tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post9072692127030990915..comments2024-02-23T04:39:49.329-05:00Comments on Conversations in Klal: On Business WritingProfKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-59342900772036316662011-11-22T20:39:17.571-05:002011-11-22T20:39:17.571-05:00Today, with the coming of internet and the continu...Today, with the coming of internet and the continuous changes in the business landscape, business email writing is widely used for fast communication.business letter sampleshttp://www.businesslettersample.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-47308513943493002052011-10-29T23:55:35.051-04:002011-10-29T23:55:35.051-04:00Rae,
A medical condition is obvious a reason to m...Rae,<br /><br />A medical condition is obvious a reason to miss work, one fully protected by law and requiring no make up of work.<br /><br />The assignment was to write a letter and talk about making up work, hence my comment about grasping for the serious medical condition, and getting SUPER detailed into it.<br /><br />I think I communicated my opinion properly in a blog comment, therefore, the writing was appropriate for the forum...Miami Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977503720972852329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-31000120230351458872011-10-28T13:47:57.500-04:002011-10-28T13:47:57.500-04:00Al, you could use some remediation yourself. First...Al, you could use some remediation yourself. First, "Business writing is NOT an academic discipline." The Prof didn't say it was. Read carefully and you'll see that it is a COURSE, coming under the rubric of the English Department. Courses are not disciplines. Legal writing is also not a "discipline," also being a sub-category of either Law and/or English, and being taught as a course.<br /><br />You may not consider a personal health or medical issue as correct as an excuse for absence in a work environment, but it's acceptable to a whole lot of people other than yourself, and is used frequently. <br /><br />Al, you're not a professor of English and don't teach this course. On the basis of one report dealing with one assignment you are calling the course remedial and the students in the course poor writers of English. Here's what a logical person would do: they would ask the prof what types of other assignments are given and how many. That logical person would not make a general statement purporting knowledge not in evidence based on one sample taken out of context. And before you presume that the prof's students are at a "middle/high school level of English writing skills," you might want to edit your own writing.<br /><br />Like the prof, I, too, am a professor of English (different college), and if you have an MBA from a top-ten business school, I can't say much about the writing skills that school considered as adequate. You might consider taking one of the hundreds of college business writing courses available, since you clearly didn't get everything you needed to learn back in high school.<br /><br />If this comment seems snippy, you might look at your comment for the source.Raenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-21329675773117440352011-10-28T13:10:25.277-04:002011-10-28T13:10:25.277-04:00Rae,
This is at best high school level vocational...Rae,<br /><br />This is at best high school level vocational training, NOT collegiate level academic work, that's my point. Business writing is NOT an academic discipline, legal writing is teaching a skill, writing briefs, that while nominally English (with lots of Latin phrases as well), are written in a specific language.<br /><br />Business email is standard conversation English without curse words and often fully spelt words.<br /><br />I'd have ZERO issue with the school offering a seminar through the career office on this sort of material, they are useful skills if you lack them.<br /><br />However, this sort of "assignment" does not strike me as a post-secondary level of academic rigor, write a persuasive email, the work setting is secondary (note: the assignment was boss OR instructor), grasp the format/content rules for writing a business email.<br /><br />Two things from this: one, this sort of formatting/content rules for a letter is normally taught in high school, therefore doing it in college is remedial. Two, given the decision to immediately pick a medical condition demonstrates that no, they do NOT grasp the format/content rules.<br /><br />So ProfK knows her students quite well, this was a valid assignment. That said, these college age students in a college level class are clearly at a middle/high school level of English writing skills, and that is terrifying... especially since her "experiment" at other schools demonstrates that this is UNIQUE to this particular from school.Miami Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977503720972852329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-90809053084251432892011-10-28T11:31:04.687-04:002011-10-28T11:31:04.687-04:00And that proves just what Al? Did you ever take a ...And that proves just what Al? Did you ever take a business writing course? If no, then you had to learn everything you've needed to know on your own and/or relying on others in the company you work for. A course given on the college level is a practical item and no, colleges, all colleges, are not exactly known for providing practical information. This is one area where they are finally doing the right thing.Raenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-35259482787638884182011-10-28T10:03:37.490-04:002011-10-28T10:03:37.490-04:00I have an MBA from a top 10 business school.
