English Language Centre

ELC3222 Workplace English for Business Students II

2018-19 Semester 2 3 credits

Information for Students

I. Objective

This subject aims to develop the advanced English language skills required by students to communicate
effectively for business project management in their future professional careers.

The subject is designed to build upon the language and communication skills covered in the previous DSR
English subject.

II. Learning outcomes

By the end of the subject, students should be able to communicate effectively in workplace contexts through:
1. planning, organising and writing convincing business proposals
2. proposing strategies, plans and projects effectively and persuasively in business presentations
3. conducting business meetings effectively and participating actively in discussions and negotiations
4. planning, organising and producing effective promotional literature

To achieve the above outcomes, students are expected to use language and text structure appropriate to the
context, select information critically, and provide support for stance and opinion.

III. Learning schedule

Weeks* Units & topics Contents

• Planning a business proposal
1, 2, 3,
(1) Writing Business Proposals • Organising a business proposal
4, 5
• The language of a business proposal

Assessment 1:
6
Submitting a business project proposal (written out-of-class), in the lesson

• Qualities of a successful presenter

• Purpose of a business proposal presentation
• Contents of a business proposal presentation
6, 7 (2) Business Proposal Presentations • Using visual aid to create impact and make an
impression
• Non-verbal communication
• Putting it all together

• Nature of a business proposal meeting

• Strategies for a business proposal meeting
• Participating in a business proposal meeting
8, 9 (3) Business Proposal Meetings • The art of persuasion
• After a business proposal meeting
• Selling and defending your project ideas in
Assessment 3

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 Assessment 2:
Presenting your business project proposal, in the lesson
10
Assessment 3:
Participating in a meeting to sell and defend your business project proposal, in the lesson

• Various types of promotional literature

• Contents of a press release
11, 12, (4) Writing Promotional Literature: • Newsworthiness
13 Press Release • The language of a persuasive press release
• Steps in writing a press release
• Conventions of a press release
Assessment 4:
Submitting a press release to promote your business project,
13
within 24 hours of Week-13 lesson
(Special arrangement for Friday classes, due to holiday on 19 April 2019)

*according to the University’s Academic Calendar for 2018-19

IV. Materials

In this subject, you use the coursebook Workplace English for Business Students II specially written for
students of the Faculty of Business by staff of the English Language Centre. The coursebook can be
downloaded on LEARN@PolyU. Make sure that you bring the relevant learning materials to every class.
The schedule in Section III is a guide to the materials you will need for the classes.

V. Subject completion requirement

To successfully complete the subject, you have to:

1. complete all assessments, as stated in Section VIII; and
2. fulfil a minimum of 80% attendance, as stated in Section VI.

Failure to meet requirement (1) above will result in an overall fail of the subject, and you will have to re-take
the subject. Failure to meet requirement (2) will result in downgrading the overall subject grade, as stated
in Section VI.

If you have taken this subject previously (either in whole or in part), you must inform your teacher as early
as possible.

VI. Attendance and punctuality

You are required to attend at least 80% of the classes and to be punctual for all lessons. Failure to meet the
attendance and punctuality requirements normally incurs a deduction from the overall subject grade. This
deduction would be ½ grade or more, depending on the degree of unsatisfactory attendance.

VII. Out-of-class work

In line with PolyU policy, you are expected to do 78 hours of out-of-class work for a three-credit subject.
This means that, in addition to the three hours of classroom learning, you are expected to do at least six
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hours of homework in each of the 13 weeks of the subject. This homework can include classwork-related,
assessment-related, and self-access work.
Out-of-class work

(i) Classwork-related (ii) Assessment-related (iii) Self-access

e.g. language exercises,
proposal writing tasks,
practice on presentation
skills
e.g. planning a project,
preparing for a meeting,
developing a press release
language learning
e.g. grammar exercises,
vocabulary development,
pronunciation work on the
Internet or in CILL (A305 & Z213)

VIII. Assessments

This subject builds upon the language and communication skills developed in the subject ELC3221 Workplace
English for Business Students I, which you previously studied. The expectations of students’ performance
in the assessments in this second workplace English subject are therefore higher than those in the previous
subject.

There are four assessments that evaluate your achievement of the learning outcomes of this subject. You
are required to complete all four assessments in order to pass the subject. The following regulations apply
to this subject.

