ENC 5236: Advanced Business Writing for Accountants
Course Description, Summer 2005
GERSON HALL 228
Section 0378: M 5 / TWR 5-6

Instructor: Trena Houp
E-mail: thoup@english.ufl.edu
Office: Turlington 4415 (Mailbox in 4301 Turlington), office hours by appointment

Required Texts
May, Claire B. and Gordon S. May. Effective Writing: A Handbook for Accountants. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005.
Coursepack

Overview
This writing intensive course will focus on the forms of communication most often found in the working lives of accountants: memos, letters, proposals, and reports. While gaining practical experience producing these documents, students will also consider the theories underlying successful writing in accounting. ENC 5236 is designed to provide a context for this type of writing, showing how and why particular documents are necessary in the workplace. Due to this concern, students will be required to produce a case study of the writing done in a professional workplace so they may see first-hand the documents produced in the discipline.

Since the course’s writing assignments consist of “reader-based” communication, students will also spend a good deal of time and attention on the collaborative and social aspects of discourse, especially audience and publication. The course will examine several methods of revising prose for maximum clarity towards that end. In addition, the class will consider the role of technical communication in discussions of contemporary issues.

Major Assignments
Memos: All students are required to write four memos throughout the semester. The first memo will be an introductory memo and will include basic contact information along with any other details that students wish to reveal about themselves. The remaining memos will deal with in-class assignments and ongoing projects. Each memo must be designed to complete a specific task and will have to meet specific requirements. As a general rule, each memo should be at least one full page in length unless specified otherwise.
Reassurance Letter: This assignment will address the situation described on p. 150 of Effective Writing (8-3). Assuming the role indicated by the case, students will be asked to write a letter to reassure a supplier that an overdue invoice will be paid soon. This letter should be 1-2 pages in length and single-spaced.
Response to an Inquiry Letter: Assuming the role described by the case on p. 156 of Effective Writing (8-13), students should write a response to Ms. Adams whose stock recently declined in value due to management fraud. This letter should explain the situation detailed in the case while answering Ms. Adams’s question and should be 1-2 pages in length and single-spaced.
Cover Letter and Résumé: Since résumé and cover letters are important documents in the workplace, students will be required to produce these job application materials. Each document should be limited to one page.
Proposal: Working in groups, students will submit a proposal for a case study on writing done by accountants in the professional workplace. The proposal will be 3-5 pages in length and should present plans for carrying out the task (the case study) and explain the research methods that will be utilized. The assignment will also require that students work with visual aids, such as organizational charts and timelines. This assignment will, of course, expose students more thoroughly to the genre of the proposal. In addition to learning proposal superstructures and conventions, this assignment will require students to practice collaborative writing and to practice creating a more cohesive, coherent arrangement and style.
Case Study (Formal Report): Still working in groups, students will construct and carry out a case study in which they observe the writing of professional accountants. The final product of this project will be a formal report of the case study findings. This report should be 4-6 pages in length.

Grade Distribution

Memos (4) 15%
Reassurance Letter 10%
Response Letter 10%
Cover Letter and Résumé 15%
Proposal 15%
Case Study / Formal Report 20%
Class participation and in class writing 15%

Course Policies

Text Requirements:
Type all major writing assignments on one side of 8 1/2" x 11" white paper, double-space the text, write in Times New Roman (12 point font), and use 1" margins on all sides.
Bring two copies of the assignment to the writing workshop. Drafts for writing workshops should not be "rough," but complete and polished. You will be graded on this.
Writing workshops are mandatory. I will not accept a final text that has not been workshopped. If you miss a workshop, it is your responsibility to arrange for a make-up session with your classmates.

Attendance
Promptness and attendance are imperative in a discussion/workshop class. It should go without saying that you should arrive to class on time and well prepared. Tardiness, like sporadic absences, disrupts the class. Don’t enter the class more than five minutes after it has begun. Three tardies will count as an unexcused absence. Your letter grade will be lowered one full letter grade after the third unexcused absence (university-sponsored events and documented illnesses are usually excused). Additional absences may cause you to fail the course. If you miss class, you are responsible for getting any assignments and making up any work.

