This course will teach you how to apply advanced principles and strategies to produce successful business writing. It takes an immersive narrative approach so you learn how to use context to write purposeful and audience specific business texts. You will learn to deploy a range of tools and tactics so your business writing is on point, concise and appropriate, whatever the organisational culture or whomever the client or stakeholder.
By the end of this course, you will be able to write a range of business texts showing an understanding of key features including organisational structure, vocabulary and register; identify and use a range of Business English as it functions in written business contexts; evaluate information from a variety of business texts to use in your own writing.
The skills and strategies that you learn on this course are transferable and will support successful writing in any number of other professional, personal or academic contexts.
Module 1 (Lessons 1.1 through to 1.12) covers introductory material about how the course approaches business writing, the learning scenario and the learning process.
You will learn about the business narrative and the company, Globe, that provides a comparable real-life context for the writing you do on the course.
You will consider how the course approaches learning and be introduced to the seven key questions that successful writers are able to ask and answer as part of producing texts.
This module also looks at the first Output Text that you will produce as part of the course scenario, a Short Answer Response, which will involve using a structure to organise ideas as well as writing concisely and specifically.
1.1 Welcome to the course: Introducing one big idea and seven questions.•6 minutes
1.4 Looking at how you will learn on this course•13 minutes
1.7 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Short Answer Response•7 minutes
1.11 Studying an Exemplar of a Short Answer Response•22 minutes
4 readings•Total 27 minutes
Introducing the educator.•2 minutes
1.2 Setting up Course Aims, Outcomes and the Scenario•10 minutes
1.6 Downloading a Key Resource: The Writing for Business Advanced Resources Pack•5 minutes
1.8 Considering a Short Answer Response and the 7 Writing Questions•10 minutes
5 assignments•Total 125 minutes
1.5 Reflecting on your business writing experience•20 minutes
1.10 Writing your Short Answer Response•30 minutes
1.12 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Short Answer Response•30 minutes
1.3 Checking your Understanding of Aims, Outcomes and the Scenario•15 minutes
1.9 Checking your Understanding of a Short Answer Response and the 7 Writing Questions•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Week 1 Discussion Forum•10 minutes
Week 2
Module 2•5 hours to complete
Module details
Module 2 (Lessons 2.1 through to 2.12) sees you complete the application process to Globe and move into an assessment centre.
You will write an example of a formal letter, a Covering Letter, and a Report.
You will focus in detail on two of the seven writing questions, those concerning Register and Sentence accuracy, range and variety.
You will learn about degrees of formality and how to use language features to modulate register, as well as how to use a range of sentence types to best suit your writing purpose and aims.
2.1 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Covering Letter•4 minutes
2.5 Studying an Exemplar of a Covering Letter with a focus on Register•13 minutes
2.7 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Report 1•4 minutes
2.11 Studying an Exemplar of a Report with a focus on Sentence Variety & Accuracy•14 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
2.2 Considering a Covering Letter with a focus on Register•10 minutes
2.8 Considering a Report with a focus on Sentence Variety & Accuracy•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 240 minutes
2.4 Writing your Covering Letter•60 minutes
2.6 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Covering Letter•30 minutes
2.10 Writing your Report•60 minutes
2.12 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Report•30 minutes
2.3 Checking your Understanding of a Covering Letter and Register•30 minutes
2.9 Checking your Understanding of a Report and Sentence Variety & Accuracy•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Week 2 Discussion Forum•10 minutes
Week 3
Module 3•5 hours to complete
Module details
In Module 3 (Lessons 3.1 through to 3.12), you leave the Globe assessment centre and start your internship at Globe.
You will write a piece of reflective writing, and through this text explore the different ways vocabulary can be packaged and used to improve range, accuracy, and variety.
As you start your first internship project at Globe and deal with issues in customer relationship management (CRM), you will write an adjustment letter to a client and look at grammar features that are common in different text types.
You will revisit register and vocabulary and consider how frequently occurring word items can affect your communicative purpose.
3.1 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Reflective Writing•3 minutes
3.5 Studying an Exemplar of Reflective Writing with a focus on Vocabulary•19 minutes
3.7 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Adjustment Letter•7 minutes
3.11 Studying an Exemplar of an Adjustment Letter with a focus on Grammar•12 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
3.2 Considering Reflective Writing with a focus on Vocabulary•10 minutes
3.8 Considering an Adjustment Letter with a focus on Grammar•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 240 minutes
3.4 Writing your Reflection•60 minutes
3.6 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Reflective Writing•30 minutes
3.10 Writing your Adjustment Letter•60 minutes
3.12 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Adjustment Letter•30 minutes
3.3 Checking your Understanding of Reflective Writing and Vocabulary•30 minutes
3.10 Checking your Understanding of Adjustment Letter and Grammar•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Week 3 Discussion Forum•10 minutes
Week 4
Module 4•5 hours to complete
Module details
In Module 4 (Lessons 4.1 through to 4.12), you will complete the first internship project (CRM) and write two emails as you seek to wrap this up. One email is to a group of colleagues at Globe who you do not know, while another is to a colleague that you do know.
You will also explore two further key writing questions, those of Purpose and Audience, and learn how your relationship with the audience affects your decisions as writers, not only in terms of how you position yourself using register and other language choices, but also in terms of how you use information from other texts.
4.1 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Email to Colleagues (Unknown)•4 minutes
4.5 Studying an Exemplar of an Email to Colleagues Unknown with a focus on Purpose•14 minutes
4.7 Introducing and Contextualising the Output Text: Email to a Colleague (Known)•3 minutes
4.11 Studying an Exemplar of an Email to a Colleague Known with a focus on Audience•16 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
4.2 Considering an Email to Colleagues Unknown with a focus on Purpose•10 minutes
4.8 Considering an Email to a Colleague Known with a focus on Audience•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 240 minutes
4.4 Writing your Email to Colleagues Unknown•60 minutes
4.6 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Email to Colleagues Unknown•30 minutes
4.10 Writing your Email to a Colleague Known•60 minutes
4.12 Reviewing and Reflecting on your Email to a Colleague Known•30 minutes
4.3 Checking your Understanding an Email to Colleagues Unknown and Purpose•30 minutes
4.10 Checking your Understanding of an Email to a Colleague Known and Audience•30 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
Week 4 Discussion Forum•10 minutes
Week 5
Module 5•5 hours to complete
Module details
In the final Module 5 (Lessons 5.1 through to 5.10), you will start and complete your second internship project and explore ways in which you are uniquely placed to improve Globe's performance.
You will write a Report that highlights your innovative and strategic business thinking and focus on the creative visual aspects of a text.
Your final Output Text will be a Press Release. In this, you will bring together the skills that you have learned during the course to showcase and test out your ability to independently ask and answer the seven writing questions that you have practised during the five Modules.
The University of Glasgow has been changing the world since 1451. It is a world top 100 university (THE, QS) with one of the largest research bases in the UK.
We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK Universities with annual research income of more than £179m.
The University’s #TeamUofG community is truly international with over 8000 staff and 28,0000 students from more than 140 countries.
A 2019 Time Out survey placed Glasgow in the top ten cities in the world. Ranked between Berlin and Paris, Glasgow was voted number one for both friendliness and affordability.
Right now our dedicated community of staff, students and alumni is working to address the challenges of Covid-19 and understand how we can make life safer for everyone.
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Is financial aid available?
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