Late submission of out-of-class assessments

1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are reasons for you to submit an out-of-class
assessment after the deadline.
2. Late submissions, although accepted within 3 calendar days after the deadline, are subject to the
following downgrading penalties:
• by ½ grade if the assessment is submitted within 24 hours after the deadline
• by 1 grade if the assessment is submitted within 48 hours after the deadline
• by 1½ grades if the assessment is submitted within 72 hours after the deadline
3. If you do not submit your assessment within 72 hours, then you will be considered to have not taken
the assessment and will fail the subject.
4. If you believe that you have a valid reason for a late submission, such as you are suffering from a serious
illness, you will not receive a penalty provided that sufficient documentary evidence is provided within 7
calendar days of the assessment submission deadline.

Absence from in-class assessments

1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are circumstances causing you to be absent
from an in-class assessment. If the reason is judged to be acceptable, a make-up assessment will be
arranged within 10 calendar days of the original assessment date.
2. If you are absent from an in-class assessment without informing the teacher in advance, you must
contact the teacher within 24 hours of the assessment with an explanation for the absence. You must
provide supporting documents (e.g. a doctor’s note) for the absence within three calendar days after
the assessment. Providing the explanation and supporting documents are judged acceptable, a make-
up assessment will be arranged within 10 calendar days of the original assessment date.
3. No make-up assessment will be given if you are absent from an in-class assessment without an
acceptable reason and supporting documents. In such cases, you will be considered to have not taken
the assessment and will fail the subject.

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Academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism
The University takes a very serious view against dishonesty and plagiarism in students’ work, including in-
class and out-of-class assessments. Dishonesty and plagiarised work will lead to downgrading or other
disciplinary actions as described in the Student Handbook.

Assessment 1: Submitting a business project proposal (25%)

Learning outcome assessed: Outcome 1
Timing: Week-6 lesson

This is a business simulation. The following notes are about your situation.
• You: a project manager in E&C Holdings Limited (E&C)
• Your teacher: the managing director of E&C
• E&C:
- an international business conglomerate (a multi-industry company)
- established in Hong Kong in 1971
- diverse businesses actively supported by people of high calibre in accounting, finance, logistics,
management, marketing and engineering
- staff truly committed to innovation and social responsibility

You wish to initiate a business project and are in the process of preparing a proposal for it. Your task in this
assessment is to write up a business project proposal to persuade the managing director you work for and
other project managers (your classmates) that your project is well planned and worth implementing. The
managing director expects that your business project will meet the following three project requirements:
1. within a budget of HK$100,000
2. creative
3. socially responsible

Your proposal should contain the following sections:

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Client Requirements
• Proposed Solution
• Personnel/Management of Project
• Schedule for Implementation
• Budget/Costs

You should follow the E&C house style. Your proposal should be within three A4 pages (excluding the cover
page, table of contents, and appendices), single-line spaced and presented in Times New Roman (point 12)
throughout the document.

If you would like to add some appendices to your proposal, you should make sure that they are really
necessary and they are referred to somewhere in the proposal sections.

Submit to your teacher all the following documents in hard copy:

(i) the business project proposal
(ii) the ‘Honour Declaration’ form (see p. 7 of this handout)
(iii) the originality report generated by Turnitin, an online system which helps you prevent plagiarism

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Assessment 2: Presenting your business project proposal (25%)
Learning outcome assessed: Outcome 2
Timing: Week-10 lesson
Duration of the assessment: 5 minutes
All the business project proposals submitted for Assessment 1 will be randomly divided into groups of
three/four during Week-9 lesson. In this assessment, all the three/four project managers concerned need
to attend a presentation session in which each one of them presents their own proposal in 5 minutes to the
managing director (your teacher) and the other two/three project managers (your classmates). The
purpose of this presentation is to introduce your project persuasively to the managing director and justify
why the company should implement it. It is also important for you to take notes and familiarise yourself
with the proposals from the other two/three project managers in this session as preparation for Assessment
3.

Assessment 3: Participating in a meeting to sell and defend your business project proposal (25%)
Learning outcome assessed: Outcome 3
Timing: Week-10 lesson
Duration of the assessment: 7.5 minutes for groups of three project managers
10 minutes for groups of four project managers

This assessment takes place immediately after Assessment 2. In this assessment, you will interact with the
other two/three project managers (your classmates) in front of the managing director (your teacher) in a
meeting. The purpose of the meeting is for you to justify why your project should be the best one for your
company to implement when compared with the other two/three projects in terms of one of the three
project requirements mentioned before. The managing director will announce at the beginning of each
Assessment 2 presentation session which project requirement to focus on.

