Course Planning Guide 12
GENERAL TEACHING GUIDES
In this section, you will find the following:
• Course Planning Guide
Course Planning Guide 13
COURSE PLANNING GUIDE
Although Business Communication Today follows a traditional sequence of topics, it is structured so that you
can address them in the order that best suits your needs. For instance, if you want to begin by reviewing
basic writing skills and grammar, you can ask students to read Chapter 5, “Writing Business Messages,”
and then the “Handbook of Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage.” Conversely, if you want to begin with
employment-related communication, you can start with the Prologue, “Building a Career with Your
Communication Skills,” followed by Chapters 18 and 19.
The following list suggests a sequence and a schedule for covering the chapters in the textbook, with time
allocations based on the total number of class hours available.
Chapter/Section Number And Title
Hours Devoted To
Each Chapter/Section
30-Hour
Course
45-Hour
Course
60-Hour
Course
Prologue: Building a Career with Your Communication Skills
1
1
1
1
Professional Communication in a Digital, Social, Mobile World
1
1
1
2
Collaboration, Interpersonal Communication, and Business Etiquette
1
1
2
3
Communication Challenges in a Diverse, Global Marketplace
1
2
3
4
Planning Business Messages
2
3
4
5
Writing Business Messages
2
3
4
6
Completing Business Messages
2
3
4
Handbook of Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage
1
2
2
A
Format and Layout of Business Documents
1
1
1
7
Digital Media
1
2
3
8
Social Media
1
2
3
9
Visual Media
1
1
2
10
Writing Routine and Positive Messages
2
2
3
11
Writing Negative Messages
2
2
3
12
Writing Persuasive Messages
2
2
3
13
Finding, Evaluating, and Processing Information
1
2
3
14
Planning Reports and Proposals
1
2
3
15
Writing and Completing Reports and Proposals
1
2
3
B
Documentation of Report Sources
1
1
2
16
Developing Presentations in a Social Media Environment
1
3
3
17
Enhancing Presentations with Slides and Other Visuals
1
1
1
18
Building Careers and Writing Résumés
2
3
3
19
Applying and Interviewing for Employment
1
3
3
Course Planning Guide 14
INTRODUCING THE COURSE TO STUDENTS
Many schools now require instructors to distribute a course syllabus to students on the first day of class.
Even if one is not required, it’s a good idea to let students know what the course’s objectives are and what
students must do to reach them. In addition, you may want to provide information about the format of the
course (as suggested in the following sample outline).
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE
SEMESTER, YEAR
I. Instructor’s name, office number, and office hours
II. Course credits and prerequisites
III. Class meetings (number per week, time, and place)
IV. Textbook: Business Communication Today, 14th edition, by Courtland L. Bovée and John V. Thill
(Pearson, 2018)
V. Catalog description of course
VI. Course content and direction
A. Major themes and scope
B. Educational goals
C. Instructional objectives
VII. Evaluation and grading (describe tests and assignments, role of class participation, availability of
extra-credit assignments, attendance policies, makeup policies)
VIII. Course withdrawal procedures
IX. Recommended study procedures
X. Assignment/test schedule
Early in the school term (perhaps in the first week), preview any major projects that students will be
required to undertake for the course, such as a résumé and application letter, a major report, or an oral
presentation. Then students can begin thinking about the types of jobs they want to apply for or a suitable
subject for their report or presentation.
Course Planning Guide 15
CONDUCTING THE CLASS
A variety of methods and media are useful for teaching business communication. However, those that
give students an opportunity to develop and practice their skills are most desirable.
Lectures and Discussions
Discussion is especially valuable when students are faced with a communication project. Beforehand,
they need to understand the ramifications of the assignment. For example, students need to understand
that before they can write a direct request, they must formulate a main idea and analyze the audience and
purpose. The textbook abounds with examples of business messages, any of which you can use as a focus
of discussion. In addition, you may have collected some examples of your own. Ask students to react to
them, and help students understand the positive and negative points of any given example.
