ENGL 210F
Course Description and Objectives
Description
ENGL 210F is designed to provide you with communications skills for your professional life. To encourage you to think about applying these skills, the course environment has been designed around a simulated business, Living4Learning (L4L), and as a student in the course you will inhabit the role of an employee at L4L.
Within this role, you will be part of a team that has been assigned a major project to be completed by the end of the term; you will be expected to communicate in a professional manner with your teammates as you work on completing this challenge. You will have to learn to work collaboratively using technologies to communicate with team members who may be geographically dispersed—a condition increasingly common in the business world.
Assignments in English 210F will introduce you to the major genres of business writing, and help you develop the critical thinking skills necessary to define your purpose and audience—why and for whom you are writing. You will also develop your ability to write persuasively using key rhetorical principles and appeals to ethos, logic, and emotion. You will learn how to present an argument for common real world scenarios such as recommending a course of action or maintaining trust and goodwill with your clientele.
But most importantly, English 210F will help develop your ability to communicate in a professional, concise, and appropriate style for the business world.
Objectives
After you have completed your term with English 210F/Living4Learning, you will have practiced or mastered the following skills:
- Rhetorical analysis for communication (i.e., identifying context, audience, purpose, scope, etc.)
- Writing as process: planning, drafting, and revision
- Giving, getting, and using constructive feedback
- Communicating using clear and concise language, adapting tone and structure appropriately according to circumstances
- Collaborative teamwork, including communicating synchronously and asynchronously with colleagues
- Reading instructions and carefully following procedures
- Meeting deadlines and working within time constraints
- Producing a variety of communications in different genres, forms, and for different audiences
Materials and Resources
Textbook
Required:
- Thill, John, Courtland L. Bovee, and Ava Cross. Excellence in Business Communication, 5th Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2014.
Students who purchase a new copy of the textbook, or who purchase an access code for the text, are encouraged to make use of the additional online resources available with this textbook, particularly the model documents, document makeover tutorials, and writing exercises. Specific suggested resources are listed on the weekly topic pages under the "Review the learning resources for this week" step.
Please see MyLab & Mastering Student Registration Instructions (PDF) for guidance on accessing the additional online textbook resources. The course code for digital resources is dadey79292
For textbook ordering information, please contact the Waterloo Bookstore.
For your convenience, you can compile a list of required and optional course materials through BookLook using your Quest userID and password. If you are having difficulties ordering online and wish to call the Waterloo Bookstore, their phone number is +1 519 888 4673 or toll-free at +1 866 330 7933. Please be aware that textbook orders CANNOT be taken over the phone.
Resources
- Living4Learning: The Living4Learning website can be accessed from the link provided on the left side of the Course Home page.
- Library services for co-op students on work term and distance education students
Grade Breakdown
The following table represents the grade breakdown of this course.
| Activities and Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
| Weekly Meetings and Activities | 20% |
| Departmental Blog | 5% |
| Assignment 1: Making a Request | 5% |
| Assignment 2: Recommendation | 15% |
| Assignment 3: Communicating in a Crisis | 10% |
Assignment 4: Proposal
|
20% |
| Final Examination | 25% |
Links to grading rubrics can be found on the individual assignment description pages.
Your graded assignments will be returned to you online as “feedback” in each dropbox for Assignments 1, 2, and 4, and in the quiz for Assignment 3.
