Calendar
Follow the links at the bottom of this page for a schedule of assignments for each week this semester. Within each week, you will find daily listings of assignments. Each bullet point for the day is a different task for you to complete. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all assignments are to be completed before class on the day listed.
This course calendar may be updated throughout the semester. I'll notify you about any major changes, but you are still responsible for keeping up with the current schedule.
IMPORTANT: You must visit all of the links provided within the course calendar. There are many links to follow and read. Make sure you visit all of them. Some links provide easy access to other parts of the class site which will help you in your assignments. Some links are to required readings. Others provide you with detailed instructions on completing the assignments. Eventually, you may come to know the instructions which supplement assignments that are repeated throughout the course, but it's still a good idea to continue to revisit the instructions to make sure that you are satisfying all of the requirements.
Week One
Tuesday, January 13th
- Introduction to course and website.
- Preview of Course Projects and Business Idea Pitch
For Next Time:
- Read Course Description, Calendar, Course Philosophy, and Project pages on website.
- Read What is Rhetoric? and Perspectives on the Study of Rhetoric by Foss, Foss, and Trapp.
- Complete Blog Prompt: What is the role of writing and persuasion for an entrepreneur? How does that relate to what you hope to get from the course? (tag this entry role of writing)
- Comment on another student's blog post.
Thursday, January 15th
For Next Time:
- Read "Introduction" (pp. 1-14) in Anne Surma's Public and Professional Writing (from here on this text will be referred to as Surma)
- Read Chapter One (pp. 15-35) in Surma
- Read job ads (in the field/industry in which you will propose to start a business) to get ideas for your skills list.
- Post a list of 15-20 necessary skills for an entrepreneur as a blog posting for Tuesday's discussion (tag this entry skills list).
- Respond (as a comment) to two other student's skill lists (100 words each) who included skills that you hadn't considered. Read the commenting guidelines for assistance on how to approach this.
- Continue thinking about and researching your business idea for the Business Idea Pitch Competition.
Week Two
Tuesday, January 20
For Next Time:
Thursday, January 22
- Field questions/discuss T-Letter
- Discuss email etiquette
- Prepare for Business Idea Pitches
- Review Resources for pitches.
For Next Time:
- Prepare pitch for Tuesday.
Week Three
Tuesday, January 27
Perform Business Idea Pitches.Vote on Business Pitches.Complete blog entry, Rhetorical Choices (directions found here) by 1:30 on Wednesday.
For Next Time:
Write a blog about why the pitches you voted for were persuasive. What, specifically, made you vote for the person you did? Person? Idea? Presentation? Ethos? Be clear and specific. Tag it with Pitch-
Thursday, January 29
For Next Time:
- Finalists prepare second round of pitches. You will have up to FIVE minutes to give this pitch--sort of like a presentation/discussion at a cocktail party, or an initial meeting with a potential funder. But, you might consider NOT using all 5 minutes; your audience seems to have a limited attention span!
- Write a blog about why the pitches you voted for were persuasive. What, specifically, made you vote for the person you did? Person? Idea? Presentation? Ethos? Be clear and specific. Tag it with Pitch
- Post links to three sample job ads (here are some job search resources) and write two paragraphs analyzing what they suggest about writing and responding to job ads. Tag this blog post with Job Ads
Week Four
Tuesday, February 3
- Pitches Round Two.
- Vote for four winning pitches.
- Discuss Job Application Project (Resumes) if time
For Next Time:
- Watch the video of your pitch (On CD). Write a ~300 word blog post (tagged Reaction), analyzing your pitch after watching it on video, answering the following: How does the video of your pitch differ from your impressions while you were giving it? What was effective? What would you change for next time? What do you think of your ethos in the pitch? In answering all questions, be specific, pointing to actual parts (content, gestures, visuals, etc.) in the pitch.
- Read Skeptical Resume Reader Tells How He Really Thinks.
