Communications 125 – AB9

Summer 2022

May 3 – June 16
Class Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 14:30-17:20

Communicating Professionally to Academic and Workplace Audiences

Instructor: Dr. Alexander Grammatikos

Email: Alexander.Grammatikos@ufv.ca
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1:30-2:30 pm and Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 pm (on Zoom, via appointment)

Required Texts/Resources:

Meyer, C. (2020). Communicating for Results: A Canadian Student’s Guide. (5th Ed.). Don Mills, Ontario:
Oxford University Press.

Note: This course will also use online text sources. There is no cost for the online materials. These specific
readings will be linked in the Weekly Discussion Forum.

You will also need access to:

 The 7th edition of the APA Style Guide. It is available at the UFV bookstore or library (online)
 A good dictionary and a writer’s handbook.

Course Description:

Communications 125: Communicating Professionally to Academic and Workplace Audiences introduces the
theory and practice of professional communications for academic and workplace audiences. Emphasis is on the
communication process, and on direct, indirect, and persuasive messages and presentations. Research,
citation/documentation styles, document design, and electronic messaging are also studied and practiced.

Course Prerequisites: One of the following: C+ or better in English 12, CPT score of 48, or evidence of any
test score or course grade listed under the Degree/diploma-level English language proficiency standards in the
UFV academic calendar at www.ufv.ca/calendar/current/General/EnglishProficiency.htm

Note: Students with credit for CMNS 155 cannot take this course for further credit.
Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Create messages for specific purposes, audiences, and media.

2. Apply the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofing.

3. Write direct, indirect, and persuasive messages in a variety of lengths and formats.

4. Produce a research writing assignment for a professional or academic audience.

5. Use summary, paraphrasing, and citation techniques for an academic or professional audience.

6. Use source material ethically and critically in written communication.

7. Demonstrate the basic techniques of document design.

8. Develop and deliver effective and professional presentations.

 Assignments and Grading

Practice Assignments—10% Individual Presentation—10%

Email—10% Peer Review—5%
Memo—10% Formal Proposal—25%
In-Class Exam (2 Letters + CMNS Terms)—30%

Note: ALL assignments will be submitted via Blackboard and must be saved as Microsoft Word .docx files.
Late Assignments will be penalized 10% per day, including weekends.

Practice Assignments—10%
During the semester, students will be expected to complete small written Assignments during a specific class.
Assignments must be completed during the class that they are assigned.

Email—10%
For this assignment, students will be expected to write an email to their employer asking for time off work. This
assignment will test students’ abilities to write concisely and professionally.

Memo—10%
For this assignment, students will be expected to write a one-page memo based on a situation that will be provided
by your instructor. Students will have to read excerpts from articles and summarize and organize ideas from these
articles in order to write the memo. This assignment will test students’ ability to select appropriate information, to
organize information effectively, and to make their writing as reader friendly as possible.

In-Class Exam—30%
The In-Class Exam will cover material from Weeks 1-5. There will be a review session prior to the In-Class Exam
wherein I will remind students of what we have covered during the semester, as well as provide an outline of the
sections that students can expect to find on the In-Class Exam.

Individual Presentation—10% and Peer Review—5%

For this assignment, students will give a 3-minute presentation about their Formal Proposal. Students should
inform the audience of (i) the topic they have chosen; (ii) the existing knowledge about their topic; (iii) their
approach and methodology; and (iv) the sources they will use to complete their Formal Proposal.

Students will be expected to provide peer review to their classmates. I will provide more instructions on the peer
review component of this assignment as we work on presentation and proposal writing skills in the latter half of
the semester.

Formal Proposal—25%
For this assignment, students will develop a formal proposal based on a selection of topics provided by their
instructor. Students are expected to join a scholarly conversation by engaging with secondary sources. Students
should inform the audience of the topic they are proposing; the existing knowledge about their topic; their
approach and methodology; and the sources they will use to complete the Formal Proposal.

NOTE: THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM FOR THIS COURSE.

