ENC 3250 Spring 2015 Syllabus

Professional and Technical Communication for Professional Writing

ENC 3250 Section 036 Syllabus Spring 2015. University of South Florida

Course Information This is a 3 credit hour course. Prerequisites are ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 or ENC 1121 and ENC 1122. It’s offered through the Department of English in the School of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences. The course meeting time(s) and location are listed above.

ENC 3250 is part of the University of South Florida’s Foundation of Knowledge and Learning Core Curriculum. This course is certified for the Writing Intensive Capstone core area.

This is a Gordon-Rule 6A Communications course. Students in this course will engage in writing as a “process,” which means employing strategies such as pre-writing, co-authoring, document design, peer feedback, revising, and editing. Students will learn how to develop ideas and texts that follow academic/disciplinary conventions for different contexts, audiences, and purposes. An integral part of writing instruction is the opportunity to revise documents in response to feedback, so students will be required to revise at least some course writing assignments (including one major assignment) after receiving feedback from the instructor. At a minimum, students will write 4500 words for this course. Students must achieve a proficiency level of at least C- in the course in order to receive Gordon Rule Communication credit.

Course Description Course Catalogue: The course is an introduction to the techniques and types of professional writing, including correspondence and reports. It is designed to help strengthen skills of effective business and professional communication in both oral and written modes.

Instructor: Dr. Angela Eward-Mangione

Course Day/Time: F 8-10:45AM

Email: [email protected] Classroom: BSN 1304

Office Location: CPR 278 Office Phone: 813-974-7629

Office Hours: M/W 11:15AM-12:15PM, 2-3PM; F 2-3PM

Course Website:

http://english.usf.edu/ptc/

ENC 3250 Technical Communication for Professional Writing Syllabus. Spring 2015 2

Professional writing is a vital component of effective, efficient, and ethical workplace practices. Professionals must be able to analyze, interpret and create a variety of communications for a wide variety of audiences. This course exposes students to a variety of real-world communicative means and rhetorical strategies. Through smaller assignments and major projects, this course prepares students to pursue and engage with the communicative components of workplace writing practices.

Course Requirements This is primarily a writing class, but students are also expected to read carefully, engage in meaningful in-class discussions, and conduct research for major projects. There will be both individual and collaborative work throughout this class. Students will complete three major writing projects (that include several deliverables each), complete reading and homework assigned, participate in class, and conduct regular document review.

Required Course Texts

A Rhetorical Approach to Workplace Writing Practices. Available via My Reviewers at http://myreviewers.usf.edu/

A Rhetorical Approach to Workplace Writing: A Writing Commons Reader. Available via Canvas and Writing Commons at http://writingcommons.org/

Wolfe, Joanna. Team Writing: A Guide to Working in Groups. Bedford/St Martins. 2010. ISBN-10 0-312- 56582-8. Available in print at the USF Bookstore or at Amazon.com.

Course Goals This course aims to provide students with strategies for and practice in:

Composing professional/workplace documents and oral presentations for multiple audiences and specific purposes using appropriate technologies

Collaborating and managing projects on multidisciplinary writing teams

Designing documents, visuals, and data displays that are rhetorically effective, accessible and usable for specific audiences

Developing information literacy strategies

Recognizing ethical, legal and cultural issues in business and the professions

Applying/adapting business writing conventions, including genre, tone, and style for particular writing situations

Student Learning Outcomes In Project 1, students learn to: analyze a writing situation; analyze audience(s), plan a document for a particular audience and situation; describe and distinguish between genres; apply visual design principles to single-page documents; organize content for readability and usability; apply stylistic conventions of a specific genre; use basic features of word-processing applications to design, draft, and edit documents; edit for tone and style; conduct web-based research; and recognize and address ethical, legal, and cultural issues related to a particular writing situation.

In Project 2, students learn to: plan a writing project as a member of a multidisciplinary team; create project management documents (Gantt charts, etc.); track project progress; develop strategies for resolving conflict; analyze a writing situation for multiple stakeholder audiences; use visual design

http://myreviewers.usf.edu/

http://writingcommons.org/


principles to structure information for readers in a multipage document; integrate visuals into a document; conduct primary and secondary research in response to a given problem; evaluate data and recommend an evidence-based solution; and evaluate ethical, legal, and cultural issues related to a particular writing situation.

