Discussion : Writing, Revising, and Proofreading

Evan Thomas, former editor at large for Newsweek, shares strategies for student writers to improve their writing. In this unit's video clip (Select here for video 4), Thomas shares his experience with the editing portion of writing, revising, and proofreading. As you begin working with your team members on the peer review process, Thomas's observations will support your efforts.

Professional writers often gather feedback from peers and colleagues on their working drafts. In this Discussion, you will work in teams of three to four students to gain insight from your peers on the status of your projects. You should have at least three-quarters of your researched proposal finished - no fewer than 1,500 words. The more you have prepared the better as you will then receive input from your peers on the bulk of your paper.

Instructions:

The order in which students post their papers will determine the groups. This allows those of you who post early to work with other students who also post early. Your professor will keep track of the teams and post those updates in this Discussion. So, the first four people to post rough drafts become group #1 and respond to one another's papers, posting their responses to the review questions in the Discussion itself. The next four people are group #2, and so on. This permits us all to see everyone's papers, and to see the feedback being offered.

The 3-day Discussion Board posting requirement does not apply to this peer review forum.

You will be evaluated only on your reviews of your team members' papers, which must be no fewer than 250 words long. Make those reviews complete. You will be penalized if you fail to answer in detail all the questions in the seven bulleted points outlined below. You must post your rough draft no later than Monday of Unit 4 at midnight to be put on a team. Any later and there simply is not enough time for you to participate in a peer review.

Step 1: Post your rough draft to the Discussion Board as an attachment no later than Saturday in this unit.

Step 2: Answer the questions below when reviewing a peer's paper:

o Does the introduction clearly announce the topic and engage the reader's interest? If not, why not? If yes, what is engaging and interesting?

o Is there a clear sense of purpose throughout the writing? Why or why not?

o Is the solution effectively presented? Why or why not?

o Are sources integrated into the proposal? Do they follow APA format? Are they effective? Why or why not?

o How could the author improve the paper? Please offer at least two concrete suggestions.

o Do you consider this paper to be responsive to the Discussion assignment? If not, what recommendations do you have for making it meet the Discussion requirements?

o Provide additional suggestions or comments.

Assignment 1: Rough Draft Dropbox

The rough draft of your proposal is due now while the final draft due will be due in Unit 5. See the Reading area for the example template.

The objective of the project is to participate in the development of a detailed proposal as used in any organizational setting. Access the quick summarized preview of the Unit 5 final researched proposal checklist below so you can begin to address these items in your rough draft of the proposal due in this unit.

You will post your rough draft in two places:

1) The rough draft of your researched proposal is due to the Unit 4 Discussion peer review.

2) The rough draft is due to be submitted to the Unit 4 Assignment Dropbox no later than Saturday of Unit 4.

Your instructor will review your rough draft and provide you with feedback to guide your writing of the final draft. Your team of peers will provide you with feedback on your draft in the Discussion.

Checklist:

• Contains no fewer than 1,500 words; no more than 3,000.

• Clearly identifies the audience and purpose.

• Shows research has been conducted and preliminary integration of research material is in place following APA formatted in-text citations.

• Adheres to assigned format - single spaced, double space between paragraphs, cover page, table of contents, and references.

Put your rough draft in a Word document. Save it in a location with a title you will remember and that includes your name.

Access the rubrics for Assignment 1 and 2.

Submit your rough draft to the Unit 4 Assignment Dropbox. Make sure that you save a copy of the paper you submit.

Unit 4 Assignment 2: Using Graphics

You read about design and using original graphics to convey many ideas using visual images (see Unit 4 Reading). Use an original graphic (a table or a graphic depicting relationship or process - see the tutorial). You will be inserting this graphic into your proposal.

For the purposes of this Assignment 2, also submit your graphic with an explanation.

Checklist:

• Design your original graphic in a Word document.

• Explain the graphic in a minimum of 200 words.

1) What you are trying to convey?

2) To whom you are trying to convey it?

• Use correct spelling and grammar.

Submit your graphic with accompanying explanation to the Assignment 2 Dropbox. Although submitted now for a grade, you will receive feedback from your professor so you can incorporate this feedback into your final proposal.

Access a quick summarized preview of Unit 5 final researched proposal.

Unit 5 Discussion Topic 1

Stakeholder Memo

You read about stakeholders in your Reading area of this unit. How might external stakeholders' points of view be different from the internal stakeholders? What changes would you expect to see in writing under the following circumstances?

Read the scenario and follow the steps provided.

Scenario: A public company is changing its mission and business entity to be a for-profit benefit corporation that is required to show social and environmental benefits besides a profit. But so far, the company has not altered their actions and policies with regards to enormous environmental waste being generated. Access background information for the Discussion

Step 1: Read the scenario and choose one of these external stakeholders: Suppliers, customers, the community, competitors, society (the environment), banks and lending institutions, and the government.

Step 2: Compose a short memo (200 words) to the CEO regarding your chosen stakeholder's reaction to the changes and the ethical considerations. Remember the appropriate memo format.

Step 3: Respond to one of your classmates' memos as the CEO in a minimum of 150 words.

Step 4: For your final response to classmates, vote (1) for the best memo from an external stakeholder and (2) the best response to an external stakeholder other than your own.

Final Project ( Neighborhood Watch is an Effective Way to Reduce Crime)

Proposal Due: You have worked through the process of putting together your persuasive researched proposal addressing a business problem. You saw an example with how graphics can sometimes convey information more effectively than words. You have reviewed comments from your instructor, and have taken your ideas through several stages.

The proposal must be no fewer than 2,500 words, no more than 3,000. The word count includes all components. The purpose of establishing a word count is to ensure the topic chosen is neither too big nor too small. Also, writing within parameters is a common requirement in business communications.

The problem or issue need not be enormous.

For the researched proposal, you will identify a problem or issue in your present or past workplace. The Assignment objective is to propose a solution to the problem or issue, and to present that solution to a decision-maker or group of decision-makers who can implement the recommendation. You will support your proposal with research.

Over the course of the term, you will develop a concrete, practical solution to the problem that can be implemented. Reference sources will be included that explain the problem, issue, and/or support the solution.

The proposal must be between 2,500 to 3,000 words using APA format for your citations and references. The proposal itself should be single spaced with double spacing between paragraphs. The word count includes all components. The purpose of establishing a word count is to ensure the topic chosen is neither too big nor too small. Also, writing within parameters is a common requirement in business communications.

Checklist:

• Cover page or letter, depending upon the audience, which explains the attached proposal

• Table of contents

• Executive summary as introduction summarizing the content - uses subheadings to break up text and separate sections

• Statement and general analysis of the problem using research

• Assessment of the problem from various stakeholders' viewpoints

• Includes a minimum of one original graphic

• Conclusion stated as a recommendation for implementation of the solution

• End matter includes reference page and any other data suitable for this section of the report

• Provide at least five cited sources, one of which is from a peer-reviewed journal and no more than two personal interviews and the paper contains no more than 15 percent direct quotes

• Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation