Writing in labor and employment relations2/Readings and activities

Week 1: Course Intro / Review Syllabus

 * Read blog post by Bill Magrino (Business Writing Program Director) - https://he.kendallhunt.com/blog/six-p%E2%80%99s-importance-real-world-significance-professional-writing


 * West Oakland Farms Sow Seeds of Renewal for Ex-Inmates, by Jonathan Kauffman, Sept. 6, 2015 in San Francisco Chronicle.
 * Black Panther-Inspired Urban Farming video
 * Read Autistic boy and service dog article, from Ottawa Citizen. Class discussion (groups of 4).

Readings

 * Magrino, Chapter 1, The Project Proposal from the Ground Up, pp. 1-14. (6Ps - Six Parts of the Project Proposal)

Prepare for Class

 * Find and bring to class a labor-themed article from the SMLR E- List Archives of interest to you

Week 2: SMLR E-List Archives Article / Newspaper Exercise & 6Ps

 * Rutgers SMLR E-List Archives (search by month) - https://email.rutgers.edu/pipermail/smlr_net/
 * Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center - https://smlr.rutgers.edu/content/education-employment-research-center-eerc
 * For Funding, search database: Foundation Directory (Online)

Readings

 * 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.

Review

 * Scholarly / Library Research - http://libraries.rutgers.edu (Part of the Academic Community --> Extend the Research)
 * Foundation Directory Online (if page doesn't load properly, here are 2 workarounds: (1) copy the EIN from the funder profile and search it in our 990 Finder: http://foundationcenter.org/find-funding/990-finder OR (2) If the proxy issue interferes with that tool, here's a backup: http://www.eri-nonprofit-salaries.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NPO.Search&SearchType=Advanced&CobrandID=0

Activities

 * Barker, Joel, "Defining a Paradigm", pp. 17-21 & Group Discussion, pp. 23-24 (Work collaboratively to answer questions)
 * Peer Review Workshop - DRAFT Cover Letter / Resume (Magrino, p. 133)
 * Discuss Proposal Ideas / Titles
 * Add Proposal Idea / Topic to Google Form for Library Visit - Peggy Wong (Sept. 27) - Sakai Announcement

Readings

 * Magrino, "Researching the Problem (Topic)", pp. 139-163
 * Pay Attention to:
 * Magrino, White Paper Assignment, pp. 145-155
 * Magrino, Sample Annotated Bibliographies, pp. 155-163
 * Magrino, A Brief Guide to Using MLA Style, pp. 153-155 AND Purdue Online Writing Lab MLA Formatting and Style Guide
 * 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 Guides: http://libguides.rutgers.edu/eng_302_303_guides
 * Rutgers Library Tutorials

Week 4: White Paper, Annotated Bibliography & References

 * Wordiness - Part 1 - "I am currently employed" / Bonsai tree example
 * See: Wikipedia reference for Bonsai
 * Bonsai movies on YouTube & How to create a bonsai tree (9:43) - a bit slow moving, but you get how it's done.
 * Visual Storytelling: The Power of Images / Thinking in Images to Portray Your Proposal (Getty Images.com)
 * Image 1: Go to: When a league protests together, by Holden Walter-Warner, Getty Images
 * Image 2: Go to: Millions left without power Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico, Getty Images
 * NEW!! Visual Storytelling
 * See: Visual Storytelling / Narrative on Wikipedia & Google Search
 * See: Google Docs folder on RU Scarlet Drive

Readings

 * Magrino, White Paper Assignment, pp. 145-155
 * Magrino, Sample Annotated Bibliographies, pp. 155-163
 * Modern Language Association (MLA) Formatting & Style Guide: Purdue Online Writing Lab, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
 * Alred, "Outlining" and "Paragraphs", pp. 23-29
 * Peek, CJ et. al), The 5Rs of Conducting Relevant Research, pp. 93-104
 * Discussion questions, pp. 105-106
 * Huffman, Stephanie, Missing Link: Lack of Citations and Copyright Notices in Multimedia Presentations pp. 115-122
 * Discussion questions, pp. 123-124

Review

 * What did I learn from last week? Outstanding Questions?