With inexperienced students in particular, part of your job is to give them insight into the realities of the
business world. Use stories from your own experience, and locate interesting stories about
communication from such business magazines as Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. And if you sign
up for our free service, Business Communication Headline News, you’ll be assured of fresh material to
discuss in class all year long You may even begin an assignment in class, asking students to analyze an
audience or a purpose, for example, while you write their suggestions on the board.
After assignments have been completed and returned to students, it may be profitable to discuss the
project in class. Textbook checklists provide a handy outline for such discussions.
Student Conferences
Class discussion is good for helping students understand general principles and solve some specific
problems, but one-on-one conferences are indispensable in the development of effective business
Course Planning Guide 16
Copyright © 2018 Bovée and Thill LLC
Unless you want to spend a great deal of time going over each student’s document line by line, you are
better off selecting no more than three points for discussion. For best results, structure your remarks as a
“criticism sandwich”: one negative comment between two positive observations. Furthermore, phrase the
Tools and Resources
Most of the assignments in Business Communication Today can be completed using only basic word
processing and e-mail tools. However, an ideal learning experience would give students exposure to
instant messaging, blogging, wikis, website writing, and podcasting.
Our Business Communication Headlines News website,
http://bchn.businesscommunicationnetwork.com, is the most comprehensive site on the web for
business communication instructors, with everything from a multimedia library to a unique metasearch
engine we developed exclusively for business communication topics. All articles distributed with the
daily blog service are also archived on the website, making it easy to retrieve articles on any topic.
Some students may benefit from the insights of a guest speaker. Someone who has had to communicate in
business knows how important a skill it is and can convey that conviction to skeptics in the class. Be
careful, however, to select guest speakers who have relevant experience, and ask them to focus their
remarks to suit your needs.
Course Planning Guide 17
GRADING AND EVALUATING STUDENTS
The way an instructor grades is a personal matter, but you will generally find two schools of thought.
Some instructors, in effect, start students at 100 percent and then deduct points from this total for such
major sins as missing assignments or such minor missteps as forgetting commas. Students of these
instructors leave the course with a sense of discipline and an awareness of the need to take care of matters large
and small. Other instructors, in effect, start students at zero and award points for successful solutions to
communication problems, downplaying the mundane details. Students of these instructors leave with some
Designing an Evaluation Program
Prepared written and oral messages provide a basis for evaluating student performance. Here are a few
additional questions to consider when deciding on a program of evaluation:
• Will you weight all assignments the same, or will grades for some of the more complex projects carry
more weight in determining final grades?
• Will you ask students to hand in the outlines and drafts that are preliminary steps for some
assignments? If so, on what basis will they be graded?
• Will you begin any class meetings with a quiz—a time–honored device for encouraging attendance and
keeping students’ reading current? What effect will quizzes have on final grades?
• Will you lecture most of the time, expanding on points from the text, or will you emphasize class
discussion? If you opt for discussion, how will class participation affect grades?
• Will you have both a midterm and a final examination? If so, will grades for both have the same
effect on final grades for the course?
When answering these questions, you will probably develop a weighted system for evaluating students’
work overall. For example, you may decide that the elements will account for the following percentages
of the total grade:
Outlines and drafts (turned in on time) 10%
Course Planning Guide 18
Evaluating Written Assignments
The most important part of this course is the practice it gives in preparing business messages, but the
value of that practice is immeasurably enhanced by constructive feedback; so grade student documents
In general, students’ documents should be evaluated on their effectiveness. In addition to the checklists in
the textbook, you might use these guidelines:
• Are the purpose and main idea of the document clear?
• Has the document been organized to be compatible with the purpose and audience?
• Is the “you” attitude—courtesy and consideration for the audience—consistently present?
• Has all the necessary information—and only the necessary information—been included?
• Are grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and vocabulary correct?
• Is the format attractive and appropriate?
• Was the document submitted on time, as expected in the business world?
These considerations form the basis of an evaluation system. An objective system begins with a list of the
most important points and qualities in any given assignment. You then give each item a weight (the total
of these weights being the maximum number of points for the assignment). As you read each document,
you award an appropriate number of points for each item. Then you total the points, convert them to a