1. Workplace Writing and Organizational Communication
ENGL 3355—Spring 2009—CRN 24268
BUSN 320, Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-10:20 A.M.
Instructor: Christie Daniels
Office: 103 Vowell Hall
Telephone: 915.747.6242
e-mail: To communicate with me about almost anything, including absences,
assignments, etc.—use the “mail” function at the Web-CT site for this
course; alternatively: cldaniels@miners.utep.edu.
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday: 11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and by appointment
RWS: Living Rhetoric. Writing Knowledge.
Course Description
In this course we will examine the role that language plays in our lives and organizations,
from our ways of acquiring and expressing knowledge, to the ways that we perceive the
world, ourselves, and others. More specifically, we will examine workplaces as discursive
formations, taking a rhetorical approach to workplace writing and communication, and
seeing organizations as complex, polycontextual, and distributed. The first half of the
course takes a broad theoretical approach, introducing influential readings from
researchers in Professional/Technical Communication and Rhetoric and Writing Studies.
The second half of the course applies these theories to common workplace writing
contexts through case analyses and developmental projects.
Course objectives: Students will…
 Investigate and implement theories of language, rhetoric, and analysis
 Explore and practice methods of rhetorical thinking and metacognition
 Explore and practice the common conventions of workplace writing and
organizational communication
 Explore and practice writing research in the workplace
 Investigate and practice writing as a way of thinking, knowing, and being, using their
writing to negotiate their world
Key Terms and Phrases
Rhetoric—Discourse/Discursive—Metacognitive—Distributed Work—Epistemology —
Ontology—Organizational Identity—Agency—Invention—Rhetorical Thinking—Rhetorical
Dispositions—Polycontextual—Multilingual—Recursion—Aggregation—Inquiry—
Structure—Power—Image—Subjectivity—Assembly—Indicators—Effectiveness—
Knowledge Work
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2. Required Textbooks
 Community Action and Organizational Change. Brenton D. Faber. SIU Press, 2002.
 Strategic Business Communication: An Integrated, Ethical Approach. Robyn Walker.
Thomson South-Western, 2006.
Storage and Backup
 This course depends heavily on computer-mediated writing and analysis, and much of
the work you will do this semester (and in the workplace) will involve interface with
technology. Therefore, it is important that you take responsibility for your
assignments, including the storage and backup of digital work. This course will
require the consistent use of one or more of the following storage devices:
o USB Drive (recommended)
o UTEP My Space Storage
o CD
o Hard Drive
Grading Policy
 Assignments are graded according to criteria distributed in class (or on WebCT). A
tentative grading schedule follows, but is subject to adjustment.
Course Assessment and Calculation of Final Grade
 Participation
o In Class and Online
o WebCT Reading Responses (5)
o Applications/Case Analyses (3)
o Employee Attributes/Globalization Report 150
 Mid-Term Examination 200
 Report on Current Scholarship in Business/Tech Communication 150
 Oral Presentation of Recommendation Report 150
 Final Project:
o Proposal (50)
o Recommendation Report (150)
o Project Assessment Memo (150)
350
 Total: 1,000
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3. Attendance, Withdrawals, and Incompletes
 Regular attendance is essential to success in the course, as we may begin or
complete several assignments in class
 If you have 4 absences before the published drop date (April 3), you will be
dropped and receive a W for the course
 If you have 4 absences at the end of the term, you will receive an F
 Please arrive on time for class, be prepared to work, and respect others
 Please notify me ahead of time about absences for official University business or
for religious holidays
 Repeated failure to turn in assignments will result in a drop for neglect of course
work (before April 3 with a W; after that date, with an F)
 Please see the University Catalog for more information on Withdrawals and
Incompletes
Late work: If you miss a deadline for any reason, you may still choose to submit your
work, but you will be docked one letter grade for each day (not class period) that
passes beyond the deadline. ~This privilege may be revoked if it is abused~
Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
 Proper citation is a hallmark of good scholarship. Plagiarism is using information or
original wording in a paper without giving credit to the source of that information or
wording: it is not acceptable. Do not submit work under your name that you did not
do yourself. You may not submit work for this class that you did for another class. If
you are found to be cheating or plagiarizing, you will be subject to disciplinary action,
per UTEP catalog policy.
