Spring 2006: ENC 5236: Advanced Business Writing for Accounting
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This writing-intensive course investigates the writing demands of an
accounting environment: memos, letters, proposals, presentations, and
reports. As a practical exercise, students will conduct a case study
within an "actual" professional environment to analyze the specific
writing requirements of the field. In addition, since business
writing requires "reader-sensitive" communication, students will work
collaboratively on select assignments to investigate the problems of
audience and publication. Informed by these investigations, each
student will then examine several methods for improving written
clarity and "readability."
While the coursework of ENC 5236 focuses on the conventions
of business writing, principles of good writing extend across
disciplinary boundaries. In this advanced writing course, therefore,
we will consider professional writing as a practical technology. What
theoretical concepts ground it? What ethical decisions influence it?
Additionally, we will investigate the profound effect of electronic
writing forms on contemporary commerce and culture. By exploring
these digital forms, we will try to discover the unique writing
challenges they present, and derive effective, practical strategies
to meet them.
Throughout, the course addresses one crucial
question: How can accountants write with "accountability"?