Course Schedule
| Topic | Module Title | Textbook Readings | Due This Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic 1 | |||
| READ ME FIRST! To succeed in this course you must understand what Living4Learning is. Please read What's What? Living4Learning and ENGL 210F. | |||
| New Employee Orientation | Week 1: Introduction and Orientation | Living4Learning website, Ch. 16 (to p.541) |
NOTE: The instructions for anything designated an "activity" can be found on the topic page for that week. Topic pages can be accessed from the first column in the table. |
| Activity: Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (Quiz) | |||
| Activity: New Employee Orientation Exercise* (Quiz) Due: Thursday, May 9, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Week 2: The Communication Process | Ch. 1, Ch. 4 | Activity: Employment Application* (Individual dropbox) Due: Thursday, May 16, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|
| Topic 2 | |||
| Making a Request | Week 3: Team Communications; Effective Requests | Ch. 2 (to p.51), Ch. 8 |
Activity: Summary Report* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 11:55 PM |
| Week 4: Drafting, Reviewing, and Revising | Ch. 1 (p. 19-20) | Assignment 1: Making a Request (5%) Activity: Peer Review Workshop* (Forum) Workshop Draft Due: Monday, May 27, 2019, 11:55 PM (Forum) Peer Review Due: Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 11:55 PM (Forum) Final Version Due: Friday, |
|
| Topic 3 | |||
| Making Recommendations | Week 5: Blogs; Research and Recommendations | Ch. 7, Ch. 11 (to p.362) |
Activity: Summary Report* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, June 6, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|
Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, June 7, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Week 6: Persuasive Writing |
Ch. 10, Ch. 5 |
Activity: Summary Report* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, June 13, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|
| Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, June 14, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Week 7: Clarity and Conciseness; Drafting, Reviewing, and Revising |
Ch. 6 | Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, June 21, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|
|
Assignment 2: Recommendation (15%) Final Version Due: Friday, June 21, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Topic 4 | |||
| Delivering Bad News | Week 8: Communicating in a Crisis | Ch. 9 | Activity: Summary Report* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, June 27, 2019, 11:55 PM |
| Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, June 28, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Week 9: Tone | Ch. 5 (review) | Activity: Summary Report* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, July 4, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|
| Assignment 3: Communicating in a Crisis (Quiz) (10%) Available: Wednesday, July 3, 2019, 12:05 AM Due: Saturday, July 6, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Topic 5 | |||
| Presenting a Project Proposal | Week 10: Organizing and Planning a Collaborative Proposal | Ch. 11 (from p.362), Ch. 12, Ch. 13 (from p.445) |
Begin Assignment 4: Proposal Note: You must contribute to this week's meeting no later than Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 11:55 PM to be included in the proposal process. |
| Activity: Group Proposal Work Plan* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, July 11, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, July 12, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Week 11: Layout and Design; Graphics |
Ch. 12 (from p. 392) |
Activity: Summary Report* (Group dropbox) Due: Thursday, July 18, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|
| Activity: Progress Report* (Individual dropbox) Due: Thursday, July 18, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, July 19, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Week 12: Finalizing Proposals and Evaluating Your Skills | Ch. 13 | Activity: Course Feedback (Survey) Opens: Sunday, July 21, 2019 at 12:05 AM |
|
| Activity: Progress Report* (Individual dropbox) Due: Thursday, July 25, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Departmental Blog** (Individual dropbox) Due: Friday, July 26, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Assignment 4: Proposal (20% total) Individual Portion (15%) Due: Wednesday, July 24, 2019, 11:55 PM Combined Group Submission (5%) Due: Friday, July 26, 2019, 11:55 PM |
|||
| Final Examination (25%) | Final Exam | ||
A Note About Weekly Activities
The weekly activity submissions make up 20% of your final grade. For more detailed information on how these activities will be assessed, see the Weekly Meetings and Activities page. Specific instructions for each activity can be found on the topic page for that week.
Your weekly group (department) meetings begin in Week 3 and take place online in the discussion forums. To find your weekly meeting rooms, click Connect and then Discussions on the course navigation bar above. Note: You will not be able to see the forums until Week 3.
A Note About Blogs
Each person in the department is responsible for one blog contribution throughout the term. Your department must decide on a schedule for blog contributors. You will only be marked for your own blog contribution, which will make up 5% of your final grade. See the Departmental Blog page for more information on the blog assignment.
Final Examination Arrangements and Schedule
Please carefully review the information about writing exams for online courses, including dates, locations, how to make examination arrangements, writing with a proctor, and deadlines.
If you are taking any on-campus courses, you will automatically be scheduled to write your exam on campus. No action is required.
If you are taking only online courses, do one of the following:
- If your address in QUEST is within 100 km of an examination centre, you must choose an exam centre in Quest by Sunday, May 19, 2019. This must be done each term.
- If your address in Quest is more than 100 km from an exam centre, you must arrange for a proctor. Please review the guidelines and deadlines for writing with a proctor. This must be done each term.
Your online course exam schedule will be available in Quest approximately four weeks before your exam date(s). Instructions on how to find your schedule are posted on the Quest Help page.
University of Waterloo Senate-approved academic regulations related to assignments, tests, and final exams can be found on the Registrar's website.
Official Grades and Course Access
Official Grades and Academic Standings are available through Quest.