Neve...I have an MBA from a top 10 business school.<br /><br />Never learned how to write an email in school.Miami Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977503720972852329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-61235673216176620242011-10-27T20:22:18.284-04:002011-10-27T20:22:18.284-04:00Doesn't sound much like any of the others comm...Doesn't sound much like any of the others commenting have ever taken a business writing course. Sure I learned how to write a letter in grade school, at least sort of. No relationship to the heavy writing I do at work. My business writing course gave me a head start when I started working and it gave me confidence that I knew what I was doing. It also got me a promotion faster than others I came in with, and they let me know it was because of my skills in writing for business. I give full credit to the course I took in college and the instructor who taught it. <br /><br />And about those informal emails, depends on the business and on the position someone holds and on company policy. My company is strict about emails and doesn't want to see anything that doesn't look and sound business-like.RBBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-29198934506649344972011-10-26T17:01:02.346-04:002011-10-26T17:01:02.346-04:00Effective communication is critical, formatting is...Effective communication is critical, formatting isn't import, the ability to communicate is valuable.<br /><br />However, collegiate level work? Hardly. To be honest, I can't imagine what course would be appropriate for such a remedial level assignment, middle school at best, sophomore year of high school as a refresher.<br /><br />Persuasive writing is a type of assignment I'd expect a freshman (high school) English teacher to assign, not a post-secondary course.<br /><br />That said, I'm terrified that in a "excuse for missing work" one would be giving such a personal medical example as their reason, for both school/work settings.Miami Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02977503720972852329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-74155857481738543822011-10-26T14:30:23.199-04:002011-10-26T14:30:23.199-04:00I remember doing similar exercises in grade school...I remember doing similar exercises in grade school. I think it was related to writing to our representatives and writing to a company for product information or something like that. Regardless, most of this has to do with tone and formality.<br /><br />Even in a business setting, most emails are quite casual. Blackberries and other smartphones have exacerbated this trend. But, writing an actual business email or letter is not rocket science for someone who knows how to write decently and has a modicum of common sense. Learning where to put the business's address and the proper salutation is trivial.<br /><br />The best resource for improving these skills is learning from co-workers and those with jobs. It's rare a junior person will interface directly with a client without some form of supervision (e.g., "send me a draft of that email or letter so I can mark it up before it goes to the client"). Even if you've taken such a course, the people you work with may write with a different style or format. Certain things may not be appropriate for email or a letter in a certain business environment. Similarly, you want someone in your desired field to look at your resume as a resume for a music teacher is sure to be formatted and styled differently than a resume for a business consultant.<br /><br />Again, this has a lot more to do with taking on a formal writing style and understanding the business environment. The legal writing that lawyers learn is not the same as this. That writing skill has more to do with formulating arguments and learning how to put the application of law to facts into writing.JSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-86855177404347684332011-10-26T13:29:26.755-04:002011-10-26T13:29:26.755-04:00This is a bit shocking... I learned letter writing...This is a bit shocking... I learned letter writing in approximately the 6th grade. I'm 30 now.<br /><br />I wonder whether people who need this sort of remedial education belong in college at all.<br /><br />But that opens the whole can of worms about how college degrees have become the new baseline credentials for a job, which has in turn resulted in the proliferation of watered-down colleges.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-10293827546592633932011-10-26T11:09:57.330-04:002011-10-26T11:09:57.330-04:00Thank you Anon--correction made.Thank you Anon--correction made.ProfKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17954446826821665314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2096776708897685863.post-20250661718276726162011-10-26T10:57:31.146-04:002011-10-26T10:57:31.146-04:00"Being a camp councilor doesn't give you ..."Being a camp councilor doesn't give you writing skills"<br /><br />Nor does being a camp <b>counselor</b>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com