Grade Complaints
A low grade on a single assignment will not prohibit a good course grade if your work improves. You should first discuss grade complaints with me. After doing this, if you still have grade complaints about multiple assignments and expect your final grade to be too low, get a complaint form from the English office and submit this along with all written work and an explanation of absences and class participation. A committee of faculty members will review each complaint and decide whether to raise, lower, or keep the given grade.

Academic Dishonesty
Unless it is specifically connected to assigned collaborative work, all work should be individual. Evidence of collusion (working with someone not connected to the class or assignment), plagiarism (use of someone else’s published or unpublished words or design without acknowledgment) or multiple submissions (submitting the same paper in different courses) will lead to the university’s procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty. All students are expected to honor their commitment to the university’s Honor Code.

Classroom Conduct
Every student in this class is expected to participate in a responsible and mature manner that enhances education. Each student is expected to show respect for the diversity of opinions expressed during discussion and in drafts. Each student should balance the desire to express opinions with the recognition that other students and the instructor in the class also need to be heard. Any conduct that disrupts the learning process may lead to disciplinary action.

Conferences
I encourage you to make arrangements to see me, especially when you have questions about an assignment, need help with a particular writing problem, want extra feedback on a draft, or have questions about my comments on your work. Of course, we can also correspond via e-mail.

Schedule Policies
Turn in assignments at the beginning of the class indicated on the schedule: late assignments will be penalized at least one letter grade per day unless you have made arrangements with me in advance.
Be prepared to discuss readings on the date listed.
Ask for clarification if any assignments/requirements seem unclear.

Schedule

* This is not a lecture class, so come prepared to discuss the texts. In addition, a lot of class time will focus on collaborative writing and the social aspects of business writing.

Week 1
May 9 M Class Introduction, Review syllabus and memo format
May 10 T Overview of Writing in Accounting, Effective Writing p. 2-27
May 11 W Writing Letters, Memos, E-mails. Effective Writing p. 134-173. Coursepack p. 5-9. Analyzing Audience and Purpose. Bring to class an article, advertisement, or some other form of writing that is geared specifically to accountants. This can be something you have read or written for another class, an article in a trade magazine, or an advertisement for accounting services, software, etc. We will work with these items in class.
May 12 R Grammar and Editing Documents. Effective Writing p. 73-93.
Memo 1 Due.

Week 2
May 16 M Writing Workshop
May 17 T Reassurance Letter and Response Letter Due. Preparing Job Application Materials. Effective Writing p. 206-216, Coursepack p. 11-21.
May 18 W Preparing Job Application Materials cont. Oral Presentations Effective Writing p. 221 –237.
May 19 R Drafting and Revising Coherent Documents. Effective Writing p. 28-46.

Week 3
May 23 M Coherence and Cohesion. Memo 2 Due.
May 24 T Document Design. Effective Writing p. 94-105, Coursepack 23-50
May 25 W Writing Workshop
May 26 R Cover Letter and Résumé Due; Writing Clearly and Concisely Effective Writing p. 47-72.

Week 4
May 30 M No class – holiday
May 31 T Writing Clearly and Concisely Cont. Coursepack 1-4, Writing and Your Career Effective Writing p. 193-205 and 217-237.
June 1 W Writing Collaboratively
June 2 R Writing Proposals. Coursepack 51-78, Group composition time. Memo 3 Due.

Week 5
June 6 M Creating Graphics. Coursepack 79-81, Group composition time.
June 7 T Writing Workshop
June 8 W Proposal Due. Writing Reports Effective Writing p. 174-191.
June 9 R Conference

Week 6
June 13 M Writing Reports Cont. Coursepack 83-86, Group composition time.
June 14 T Writing Informal Reports, Communicating Persuasively.
June 15 W Writing Workshop. Class evaluations.
June 16 R Formal Report Due, Memo 4 Due. Last day of class.

NOTE: I reserve the right to alter the syllabus at any time.