| Daily Assignments:
3/16/12, Fri: Informal Report
Complete your rough draft, turn it in for proofreading, make corrections,
and turn in your final draft. Your report must be at least one page
and a cover sheet. It must contain pertinent information that
supports your objective. Your report should include:
 | A cover
sheet |
| An
introduction that summarizes your report |
| A body of at
least three (3) paragraphs of supporting facts with research references |
| A conclusion
or recommendation |
To submit any assignments after today's class, you must email them
to
dennis.kamarainen@seattlecolleges.edu. (Rough drafts are not
considered a completed assignment.)
3/15/12, Thu: Informal Report
Work on your informal report.
All assignments are due tomorrow, Friday, March 15, 2012.
3/14/12, Wed: Informal Report
Complete your persuasive cover letter, correct, and submit to your
instructor. Interactive demonstration and discussion of
Informal Reports.
How to Write an Informal Report
How to Properly Research on the Internet
Google_Tips_Tricks.pdf
Possible Topics:
What are the most effective ways to find a job?
How to deal with anger and frustration
How to rear a child while working or studying full time
3/13/12, Tue: Persuasive Cover Letter
Complete your persuasive cover letter today. Review the PowerPoint
and the example cover letters for the organization and ideas that you will
use to persuade an employer to hire you. Be sure to highlight the
your skills and abilities. (See onetonline.org)
This is the last week of the quarter. Be sure all your assignments
and quizzes have been submitted.
3/9/12, Fri: Persuasive Cover Letter
Organizing a Persuasive Cover Letter. See the PowerPoint
presentation on Persuasive Messages for assistance.
1. Attention-getting opening –- what can you do for them?
2. Supporting Information – what on your resume would stand out
3. Action Ending – action should be simple and easy What do
employers really want?
http://www.quintcareers.com/job_skills_values.html What
skills and abilities do you have? Compare them to the job you want.
Job Description:
General Office Clerks at onetonline.org.
Example of General Office Clerk Cover Letter
Examples of other clerical cover letters
Create your own persuasive cover letter based on your own skills and
abilities. Remember to compose your letter to persuade an employer
to consider you for a clerical position.
3/8/12, Thu: Persuasive Messages
Interactive demonstration and discussion of planning, organizing, and
writing a persuasive message. Compose a flyer to persuade people to come to your Earth Day event.
Remember to assume that your audience is uninterested or resistant. You may work together and use graphics in your flyer.
3/7/12, Wed: Bad News Messages Interactive demonstration and discussion of Bad News Messages
continues. Compose a bad news message using the memo format.
Organize the message as follows:
Begin with a neutral opener Explain the reasons for the bad news State or imply the bad news End on a positive note, and, if possible, offer an
alternative suggestion
Assignment Scenario:
Neutral opener -- Perhaps, refer to the reliability of the
elevators, or how we count on the elevator service.
Bad news -- The elevators at SVI will be out of service for their
annual inspection and maintenance this Thursday.
Reasons for bad news -- By state law, elevators must be inspected
every quarter and must go through a maintenance service at least once per
year. The elevator company is unable to schedule this service at a
more convenient time.
Close on a positive note -- Perhaps, what the school will do to
help assist employees and students during the outage, or bring up safety
issues. Your memo will notify all employees and students of
the upcoming maintenance.
3/6/12, Tue: Bad News Messages
Interactive demonstration and discussion of Bad News Messages:
planning and organizing.
Samples of Bad News Letters
3/2/12, Fri: Good News / Routine Message
Submit your rough draft for the Student Services exercise from yesterday.
Your instructor will proofread it and return it to you for revision.
Modify your rough draft and create your final draft for submission to your
instructor.
Spelling Test
Extra credit: Create a professional-looking letterhead to use with
your future cover letters. You may create a logo using pictures or
clip art. Save it as a template for later use.
Proofreading Marks
3/1/12, Thu: Good News / Routine Message
How are your communication skills?
Steps in writing a message:
|
Brainstorm - a way of generating topics to write about where you
simply open your mind to whatever pops into it. Do not judge your
responses. |
|
Organize - group similar ideas and arrange in the order appropriate
to the message |
|
Main idea - the objective of the message |
|
Supporting Ideas - topics that describe, clarify, or explain the
main idea |
|
Details - specific information needed for clarity |
|
Closing - comments that leave an impression on the reader |
Compose a letter in block-style format to welcome new students to their
first quarter at SVI. You are the acting Dean of Student Services
and want to encourage new students to prepare themselves for their future.
Inform them of the services available to them, such as the SCCC bookstore,
childcare, counseling center, and other services shown on the SVI main
website. Briefly explain each service.