Assessment 4: Submitting a press release to promote your business project (25%)

Learning outcome assessed: Outcome 4
Timing: Within 24 hours of Week-13 lesson
(Special arrangement for Friday classes, due to holiday on 19 April 2019)

Assuming that the managing director has chosen your project as the best one for implementation, you will
now need to write a press release to promote your business project to the customers/clients of your company.
Your press release should contain the following sections:
• Headline
• Dateline
• Introduction
• Body
• Concluding paragraph
• Boilerplate
• Media contact information
• Close

You should follow the E&C house style. Your press release should be within an A4 page, single-line spaced
and presented in Times New Roman (point 12) throughout the document.

Submit to your teacher all the following documents in hard copy:

(i) the press release
(ii) the ‘Honour Declaration’ form (see p. 8 of this handout)
(iii) the originality report generated by Turnitin

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Assessment criteria
Your performance in this subject is assessed according to the following criteria.

Assessment 1: Submitting a business project proposal

Content (25%): Task requirements fulfilled, strong and valid argumentation in
justifying the proposed event/product/service, and up-to-date
sources used
Organisation (25%): Appropriate overall structure, clear logical connections between ideas,
and different effective methods used to connect ideas
Language (25%): Clear communication with appropriate use of grammar, vocabulary
and style
Conventions (25%): Appropriate layout, effective formatting as specified in the house style
of the simulated company, and appropriate and accurate referencing

Assessment 2: Presenting your business project proposal

Content (25%): Task requirements fulfilled, clear arguments with relevant support,
being accessible to a general audience, and evidence of research
Delivery (25%): Clear and logical connections between ideas, effective use of verbal
and non-verbal techniques to interact with the audience, and effective
use of visual aids
Language (25%): Clear communication with appropriate use of grammar, vocabulary
and style
Pronunciation and fluency (25%): Accurate pronunciation, appropriate speed, volume of speech, stress,
rhythm, pauses, intonation, and allowing for ease of understanding

Assessment 3: Participating in a meeting to sell and defend your business project proposal
Content (25%): Task requirements fulfilled, clear arguments with relevant support,
being accessible to a general audience, and evidence of research
Participation (25%): Clear and logical connections between ideas, logical discussion and
contributions, and effective use of verbal and non-verbal techniques
to interact with others
Language (25%): Clear communication with appropriate use of grammar, vocabulary
and style
Pronunciation and fluency (25%): Accurate pronunciation, appropriate speed, volume of speech, stress,
rhythm, pauses, intonation, and allowing for ease of understanding

Assessment 4: Submitting a press release to promote your business project

Content (25%): Task requirements fulfilled, strong and valid argumentation in
justifying the proposed event/product/service
Organisation (25%): Appropriate overall structure, clear logical connections between ideas,
and different effective methods used to connect ideas
Language (25%): Clear communication with appropriate use of grammar, vocabulary
and style
Conventions (25%): Appropriate layout, effective formatting as specified in the house style
of the simulated company, and appropriate and accurate referencing

Remarks
1. Your writing in Assessments 1 and 4 should be complete, well-organised, clear, concise and courteous.
You will be assessed on the originality of your content. Copying from the example proposals and press
releases in the coursebook or from other sources may incur downgrading.
2. During Assessments 2 and 3, mobile phones should be turned off and removed from the desk. You
should keep to the time limit in Assessments 2 and 3. Any oral performance beyond the time limit is
not assessed. Scripted and rehearsed performances, no matter whether they are done individually or
with other classmates, may be downgraded.

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 ELC3222 Assessment 1: Business Project Proposal
Honour Declaration Form

I declare that my business project proposal for Assessment 1 of the subject ELC3222 Workplace English for
Business Students II is completely my own work. I have not asked other people to do any part of this
business project proposal for me. I have acknowledged ideas from other sources that I have used in my
business project proposal. And I have not copied any ideas or text from the example proposals in the
coursebook or from other sources.

I understand that an infringement of this declaration leaves me subject to disciplinary action by The Hong
Kong Polytechnic University.

Student name: Student ID no.:

Programme title: Programme code:

ELC seminar group no.:

Signature : Date:

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 ELC3222 Assessment 4: Press Release
Honour Declaration Form

I declare that my press release for Assessment 4 of the subject ELC3222 Workplace English for Business
Students II is completely my own work. I have not asked other people to do any part of this press release
for me. I have acknowledged ideas from other sources that I have used in my press release. And I have
not copied any ideas or text from the example press releases in the coursebook or from other sources.

I understand that an infringement of this declaration leaves me subject to disciplinary action by The Hong
Kong Polytechnic University.

Student name: Student ID no.:

Programme title: Programme code:

ELC seminar group no.:

Signature : Date:

© English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University