In Project 3, students learn to: plan an informal, individual oral presentation; plan a formal presentation with visuals as a member of a team; conduct secondary research on ethical, legal, or cultural issues of local or global concern in their field; create a formal presentation about a business or professional topic for a non-specialist audience; use advanced design principles and technology to support an oral presentation; present technical data and information in visual form for a non-specialist audience; and explain a legal, ethical, or cultural issue related to their field.

Critical Assignments The critical assignments relate to and measure the Student Learning Outcomes. The critical assignments for this course are: Employment Project, Case Project, Creating Communication Plan Project, and document review via MyReviewers.

1. The Employment Project asks students to consider the rhetorical situation of applying for a job and produce deliverables that demonstrate rhetorical awareness.

2. The Case Project asks students to work collaboratively to analyze primary and secondary texts connected to a high-stakes, real-world situation and work in teams to solve problems with/through communication.

3. The Creating a Communication Plan Project asks students to collaboratively solve real-world communication problems by analyzing a high-risk or unsuccessful communication plan in order to design and implement a solution.

4. Document reviews are a peer-to-peer document review system and will be completed individually on My Reviewers; document reviews ask students to learn about the usability of documents and appropriately articulate how documents could be improved. Due dates are listed on the schedule of assignments provided by your instructor. Please refer to project-specific assignment sheets for more details.

Using My Reviewers My Reviewers is the companion site to the University of South Florida’s Professional and Technical Communication (PTC) Program and General Education writing courses. At My Reviewers, you can learn more about grading criteria, upload essays for review, conduct document review using the peer review function, access Community Comment stylistic and grammatical exercises, and view teacher feedback. For Projects 1, 2, & 3, this course requires students to upload up to three drafts of each project and conduct document review (using the peer review function) on My Reviewers.

To login to My Reviewers, visit https://myreviewers.usf.edu

All PTC instructors will use My Reviewers when grading drafts of major projects and document review. The following should be considered:

It is the responsibility of the student to upload projects to the correct folders for grading.

Student documents must be uploaded as a .pdf file. There is a step-by-step instruction manual for uploading, viewing, and reviewing documents at My Reviewers.

https://myreviewers.usf.edu/


It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they have uploaded the correct draft. No extensions will be given for students failing to upload the proper draft by the stated deadline.

Once instructors finish commenting on and grading students’ projects, students can log on to My Reviewers to view their grades and instructor’s comments.

Attendance Policy Any attendance penalties will affect students’ participation grade. Regular attendance is expected and

mandatory. Classes will be spent engaged in activities and discussions that directly address your needs

as a student of professional writing. Since this class only meets once per week, students are permitted

one absence. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Students are strongly

encouraged to reserve their absences for unexpected emergencies or illness. Students who have

incurred more than one absence will have their participation grade lowered.

If students will miss class for one of the following reasons, please alert the instructor prior to the absence:

Court Imposed Legal Obligations

Jury Duty, court subpoena, etc.

Military Duty

Religious Holy Days

o Note: Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting. Should an examination or the due date for an assignment fall on one of these dates, I will make arrangements with you for a make-up exam or an alternate date for submission of written work.

Ongoing Medical Conditions.

o Students facing extenuating circumstances, such as a debilitating illness or injury (physical or mental) that inhibits him or her from attending class or completing assignments, must work with the appropriate on-campus organization, which will then act as a liaison on behalf of the student and help the instructor determine appropriate action. These organizations include the Center for Victim Advocacy & Violence Prevention, Students with Disabilities Services, and Students of Concern Assistance Team (SOCAT).

USF Athletics’ Participation

o Any student who intends to miss class because he or she is participating in a scheduled USF athletics event is expected to present a schedule of such participating events to his or her instructor by the third week of the semester if he or she intends to be absent for a class or an announced examination.

Perfect Attendance Incentive:

Students who achieve perfect attendance will receive two bonus percentage points at the end of the semester. These points will be added to the student’s final grade at the conclusion of the term. For example, if you earn a 92.11% (A-) by the end of the semester, and you achieve perfect attendance, you will receive a final grade of 94.11% (A). Only students with perfect


attendance (no missed classes and no more than one tardy) are eligible for the bonus percentage points, and students who utilize cell phones, laptops, or other electronic devices in class without permission will be automatically disqualified from receiving the extra points.

Grading Policy Weights of Assignments

Assignment Final Grade % Description

Participation 10%

Individual. Participation includes preparedness for class (homework), performance on in-class activities (classwork), and engagement with the course.

Document Review 20% Individual. For each major project, students will complete document reviews via MyReviewers.

Employment Project 15%

Individual. For the Employment Project, students will create application documents for a position they are qualified to fill. See assignment sheet for details.

