Week 2

By Monday, January 14 at midnight

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.

Reading

• "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (TH, 217-220; TH is the abbreviation for The Thomson Handbook and will be used henceforth)
• Read the sample job ad and student response in The Thomson Handbook (p. 223-24).

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.

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.
• 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.

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. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. 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.