PROFESSIONAL WRITING: WRITING FOR PROFESSIONALS
PCSCOR 370
Instructor: William Holmes. Office: W4-144/09. Phone: 617-287-7328. Office Hours: M,W 3:30-4:30; T, Th 3-4. Email: william.holmes@umb.edu. Instructional website: http://www.faculty.umb.edu/william_holmes/
PURPOSE
This course is intended to fit variety of advanced academic and professional writing contexts for students in Human Services, Gerontology, Labor Studies, Community Studies and those interested in Public and Community Service. Students will learn how to write for advanced academic study and professional purposes. Examples of academic and professional writing products include research reports, literature reviews, case studies, grants, program development writing, summary reports, articles and op eds, policies and regulations, minutes, process reports, memoranda, and letters. In addition, students will learn to locate and use journals, databases, and other resources that are relevant to their field.
REQUIREMENTS
Students are required to keep a journal of the most important thing they have learned about each topic. Each week they may be asked to share with other students what they have learned about that topic. Every student will be asked to share at least once. You will be graded on completeness, accuracy, and clarity of what you present. It will be worth 10 points towards your grade. In addition, five written documents must be produced, chosen from those below. You may choose any five. Collaboration on a document is not allowed. You may not submit a document previously written for another purpose, unless you note how it has been revised to meet course requirements. You will be graded on completeness of providing required elements, clarity of writing, and appropriate formatting. Each document will be worth 18 points.
Students are expected to attend class, read the assignments, and participate in class discussions. Plagiarism is forbidden. Adherence to professional standards or behavior is expected, including the University’s code of conduct. Students who have a disability that requires an accommodation are encouraged to discuss this with Professor Holmes. Students who must miss a class session are encouraged to notify Professor Holmes in advance by email or a phone message. No use of electronic communication or recording equipment is permitted in the class without the permission of the instructor. The course may be taught with some sessions as a blended or hybrid Internet course.
Readings are a combination of web links and class handouts. Students are encouraged to expand the content with your own web searching. Because web links change over time, the reading list may be revised as announced in class. If a student finds a broken link, you are encouraged to search for an alternative and notify the instructor.
WEEKS AND TOPICS
Reading:
(APA Style) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
(APA Style) http://www.experiment-resources.com/apa-writing-format.html
(APA example) http://my.ilstu.edu/~jhkahn/APAsample.pdf
Reading:
(Healey Library) http://atoz.ebsco.com/Customization/Tab/961?lang=en&lang.menu=en&lang.subject=en&tabId=6522
(Google Scholar) http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws
(UMB
library guide) http://umb.libguides.com/home
**Thursday Activity—select a library guide and send a list by email of two sources identified by the guide that you might potentially use.
Reading:
(APA format reports) http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/
(Research report overview) http://portal.acs.org/portal/fileFetch/C/CTP_005606/pdf/CTP_005606.pdf
(Report guidelines) http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/reports
Draft of Document 1 due.
Reading:
(Guidelines) http://www.d.umn.edu/~hrallis/guides/researching/litreview.html
(Annotated example) http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/Laura.Spiller/Experimental/sample_apa_style_litreview.pdf
**Thursday activity—review the literature review and submit by email a list of two comments with which you disagree and say why.
Reading:
(How to) http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/
(How to) http://www.essayforum.com/grammar-usage-13/to-write-case-study-366/
(Summary) http://www.gttp.org/docs/HowToWriteAGoodCase.pdf
Revision of Document 1 Due.
(Tips) http://lone-eagles.com/granthelp.htm
(Tips) http://www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting.html
Draft of Document 2 due.
(Example) http://www.esterlibrary.org/planning/programplan.html
SPRING BREAK WILL OCCUR ABOUT HERE.
(Overview) http://www.poewar.com/having-your-say-writing-personal-essays/
(Tips) http://andrewleigh.org/pdf/OpEd_Tips.pdf
(Press release example) http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
Revision of Document 2 Due
(Overview) http://policy.ucsc.edu/pdf/guide.pdf
(Process) http://humanresources.about.com/od/policiesandsamples1/a/how_to_policy.htm
(Readable regulations) http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/write/plain-language/readable-regulations.html
Document 3 Due
(How to) http://hassam.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Write-Minutes-For-Meetings
(Parliamentary Procedure and Template) http://nancysylvester.com/docs/Resources/articles/meeting_minutes.html
(Tips) http://www.meetingwizard.org/meetings/taking-minutes.cfm?re=3
(Example) http://managementhelp.org/boards/sample-minutes.htm
(Overview) http://www.csustan.edu/Social_Work/documents/ProcessRecordingFormat.pdf
(Guidelines) http://www.ecu.edu/che/socw/docs/process%20recording.pdf
(Example) http://www.socialwork.vcu.edu/docs_pdfs/SampleProcessRecordingColumn.pdf
Document 4 Due
(Overview) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/1/
(Process) http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/memo/
(Format) http://www.nku.edu/~fordmw/memo.htm
(Structure) http://www.lupinworks.com/roche/pages/memos.php
(Overview) http://www.letterwritingguide.com/
(Format) http://englishplus.com/grammar/letrcont.htm
(Business Letters) http://esl.about.com/cs/onthejobenglish/a/a_basbletter.htm
(Resume Cover Letters) http://www.accent-resume-writing.com/covertips/
Document 5 Due
14. Reviewing and Improving Documents
(Reviewing and updating) http://www.bplogix.com/docs/imarkup_document_review.pdf
(Microsoft Word reviewing) http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/review-accept-reject-and-hide-tracked-changes-HA001218562.aspx