Case Project 25%

Group. For the Case Project, students will use the case of the acquisition of Lifestyles Family Fitness by LA Fitness, to analyze the brand-related complexities, ethical issues, and stakeholder interests of the issue. See assignment sheet for more details.

Creating a Communication Plan Project

30%

Group. For the Creating a Communication Plan Project, students will select a client overview which presents a communication scenario that could be handled or solved effectively by creating and implementing a communication plan. See assignment sheet for more details.

Grading Scale

A+ (97–100) 4.00 B+ (87–89.9) 3.33 C+ (77–79.9) 2.33 D+ (67–69.9) 1.33

A (94–96.9) 4.00 B (84–86.9) 3.00 C (74–76.9) 2.00 D (64–66.9) 1.00

A– (90–93.9) 3.67 B– (80–83.9) 2.67 C– (70–73.9) 1.67 D– (60–63.9) 0.67

Students may not take this course S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).

Late Work / Missed In-Class Work

Late and / or missed work is not accepted, and missed in-class work cannot be made up. When

submitting work or document reviews online, always make certain that your assignment has been

successfully submitted.


Incomplete

A grade of “I” will be awarded only in the case of a medical or family emergency and, in conjunction with University policy, only when a small portion of the student’s work is incomplete and only when the student is otherwise earning a passing grade.

Students with Disabilities Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Students with Disabilities Services to arrange appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable notice prior to requesting an accommodation. Contact SDS at 974-4309 or www.sds.usf.edu. For more information about student responsibilities related to disability accommodations, see http://www.sds.usf.edu/students.asp

Academic Integrity Students attending USF are awarded degrees in recognition of successful completion of coursework in their chosen fields of study. Each individual is expected to earn his/her degree on the basis of personal effort. Consequently, any form of cheating on examinations or plagiarism on assigned papers constitutes unacceptable deceit and dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as “literary theft” and consists of the unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student employs information gathered from books, articles, web sites, or oral sources, each direct quotation, as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large, or the form, structure, or style of a secondary source must be attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Only widely known facts and first-hand thoughts and observations original to the student do not require citations. Citations may be made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off as one’s own another person’s work in part or in total.

A student who submits a plagiarized assignment will receive an “F” with a numerical value of zero on the assignment, and the “F” shall be used to determine the final course grade. The instructor has the right to assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course. An “FF” grade assigned to indicate academic dishonesty is reflected only on internal records and prevents the student from repeating the course using the Grade Forgiveness Policy. If a student who has been accused of academic dishonesty drops the course, the student’s registration in the course may be reinstated until the issue is resolved. A student who is suspected of cheating may not drop a course to avoid a penalty.

See http://ugs.usf.edu/pdf/cat1314/08ACADEMICPOL.pdf for USF’s definitions of plagiarism and its policy on academic honesty. Consult with your instructor if you have any questions about these issues.

The University of South Florida has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service which allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I reserve the right to submit assignments to this detection system. Assignments are compared automatically with a huge database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper was plagiarized.

file:///C:/Users/Tiffany/Documents/1%20School/USF/1%20Summer%202014/SWAT/www.sds.usf.edu

http://www.sds.usf.edu/students.asp

http://ugs.usf.edu/pdf/cat1314/08ACADEMICPOL.pdf


Academic Grievance Procedures If a serious issue or conflict arises, the student should first make an attempt to reach a satisfactory resolution with the course instructor. It the instructor and student are unable to resolve the situation to their mutual satisfaction, the student may, within three weeks of the incident, file a letter of notification with Dr. Joyce Karpay, the Assistant to the Chair of the English Department

Student Conduct Students are expected to come to class prepared, having read or completed the day’s assignment. Students may expect to be called on in class. Please silence all cell phones before class begins. Students are not permitted to record class lectures or discussions without written permission from the instructor. Also, students are not permitted to sell notes or tapes of class lectures.

Technology Requirement Students are required to have regular access to a computer, the internet, a word processor, MyReviewers, Canvas, USF email, and a printer. There are many technology labs on campus that students can use at no extra cost, so students should have regular access to all required technology via the USF campus resources. The USF Library Digital Learning Studio is also available for student use. The DLS is an excellent and recently expanded “multimedia production area which provides equipment, instruction, space, and assistance” for students to use design equipment and software. http://www.lib.usf.edu/digital-studio/

In the event of a technology outage that affects all students, instructors will notify students regarding how/when to submit assignments.