- Write a blog entry about your reaction/response to "The Skeptical Resume Reader." Specifically, how does the article reposition your thoughts about creating a resume for a job? Thinking about previous resumes that you have created, would they have withstood a critical reading by the type of reader described in the article? Why or why not? What would you do differently in preparing the resume? Be specific in your explanations referring to examples from both the article and your own resumes. Tag this Resume Response.
- Read A Glimpse and a Hook
- Read Purdue Owl's Resume Design
- Read Writing Descriptions
Thursday, February 5
For Next Time:
Week Five
Tuesday, February 10
- Discuss Writing Cover Letters
- Cover Letter Specifications
- Cover Letter Design
- Discuss Writing Job Ads (and included components)
For Next Time:
- Work on Drafting Resume, Cover Letters, and Job Ads
Thursday, February 12
For Next Time:
- Revised job ads are due no later than 5:00 pm on Saturday.
- Resumes and cover letters are due to potential employers no later than 5:00 pm on Monday.
- All hiring must be completed by Thursday of next week. When you walk into class, I expect groups to have been formed.
Week Six
Tuesday, February 17
- Introduce Market Analysis and Strategy Project
- Introduce Documentation Project (corollary to all you will do from here on out)
- Conference/Questions on Job Application Project
For Next Time:
Thursday, February 19
For Next Time:
- Compile, Organize, and Prepare Job Application Materials (all in print) to hand in on Tuesday at the beginning of class.
- Draft a memo (as an internal document to your instructor) that reflects on the application process:
- What went well?
- Were you successful in your job search? Why do you think this is so?
- What were any issues that you ran into?
- What would you do differently in the future?
- What have you learned from this project/experience?
- How does any of what you have said relate to our discussion/my lecture/the readings/course materials and resources regarding rhetorical decision-making?
- What choices did you make in the drafting of your documents that you think I need to know about?
- Read Surma Chapter Two "The Struggle to Relate: Writers and Readers of Corporate and Public Documents" pp. 36-74
- Read Introduction and Chapter One in Made to Stick
Week Seven
Tuesday, February 24
For Next Time:
- Research for Market Analysis and Strategy
- Read Surma Chapter Two "The Struggle to Relate: Writers and Readers of Corporate and Public Documents" pp. 36-74
- Read Introduction and Chapter One in Made to Stick
Thursday, February 26
- Discuss group work and related readings
- Introduce Group Action Plan.
- Discuss Gantt Charts (Create one) (another tutorial) (Some samples)
- Groups write one document outlining criteria for their industry's business plans with references to specific components of the real-world samples. Consider the following questions:
- What sections do the business plans include? How are they structured?
- What kinds of resources do the plans include?
- How do the plans discuss their market and marketing strategy?
- What kinds of rhetorical appeals do the plans make to connect with its audience?
- How do the plans convince readers that they suggest profitable investments?
- Do the plans use any charts, graphs, tables, graphics, etc?
- Research, group work time
For Next Time:
- Post criteria document by midnight, Saturday, February 28 in your group correspondence and attach the document with the title "GroupNameCriteria."
- Post Action Plan and Gantt Chart by Saturday, February 28th in the same place, and attach the document with the title "GroupNameActionPlan" and "GroupNameGanttChart."
Week Eight
Tuesday, March 3
For Next Time:
- Market A & S Work
- Finish Business Plan Book Selection and Review
- Read Ethics and Visual Rhetorics
- Write a blog post, tagged ethics that responds to the ethics reading: What are the necessary ethical considerations the articles bring up? Why is this important (what other aspects of writing/communicating overlap with ethics)? What strategies and/or suggestions does the article give for acting ethically? How might you apply what you learned for your market analysis/strategy document?
- Respond to two other class members' posts with a comment by Thursday's class.
Thursday, March 5
For Next Time:
- Work on Market A & S Document - Peer Review on Tuesday, March 1o; Due Thursday, March 12th
- Market A & S Draft Due
- Read Luntz on Writing
- Write a blog post of ~300 words which demonstrates how three of the rules were used in the sample business plans you analyzed in the Business Plan Analysis Exercise or in the sample Market A & S documents provided here. Tag this post with Luntz.