2/29/12, Wed: Good News Message
Compose a memo in common memo format. You are allowing food and drink to be consumed at a
designated table in the computer labs, and food and drink would not be
allowed in any other part of the room. You are the Student Advocate
and are sending this memo to all students with a cc: to Al Griswold
(Executive Dean) and Nancy Verheyden (Dean of Instruction).
Beginning Tomorrow: The Business
Communications class meets in Room 516 at 8:00 am
2/28/12, Tue: Creative Writing
Guest Instructor: Daphne Villars
Write a short story that is based on your senses -- what you see, hear,
feel, smell, and/or touch. Put yourself in one of the three
scenarios listed below. Put into words what you see and sense.
Add the correct punctuation to your story.
Open a Word document, right-click on the status bar, and click Word
Count to show the number of words in your document. Your story
should be at least 400 words. Print your story and turn it in before
the end of class. (if you choose to write your story in long-hand,
count your words and write the number of words at the bottom of your
paper.)
1. Write a real memory from your early life, if possible from before
you started school. Emphasize physical description and sensation. Then,
write an early memory that belongs someone else, perhaps one of your
parents or a friend. Emphasize physical description and sensation in this
other person's memory too. 2. Describe what you see in this
photo. Describe what you don't see-- the interior. Describe the person who
comes out of the place. What does the person do?
3. Think of three people. Write about each of them getting
angry. What characteristic gestures do they use? What tones of voice?
Emphasize their physical action and how it shows their anger, but feel
free to include dialogue and what is going on inside them.
2/24/12, Fri: Punctuation Quiz & Spelling Quiz
2/23/12, Thu: Punctuation Review
Extended Rules for Using Commas
Commas Exercise 1
Commas Exercise 2
Commas Exercise 3
Commas Exercise 4
Commas Exercise 5
2/22/12, Wed: Punctuation
Interactive demonstration, quick test, and review of the following:
Commas with And
Comma Splices and
Fused Sentences
Punctuation
Presentation
Punctuation Quiz & Spelling Quiz -- 1st twenty words on
list -- is scheduled for Friday, February 24,
2012.
2/21/12, Tue: Punctuation
Complete and review the following worksheets:
Comma to separate
an introductory element from the main clause
Commas to set off
an interrupter
Commas with
Concluding Elements
2/17/12, Fri: Parts of Speech Knowledge Game
Grammar Terms
2/16/12, Thu: Parts of Speech Knowledge Game
2/15/12, Wed: Parts of Speech
Interactive demonstration and discussion of the parts of speech.
Complete the Parts of Speech Exercise:
Write your
name at the top of the first page Read the
description of each part of speech Underline
words according to the directions Correct your
own exercise using the KEY after you have completed the exercise. Mark a check
mark next to any errors and correct the mistake. Attention should be
given to your errors, so you don't make the same error later.
More practice:
English for Everyone.org - Parts of Speech explanations and exercises
2/14/12, Tue: Grammar
Interactive
demonstration and discussion of different kinds of nouns and verbs in:
Complete the
exercise on Commonly Confused/Misused Words. Compare your answers
with the Powerpoint hyperlink on the Confused/Misused Words and Phrases
(second line on the
http://chompchomp.com/presentations.htm page).
2/10/12, Fri: What is Business Communication?
Use the Internet to find three descriptions of Business Communication.
Complete each of the categories in the What is Business Communications
document.
Copy each description into a Word document named
What is Business Communication. Each description should be at
least the size of a six-line paragraph...more is better Copy the website address to the line below each
description. From the three descriptions, pick the best one and
be prepared to read it to the class. In turn, each class member will communicate his/her
findings to the class. Email your findings to
dennis.kamarainen@seattlecolleges.edu
2/9/12, Thu: Introduction to Business Communications
& Research Skills
Syllabus Write a journal entry of 1/2 page to one page in
length.
Pick a topic from the list below, and write about what you think. Use your own words, as you would explain it to a person standing in front
of you. Don't try to correct it...this is a raw draft. Turn it
in.
What do you think...
|
What do you think of 3D movies? |
|
What do you think someone can do to help reduce the
amount of pollution in our environment? |
|
What do you think the world needs now? |
|
What do you think your friends say to each other when
you're not around? |
|
What do you think about the amount of violence on T.V.? |
|
What do you think about people polluting the environment? |
|
What do you think about having set rules for people to
follow? |
|
What do you think about people who are inconsiderate of
others? |
|
What do you think should be done to keep people who are
under the influence of alcohol off the road? |
|
What do you think about ghosts? |
|
What do you think of someone who has bad manners? |
|
What do you think about people who take advantage of
others? |
|
What do you think about when you can't fall asleep? |
|
What do you think courage means? |
|
What do you think makes a good friend? |
|
What do you think makes a happy family? |
|
What pollutants do you think do the most damage and why? |
|
What things do you think are beautiful? |
Links:
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