ENGL 420: Business Writing

As the semester is coming to a close this was our last week of readings. There was not very much to read this week, as we are completing our final project and wrapping up the loose ends of this course. The final details and readings provided this week pertain to the oral presentation that each group must give based on their organization. Last week’s readings also focused on the main guidelines and tips for oral presentations, while this week the readings refreshed the main ideas of oral presentations. It focused on audience analysis, talk structure, and delivery.

Our project is finally finished and all coming to a close. We completed four documents for the Almost Home Humane Society. Two of the documents we created from our own research and information, while the other two were documents that we updated off of the original copies that we received from the Almost Home Humane Society. With the completion of these documents we plan to print out 75 color copies to give to Brenda from Almost Home. She had requested that she would appreciate 50 if we could spare that many color documents, as their funds are limited.

Today in class we began the discussion of guidelines and advice on providing effective oral presentations. So, as I sat down to do this week’s readings it was very convenient that it focused on effective communication in oral presentations. In the articles from PWOnline about oral presentations, they focus on the keys to good oral communication in the most straightforward presentation. The first key to success is analyzing your audience.

As we enter another week and continue progress on the Service-Learning project we begin to discover and focus on some important ethical issues. The readings this week were over many social and cultural issues, such as, plagiarism and copyright, gender in the workplace, and the importance of ethics. The first reading focusing on plagiarism, over viewing the ethical and legal guidelines of using another’s writings. To state it most simply: give credit where credit is due. It is very important to acknowledge any borrowed writing, graphics, or whatever it may be.

With the Service Learning Project under way our group, as always, is remaining ahead of the game. Last week we met with the Almost Home Director to approve them as the organization we would be working with. We had an initial meeting to discuss the details of our project and also achieved some ideas on what Almost Home would prefer for us to provide for them. We have decided that we will be taking some of their existing documents available for interested pet owners and we will be updating and re-formatting them to create more attractive and reader friendly information.

As we are moving along in our final project for the semester the progress is coming along. After setting our client and an initial meeting it is time to create a proposal. The proposal should address the project goals and deliverables, while also serving as a contract between the organization and our group. Last week we had some readings that provided a very brief overview of proposals, but this week's readings focused mainly on how to create the proposal and achieve the goal overall goal of the proposal, which is to ask the audience to approve permission to do the proposed project.

This week we began our final project, the Service Learning Project. In beginning this project we were assigned to read all about proposals. The readings have been very helpful in beginning our project to create a group memo and proposal. This article provided a very solid base of information for us to begin our plans and documents for this project. From the readings on proposals it is very important that we grasp the main concept of what a proposal is and what we need to achieve.

My group focused on the Almost Home Humane Society in our white paper project and their issues of overcrowding. For the Client-Based Service Project I would like to continue working with the group that I have previously been working with. As a group, we worked very well together and were extremely successful. There is much work that can be done to benefit Almost Home Humane Society, with the extensive research that we have already conducted for the white paper we have a strong understanding of some possible things that could be done for the humane society.

Our white paper project is finally complete, presentation and all!

This week was all about reviewing and finishing our white papers, so there was really no specific reading assignment. We were required though to read over some of the other group’s white papers, filling out a Peer Review sheet for each paper. This was a very good exercise for all of us to partake in. In breaking down other group’s white papers question by question from the Peer Review sheet it makes you think about your own paper. Each time we would be presented with a question to analyze from there paper, I would try to think about how we could answer this question for our own paper.