This might be the most important course you take during your college career. If you want to change the world, you will need to learn how to communicate messages accurately, correctly, and persuasively. If you want to advance in your career, you will need to learn how to write effectively, clearly, and concisely. Whatever career you choose, recent research shows that two thirds of salaried workers have jobs that require writing, and these workers spend upwards of 40 percent of their workday writing. Furthermore, almost three quarters of workers complain about the poorly written memos and reports they receive from others. The course is an introduction to the techniques and types of professional writing. It is designed to help strengthen skills of effective communication. In professional situations, communicators must focus on purpose, audience, and style—foci that are different than typical academic writing that students may be familiar with. For this reason, this course will offer hands-on introduction to the various types of professional writing. Specifically, you will be introduced to different kinds of memos, various types of public relations communications, and several types of official reports. You will develop a thorough awareness of the intended audiences, develop a strong voice, and improve your mastery of grammar and syntax. In addition, we will encourage thoughtful document design and visuals to facilitate comprehension, readability, and usability.

• Analyze situation, audience, and purpose as they apply to various non-academic writing contexts, such as internal communication (Background Memos, Recommendation Memos, etc.) and external communication (i.e., Press Releases, Op Eds, etc.).
• Produce clear, concise, and effective communication.
• Apply communication principles to composing and delivering typical professional messages.
• Give and receive constructive criticism on professional communication.
• Design visually appealing written reports that facilitate comprehension.

Attendance is mandatory in all sessions of the course. The attendance requirement is fulfilled if the students are present at least 80%. Students who do not meet the required minimum attendance must be de-registered from the PI as soon as possible. In the event of an absence, the lecturer should be informed in advance.

Notice of Special Regulation for Covid-19:   If a student is required to quarantine, or is otherwise prevented from attending class, due to a certified case of Covid-19 infection or a federally mandated Covid-19 lockdown, and this affects either attendance or the completion of an exam or other required course assignment, the course instructor is empowered to provide an alternative means for said student to meet the attendance/assessment requirement as necessary. The same means will be required of any student in the same situation in the same course.

Learning activities consist in preparatory readings, teacher's input, discussions and other activities in class, individual assignments or quizzes, as well as group work with peers.

• Active participation in class and contributions to the discussion (20%)
• Six writing assignments (60%)
• Peer Review (10%)
• Final document portfolio (10%)

Course enrollment is on the basis of "first come, first served" principle. If you have registered but cannot participate in the course, please de-register via LPIS so that your spot is available to students on the waiting list. If there is a waiting list for enrollment in the course, students on the waiting list will be notified after the end of the enrollment period and will be allocated to available spots.

Each meeting with follow the same structure:

• Motivation: We will start with an anecdote illustrating how a particular type of non-academic writing mattered in the real world. Think of the press release that saved human beings or the internal memo that prevented a war.
• Instructions: We will then review the formal requirements of various types of non-academic documents.
• Examples: Following this, we will evaluate several real world examples of the respective documents and analyze if they successfully accomplished the task they were set out to do.
• Hands-on experience: Students will then start the task of writing such a document themselves. Students will be given a specific scenario and develop their own professional document in the context of a particular case.
• Skill Session: Finally, the meeting will conclude with a short skill session on a specific topic related to non-academic writing. Examples include issues of the process (e.g., overcoming writer’s bloc), style (e.g., conciseness), and language (e.g., transitional devices).

Course Outline
    Week 1
        What this course is about?
        Skill session: How to get started on writing assignments
    Week 2
        Background Memo
        Skill session: Finding information
    Week 3
        Press Release
        Skill session: Conciseness
    Week 4
        Op Ed
        Skill session: Structure and Paragraphs
    Week 5
        Study Results Memo
        Skill session: Transitions and Transitional Devices
    Week 6
        Recommendation Memo / Policy Brief
        Skill session: Sentence Variety
    Week 7
        Annotated Bibliography
        Skill session: Quoting and Paraphrasing
    Week 8
        Grammar and revision
        Skill session: Document Design
    Week 9
        Peer Review of Portfolio
        Skill session: Online presence