PTC Assessment Rubric My Reviewers employs a rubric to enhance accuracy and consistency in grading. In addition to enabling instructors to provide feedback regarding five criteria – Analysis, Content, Project Management, Production, and Design – My Reviewers enables instructors to include comments on students’ documents. My Reviewers also provides instructors and students with an endnote text box that teachers can use to make substantive comments on students’ projects.

Students can learn more about the rubric that will be used to assess their writing by visiting the MyReviewers website at http://myreviewers.org/

Writing Studio USF's Writing Studio (http://www.lib.usf.edu/writing/) offers assistance to any student who wants to improve his or her writing skills. Rather than offering editing assistance, during a session in the Writing Studio, consultants and students work together to enhance the organization, development, grammar, and style of any type of writing across the disciplines. Students are encouraged to visit the Writing Studio at any stage during the writing process, from brainstorming and pre-writing to final polishing. The USF Writing Studio is conveniently located on the second floor of the library. Walk-ins are welcome dependent on availability, but students are encouraged to make an appointment by visiting the Writing

http://www.lib.usf.edu/digital-studio/

http://myreviewers.org/

http://www.lib.usf.edu/writing/


Studio during office hours or calling 813-974-8293. Additional feedback is available via SmartThinking, an online tutoring center, which is accessible via Canvas.

Emergency Policy In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Canvas, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Canvas for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.


Project 1: Employment Project

Overview of Project Creating an employment profile requires fundamental business writing skills that can help you represent yourself as a professional, obtain a targeted position, and succeed in a business environment. Today’s digital environments make analyzing an audience easier than in the past. Job seekers can now navigate the Internet to learn a significant amount of information about companies, their missions, their histories, and their open positions. This information can be used to create employment documents that professionally present an argument about how well you could potentially match the requirements of a position and the culture of a company. This assignment offers you the opportunity to create rhetorically situated, ethical documents typically used for gaining employment. You will research job advertisements and select an internship or a job for which you are qualified. You will analyze the job and the company’s website to determine the rhetorical situation and to create deliverables that clearly fit this rhetorical purpose. The expectations for each deliverable are described below. We will review this project at the end of the semester and revise the deliverables to include learning and experience gained from the course. For this assignment, students will:

connect current trends in your field to your professional interests and assets,

employment opportunities, and career paths.

apply traditional and electronic job-search strategies.

analyze the audience(s) for your targeted employment documents.

choose appropriate genres and follow appropriate conventions for employment

documents.

produce employment documents that use format, organization (chronological vs.

functional), tone and style that meets the needs of the target audience.

produce employment documents that reflect the highest ethical standards.

use visual design principles to create documents with visual appeal for the target

audience.

use word processing applications and social media to design, optimize, and distribute

employment documents.

Deliverables Planning memo Print Résumé Cover Letter


LinkedIn Page (or other appropriate social media presence) Reflective Memo You will also include the advertisement towards which your documents are targeted. Deliverables: Specifications

Informational Planning Memo: Charting Your Career Path

Gather information about a position in which you might be interested. Learn about the nature and requirements of the job. Conduct additional research to determine whether you will need specific skills, certification, education, experience, or a license. An excellent source to search is the most recent Occupational Handbook compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As shown below, you can enter “Occupational Handbook + U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics” to locate this source.

Your Task: In memo format write an informational report to your instructor that describes your target career area. Discuss the nature of the work, necessary qualifications, and the future job outlook for the occupation. You should include information about the typical salary ranges for your career path. You might also consider interviewing one or more individuals who currently work in that position.

Save a description of the position in which you might be interested. Throughout the semester, use the description and your informational memo to continue charting your career path and to continue revising your résumé for an appropriate career fair and for the last week of the semester.


Print Résumé

Create a one- to two-page résumé that reflects a close reading of a select job advertisement as well as knowledge of the company itself. Compose the résumé with a word processor so that printing it is possible, but submit the résumé online. In some cases, web-based resumes are appropriate, but they are prohibited for this assignment.

Cover Letter

Compose a one to two-page cover letter to accompany your résumé. The content of the cover letter should elaborate on details in your résumé that demonstrate why you would be a good “fit” for a particular job and company.

Your cover letter should include these elements:

An introductory paragraph that reflects whether your cover letter is targeted toward a solicited or an unsolicited job, identifies where and when you viewed the job posting (for solicited jobs) or how you heard about the position (for unsolicited jobs), and expresses interest in being considered for this particular job.

