monday, 11/5
• Prompt Questions for Project Assessment
• Discussion Questions for Final Peer-Review
• HTML Helpsheet

These are based on shared topics/ interests, as well as an attempt to distribute strong peer reviewers across the teams.

HR/ Ethics/ Social Work Group: Nicole, Maya, Alexis

Business focus: A.J., Chris, Jill, Brandon

Technologies: Adam, Michael, Alaina, Joe, Chernyeh

Science/ Proposals: Stefan, Rachael, Qingruisi, Brendan, Karen  

Welcome to Business Writing. A few first day things:

Textbook: Johnson-Sheehan, Technical Communication Today (University Bookstore or Follett's)

To locate the syllabus, click on that link/tab in the top navigation bar.

HW for Wed:

Drupal, at its base installation, is a blank slate, a content management system that can be used to create a large variety of different websites. This installation is preconfigured for creating a community site suitable for the online writing classroom, a highly configurable platform that better facilitiates community interaction and collaboration than is otherwise possible with proprietary course management systems (e.g., Blackboard or WebCT). Educators will find that this distribution eliminates most of the work involved in setting up a Drupal site for a writing class.

It is not possible within the scope of this text to explain all Drupal configurations, modules, and features. Instead, the DrupalEd Site Configuration Guide is intended as a getting started FAQ that will guide you through some basic issues and answer some specific configuration questions. As you become more comfortable with Drupal, it is certainly worthwhile to learn more--so that you can take advantage of the flexibility and wide range of configuration options and additional features.

For much more detailed information on Drupal configuration and usage, consult the Drupal modules and features section on drupal.org. Also be sure to read the help material available at the top of many of the administration pages.

To begin configuring your course site for use this semester, start with the DrupalEd Site Configuration Guide (below), which walks you through the basic customization and features of your site. It has been written specifically for instructors in Introductory Composition and Professional Writing.

First-time users and those who want to learn more about how to use Drupal effectively should attend our pre-semester Drupal Workshop (time and location TBA), ask questions and share ideas on the Drupal Users mailing list, or email Jeremy Tirrell or me (David Blakesley).

Some content used in other courses has been retained here because it may be useful to any writing instructor. For example, the "Getting Started" pages walk students through the process of registering for the course and completing a profile. See these pages:

• Getting Started 1
• Getting Started 2
• Getting Started 3

The "Handouts" link in the navigation bar will take you to some generic handouts useful for teaching and writing online and in Drupal.

Once you've read this message, you can delete it, or just let it float to the bottom as more messages are promoted to the front page . . .

Enjoy!

Dave.