CMNS 1291 – Simplified Version of Assignment Requirements

Here are the assignments that will give you your grades for the course. They total 80%,
and the final exam is worth 20%. You must pass the exam to pass the course.

Important Note: The section on the Blackboard homepage entitled “Online

Discussions” is optional for web-based students. You do not need to partake,
and the instructor will not monitor your contributions if you do. It is
designed mainly for the version of the course that requires students to work
together as a class.

1) Assignment #1 – 20%

Throughout the course, gather certain documents into a portfolio to submit near the end
of the course. These will count as Assignment #1 even though they are not submitted
first. Find the list of required documents on the sheet I am sending you entitled
Checklists for CMNS 1291. Please use this list of documents rather than the one in the
course materials on Blackboard.

2) Assignment #2 – 5%

This assignment stays the same. Fill in the blanks on the Student Worksheet for
Assignment 2.

You will be planning two messages, not writing them. Please complete the two plans as a
single Word document, save it to your computer, and email it to me as an attachment to
msmith@tru.ca or submit it through the Blackboard Assignment submission process.

3) Assignment #3 – 5%

This assignment stays the same. It comprises a series of worksheets, entitled

CMNS1291_Assignment3_StudentWorksheet.doc, available on the Assignment #3 page.
Please complete the sheets as a Word document, save it to your computer, and email it to
me as an attachment to msmith@tru.ca or submit it through the Blackboard Assignment
submission process.

4) Assignment #4 – 5%

This assignment changes. You will write the three messages as described in the
assignment – a letter, an email, and a blog – and submit them as attachments, but here are
the changes:
1) You do not need to submit the audience profiles or outlines.
 2) You do not need to involve outside reviewers unless you want to.
3) For Part Three, you do not need to submit the first draft of your blog post or
a note listing three ways you made the blog post easy to read and skim.
Please complete the three messages as a single Word document, save it to your
computer, and email it to me as an attachment to msmith@tru.ca or submit it through
the Blackboard Assignment submission process.

Important – I will not correct your errors in this assignment, but I will point them out.
The messages will be used again in Assignment #6, and I want to mark your work, not
my own. If you involve outside reviewers, you can use as much or as little of their
feedback as you choose.

5) Assignment #5 – 10%

This assignment stays the same. Please complete the messages, reviews, and edits as a
single Word document, save it to your computer, and email it to me as an attachment to
msmith@tru.ca or submit the assignment through the Blackboard Assignment submission
process.

6) Assignment #6 – 15%

This assignment changes. You will be revising the three pieces of correspondence you
wrote in Assignment #4 – a letter, an email, and a blog – and submitting them as
attachments. You do not need to attach a note explaining the changes you have
made. Please complete them as a single Word document, save it to your computer, and
email it to me as an attachment to msmith@tru.ca or submit the assignment through the
Blackboard Assignment submission process.

7) Assignment #7 – 10%

This assignment changes by giving you an option. The assignment as described in the
course involves a level of collaboration not often available to web students, who typically
work on their own and at their own pace. Choose either A or B below:

A. You may choose to complete the assignment as described in the course materials, with
or without the “team” requirements.

B. The other option is to write an informational report rather than merely plan it. Here
are the requirements:

a) Length – 800 words

b) Topic – informational, a topic related to the world of business, technology,
or the professions; choose a topic in your field and/or from your
workplace.
 c) Audience – others in that field who would need to be updated on that
information
d) Sources – at least two researched sources
e) Referencing – MLA or APA, but be consistent
f) Format:
1. Memo at the top
2. Headings and subheadings throughout
3. Graphics, tables, etc. as needed
4. Samples in the text book – Look at the samples on p. 377 and pp.
386-87 of the text book. Visually, these are your models. For
content, though, create your own headings, lists, graphics, etc.,
and be sure your main purpose is to supply information, not to
persuade.
5. The samples do not show in-text citations for quotations and
paraphrases. APA and MLA both require these, so be sure your
report includes them.

Check with me at msmith@tru.ca before you start and ask if your topic is appropriate. In
that email, give me a brief outline of the subtopics you plan to cover. When the
assignment is complete, email it to me as an attachment to msmith@tru.ca or submit it
through the Blackboard Assignment submission process.

8) Assignment #8 – 10%

This assignment stays the same. Please record the presentation in a format that you can
send to me by email at msmith@tru.ca or submit through the Blackboard Assignment
submission process.

Here is a summary of the assignments for this course:

Sequence (submit Assignment Topic Value

them in this #
order)
Last (collect 1 Portfolio of work collected throughout 20%
throughout course; the course. See the document entitled
submit near the Checklists for CMNS 1291 for a
end or when the complete list.
portfolio is
complete)
First 2 Plan two messages 5%
Second 3 Worksheets 5%
Third 4 Write three messages 5%
Fourth 5 Find three “real-world” messages and 10%
review/edit them as described
Fifth 6 Revise the three messages from 15%
Assignment #4 as described. Submit
only the final copies.
Sixth 7 Plan a report or write a report 10%
Seventh 8 Create an oral presentation 10%
After all are Exam Compulsory – must score at last 50% to 20%
submitted pass course
TOTAL 100%

Important: Throughout the course, regardless of the quality of its

content, any assignment that is overwhelmingly flawed in terms of word
choice, sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, and/or spelling will
not receive a passing grade.