By Monday, January 14 at midnight

Basics of Professional Communications

• The overall emphasis for communications in this class (because it is so in the workplace) will be on professionalism. All communications, regardless of genre (email, memo, blog, webpage, report, etc.) should be professional and appropriate in format, tone, and content. Because you will be judged in the workplace at least partially on your level of professionalism, part of your grade on every single piece of communication in this class will be determined by how professional it is in all three respects.
  
  • The importance of format, tone, and content: a large part of what people think of you is determined in the first few seconds ~ by appearance alone. This is the reason you "dress for success" when going to an interview or an important meeting or presentation. In addition to making the right impression, dressing professionally gives you an edge, illustrating the old axiom: "if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you do good" (we won't complain about the diction; old axioms are known for their expressions of basic truths, not their grammar). The same is true when you "dress up" your written communications. Readers/Audiences make subconcious judgements about you and the importance of what you have to say the instant they see your piece of communication. That judgement is reinforced or refuted by the tone and content of what they're reading. So all three need to be as professional as you are.

Reading

• "Writing Effective Memos" (TH, 232-33; TH is the abbreviation for The Thomson Handbook and will be used henceforth). All documents for this class that are not identified as belonging to a specific genre (such as cover letter, resume, report, etc.) should be prepared in memo format as outlined in this reading.
• "Reading and Writing Email Purposefully" (TH, 604-09), paying particular attention to the "Ten Habits of Successful Emailers" on page 606. These are the criteria by which your emails in this class ~ and as a professional ~ will be evaluated.
• "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (TH, 217-220)
• Read the sample job ad and student response in TH (p. 223-24).

Employment Project

• Read the Employment Project description. You can ask questions about the project by adding a new comment to the assignment. Try to answer your own question before posting it too hastily.

By Wednesday, January 16 at midnight.

Peer Review

No peer review this week. We will begin peer reviews with the Job Ad Analysis in Week 3 , and continue with peer reviews throughout the semester.

Reading

• To support your understanding of this first major project, look ahead through Chapter 12 in The Thomson Handbook, "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (220-238). We will return to individual sections throughout the Employment and subsequent projects.
• Read Gareth's Tips on Sucks-Less Writing

Reading Response

• Post a reading response. Suggested Prompts: How might writing for the workplace differ from writing in college? Describe some of the important ways that writing functions in the workplace or other professional contexts. How do Gareth's tips help you understand these differences? Why do you think writing is such an important component of effective business practice? Since this is your first time, you'll want to follow the tutorial for using the class site software, How to Post to Your Individual Weblog. Use the tag "Reading Response" in the category field.
• Please review the guidelines for posting under the Handouts tab.

By Friday, January 18 at midnight

Employment Project

• Step 1: Skills Inventory, Job Description and Job Ad Analysis . Start this step by completing the Job Search Activity 12-1 (p. 221) in The Thomson Handbook. In a blog post, respond to each of the questions with a few sentences or a list.
• Use these handouts from the OWL to give you a leg up on your Skills Inventory: Job Search Self Analysis and the Job skills checklist
  
• Begin research to find two job ads in your area of interest. Internships are good possibilities for some people. Review the Job Search Resources at the Professional Writing website and the Purdue Center for Career Opportunities.

Quiz # 2: please complete before midnight

Reading

• "Networking with Others on the Web" (TH, Chapter 28 , pages 621-40).

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. Remember, you need five (5) posts each week which respond to something posted by your classmates (Reading Responses, for instance). For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

Check out Week 3 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.