- Respond to two other class members' posts with a comment by Thursday's class that engages the comment, the reading, and the text analyzed.
Week Nine
Tuesday, March 10
- Business Plan Analysis Exercise Redux
- Create a list of questions, areas on which you would like focus, things you are concerned about, etc. Essentially, tell your peers what, specifically, you would like them to focus on during the peer review (e.g grammar, visual representations, market segmentation, marketing/advertising outlets, etc.).
- Post your questions, along with your Market A & S document to your BP Group blogs by class time
- Market A & S Peer Review
- Market A & S Reminders
For Next Time:
Market A & S Due!
If you have not already done so, complete the following assignments:
- Read Ethics and Visual Rhetorics
- Write a blog post, tagged ethics that responds to the ethics reading: What are the necessary ethical considerations the articles bring up? Why is this important (what other aspects of writing/communicating overlap with ethics)? What strategies and/or suggestions does the article give for acting ethically? How might you apply what you learned for your market analysis/strategy document?
- Respond to two other class members' posts with a comment by Thursday's class.
- Read Luntz on Writing
- Write a blog post of ~300 words which demonstrates how three of the rules were used in the sample business plans you analyzed in the Business Plan Analysis Exercise or in the sample Market A & S documents provided here. Tag this post with Luntz.
- Respond to two other class members' posts with a comment by Thursday's class that engages the comment, the reading, and the text analyzed.
Thursday, March 12
- Discuss Ethics and Visual Rhetorics
- Discuss Luntz
Market A & S Due!
For Next Time:
Readings TBA
Market Analysis Resources
Week Ten
Tuesday, March 17
No Class--Spring Break
Thursday, March 19
No Class--Spring Break
Week Eleven
Tuesday, March 23
For Next Time:
- Read over Business Plan Project and post any questions that you still have as comments to the page
- Read The Art of the Start Ch. 4
- Post comment(s) on Data Representation Activity
Thursday, March 25
For Next Time:
- .Work on Business Plan
By Saturday March 27 at 11:59pm, In class on Tuesday, you will create and post (on your team's correspondence page/forum) a document in which you detail
1. your selection of sections and the time frame you have set for each section of the BP (especially the drafting and REVISING time frame).2. the resources you might need in order to complete each section (including what you want from ME)3. specific questions you have for each section that you want addressed.
- Essentially, you should record everything (in extreme detail) you need to complete the business plan project.
Week Twelve
Tuesday, March 31
- Discuss Business Plan Components (e.g. company description, financials, executive summary)
- Discuss Financials
For Next Time:
Thursday, April 2
For Next Time:
Week Thirteen
Tuesday, April 7
- Research exercise
- Discussion of presentation techniques
Thursday, April 9
Presentation Resources
For Next Time:
Business Presentations!
Week Fourteen
Tuesday, April 14
3:00 pm class
- GP Enterprise
- Garden Green
4:30 pm class
- Punchline Productions
- Allow Me
- The PreGame
Thursday, April 16
3:00 pm class
- Inotec
JetCab- Club Silver
4:30 pm class
- The Sunrise Sizzle
- CardCash.com
For next time:
Week Fifteen
Tuesday, April 21
Thursday, April 23
Week Sixteen
Tuesday, April 28
- During class, groups will work on Employee Manual and meet with Cat re: Business Plans
- All students must be in class for the entire period
3:00 pm class
- 3:00 pm -- Garden Green
- 3:15 pm -- INOTEC
- 3:30 pm -- Jet Cab
- 3:45 pm -- Club Silver
- 4:00 pm -- GP Enterprises
4:30 pm class
- 4;30 pm -- CardCash.com
- 4:45 pm -- Punchline Productions
- 5:00 pm -- The PreGame
- 5:15 pm -- Sunrise Sizzle
- 5:30 pm -- Allow Me
Thursday, April 30
Last class meeting. Location: Nine Irish Brothers