Assignments

BCOMM uses a community-based writing model for writing assignments. In community-based writing, you will join a team which will partner with a non-profit organization, for-profit business, or campus organization to help them solve an organizational challenge. Working in a team, you will design, develop, write, and deliver a substantial (i.e., 4,000-words, more or less) deliverable (or set of deliverables) for your “client” by the end of the semester. In addition to final deliverable(s), you will complete individual and team-related writing activities as described in the following assignments.

What is an organizational challenge?

Businesses face financial, marketing, supply chain, informational, and internal challenges. In BCOMM, we want to help them with one of those challenges. Because this is a business writing class, your goal is to produce a written deliverable(s).

What are “written deliverables”?
Written deliverables can range from financial analyses and marketing plans to recommendation or feasibility reports—with plenty of options in between. While marketing materials are certainly acceptable for this course, you should also consider recommendation reports, informational reports (such as surveys), procedures manual, newsletters, case studies, and video presentations (in which you would write the script for the presentation). Most businesses need help with strategic planning more than they do with producing websites, etc., but I will consider approving a web site project if the situation calls for it. Your business education is providing you with technical skills, so apply those skills in this project: Think of your team as a kind of consulting firm that has been contracted to accomplish a specific task (or set of related tasks). In the end, the deliverables that you choose will be based on your client’s needs and your ability to meet those needs by the end of the semester.

How long are the communication deliverables?
You may complete one deliverable or a series of smaller documents that add up to about 4,000 words.

Note: If you choose to write a Facebook page for your client or other social media, you may use the supporting materials “around” it to reach your 4,000-word requirement. For example, a Facebook page might include a supporting “FAQ” designed especially for your client as well as a report on how similar companies have successfully or unsuccessfully used Facebook .

How are teams formed?

You may partner with anyone in your section of BCOMM, and you will have opportunities to explore possibilities for teams. A team can include between one and six members.

How do we find an organization?

For the company analysis assignment, everyone in the class profiles a company or organization. Based on those profiles, each team will have several possible organizations to partner with. You may work with local businesses or ones that have hosted student interns; the best partnerships are often with companies “back home” or with local campus organizations. Religious-affiliated organizations are acceptable as are start-up companies.

Do businesses actually use our work?

Yes! Each semester your instructor receives thank you notes from clients who are impressed with the quality of BCOMM projects and the professionalism of BCOMM students. This project can be an excellent way for you to meet people in the community, build your professional credentials, and grow your professional network.

*So, you will ACTUALLY communicate with individual(s) within the company.  You will copy me on 1-2 messages you send to the company or organization.

–BCOMM Assignment Packet

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