See Canvas for instructor details, university policies, and grading polices.

Course Goals – Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of ENC 3250: Professional Writing, students will be able to:

1. identify and articulate the key differences between professional and academic writing, including purpose, audience, structure, and style, and apply appropriate writing techniques in professional contexts.
2. create and integrate visual data or concept representations, employing design principles (e.g., proximity, alignment) to enhance clarity and engagement.
3. analyze professional and academic documents by evaluating how effectively the texts exemplify or violate key stylistic principles— brevity, clarity, coherence, flow, inclusivity, simplicity, and unity ——supporting their analyses with specific textual evidence.
4. critically evaluate current research, scholarship, and theory on a topic, selecting and synthesizing credible, relevant sources to compose accurate, concise annotations and summaries.
5. articulate how generative AI influences workplace communication practices, professional competencies, and career readiness, synthesizing evidence-based insights on the affordances and constraints AI introduces to workplace writing.
6. articulate the purpose, structure, and conventions of annotated bibliographies and literature reviews, demonstrating the ability to summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize source material, accurately cite using APA 7, and clearly communicate the significance of scholarly and scientific research to professional audiences.
7. effectively collaborate by synthesizing individually conducted research into cohesive, unified team presentations that clearly communicate evidence-based insights on topics such as workplace competencies and AI’s impact on professional practices.
8. develop a professional development plan that synthesizes evidence from current research, scholarship, and theory on workforce competencies and AI-driven workplace disruption, clearly articulating personalized career goals, strategies for skill development, and creative adaptations to anticipated technological changes.

Participation Assignments

Typically, participation assignments are drafts or pieces of larger projects — also known as creative challenges. Sometimes, though, they are reading quizzes or exercises intended to scaffold the competencies required to complete a creative challenge. You will earn one course-participation credit by participating in each meeting, and you need to be present in the Teams Meeting to earn credit. If you miss an assignment, it will count as an absence per the labor-based grading policy. See Canvas for more details on the participation assignments.

Major Course Assignments – Creative Challenges

Course Projects – Creative Challenges

The major assignments in this course are organized around the theme of Professional Writing: Workplace Communication, AI, and Career Readiness:

1. Definition – What Is Professional Writing?
2. Information Visualization – Professional vs. Academic Writing Styles
3. Individual Presentation – Use the Elements of Style to Critique Professional Writing
4. Recorded Group Presentation – Use the Elements of Style to Critique Professional Writing
5. Research Synthesis – What Competencies Constitute Career Readiness?
6. Research Synthesis – How is AI Changing the Future of Work?
7. Research Presentation – What Are the Core Job Competencies of a Particular Profession?
8. Research Report – Create a Professional Development Plan?