One to three body paragraphs that develop an argument for why you are a good fit for the position and company. These paragraphs should highlight and elaborate on your best and most relevant credentials and experience.

A concluding paragraph that cordially thanks the audience for its time and assertively describes a follow-up plan (e.g., the applicant will call by a certain date to check on the status of applications, the applicant will call on a particular day to discuss the possibility of an interview, etc.).

LinkedIn Page

Create a professional profile on LinkedIn. Read the LinkedIn's User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy before you start creating your profile. The profile should be professional and demonstrate involvement with the career community. After completing the project, you can opt to close your account.

Reflective Memo

Reflecting on the strategies you used to plan, compose, revise, and edit your project will enable you to identify skills that you have developed and that you plan to develop further. Writing a reflective memo also offers you the opportunity to reflect on how those skills will be useful to you on both a short- and long-term basis.

https://www.linkedin.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=user_agreement

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=privacy_policy

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=privacy_policy

http://www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy


Your Task: Write a reflective memo that describes and analyzes how you approached, managed, and completed the project. Consider the following list of questions as you compose your reflective memo.

What was the purpose of this project?

What strategies did you use to understand the needs of your audiences (e.g., primary, secondary, hidden)?

What decisions did you make about genre, content, style, and design to establish your ethos/credibility?

What research methods did you use for this project? Why? Do you plan to use some of those methods for similar writing projects in the future?

What obstacles did you encounter when writing for your projects, and how did you solve those problems?

What strategies did you apply to evaluate your products?

Which deliverable are you most proud of? Why?


Project 2: Case Project: Writing and Brand Identity for the LA Fitness Acquisition of Lifestyle Family Fitness

Overview of Project Case projects equip students to succeed in a variety of scenarios, so that they can adapt easily to the wide range of work situations within their chosen professions. This case study will ask you to analyze primary and secondary texts connected to a high-stakes, real-world situation and work in teams to solve problems with/through communication. Using the case of the acquisition of 33 Lifestyle Family Fitness centers in Florida by LA Fitness, teams of students will analyze the brand-related complexities, ethical issues, and stakeholder interests of the issue. The purpose of this case project is to give you exposure to a real-life scenario where the technical channels of communication are complex. This case derives from real life; and students with a variety of majors are often exposed to similar problems in the professional world. Each team will navigate through relevant information and ethical issues and then produce argument-driven deliverables that are tailored to specific audiences. Be mindful of the role that communication—particularly writing—plays in producing an evidence-based solution to this real world problem.

For this assignment, students will:

analyze the audience(s) for your targeted documents.

choose appropriate genres and follow appropriate conventions for proposals.

use Web browsers, search tools, and other online communication media to locate reliable data.

collect data from secondary sources.

produce proposals that use format, organization, tone and style that meets the needs of the target audience.

produce memos that use format, organization, tone and style that meets the needs of the target audience.

produce targeted, evidence-based, argument-driven documents that reflect the highest ethical standards.

use visual design principles to create documents with visual appeal for the target audience.

use word processing applications to design, optimize, and distribute targeted documents.

Introduction As documented in many newspapers and magazines, including the The Herald Tribune, in July 2012 LA Fitness acquired 33 of the Lifestyle Family Fitness Centers in Florida. Alix Redmonde explains some of the problems that arose during the takeover: “some Lifestyle’s trainers were let go and

http://health.heraldtribune.com/2012/07/27/alix-redmonde-looks-into-la-fitness-takeover-of-lifestyle-family-fitness/


some of the Lifestyle’s popular programs will not continue.” Additionally, some Lifestyle’s members expressed concerns about whether or not their memberships would be honored. When acquiring Lifestyle Family Fitness Centers, LA Fitness faced the problem of determining how to reflect an effective brand identity in documents distributed for the newly acquired fitness centers. For example, as reported in a news story prior to the takeover, “LA Fitness to buy 33 Lifestyle Family Fitness centers in Florida,” as of June 2012, it was “still unclear if they [LA Fitness] will ditch Lifestyles’ smaller spaces.” Additionally, LA Fitness planned to keep some trainers and classes from Lifestyle Family Fitness, but LA Fitness also intended to open new stores and strive to make their workout centers better than ever (Redmonde). The question for LA Fitness, for their members, and for members of Lifestyle Family Fitness, concerned the degree to which LA Fitness would integrate aspects of the Lifestyle Family Fitness Brand into LA Fitness. Moreover, would LA Fitness give their website a makeover, or create a new promotional brochure, sales literature, or commercial for their Florida locations? In considering this problem, LA Fitness had to critically analyze their audiences, which included Florida residents with memberships at Lifestyle Family Fitness.

