|
Cost:
$99.99
Course Type: Online/Facilitated
Length: 40 hours
Course Description
Communication affects every aspect of everyone's job and
daily routine. Whether you're a writer or a roofer, the
outcome of every interaction you have with another person is
driven by communication, primarily through language.
Today, writing is becoming the primary mode of
communication, especially in the workplace. From e-mail to
reports, writing is everywhere. Well-written communications
can make the difference between a successful proposal and
one that is thrown in the trash bin by prospective clients.
Essential Skills for Everyday Writers will cover issues of
grammar, style, and proofreading that can enhance your
written communication skills. You'll learn when to use
semi-colons, how wordiness can obscure your message, and why
it's critical to make sure every comma is in place. We've
organized the lessons to rotate between theoretical issues
of style and technical grammar rules, which you may find
tedious to learn.
Strunk and White's The Elements of Style will be used
as a supplemental textbook and will drive many of the
exercises and discussion questions you'll be asked to
complete throughout the course. The course itself contains
much more detail and explanation than Elements, and you can
print out each lesson for your reference after completing
that lesson's quiz.
Essential Skills for Everyday Writers is for everyone who
communicates in writing. From routine e-mails to
million-dollar proposals, from letters to the editor to
brochures for your business, Essential Skills for Everyday
Writers can help you make your best impression with words.
Topics discussed
include:
-
Writing
effective e-mails
-
How choosing
the right word can improve clarity
-
Vocabulary
building exercises
-
Avoiding
wordiness
-
Knowing your
audience: Tone and style
-
Back to
basics: Parts of speech and building complete sentences
-
Consistency
and agreement: Pronouns and verb tense
-
Capitalization
-
Commas
-
Semi-colons
-
Avoiding
clichés and mixed metaphors
-
Apostrophes
-
Quotation
marks
-
Other
punctuation
-
Numbers in
writing
-
The art of
persuasion
-
Gender
neutrality: The he/she issue
-
Frequently
misused words
-
Writing in
the electronic age
-
The perils of
spell check
-
Editing your
writing
Format
Essential Skills for Everyday Writers is designed to take
approximately 40 hours. You may stop and start, picking up
where you left off. You have 90 days from your date of
registration to complete the course.
Essential Skills for Everyday Writers consists of fourteen
online learning modules of varying lengths, as well as
assigned reading from The Elements of Style and
carefully designed exercises.
Additionally, registered students will have access to an
online discussion board. This board serves two purposes.
First, you may use it to ask questions related to writing
and grammar, which will be answered personally by the
instructor. The public format of the discussion board allows
all registered students to see the questions and the
instructor's response; this important tool will expand upon
information learned in the course itself. Second, several of
the assignments you will be asked to undertake during the
course involve posting responses to discussion questions and
interacting with other students in the online discussion
format.
Each module ends with a quiz to assess what you have
learned. All students who pass the comprehensive
end-of-course test will receive a certificate of completion.
Required
Materials
The Elements of
Style, 4th edition.
Recommended Materials
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition
Cost:
$99.99
Course Type: Online/Facilitated
Length: 40 hours
|