 Assignment Expectations:

1. All assignments must be submitted using Microsoft Word, either in print or as a .docx file. Your
assignment must be submitted using your last name and then your first initial as the file name (i.e.
GrammatikosAassign1.docx). Students will submit assignments on Blackboard in the “Assignments” folder.
Click on the Assignment you wish to submit (i.e. Email) and attach your document.
2. All assignments must be single-spaced, with one blank line between paragraphs. You should use Times New
Roman 12, Arial 10, Calibri 11, or a similar font.
3. Submit assignments on time and in the appropriate format. There is a 10% penalty for each day that an
assignment is late, including weekends.

Sharing Work and Confidentiality: With your permission, your work may be shared with the class as an
example of superior work or an interesting approach to a problem or writing situation. Work will not be shared
without your consent. Your work will also not be shared with future classes without your specific written consent.

ePortfolio: Students will be creating an ePortfolio through their education here at UFV. Keep your portfolio in
mind as you work through this course. Some of your assignments might be useful artifacts for showing the
progress of your learning (yes, even the ones you didn’t do as well on!) or for demonstrating how you meet
UFV’s Institutional Learning Outcomes.
Grading

Letter Grade Percentage Description

Distinguished Achievement
For consistently distinguished accomplishment in
examinations, reports, and class participation. This
definition applies to “A+”, “A”, and “A-”.
A+  90-100 Work in this grade range will adhere to the
assignment’s instructions, be properly formatted, and
be well organized. Language, grammar, and
punctuation will be nearly perfect; also, the tone of the
assignment will be appropriate and the student will be
aware of her or his target audience.
A  85-89  

A- 80-84  

Above Average Achievement 

For consistent mastery of the subject matter of this
course. This definition applies to “B+”, “B”, and “B-”.
Work that falls in this grade range is of a very good
B+  77-79 quality. The work needs minor content or format
revision, style or tone polishing, or very minor
corrections to improve clarity, conciseness, or
correctness. The work’s presentation techniques or
organization might need some minor rethinking.
B  73-76  

B-  70-72  

Satisfactory Achievement
For sufficient comprehension of the subject. This
definition applies to “C+”, “C”, and “C-”.
C+  67-69 Work that falls in this grade range is satisfactory to
good. The work will have minor to serious problems
with content, format, style, tone, clarity, conciseness,
correctness, presentation, or organization.
C  63-66  

C-  60-62  

D  50-59 Marginal Performance

For completion of a course but with below average
achievement.
Work in this grade range is barely satisfactory.
Assignments in this grade range require major revisions
in almost each area of content, format, style, tone,
 clarity, conciseness, correctness, presentation, or
organization.
Unsatisfactory Achievement
For completion of a course without demonstrating
sufficient knowledge of the content to receive credit.
Work in this grade range needs major revisions in one
F  0-49 or more of the areas of content, format, style, tone,
clarity, conciseness, correctness, presentation, or
organization. Moreover, work that meets professional
standards in most areas but which contains repeated or
significant errors in language, grammar, or punctuation
is not ready to pass.

The Academic Success Centre

The Academic Success Centre (ASC) offers student-focused tutoring, workshops, online resources and support
programs to develop students’ academic skills and knowledge. Peer tutors work with students on personal learning
strategies and approaches, and provide writing and subject-area support under the supervision of the Learning
Strategist and the Coordinator of the Academic Success Centre. The ASC is online this semester:
https://www.ufv.ca/asc/

Academic Accommodation

You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an accommodation
request please email me your request within the first two weeks of class or as soon as possible after the need for
accommodation is known to exist.

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The University of the Fraser Valley’s Centre for
Accessibility Services works with students with disabilities to arrange appropriate support services on a case-by-case
basis. For more information, see https://www.ufv.ca/accessibility/

Priority Access for Student Services (PASS): The UFV Priority Access to Student Supports (PASS) program
connects students to the supports and resources that may help them to increase their chance of success. Such
assistance may include putting students in touch with an academic advisor, financial aid, a counsellor or another
resource. If your instructor is concerned about your progress, s/he may refer you to PASS. The referral is treated
confidentially and is sent because your instructor cares about your progress and success in this course. Your
response to PASS is entirely voluntary. If you do not wish your instructor to make a referral to PASS on your behalf,
please let them know by email. www.ufv.ca/studentservices/PASS

Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct

UFV’s policy on Academic Misconduct: can be accessed here: http://www.ufv.ca/Assets/Secretariat/Policies/70.pdf

All plagiarism cases will be reported and will normally result in the following consequences:

 First plagiarized assignment may receive a grade of zero

 Second plagiarize assignment may result in a “F” grade for the course
  Additional acts of plagiarism may result in being withdrawn from the university.