The Situation You, along with the other 2-3 colleagues in your group, have been hired as an expert third-party team by LA Fitness to evaluate the takeover of Lifestyle Family Fitness centers in Florida. In your capacity as professional writing experts, you will need to communicate effectively about both the situation and your recommendations to various audiences. Your expertise has been commissioned by LA Fitness to ensure that ethically aware, professional deliverables that visually appeal to appropriate audiences are created. This means that your team is expected to evaluate the situation as fairly and objectively as possible because your team is not directly affiliated with either group nor does your team have a personal or financial stake in the outcome(s) because the fee your team will receive from LA Fitness will be the same regardless of your team’s recommendations.

Following is a list of deliverables that your team must produce. Each deliverable must demonstrate rhetorical awareness, genre analysis, and visual rhetoric.

Deliverables Proposal Progress Memo Team Minutes Reflective Memo

Deliverables: Specifications

Progress Memo

The audience for this deliverable is your instructor and other classmates. This memo should discuss (a) the purpose of the project, (b) the work already completed, (c) the work currently in progress, (d) any problems encountered, (e) all future activities, and (f) your schedule for completing the project.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/la-fitness-buy-33-lifestyle-family-fitness-centers/nPZck/



Proposal

Write a 1,000-word proposal to LA Fitness regarding their takeover of Lifestyle Family Fitness centers in Florida. This document should be a proposal addressed to LA Fitness recommending how they should maintain and alter aspects of their brand identity following the takeover of Lifestyle Family Fitness. Your proposal should include a list of deliverables that you recommend and a schedule for producing them. To make a decision and create this document, consider the brand identities (in 2012) of both Lifestyle Family Fitness and LA Fitness and how your decisions and deliverables will affect existing and future customers. After your recommendation is offered, LA Fitness will use your proposal to proceed with tailoring particular documents for their audiences in Florida. Remember that brand identity is closely connected to ethos which, like media types, evolves according to the desires, values, and demands of historically-situated target-audiences. Additionally, constructing a brand-targeted deliverable is similar to constructing an argument.

Team Minutes

For each meeting, including those in class, the group should record meeting minutes. Team minutes are a critical aspect of team planning and collaboration. They maintain a record of significant points and questions raised during the meeting as well as tasks that need to be completed after the meeting. Team meeting minutes can help group members record work completed by individual team members, record collaborative decisions, and record delegation of tasks. Refer to Team Writing: A Guide to Working in Groups by Joanna Wolfe for more information about collaborative work and team minutes. Remember, also, that instructors often use team minutes to assess individual and group contributions for projects and for the class.

Reflective Memo Reflecting on the strategies you used to plan, compose, revise, and edit your project will enable you to identify skills that you have developed and that you plan to develop further. Writing a reflective memo also offers you the opportunity to reflect on how those skills will be useful to you on both a short- and long-term basis.










Background Reading/Resources

Listed below are some resources to help your team make an informed decision about this problem. Your team should also integrate some of these sources into the proposal in order to make it an evidence-based proposal.

1. “LA Fitness to acquire Lifestyle Family Fitness clubs in Florida”

2. “LA Fitness, Lifestyle Family Fitness complete deal”

3. “Alix Redmonde looks into LA Fitness' takeover of Lifestyle Family Fitness”

4. “Lifestyle gym members still coping with LA Fitness takeover”

5. “LA Fitness: Providing a Superior Fitness Experience Since 1984”

6. Lifestyle Family Fitness (LinkedIn Page)

7. “Interview with Geoff Dyer: Founder of Lifestyle Family Fitness”

8. “LA Fitness to buy 33 Lifestyle Family Fitness centers in Florida”

9. CIVC Partners (Website)

10. “Brand Identity Development and the Role of Marketing Communications: Brand Experts'

View,” by Nusa Petek and Maja Konecnik Ruzzier (2013): Locate on Academic Search

Premier

11. “How Annie helped Popeyes find its brand identity—Louisiana,” by Maureen Morrison (2014): Locate on Academic Search Premier

http://www.ihrsa.org/blog/2012/6/18/la-fitness-to-acquire-lifestyle-family-fitness-clubs-in-flor.html

http://www.ihrsa.org/blog/tag/la-fitness

http://health.heraldtribune.com/2012/07/27/alix-redmonde-looks-into-la-fitness-takeover-of-lifestyle-family-fitness/