Your access to this course will continue for the duration of the current term. You will not have access to this course once the next term begins.
Course and Department Policies
Assignment Submission Policies
- Please refer to the Submitting to a LEARN Dropbox page for important general guidelines and instructions on how to submit to a LEARN dropbox.
- All assignments submitted to a dropbox must be in PDF format. Why? For an explanation and for help with creating PDF documents, refer to the Submitting to a LEARN Dropbox page.
- Assignment 3, “Communicating in a Crisis” must be completed online and submitted in the “Quizzes” section of the course. Only text included in the appropriate fields on the quiz page will be graded.
- Assignments not successfully submitted through the appropriate dropbox or quiz function by the due date indicated on the Course Schedule will be considered late. See below for late policies.
- Do not email your assignment to your manager or the course co-ordinator. Email submissions are not accepted under any circumstances, not even as proof of completion. Only assignments submitted in the proper format to the appropriate dropboxes and quizzes will be graded. Dropboxes and quizzes can be accessed by clicking Submit on the course navigation bar above.
- You are solely responsible for submitting your assignment in the right format and on time: forgetting to convert your document to PDF, forgetting to click the “Submit” button, or problems with your computer or Internet connection are not valid reasons for exceptions to course policies. Make sure you see the LEARN screen confirming that your submission was successful, and check your @uwaterloo.ca email address for the Email Confirmation Receipt.
- Except for the final Proposal (Group) dropbox, you can submit to a dropbox as many times as necessary before it closes.
- For non-group (i.e., individual) dropboxes, in most cases, each submission will overwrite the previous one.
- For group dropboxes, in most cases, all submissions wil be kept and your TA will mark only the final document uploaded, so make sure your final document is the correct one.
- For the Proposal (Group) dropbox, only one submission will be allowed. The file in the dropbox when it closes permanently will be considered your final assignment submission for marking.
- Assignments not in PDF format are not considered valid submissions, and you will accrue late marks until you submit the PDF version. If you fail to submit the PDF before the dropbox closes permanently, you will be assessed the maximum late penalty (35%) and you will also automatically forfeit all the marks from the "Medium and Format" portion of the assignment rubric.
Late Policies
- Meeting contributions and other weekly activities not submitted by the deadline will receive a mark of zero. Dropboxes for weekly activity submissions will not remain open to accept late submissions.
- Assignments, including the Departmental Blog contribution, are due at the date and time specified on the Course Schedule. Assignment dropboxes will remain open for one week after the due date to accept late submissions. Late submissions will be penalized 5% for each day they are late; they may also not receive the same level of commentary and feedback. Submissions more than 1 week late will not be accepted and you will receive 0 on the assignment.
- Exemptions from late penalties on major assignments can only be given where there are significant extenuating circumstances. In such cases, you must contact the course co-ordinator before the assignment deadline, providing appropriate documentation. Please note that unexpected Internet disruptions or slow connections are not valid extenuating circumstances for late accommodations.
Communications Policies
If you need to contact the course co-ordinator regarding course policies or accommodations, you must include your department name and region number in the subject line of your email. Please see the Contact Information page for more information on course communications.
Final Exam
You MUST pass the final exam to receive a passing grade in the course.
Intellectual Property
Students should be aware that this course contains the intellectual property of their instructor, TA, and/or the University of Waterloo. Intellectual property includes items such as:
- Lecture content, spoken and written (and any audio/video recording thereof);
- Lecture handouts, presentations, and other materials prepared for the course (e.g., PowerPoint slides);
- Questions or solution sets from various types of assessments (e.g., assignments, quizzes, tests, final exams); and
- Work protected by copyright (e.g., any work authored by the instructor or TA or used by the instructor or TA with permission of the copyright owner).
Course materials and the intellectual property contained therein are used to enhance a student’s educational experience. However, sharing this intellectual property without the intellectual property owner’s permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. For this reason, it is necessary to ask the instructor, TA and/or the University of Waterloo for permission before uploading and sharing the intellectual property of others online (e.g., to an online repository).
Permission from an instructor, TA or the University is also necessary before sharing the intellectual property of others from completed courses with students taking the same/similar courses in subsequent terms/years. In many cases, instructors might be happy to allow distribution of certain materials. However, doing so without expressed permission is considered a violation of intellectual property rights.