 Refer to http://www.utep.edu/dos/acadintg.htm for further information.
Students with Disabilities
 I will make any reasonable accommodations for students with limitations due to
disabilities, including learning disabilities. Please see me personally before or after
class in the first two weeks, or make an appointment to discuss any special needs
you might have. If you have a documented disability and require specific
accommodations, you will need to contact the Disabled Student Services Office in
the East Union Bldg., Room 106 within the first two weeks of classes. The Disabled
Student Services Office can also be reached in the following ways:
Web: http://www.utep.edu/dsso
Phone: (915) 747-5148 voice or TTY
Fax: (915) 747-8712
E-Mail: dss@utep.edu
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4. ►Schedule of Major Assignments and Weekly Readings
Complete the reading assignments before the class for which they are assigned, and be
prepared to participate in discussion and group exercises.
Major Assignment Due Dates (subject to adjustment)
3/3 Mid-Term Examination
3/26 Report on Current Scholarship in Business/Tech Communication
4/14 Proposal for Recommendation Report
4/21 Employee Attributes and Globalization Report (shared BUSN/ENGL
assignment)
4/28-5/7 Oral/Visual Presentations
5/14 Recommendation Report and Project Assessment Memo
Spring 2009 Calendar (subject to adjustment)
1/20 Course Preliminaries—syllabus and introductions—buy books!
Introduction to Business/Organizational Writing—Philosophies and Methods
1/22 Drucker, P. (1988). The coming of the new organization. Harvard Business Review 66
(1), 45-53.
Spinuzzi, C. (2006). What do we need to teach about knowledge work? Computer
Writing and Research Lab, White Paper Series.
Spinuzzi, C. (2007). Guest editor’s introduction: Technical communication in the age
of distributed work. TCQ 16 (3), 265-277.
1/27 Brummett, B. (1979). Three meanings of epistemic rhetoric. SCA Convention.
Emig, J. (1982). Inquiry paradigms and writing. College Composition and
Communication 33 (1), 64-75
WebCT Reading Response Due
1/29 Faber Ch. 1
2/3 Faber Ch. 2
WebCT Reading Response Due
2/5 Faber Ch. 3 (ONLINE CLASS)
2/10 Faber Ch. 4
WebCT Reading Response Due
2/12 Faber Ch. 4 (cont.)
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5. 2/17 Winsor, D. (2006). Using writing to structure agency: An examination of engineers’
practice. TCQ 15 (4), 411-30.
WebCT Reading Response Due
2/19 Faber Ch. 5
2/24 Faber Ch. 6
WebCT Reading Response Due
2/26 Faber Ch. 7 (pp. 166-181) (ONLINE CLASS)
3/3 Mid-Term Examination
3/5 Introduction to Case Analysis, Projects, and common Business Writing/Organizational
Communication Practices
3/10 Walker Ch. 1, Ch. 8 (pp. 208-217) (ONLINE CLASS)
Case Analysis/Workplace Application Due
3/12 Walker Ch. 2 (ONLINE CLASS)
3/16—3/20 Spring Break!!!
3/24 Walker Ch. 3
Case Analysis/Workplace Application Due
3/26 Hart-Davidson, W., et al. (2008). Coming to content management: Inventing
infrastructure for organizational knowledge work. TCQ 17 (1), 10-34.
Report on Current Scholarship in Business/Tech Communication Due
3/31 Cesar Chavez Day—No Class!!!
4/2 Walker Ch. 4
4/7 Walker Ch. 5 (ONLINE CLASS)
Case Analysis/Workplace Application Due
4/9 Walker Ch. 6 (ONLINE CLASS)
4/14 Walker Ch. 6 (cont.)
Proposal for Recommendation Report Due
4/16 Walker Ch. 7
4/21 Walker Ch. 8
Employee Attributes and Globalization Report Due
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6. 4/23 Kostelnick, C. (1988). A systematic approach to visual language in business
communication. JBC 25 (3), 29-48.
4/28 Oral/Visual Presentations
4/30 Oral/Visual Presentations
5/5 Oral/Visual Presentations
5/7 Oral/Visual Presentations
5/14 Final Projects Due (Recommendation Report and Project Assessment Memo)
For course or program information, contact Dr. Helen Foster, Director of Rhetoric and Writing Studies,101 Vowell Hall 747-
6623
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