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/lifestyle-gym-members-still-coping-with-la-fitness-takeover/1240295

https://www.lafitness.com/Pages/about.aspx

http://www.linkedin.com/company/lifestyle-family-fitness

http://issuu.com/tampabaywellness.com/docs/tbwellnessapril10web


http://www.civc.com/


Project 3: Creating a Communication Plan

Overview of Project The purpose of the Communication Plan Project is for students to solve real-world communication problems by analyzing a high-risk or unsuccessful communication plan in order to design and implement an evidence-based solution. Listed below are client overviews which present communication scenarios that could be handled or solved effectively by creating and implementing a communication plan. Each group must choose one scenario, then research communication strategies and documents used in professional writing to address this simulated real-world situation. Student research must include a broad overview of current perspectives about the types of communication and strategies customarily used to address the scenario. Student teams, which will adapt the perspective of a public relations firm or a crisis management team, must analyze and deliver solutions that 1) address or solve the situation or problem presented in the communication scenario, 2) are realistic given the confines of the situation (e.g., a small company does not have as much money as a large company or corporation to introduce a new product). Students are expected to work collaboratively in groups and to produce one set of deliverables per group (excepting the reflective memo). Explanations of the requirements of each deliverable are listed below.

For this assignment, students will:

develop a familiarity with current contexts for the field of professional writing.

choose and follow appropriate genres and conventions for workplace communication.

illustrate and analyze audience while creating various professional documents with a sophisticated awareness of audience as a reader and a writer.

use Web browsers, search tools, and other online communication media to locate reliable data.

generate primary data and collect secondary data from secondary sources.

produce targeted, evidence-based, argument-driven documents that reflect the highest ethical standards.

use visual design principles to create documents with visual appeal for the target audience.

use word processing applications to design, optimize, and distribute targeted documents.

describe and generate strategies for effectively planning and working on collaborative projects.

The Situation You, along with the other two to three colleagues in your group, have been hired as consultants for a public relations or crisis management team. Your team will collaborate to apply what you have learned throughout the semester to propose a brand and target-audience communication plan for introducing a new product, opening a new branch or store, or delivering bad news. Your team will research a specific client, its brand identity, its stakeholders, as well as customary protocol for the communication scenario, to design and implement an evidence-based communication plan. For


example, your team may decide to evaluate the risk of Hilton Hotels expanding to a new country. Team members may collaborate to create a formal report that analyzes the target country, a presentation that persuades key decision makers to halt or commence plans for the expansion and, if appropriate, a press release that announces the company’s new plans. Emails and memos may also be utilized to facilitate both internal and external communication. Minutes from team meetings will document the planning and contributions of team members.

Client Overviews Hilton Hotels & Resorts Hilton Hotels does not currently have a hotel or a resort in Martinique. According to their website, Hilton Hotels & Resorts “currently serves guests worldwide in more than 540 locations in 78 countries across six continents.” Hilton Hotels & Resorts wishes to expand and to hire a public relations company to investigate the culture (e.g., language, economy, religion, food, etc.) of Martinique in order to decide whether or not to expand there and to produce appropriate deliverables. Collaborate with your team, analyze this high-risk scenario, and either 1) Produce documents that inform Hilton Hotels & Resorts about Martinique but do not recommend they expand into Martinique, or 2) Produce documents that inform Hilton Hotels & Resorts about Martinique, recommend expansion there, and provide one deliverable that announces the upcoming expansion. At least one deliverable should consist of a poster for presentation in a public forum.

Nike Executives at Nike decide to develop a new product for running. According to Forbes, Nike “recorded 13% annual revenue growth in Q3 2014, with a 30 basis points y-o-y expansion in gross margins” (Trefis Team). Additionally, running, basketball and football represent the key growth categories for Nike (Trefis Team). Collaborate with your team to analyze what type of product for a specific target-audience would help continue spurring Nike’s growth and then produce a set of deliverables that recommends the product to Nike and announces it to customers. At least one deliverable should consist of a poster for presentation in a public forum.