New Learning

 * Grammar, Wordiness, Better Writing Construction - Refer to this Week's Readings - into Next Week
 * Initial CL/R Feedback:
 * 1) Alignment between Cover Letter & Resume
 * 2) Extraneous / Strikethrough
 * 3) Redundant
 * 4) Watch Tenses
 * 5) Active vs. Passive Sentences
 * Midterm Guidance: Plagiarism
 * Plagiarism, LinkedIn Post
 * Fieldwork: Tips & Techniques
 * Future: Mini-Survey Workshop (see following week)
 * Visual Storytelling Slides (i.e., Pix from USAID) ; What "Problem" do Images Convey? - continued from Week 4 (Visual Storytelling folder on Scarlet Drive)

Readings

 * Magrino Reading,"The Initial (Midterm) Sales Letter", pp. 169-184


 * Alred, Chapter 4 - Proposals to Quotation Marks - p. 120-136
 * Alred, Chapter 6 - Formal Reports - pp. 176-202
 * Alred, Chapter 10 - Style and Clarity
 * "Business Writing to Loaded Arguments", pp. 306-319;
 * Tone to You", pp. 328-334.
 * Alred, Chapter 11 - Grammar
 * "Dangling Modifiers, p. 349
 * "Person", p. 360
 * "Sentence Construction to Sentence Fragments", pp. 370-377
 * "Tense, Verbs and Active Voice", pp. 377-385
 * 'Alred, Chapter 12 - Punctuation and Mechanics, pp. 388-423
 * Miller, Jane. "Organizing Data in Tables and Charts", in Magrino, pp. 107-11
 * Discussion questions, pp. 113-114

New Learning

 * Magrino, Chapter 5, Midterm / Initial Sales Letter guidelines and samples (Magrino, pp. 169-184)
 * Wordiness


 * Wordiness & Misplaced, Dangling Modifiers
 * Miller, Jane. "Organizing Data in Tables and Charts", in Magrino, pp. 107-11
 * Discussion questions, pp. 113-114
 * Discussion on 5 R's Research & Citations in Multimedia Presentations - pp. 93-104 (MAYBE - if time available) answers for Questions 1, 4 and 5}}
 * Discussion questions, pp. 105-106

Readings

 * '''Magrino, Chapter 6 - The Oral Presentation - pp. 191-209
 * Hill, Andrea et al. "I'm Ambivalent About It: The Dilemmas of PowerPoint, in Magrino, pp. 75-90
 * Discussion questions (small groups), pp. 91-92
 * Review Top Ten Slide Tips, by Garrey Reynolds
 * Review How to Create the Best PowerPoint Presentations with Examples, by Amanda Zantal-Weiner, Hubspot

Prepare for Class

 * DRAFT Midterm / Sales Letter for Peer Review Workshop
 * Write a business / sales letter or memo (4-5 pages) - single spaced, not including the list of works cited (MLA style).

Review

 * What did I learn from last week? Outstanding Questions?

Activities

 * Alan Alda Video - 3 Ways to Express Your Thoughts So That Everyone Will Understand You (4:56)
 * Relax, De-Stress Before a Presentation
 * Explain Sign Up Sheet for Oral Presentations (Google Doc)

Readings

 * Magrino, "The Oral Presentation", pp. 191-207
 * Review 10 Powerful Body Language Tips for Your Next Presentation, SOAP Presentation on LinkedIn, 2013
 * Magrino, "The Project Proposal", pp. 211-216 - Get a head start - begin reading and also skim the "Sample Papers", beginning on p. 217

Readings

 * Magrino Reading, "The Project Proposal", pp. 211-278

Review

 * Magrino, Chapter 7, "The Project Proposal", pp. 211-278


 * Oral Presentation Evaluation, Magrino, p. 209
 * Project Proposal for Peer Review Workshop I, Magrino, pp. 253-254

Readings

 * Oral Presentation Evaluation, p. 209
 * Project Proposal for Peer Review Workshop II: Executive Summary, pp. 259

Readings DUE

 * Alred, Chapter 7 - Design and Visuals - pp. 204-236 (helpful cheat sheet on p. 235)

Prepare for Next Class

 * Project Proposal for Peer Review Workshop III: Introduction and Literature Review, pp. 265-266

Activities

 * Project Proposal for Peer Review Workshop III: Introduction and Literature Review, pp. 265-266

Prepare for Next Class

 * Project Proposal: Peer Review Workshop Evaluation, pp. 277-278

Additional & Interesting Readings

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