名古屋外国語大学論集第7号

2020年7月

ReportBusiness Writing: Designing a Course for the Third
Year Writing Program for the Center for Language
Education and Development (CLED)
Miriam VASQUEZ

Abstract
The writing program, for the Center for Language Education and Development(CLED), saw a significant change during the 2019 academic year. As part of thenew curriculum, students moved away from a three year coordinated academic
writing program into a two-year program, whereby third year students wouldtransition into an elective style system. This new system would expose students
to an alternate form of writing, thereby teaching students the skills that an education in traditional writing may not provide.
As a result of the change, instructors were asked to create their own unique writing course from which students would select. After much discussion with bothcolleagues and students, I decided to introduce a business writing course as oneof the offered electives. This paper will discuss the development of the course;
student feedback; as well as the possibilities for improvement.

1. Introduction
When the change to the writing curriculum was introduced in 2018, third-year297

writing instructors were asked to create a course which would expose students
to an alternate style of writing to that of the academic style required during theirfirst two years at university. Although instructors had the freedom to design thecourse as they wished, a basic specification for the development of the course
was that students write a combined total of 2,000 words (per semester), in orderto ensure the workload was similar across all writing styles.
In order to select the type of course I was to develop, I approached both mycolleagues, and my then third year writing students, to ascertain the writingstyles already under consideration, as well as determine student preferences. At
the time, the primary writing styles under consideration were Creative Writing,Journalism, Thesis Writing, as well as an Academic Writing course that would
continue to build on what the students had learned throughout their first twoyears.
Having determined the styles under consideration, I approached my then thirdyear writing students to ask their preferences. From a total of 28 students, 23
students stated they wished to take a writing course that taught them skills that
could be used once out of university. In addition, a few colleagues confirmed
these same sentiments among their own students when asked.
Finally, recognizing that English is becoming the universal language forbusinesses around the world, making it necessary for individuals to become
proficient with the written tasks common in the workplace, it was soon clear thata business writing course would be ideal for the new system.

2. Course Development
Throughout the development of the course, it was important to research thetypes of business writing courses offered to university students, both at other298

Business Writing: Designing a Course for the Third Year Writing Program for the Center for Language Education and Development (CLED) ■institutions and online; as well as the types of textbooks available for teaching
the subject. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the design of these courses,
as well as the textbooks available, did not meet the needs of our students.

2.1 Third-Year Writing Students
Students in the third-year writing program are comprised of English majors
whose future employment goals are varied. Although they are likely to moveon to any number of workplace environments, most wish to use their English
skills in some capacity once out of university. As a result, it was necessary todesign a course that would develop the writing abilities useful to a variety offields. It was for this reason that the course focused on the most common formsof writing in the workplace, while developing the skills necessary for effective
written communication.

2.2 Business Writing Textbooks and Courses
After examining a number of business writing textbooks and manuals, it became
clear that most were designed for working adults in the business world, rather
than university students being introduced to this style of writing. This resulted
in lexis and content too difficult for first time learners to grasp. In other cases,
textbooks followed the same structure of general English books which would be
impractical for a course dedicated to writing. Finally, not only did many thesetextbooks place limits on the learner as a result of their design, but several ofthese textbooks were outdated and did not account for the importance of communication technology in business.
With regards to business courses, many followed the same structure of a clientbased approach to teaching, whereby students “responded” to a “client” in anorganizational context. However, the environment in which these scenarios
took place were generally limited to the corporate world, once again making the299

assumption that learners were familiar with this work culture. As a result of theseissues, I created the materials used throughout the course of the year.

2.3 Course Goals
The overall goal of the course was to help students transition from the worldof academic writing to professional writing. Throughout their journey, learners
were introduced to conventions, genres, and strategies of written business communication. At the end of the course students were expected to have the ability
to analyze and evaluate written communication typically encountered in theworkplace; produce clear, concise, well organized, and effective texts for diverse
audiences; incorporate process into all writing task; conduct research relevantto the topic and integrate appropriate sources; as well as have the ability to giveand receive constructive criticism amongst peers.

2.4 Course Outline
Although writing courses consists of one 90-minute class per week, over a 15week period, the first lesson is generally reserved for introducing students tothe course, while the final lesson serves as a time to return all documents and asa farewell. All in all, this results in a total of 13 in-class sessions. Taking into
account the total hours of in-class time available, as well as seeking to makethe course as accessible as possible to students, I grouped tasks into a series ofprojects based on workplace writing genres. (see Table 1 and 2)

2.5 Method of Instruction and Assessment
Direct, indirect, and interactive modes of instruction were used throughout thecourse. Examples of the applications used to incorporate these methods included
lectures, demonstrations, group discussions, workshops, and peer review.
With regards to assessment, students were evaluated on two factors: in-class300

Business Writing: Designing a Course for the Third Year Writing Program for the Center for Language Education and Development (CLED) ■Table 1

Table 2

effort (participation) and quality of work (projects). Their participation score,
which accounts for 20 percent of their final grade, is determined by the effort
student make throughout each step of the writing process as well as the effort
made in the course itself. The other 80 percent of their score is based on project
performance. In order to grade their projects, a grading rubric was created. (seeTable 3)
As can be seen in the table provided, each of the projects could receive amaximum score of 20 points. During the first semester, project 1 was worth 20
percent of a student’s total grade, while project 2 and 3 were worth 30 percent.
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Table 3

During the second semester each project was worth 40 percent of a student’s
overall grade in the course.

3. Student Feedback
At the completion of the course, students were given a questionnaire asking
about their overall impressions of the course. When asked about their overall
impressions of having a business English course as an option, students responded
positively. Some stated that they found it to be more useful than academic writing, or that they believed this course would allow them to work with foreigners/
in a foreign country in the future. When asked about their overall experience inthe course, students shared both positive and negative opinions. On the positiveside, students found it helpful to learn skills for the workplace, and believed it
would be useful in “real” life. Some also stated that they appreciated having
1-on-1 feedback (from both their instructor and peers). However, students alsomentioned that they found the course to be more difficult than academic writing.
The overall consensus was that it proved to be more challenging as a result of
it being a new writing style. Finally, a few students requested the addition of302

Business Writing: Designing a Course for the Third Year Writing Program for the Center for Language Education and Development (CLED) ■meeting minutes to the course.

4. Possibilities for Improvement
Although this business course is still in its infancy, and will continue to evolve
over time, one part of the writing process will likely see significant change inthe 2020 academic year. Although students were reminded of the importanceof self-editing at the start of each semester, most students would only change
or modify their work based on peer or instructor feedback, thereby disregarding
one of the most important aspects in the writing process. When it became clear
students were neglecting this key part of the writing process, I made adjustments
to my lesson plans in order to include time for self-editing while in the classroom.
However, it soon became clear that many were unaware as to how to accomplish
this task. As a result, I will likely make the necessary adjustments in order toallow for the addition of activities or a workshop on self-editing, at the start ofthe semester.

5. Conclusion
Despite the challenges encountered when designing the business writing
course, this course was optimal for giving students a broader range of writing
style choices. And though this writing style may have proven challenging forstudents, especially given that this was their first experience with professional
writing, their overall performance was admirable, and they found the experiencebe positive.
Although the course will evolve over time, one immediate change will be theintegration of activities or a workshop that will improve the self-editing skills ofstudents. In the end, I am confident this course would allow students to transition
from the academic world into the “real world” which would not only increase
their chance of employment, but increase their chance for success.
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