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University of California, Irvine

High-Impact Business Writing

University of California, Irvine via Coursera

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Overview

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Effective writing is a powerful tool in the business environment. Learn how to articulate your thoughts in a clear and concise manner that will allow your ideas to be better understood by your readers. Improve your business writing skill by learning to select and use appropriate formats for your audience, use the correct medium and adjust your writing style accordingly, as well as identify your objective and communicate it clearly. You'll also learn to spot, correct and avoid the most common writing pitfalls, and gain valuable experience analyzing, writing and revising a wide spectrum of business documents. From a simple email to a complete report, learn how to put good business writing to work for you.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Write effective business communications, including bad news, good news, persuasive writing, presentations, emails, memos, business reports and press releases
2. Learn how to edit and proofread business documents
3. Learn how to write for a global market

Syllabus

  • Business Writing, Channels and Message Formats
    • In this first Module of High-Impact Business Writing, you will learn the necessity and utility of understanding your audience for a business document. You will learn how to write with clarity and brevity as well as how to make appropriate language and word choices for that audience. This module also addresses the structure and important considerations for the most frequently used document types for business applications.
  • Spelling, Grammar, Sentence and Paragraphs
    • Module 2 is focused on the frequently mistaken or overlooked aspects of impactful writing. Common spelling errors, incorrect word usage, and judicious word selection that are important for business writing will be highlighted. Subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement as well as verb tense and common rules of punctuation are reviewed. This module concludes with some rules of sentence structure and paragraph development to aid in the creation of universally understandable, cogent documents.
  • Strategies and Techniques for Common Message Types
    • In Module 3, we study some of the more common message types: positive messages, negative messages, and persuasive messages. Each type of message will be characterized and strategies for common forms of documents within each of these message types will be presented and practiced. This module also includes best practices for email use, including when email is the preferred choice, creating effective subject lines, and pertinent content choices.
  • Writing Reports, Virtual Communications, and Finalizing Your Work
    • The final module of this course begins with an overview of report preparation, including structure and content considerations. The three forms of review for a document: editing, revising, and proofreading are explained in detail and their purposes explained. This module also includes some best practices for writing in a virtual and shared virtual environment as well as recommendations regarding the visual appeal of documents, both on paper and online.

Taught by

Sue Robins

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Reviews

3.0 rating, based on 8 Class Central reviews

4.5 rating at Coursera based on 3583 ratings

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  • Anonymous

    Anonymous is taking this course right now.

    If I could I would give this class negative stars. It was a bait and switch. The original class description no longer appears on the Coursera website. It was replaced with a course outline and you are required to pay if you want to take the quizzes and participate in discussions. This class is not a true MOOC because all of the content is not open to all of the students -- only the paying ones. It is impossible to complete this class without paying. It appears UC-Irvine is doing this with all of its Coursera classes.
    https://moocpolis.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/now-you-have-to-pay-for-a-free-mooc/
  • Anonymous

    Anonymous is taking this course right now.

    Seems like there was very little effort to create the online course. Certainly, little effort to proofread. Slides are full of errors. Irony.
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    Ais Sparkle Ling

    Ais Sparkle Ling completed this course.

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    Peter O'Brien @petebecreative

    Peter O'Brien completed this course.

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