Readings and activities

Weekly Agenda

Week 1

Course Introduction / Review Syllabus

Readings DUE

• Magrino and Goeller. Effective Business and Professional Writing: From Problem to Proposal, 3rd Edition (2016), Kendall/Hunt, Table of Contents, pp. iii-iv
• Magrino, Chapter 1, The Project Proposal from the Ground Up, pp. 1-14. (6Ps - Six Parts of the Project Proposal)
• Magrino, Blog Post. Read and discuss a recent blog post written for Kendall Hunt:

https://he.kendallhunt.com/blog/six-p%E2%80%99s-importance-real-world-significance-professional-writing (Students: access the blog on your personal devices)

In-Class Activities

• Attendance, Participation and contributions
• Newspaper article (6Ps)

Assignments

• Review 1 newspaper articles (print or online) for 6 Ps analysis / review. (Magrino, p. 7)

Week 2

Review / Discuss the Six P's

Readings DUE

• Magrino, Chapter 1, The Project Proposal from the Ground Up, pp. 1-14. (: Pay attention to the 6Ps - Six Parts of the Project Proposal)
• Alred, Brusaw, and Oliu. The Business Writer’s Companion, 8th edition (2017), Bedford/St. Martin’s, Chapter 5, Job Search and Applications - Research - pp. 167-173
• Rutgers Library Tutorials

In-Class Activities

• Newspaper Exercise, Magrino, p. 7
• Six P’s Exercise, Magrino, p. 9
• Library visit? Local research.

Assignments

• None.

Week 3

Cover Letter and Resume

Readings DUE

• Magrino, Chapter 3, The Cover Letter and Resume - pp. 125-137.
• Alred, Chapter 9, Job Search and Applications - Application Cover Letters, pp. 260-272.
• Alred, Chapter 9, Job Search and Applications - Resumes, pp. 282-300.

In-Class Activities

• Lecture: Cover Letter and Resume - TBD
• Library visit? (local research)

Assignments

• Cover Letter - Rough DRAFT / Peer Review - next week.
• Resume - Rough DRAFT / Peer Review - next week.

Week 4

Paradigms

Readings DUE

• Chapter 2 Introduction and Thomas Kuhn, “The Essential Tension,” page 3, pp. 11-22.
• Malcolm Gladwell, “Designs for Working,” pages 23-30
• Chapter 4, Researching Your Topic, Magrino, pp. 139-152. (Pay attention to APA Format)
• Annotated Bibliography, Magrino pp. 155-167

In-Class Activities

• Peer Review - Cover Letter - Magrino, p. 133
• Peer Review - Resume - Magrino, p. 133
• Lecture: Annotated Bibliography, Magrino, pp. 155-167.
• Lecture: White Paper Assignment (problem definition / justification)

(: Needs work below)

Assignments

• Reading - Chapter 2: Introduction and Thomas Kuhn, “The Essential Tension,” pages 11-22
• Write a paragraph on Question 1 1 (First paragraph only) and QUESTION 5. We will discuss the rest of the questions in class so please be prepared. (Chapter 2, pp. 21-22 )

Assignment Instructions

• Read Malcolm Gladwell's "Designs for Working" (Magrino, pages 23-28) and answer question 2 (page 29) in a paragraph or two.
• Include at least one APA-style parenthetical citation. (Refer to page 99-100 in the Magrino text or to one of the online guides listed under Resources. )
• Explain and post Annotated bibliography
• Tuesday: Cover letter and resume assignment – final draft due

Week 5

Researching Your Topic

Readings DUE

• Alred, "Outlining" and "Paragraphs", pp. 23-29.
• Hooper, Judith. “A New Germ Theory,” (Google Doc) Handout pp. 31-45

In-Class Activities

• Lecture on Plagiarizing; Guidance for Midterm Paper

Assignments

• White paper assignment (1 to 1 1/2 pages) – Chapter 4
• DUE: Cover letter and resume assignment – Final DRAFT

Week 6

Topic TBD

Readings DUE

• Sarewitz, Daniel and Pielke Jr., “Breaking the Global Warming Gridlock,” pages 47-59 (PDF in Google Docs}, pp. 55-65.
• Chapter 5, Midterm paper guidelines and samples

Assignments

• TBD

Week 7

Topic TBD

Readings DUE

• Magrino, Sample Annotated Bibliographies, pp. 155-163

In-Class Activities

• TBD

Assignments

• Midterm assignment – Chapter 5

Week 8 - THANKSGIVING BREAK

Presentations and PowerPoint

Readings DUE

• Parker, Ian. “Absolute PowerPoint,” pages 61-69 (New Yorker magazine) - http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/05/28/absolute-powerpoint
• Other - 91

In-Class Activities

• None

Assignments

• TBD

Week 9

Oral Presentations

Readings DUE

• Chapter 6, Oral presentation guidelines
• Video of past oral presentations

In-Class Activities

• Oral Presentations

Assignments

• TBD

Week 10

Project Proposal - Plan & Review of Samples

Readings DUE

• Magrino, Chapter 7, The Project Proposal, pp. 211-278
• Verbiage: Plan for the project proposal and review final proposal samples

In-Class Activities

• TBD

Assignments

• TBD

Week 11

Oral Presentations with Peer Evaluations

Readings DUE

• Giving Feedback

In-Class Activities

• TBD

Assignments

• DUE: Oral presentations with peer evaluations
• Peer revision workshops of project proposals (cover letter, title page, abstract, table of contents, table of figures)

Week 12

Oral Presentations with Peer Evaluations

Readings DUE

• TBD

In-Class Activities

• TBD

Assignments

• DUE: Oral presentations with peer evaluations
• Peer revision workshops of project proposals (introduction, literature review)

Week 13

Oral Presentations with Peer Evaluations

Readings DUE

TBD

In-Class Activities

• TBD

• DUE: Oral presentations with peer evaluations
• Peer revision workshops for project proposals (plan, budget, discussion)

Assignments

• TBD

Week 14

Wrap-Up, Final Assignments DUE

Tip: Perform a full review and copy edit of your Final Presentation. Excellent grammar makes a big difference to the success of your proposal and your grade.

Readings DUE

None.

In-Class Activities

• TBD

Assignments

• DUE: Oral presentations with peer evaluations
• Peer revision workshops for project proposals (references, visual aids, appendix)
• DUE: Submit final project proposal at last class meeting
• DUE: Course Evaluation (in-class)

Additional & Interesting Readings

• Grant Reviewer's Perspective - Lessons from the Other Side: My Experience as a Federal Grant Reviewer, April 21, 2011