Business Report Writing On-line DU-COMM1283

							COMM70015

Business Report Writing                                                             Course Outlines
On-line DU-COMM1283
Section I: Administrative Information

Course Name (Short):                                                       Credit Value: 3.5
Program(s):                                                                Credit Value Notes:
Program Coordinator(s):                                                    Effective Term: Fall 2005
Course Leader or Contact:                                                  Prerequisites: N/A
                                                                           Corequisites: N/A
                                                                           Equivalents: N/A
                                                                           Pre/Co/Equiv Notes:


Calendar Description
In this course, the student learns to present information efficiently in all types of written reports from brief in-
house memos to formal reports to outside agencies. The course stresses that all communication must be
organized and presented so that the lines of responsibility are clearly defined.
The course contains information and skill–building exercises, adapted, according to individual classes, to
the needs of students in particular specialties or majors.


               Instructional Format                               Total hours (e.g. 3 hrs/wk x 14 wks. = 42 hrs)
Lecture
Lab
Other (please specify): Course Hours                         48
Total                                                        48


Section I Notes:
This course is delivered through OntarioLearn and is hosted by Durham College. Access to this course is
from the OntarioLearn website.


Approved by



_________________________________________________                        ___________________________
Name and Signature of Dean/Director or Designate                         Date (yy/mm/dd)




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Section II: Course Details
Detailed Description
This course helps identify and focus on the purpose of the business report and the intended audience.
Topics include: what questions must be answered; gathering and evaluating data; overcoming writer’s
block; extracting relevant and useful data; organizing data logically and coherently in an appropriate
report format. This course is delivered through OntaroLearn.


Program Context

Program:          Coordinator:



Course Critical Performance & Learning Outcomes

Critical Performance

By the end of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to


Learning Outcomes

To achieve the critical performance, students will have demonstrated the ability to:

1. Identify and focus on the purpose of the particular business report and the critical questions it must
   answer;
2. Gather and evaluate data from primary and secondary sources;
3. Extract relevant and useful data for the report;
4. Organize data logically and coherently in an appropriate report format;
5. Write business reports appropriate to a variety of business settings.




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Evaluation Plan
In this course, it is assumed that students will learn by doing. The student of Business Report Writing will
complete assignments which will contribute to his or her greater understanding of writing procedures. The
timetable of due dates for submissions will be established by the instructor and will be communicated at the
beginning of the course.

The course contains nine lessons and nine assignments:
1. Ingredients of Effective Reports
2. Structure of the Report
3. Research: Organizing Data
4. Simple Reports
5. Incident Reports and Trip Reports
6. Progress Reports and Short Investigation Reports
7. Major Semi-formal Reports
8. Making Suggestions and Proposals
9. Formal Reports

Writing skill proficiency is an important requirement for this course.

The lesson assignments will count for 100% of the course mark.

Although there is no final examination, the last assignment reviews all aspects of the course.               No
supplemental examination is allowed.

The student should complete each lesson as the course directs. The sources for instruction are the texts,
the course notes and the assignments. For course credit, a student must successfully complete all ten
lessons.



Provincial Context
The course meets the following Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities requirements:

Essential Employability Skills: Essential employability skills emphasized in the course:
_x_     communication                  __     numeracy                      _x_    critical thinking &
                                                                                   problem solving
__      information management         __     interpersonal                 __     personal
Notes:


General Education: This General Education course relates to the following themes as specified by the
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
 __      arts in society                             __      social and cultural understanding
 __      civic life                                  __      science and technology
 __      personal understanding


Prior Learning Assessment:
PLA Contact:
Students may apply to receive credit by demonstrating achievement of the course learning outcomes
through previous life and work experiences. This course is eligible for challenge through the following
method(s):
 Challenge Exam              Portfolio              Interview              Other              Not Eligible



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         __                   __                    __                    __                     __
Notes:


Section III: Topical Outline
Some details of this outline may change as a result of circumstances such as weather cancellations,
College and student activities, and class timetabling.

Effective As Of: Fall 2005

Instructor:         TBA

Textbook(s):

The text by Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto, Guidelines for Report Writing, 4th Edition, is the main source of
instruction for the course, along with specially prepared lecture notes for each lesson.

The supplementary text by Ellsworth, Balnche, Keller and Arnold, English Simplified, 4rd Edition is also
Canadian and contains material to help the user write well. Students should refer to this guide whenever
in doubt about a point of grammar, spelling, punctuation or use of words. Small errors in writing can
reduce the effectiveness of the message.

Each student should have a dictionary and thesaurus for use in this course.


Applicable student group(s): N/A

Description:

Introduction to Business Report Writing
       -What is a Report?
       -Kinds of Reports
       -Analyzing Reader(s) and Message
Research Sources
       -Primary Research
       -Secondary Research
       -Interviews
       -The Resource Centre
       -Surveys
       -Preparing a Works Cited Page
Techniques used in Integrating Source Materials
       -Quotations
       -Summaries
       -Paraphrases
Informal Short Reports
       -Organizing Research Data
       -Outlining
       -Assimilation Research Data
       -Formats
       -Editing and Proofreading

Semiformal Research Report

Formal Reports



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