91探花

BMT 2600 PBC

BMT 2600鈥擝usiness Report Writing

Three Semester Hours

KW 10/13

Prerequisites

University Requisite: Tier I English and not Business Administration major

Course Overview

Practice in planning and writing effective business letters, memoranda, and reports.

Methods of Course Instruction

All material for this course is print-based. Instructor and students communicate and exchange materials through postal mail. 

E-Print Option

In this course, an option exists to use e-mail to submit your lesson assignments. Your assignment will be returned to you either as an e-mail attachment or as a hard copy sent through the postal mail, depending on the preferences of the instructor and/or program. 

Textbooks and Supplies

Lehman, Carol, Debbie Dufrene, and Robyn Walker. BCOM6. 6th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2015. [ISBN: 9781285431642]

Optional Textbooks

  • Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2008) 
    A large number of good dictionaries, thesauri, and other word references are available online, including a robust online version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, which is accessible at ;
  • Also search for word reference books through the Libraries link on the 91探花 home page, ;
  • Strunk, William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. Longman, 1999. [ISBN: 9780205309023]
  • The Chicago Manual of Style. University of Chicago Press, 2010. [ISBN: 9780226104201]

Number of Lessons

The course has 12 lessons. These lessons include:

  • Lesson 1: Planning Spoken and Written Messages 
  • Lesson 2: Preparing Spoken and Written Messages  
  • Lesson 3: Communicating Electronically 
  • Lesson 4: Good- and Neutral-News Messages 
  • Lesson 5: Bad-News Messages 
  • Lesson 6: Persuasive Messages 
  • Lesson 7: Research and Reports 
  • Lesson 8: Using Data and Graphics 
  • Lesson 9: Preparing Reports and Proposals 
  • Lesson 10: Preparing and Delivering Presentations 
  • Lesson 11: Resumes and Application Messages and Materials 
  • Lesson 12: Preparing for the Job Interview

Types of Writing Assignments

Each lesson in this course focuses鈥攏ot too narrowly鈥攐n a kind of business writing, or on an area of writing skills, usually demonstrated in a variety of models. You will demonstrate your mastery of skills in two or three brief exercises: a question and answer section, a short-answer written assignment, and, when appropriate, a practical written application of the concepts. 

Your lessons will show you principles of format (how to set up a document), style (how to manage words and phrases correctly and effectively), and content (how to manipulate ideas and details fairly and effectively to inform or to persuade). Unlike technical writing, business writing is more general鈥攁 little less influenced by medical, or engineering, or industrial details鈥攁nd allows students to develop the skills they need on the job.

Requirements on assignment formats are very straightforward. Submit all of your documents as Microsoft Word documents, using standard Microsoft Word margins and professional (as well as easy-to-read) fonts, such as Adobe Garamond or Times New Roman. Right-hand margins should be ragged (unjustified) in your documents. A smooth right margin is not typical of most printed communication鈥攐utside of books鈥攁nd creates strange spacing between words in each line.    

Grading Criteria

Letter grades, including pluses and minuses, will be given for your work. All lessons will earn equal credit in the course, and each lesson grade will represent an average of grades for the assigned exercises.