BMT 2600—Business 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 www.merriam-webster.com.  ; - Also search for word reference books through the Libraries link on the Ohio University home page, http://www.ohiou.edu.  ;
- Strunk, William and E.B. White. T he 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—not too narrowly—on 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—a little less influenced by medical, or engineering, or industrial details—and 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—outside of books—and 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.