Pellissippi State Community College

Master Syllabus

BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

ADMN 1310

Class Hours: 3.0 Credit Hours: 3.0

Laboratory Hours: 0.0 Revised: Fall 2016

Catalog Course Description

Instruction and practice in the forms and techniques of business and technical writing and

editing on the computer, with an emphasis on basic writing skills when necessary. It is

recommended that students be able to type 20 wpm.

Prerequisites

ENGL 1010

Corequisites

None

Textbook(s) and Other Course Materials

Essentials of Business Communication, 10th Edition, Mary Ellen Guffey | Dana Loewy, Cengage

2015; ISBN-10: 1285858913 | ISBN-13: 9781285858913

English Essentials: What Every College Student Needs to Know about Grammar, Punctuation,

and Usage, 3rd Edition; McGraw-Hill 2013; ISBN: 978-0-07-353332-2

One travel/USB drive

Week/Unit/Topic Basis

Week Topics

1 Orientation to the Course, Post Your Introduction, Email (D2L and PSCC)

EBC: Chapter 1 – Communicating in the Digital Age

EE: Chapter 1 Parts of Speech

2 EBC: Chapter 2 – Planning Business Messages

EE: Chapters 2 & 3 Subjects and Verbs, Irregular Verbs

3 EBC: Chapter 3 – Organizing and Drafting Business Messages

EE: Chapters 4 & 5 Subject-Verb Agreement, Sentence Types

4 EBC: Chapter 4 – Revising Business Messages

EE: Chapters 8 & 9 Run-ons and Comma Splices

5 EBC: Chapter 5 – Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media

EE: Chapter 10 The Comma

6 MIDTERM EXAM

7 EBC: Chapter 6 – Positive Messages

Week Topics

EE: Chapter 11 The Apostrophe

8 EBC: Chapters 7 & 8 Persuasive Messages

EE: Chapters 12 & 13 Quotation Marks and Homonyms

9 EBC: Chapter 9 – Informal Reports

EE: Chapters 14 & 15 Capital Letters and Parallelism

10 EBC: Chapter 10 – Proposals and Formal Reports

EE: Chapter 16 & 17: Preparing a Paper, Punctuation Marks

11 EBC: Chapter 11 – Developing Professionalism and Business Etiquette Skills at

the Office and Online

EE: Chapter 18 & 19 Pronoun Forms and Problems

12 EBC: Chapter 12- Business Presentations

EE: Chapter 20 & 21 Adjective and Adverbs, Misplaced Modifiers

13 EBC: Chapter 13- The Job Search and Résumés in the Digital Age

EE: Chapters 23 Numbers and Abbreviations

14 Chapter 14 – Interviewing and Following Up

15 Final Exam

Course Goals

Note: Roman numerals after course objectives reference goals of the Administrative Professional

Technology program.

The course will:

A. Review and improve basic grammar skills used in business communication. (V)

B. Develop skills in writing the different types of business letters and reports. (II, III, V)

C. Develop skills in writing business memos. (II, III, V)

D. Learn and apply the way to create professional email communication. (I, V, VI)

E. Improve oral communication skills. (II, III)

F. Improve computer/technology skills when creating documents and presentations. (II, III,

V)

Expected Student Learning Outcomes

Note: Capital letters after Expected Student Learning Outcomes reference the course goals listed

below.

Students will:

1. Explain communication processes in business. (A, B, C, D E, F)

2. Explain the importance of team communication in the workplace. (E)

3. Define possible barriers to intercultural communication. (A, D, E)

4. Apply the concepts for writing and proofing letters, memos, emails, business reports,

proposals, and oral presentations in the workplace. (A, B, C, D, E, F)

5. Prepare a professional cover letter and resume`. (A. B, D, F)

6. Demonstrate proper use of grammar through writing assessments. (A, B, C, D, E, F)

7. Effectively use technology to enhance presentations. (D, F)

Evaluation

Testing Procedures

40% Tests, Three application tests will be given.

60% Assignments

The student will complete homework (including quizzes) pertaining to the weekly topics.

Laboratory Expectations

N/A

Field Work

N/A

Other Evaluation Methods

None

Grading Scale

The final grade will be based on the following grading scale:

92 – 100 A

89 – 91 B+

82 – 88 B

79 – 81 C+

72 – 78 C

65 – 71 D

0 – 64 F

Policies

Attendance Policy

Pellissippi State expects students to attend all scheduled instructional activities. As a

minimum, students in all courses (excluding distance learning courses) must be present

for at least 75 percent of their scheduled class and laboratory meetings in order to receive

credit for the course. Individual departments/programs/disciplines, with the approval of

the vice president of Academic Affairs, may have requirements that are more stringent.

In very specific circumstances, an appeal of the policy may be addressed to the head of

the department in which the course was taken. If further action is warranted, the appeal

may be addressed to the vice president of Academic Affairs.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic misconduct committed either directly or indirectly by an individual or group is

subject to disciplinary action. Prohibited activities include but are not limited to the

following practices:

Cheating, including but not limited to unauthorized assistance from material, people, or

devices when taking a test, quiz, or examination; writing papers or reports; solving

problems; or completing academic assignments.

Plagiarism, including but not limited to paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly quoting

published or unpublished work of another person, including online or computerized

services, without proper documentation of the original source.

Purchasing or otherwise obtaining prewritten essays, research papers, or materials

prepared by another person or agency that sells term papers or other academic materials

to be presented as one’s own work.

Taking an exam for another student.

Providing others with information and/or answers regarding exams, quizzes, homework

or other classroom assignments unless explicitly authorized by the instructor.

Any of the above occurring within the Web or distance learning environment.

Please see the Pellissippi State Policies and Procedures Manual, Policy 04:02:00

Academic/Classroom Conduct and Disciplinary Sanctions for the complete policy.

Accommodation for Disabilities

Students who need accommodations because of a disability, have emergency medical

information to share, or need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated

should inform the instructor immediately, privately after class or in her or his office.

Students must present a current accommodation plan from a staff member in Disability

Services (DS) in order to receive accommodations in this course. Disability Services may

be contacted by sending email to disabilityservices@pstcc.edu, or by visiting Alexander

130. More information is available at http://www.pstcc.edu/sswd/.