Plagiarism may include:

 reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else’s published or unpublished material, regardless of the
source, and presenting these as one’s own without proper citation or reference to the original source;

 submitting a take-home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment written, in whole or in part, by
someone else;

 using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased material, concepts, or ideas without appropriate
acknowledgment in any academic assignment;

 using another’s data or research findings;

 failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another’s works and/or failing to
use quotation marks;

 handing in “substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once without prior written
permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs.”

Plagiarism is a serious offence that cannot be resolved directly by the course’s instructor. The University conducts a
rigorous investigation, including an interview with the student, when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been
plagiarized. Penalties are not trivial. They can include a final grade of “F” for the course.

Non-academic integrity

UFV Policy 204 states:

Students are required to conduct themselves in a mature and responsible manner, consistent with the University
mission, policies, and regulations and in compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal laws. Students will be
held accountable for their actions whether acting alone or in a group.

Withdrawal

According to Policy 81, students may choose to withdraw from a course without penalty before completing 60% of
the course. Students withdrawing before they have completed 30% of the course will not receive a “W” on their
transcript; students withdrawing after completing 31% to 60% of the course will receive a “W” on their transcript. A
“W” has no academic penalty and is not counted in the student’s GPA. After 60% of the course has been completed,
students must apply for Late Withdrawal. Please be aware of semester deadlines for withdrawal.

UFV Policy 81 stipulates that students needing to withdraw from a course after they have completed 60% of the
course require permission to do so. Such requests are considered based on medical or compassionate grounds and
must be submitted within four months of the end of the course (unless a rationale can be provided re: extending the
deadline). Students who complete the majority of their coursework and/or completed the final exam or final
assignment will not be permitted late withdrawal.
 Weekly Schedule
Please note that we may need to make changes during the term; this tentative schedule is not wholly binding.
Lecture Reading Before Class Assignments Due

Lecture 1.1 (Tues., May 3):

Introduction to
Communications

Lecture 1.2 (Thurs., May 5): Communicating for Results, Practice Assignment 1 (in class)
Professional and Academic Chapter 2 & 3
Communication

Lecture 2.1 (Tues., May 10): Communicating for Results, Practice Assignment 2 (in class)
The Business Writing Process Chapters 4 & 5

Audience and Tone

Lecture 2.2 (Thurs., May Communicating for Results, Practice Assignment 3 (online)
12): ONLINE LECTURE Chapter 12 (just the section
Research Skills on “Proposals”)

Lecture 3.1 (Tues., May 17): Communicating for Results, Practice Assignment 4 (in class)
Emails Chapter 6

Lecture 3.2 (Thurs., May Communicating for Results, Email—to be submitted on

19): Chapter 6 Blackboard by 11:59 pm on
Memos Friday, May 20th.

Lecture 4.1 (Tues., May 24): Communicating for Results,

Presentation Skills Chapter 13 (just the section
on “Oral Presentations”)
Memo Group Work

Lecture 4.2 (Thurs., May Communicating for Results, Memo due—to be submitted in
26): Chapter 7 class on May 26th.
Letters and Messages (Routine
and Goodwill Messages)

Peer Review Discussion

Lecture 5.1 (Tues., May 31): Communicating for Results, Individual Presentations due—
Letters and Messages (Bad Chapter 8 to be submitted on Blackboard
News) May 31st.

Practice Assignment 5

Lecture 5.2 (Thurs., June 2): Review Chapters 2-8 of In-Class Exam (in class)
In-Class Exam Communicating for Results
Peer Review—to be uploaded on
Blackboard by 11:59 pm on
Sunday, June 5th.

Lecture 6.1 (Tues., June 7): Communicating for Results,

Chapter 12 (just the section
Reporting and Analysis in on “Proposals”)
Academic Writing

Critical Reading, Citation, and