Please alert the instructor if you become aware of intellectual property belonging to others (past or present) circulating, either through the student body or online. The intellectual property rights owner deserves to know (and may have already given their consent).
University Policies
Submission Times
Please be aware that the University of Waterloo is located in the Eastern Time Zone (GMT or UTC-5 during standard time and UTC-4 during daylight saving time) and, as such, the time that your activities and/or assignments are due is based on this zone. If you are outside the Eastern Time Zone and require assistance with converting your time, please try the Ontario, Canada Time Converter.
Accommodation Due to Illness
If your instructor has provided specific procedures for you to follow if you miss assignment due dates, term tests, or a final examination, adhere to those instructions. Otherwise:
Missed Assignments/Tests/Quizzes
Contact the instructor as soon as you realize there will be a problem, and preferably within 48 hours, but no more than 72 hours, have a medical practitioner complete a Verification of Illness Form.
Email a scanned copy of the Verification of Illness Form to your instructor. In your email to the instructor, provide your name, student ID number, and exactly what course activity you missed.
Further information regarding Management of Requests for Accommodation Due to Illness can be found on the Accommodation due to illness page.
Missed Final Examinations
If this course has a final exam and if you are unable to write a final examination due to illness, seek medical treatment and have a medical practitioner complete a Verification of Illness Form. Email a scanned copy to the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) at extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca within 48 hours of your missed exam. Make sure you include your name, student ID number, and the exam(s) missed. You will be REQUIRED to hand in the original completed form before you write the make-up examination.
After your completed Verification of Illness Form has been received and processed, you will be emailed your alternate exam date and time. This can take up to 2 business days. If you are within 150 km of Waterloo you should be prepared to write in Waterloo on the additional CEL exam dates. If you live outside the 150 km radius, CEL will work with you to make suitable arrangements.
Further information about Examination Accommodation Due to Illness regulations is available in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Academic Integrity
In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. If you have not already completed the online tutorial regarding academic integrity you should do so as soon as possible. Undergraduate students should see the Academic Integrity Tutorial and graduate students should see the Graduate Students and Academic Integrity website.
Proper citations are part of academic integrity. Citations in CEL course materials usually follow CEL style, which is based on APA style. Your course may follow a different style. If you are uncertain which style to use for an assignment, please confirm with your instructor or TA.
For further information on academic integrity, please visit the Office of Academic Integrity.
Turnitin
Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment.
Discipline
A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration, should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Appeals
A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline, may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals.
Grievance
A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
Final Grades
In accordance with Policy 46 - Information Management, Appendix A - Access to and Release of Student Information, the Centre for Extended Learning does not release final examination grades or final course grades to students. Students must go to Quest to see all final grades. Any grades posted in Waterloo LEARN are unofficial.
Accessability Services
AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodation to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term and for each course.
Accessibility Statement
The Centre for Extended Learning strives to meet the needs of all our online learners. Our ongoing efforts to become aligned with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are guided by University of Waterloo accessibility Legislation and policy and the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. The majority of our online courses are currently delivered via the Desire2Learn Learning Environment. Learn more about Desire2Learn’s Accessibility Standards Compliance.
Use of Computing and Network Resources
Please see the Guidelines on Use of Waterloo Computing and Network Resources.
Copyright Information
UWaterloo’s Web Pages
All rights, including copyright, images, slides, audio, and video components, of the content of this course are owned by the course author, unless otherwise stated. These web pages are owned or controlled by the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning. By accessing the web pages, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal, non-commercial use. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt, or change in any way the content of these web pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the course author and the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning.
Other Sources
Respect the copyright of others and abide by all copyright notices and regulations when using the computing facilities provided for your course of study by the University of Waterloo. No material on the Internet or World Wide Web may be reproduced or distributed in any material form or in any medium, without permission from copyright holders or their assignees. To support your course of study, the University of Waterloo has provided hypertext links to relevant websites, resources, and services on the web. These resources must be used in accordance with any registration requirements or conditions which may be specified. You must be aware that in providing such hypertext links, the University of Waterloo has not authorized any acts (including reproduction or distribution) which, if undertaken without permission of copyright owners or their assignees, may be infringement of copyright. Permission for such acts can only be granted by copyright owners or their assignees.
If there are any questions about this notice, please contact the University of Waterloo, Centre for Extended Learning, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 or extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca.
Back to top