Forever 21 In 2013, Forever 21 reclassified approximately 30,000 employees from full-time to part-time, reducing their hours and ending their health care benefits, in a letter. The letter was leaked to the press and sparked several negative responses. One ex-customer wrote the following post on Facebook: “I just called this number, spoke to ‘Anna’ who refused to comment on this letter after I asked if it was accurate. So I informed her that I'll be sharing it, and am no longer interested in shopping at their outfit.” According to the article “Forever 21 Slashes Worker Hours and Health Benefits, Denies Obamacare is to Blame,” published in August 2013 by The Huffington Post, “employees who received the memo [letter] will have their hours reduced to a maximum of 29.5 a week -- just under the 30-hour full-time designation assigned by the Affordable Care Act, which requires companies who employ 50 or more workers to provide health insurance coverage for their full-time employees or face a penalty” (Bhasin). Collaborate with your team to analyze this communication scenario and

http://www3.hilton.com/en/index.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/25/nike-earnings-high-growth-in-north-america-and-europe-drives-nikes-13-revenue-growth/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=620443974656754&set=a.190167221017767.44131.186219261412563&type=1&theater

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/forever-21-memo_n_3769605.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/forever-21-memo_n_3769605.html


either 1) Produce a set of appropriate deliverables that Forever 21 should have used in this scenario, or 2) Produce a set of appropriate deliverables that Forever 21 could have used to conduct damage control after this letter leaked to the public. At least one deliverable should consist of a poster for presentation in a public forum.

Microsoft In July 2014, Microsoft laid off thousands of employees in the eleventh paragraph of an email. As Kevin Roose observes in “Microsoft Just Laid Off Thousands of Employees With a Hilariously Bad Memo [email],” typically, when you are a top executive manager at a major corporation that is laying off more than 10 percent of your workforce, “you say a few things to the newly jobless. Like ‘sorry.’ Or ‘thank you for your many years of service.’ Or even ‘we hate doing this, but it's necessary to help the company survive.’” Microsoft handled this communication scenario, which involves delivering bad news, poorly. Collaborate with your team to analyze this communication failure and either 1) Produce a set of appropriate deliverables that Microsoft should have used in this scenario, or 2) Produce a set of appropriate deliverables that Microsoft can use to conduct damage control in this situation. At least one deliverable should consist of a poster for presentation in a public forum.

Deliverables Students will create the following deliverables for this project:

2-3 appropriate, audience-targeted deliverables consisting of: 1) at least 1500 words (combined), 2) at least one document consisting of 750 words that is revised and resubmitted before the final grade is assigned (Group)

Progress Memo (Individual)

Poster presentation for a public forum (Individual or Group)

Team Meeting Minutes (Group)

Reflective Memo (Individual)

Deliverables: Specifications

Appropriate, Audience-Targeted Deliverables

Examples of appropriate, audience-targeted deliverables include, but are not limited to: emails, memos, business letters, press releases, proposals, informal reports, formal reports, and blog posts. Follow the appropriate generic conventions for all of the appropriate, audience-targeted deliverables that your team decides to create.

Progress Memo

The audience for this deliverable is your instructor and other classmates. This memo should: describe the progress you are making on project two. Discuss (a) the purpose of the project, (b) the client and/or audience, (c) your role on the team, (d) the work already completed, (e) the work currently in progress, (f) any problems encountered, (g) all future activities, and (h) your team’s schedule for completing the project. Because you will send your memo two weeks before the final draft of the project is scheduled to be completed, your report should focus on the purpose of the project, the client and/or audience, your role on the team, the

http://news.microsoft.com/2014/07/17/microsoft-announces-steps-to-simplify-organization-and-align-devices-strategy/

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/microsoft-lays-off-thousands-with-bad-memo.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/microsoft-lays-off-thousands-with-bad-memo.html

http://news.microsoft.com/2014/07/17/microsoft-announces-steps-to-simplify-organization-and-align-devices-strategy/


work that has already been completed, any problems that have been encountered, and how those problems have been solved.

Poster Presentation for a Public Forum

Prepare a poster for the 1st Annual Professional and Technical Writing Symposium.

Your poster should include the following:

Title

Author(s) Name and Affiliation(s)

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

References

Team Meeting Minutes

For each meeting, including those in class, the group should record meeting minutes. Team minutes are a critical aspect of team planning and collaboration. They maintain a record of significant points and questions raised during the meeting as well as tasks that need to be completed after the meeting. Team meeting minutes can help group members record work completed by individual team members, record collaborative decisions, and record delegation of tasks. Refer to Team Writing: A Guide to Working in Groups by Joanna Wolfe for more information about collaborative work and team minutes. Remember, also, that instructors often use team minutes to assess individual and group contributions for projects and for the class.

Reflective Memo

Reflecting on the strategies you used to plan, compose, revise, and edit your project will enable you to identify skills that you have developed and that you plan to develop further. Writing a reflective memo also offers you the opportunity to reflect on how those skills will be useful to you on both a short- and long-term basis.








