BTW 250 Activities

Literacy Narrative Activities

Literacy Narrative Activity

In this activity, students read, deconstruct, and critically analyze a literacy narrative in preparation for the Literacy Narrative they will submit as part of their Onboarding Process Assignment.

Writing Prompts for Professional Literacy Narrative

This in-class reflective writing activity prompts students to explore key moments that have shaped their career interests and academic choices in preparation for the Literacy Narrative they will submit as part if the Onboarding Process Assignment.

Literary Influences Freewrite

This freewrite activity asks students to consider how their past literary experiences has impacted their professional trajectory in preparation for the Literacy Narrative they will submit as part if the Onboarding Process Assignment.

Introductory Email

SLOs Analysis Activity

This self-reflective activity tasks students with analyzing the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) of BTW 250 and considering how they relate to their first Onboarding Process Assignment. 

Strengths & Goals Memo

Memo on Memos Activity

This asynchronous activity asks students to write a one-page memo addressed to future BTW students that contains guidelines for how to write a memo.

Job Description

Job Advertisement Activity

This analytic activity gives students practice performing online job research, genre and audience analysis, and self-reflection in a dialectical, “real-world” context. 

Request for Time Off

Negative Feedback Activity

This lesson plan and in-class activity pair a free-write prompt with collaborative revision to teach students about active problem-solving and reader-centered writing. In this lesson, students apply empathetic and rhetorical skills to evaluate a piece of writing (in this case, a sample of negative feedback) from the perspective of both writer and reader.

Principles of Influence Lesson

This in-class lesson plan uses a PowerPoint presentation to introduce students to the six psychological principles that account for individuals’ automatic compliance—principles necessary to exert influence over an intended business demographic.

Rhetoric in Bad News Letters

This in-class lesson plan helps students develop a critical understanding of the rhetorical appeals—ethos, pathos, and logos—as applied in business genres, particularly letters/emails. 

Procedure Manual

Procedure Manuals Lesson

This in-class lesson plan walks students through a series of in-class activities designed to introduce students to, develop familiarity with, and harness the affordances of the procedure manual genre using a series of informational guides and worksheet activities. 

Technical Writing Activity

This generative activity asks students to explore effective instruction writing through the lenses of audience and task analysis, step identification and grouping, style, and design. 

Full Unit

Collaborative Project Weekly Self-Assessment Form

This activity, in which students describe and evaluate their contributions to group work, helps group members hold themselves and one another accountable during extended collaborative activities.

Writing Groups Meetings Activity

This synchronous activity asks students to meet in a group once a week throughout the semester. During these meetings, students work on upcoming major assignments and—to keep them on task—collaboratively fill out an accompanying worksheet. 

SWOT Brainstorming Team Activity

This “low stakes” synchronous activity asks students to collaboratively analyze an example company in preparation for the the Collaborative Analysis. This activity helps students get a sense of how their team might work together prior to composing their Team Charter.

Research Proposal & SWOT Report

Wikipedia Activity

In this collaborative, in-class activity, students work together to compose an annotated bibliography in which they trace and evaluate the quality of a Wikipedia article’s references. This activity develops students’ ability to critically evaluate sources/research based on multiple criteria.

SWOT Report Redesign Activity

In this activity, students are provided a sample SWOT report that fails to adhere to many design principles of a business document. Students then apply their understanding of rhetorically effective and formally normative business document design to revise the sample report.

Human vs AI Simplification Activity

In this group activity, students revise a paragraph about the Blind Pig and vote on anonymous submissions, including a surprise version written by ChatGPT. The exercise encourages discussion on what makes writing engaging and the affordances and constraints of AI programs.