1. Course Description
This course aims to help students develop effective oral and written communication strategies in
realistic business contexts. Students will develop confidence in business communication related to
audience analysis, producing persuasive, routine and goodwill messages in professional business
language, completing job applications and participating in a job interview. Through intensive
practices in lectures, students will be exposed to these fundamentals of business language skills
which are practical across different industries and settings.
2. Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course, students should be able to
ILO1. conduct thorough analyses on audience, purpose, channels, use of approach and language,
barriers in any spoken or written business communication settings, and suggest ways to
overcome any identified barriers;
ILO2. apply the most common communication strategies and principles in producing routine,
good-news, and persuasive messages;
ILO3. utilise appropriate language, style and tone when producing a range of business
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documents;
ILO4. develop major oral and written communication skills needed in a work-related event;
ILO5. use English in the business context more accurately and proficiently.
3. Teaching and Learning Approach / Methods
In addition to attending class regularly, all students are required to do their preparation well by
reading the given learning materials, doing exercises, and watching video recordings (if any) for
each lecture. They will be frequently participating in in-class activities to analyze communication
cases and messages, suggest ways to correct faults and overcome any detectable barriers. Then they
will apply what they have learned to 1) create effective business messages and 2) complete oral
assessments according to the given regulations.
Frequent feedback and comments will be given by both the lecturer and the peers to help improve
teaching and learning effectiveness. The overall assessment includes 100% coursework.
In this course, students learn via mainly 1) face-to-face lectures/meetings and 2) online and
electronic media will be used in the course. Please pay attention to your lecturer’s in-class &
SOUL announcements.
4. Assessment Scheme
Continuous Assessment 100%
Assessment
Items
Details Percentage Due Date
Assessment 1
Planning and Getting Ready for Persuasive
Communication
Detailed Planning of the Persuasive Message: A
report delineating the details of the 7 steps
30% 5 Nov 2024
6pm
Assessment 2
Job Application
Résumé + Cover Letter/Email
20% 21 Nov 2024
6pm
Assessment 3
Job Interview Performance
20%
L21-24
End-of-Term Test
Questions to be released via SOUL on 11 Dec 6pm
20% 14 Dec 2024
6pm
Participation
in Class
Class performance, learning attitude, and quiz
performance (if any) will all be taken into
consideration
10% Every class
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*All written assessments should be typed with a formal font style e.g. Calibri/Arial/Times New
Roman, size 12 and presented in 1.5-line spacing and students should use the standard answer sheet
(if any).
5. Online Submission of Assessments
It is your responsibility to check if your online submissions are successful. Please check carefully if
you have uploaded the correct, finalized version of your assessment before the due time. Ensure you
receive/download the digital receipts from the Turnitin system upon submission.
o Submit EACH written assessment before the deadline in ONE pdf file via the Turnitin
submission link created on SOUL, NO email submission unless it is agreed upon between you
and your lecturer in cases of technical problems
o Submit the file ONCE (similarity index will NOT be shown to students)
o Rename the file with your class no., full (Chinese and) English names, and student
ID. e.g. CL02_Lau Tak Wah Andy_20034567 BEFORE the submission
o Late submission → mark penalty (details of mark penalty can be found on P.2 of the marking
rubrics)
o In case of technical problems, please directly email your lecturers
o Any signs of plagiarism could lead to 0 marks
6. Penalties for Late Submission of Written Assessments
% to be deducted
if the submission is
100% More than 7 days late
50% More than 24 hours to 7 days late
15% Up to 24 hours late
5% Submitted after the due time on the submission day
Feedback/comments will still be provided if they are submitted within 7 days after the deadline.
7. Grade descriptors
A :
Demonstrate a good understanding of the course concepts (strategies, principles,
techniques and skills) and succeed in achieving most of the intended learning outcomes
with good business English.
B :
Demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of the course concepts (strategies, principles,
techniques and skills) and succeed in achieving at least half of the intended learning
outcomes with decent business English.
C :
Could only demonstrate an understanding of certain course concepts (strategies,
principles, techniques and skills) and achieve a few intended learning outcomes with
communicative business English.
D :
Demonstrate limited understanding of the course concepts (strategies, principles,
techniques and skills) and achieve very few intended learning outcomes.
F :
Show very little understanding of the course concepts (strategies, principles, techniques
and skills) and fail to achieve most intended learning outcomes.
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8. References
Bentley, M. (1991) Mary Munter’s Business Communication: Strategy and Skill. Singapore:
Prentice Hall.
Chan, Mable. (2020) English for Business Communication. London: Routledge.
Guffey, M E. & Lowey, Dana. (2016) Essentials of Business Communication. 10
th
Ed. Boston:
Cengage Learning.
Raman, Meenakshi. (2012) Business Communication. 2
nd
Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sweeney, S. (2003) English for Business Communication: A Short Course Consisting of Five
Modules: Cultural Diversity and Socialising, Telephoning, Presentations, Meetings and
Negotiations. 2
nd
Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thill, V. & Bovée C.L. (2016) Excellence in Business Communication. 12
th
Ed. Harlow:
Pearson Education.
9. Assessment Descriptions
• Assessment 1: Planning and Getting Ready for Persuasive Communication (Group
Report, 30%)
This group project (4-5 members in a group) expects you to demonstrate how well you can apply what
you have learnt from Unit 1-4 of the course. You have to delineate the details of the 7 steps in the
Detailed Planning of Persuasive Communication.
Choose ONE from below.
Option A
You are working as an intern at the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) of HKU SPACE
Community College. The OCE focuses on building partnerships with local charities, NGOs, and
community organizations. It contributes to cultivating future leaders in the college by coordinating
activities and programmes to offer opportunities for students to engage in local community services.
Recently, the OCE director has assigned you to draft a persuasive message to a local charity, exploring
collaboration chances so that both the target charity and our students can benefit from the collaboration.
You must target ONE real* local charity/NGO in Hong Kong and convince relevant personnel of the
organization to collaborate with our college with specific details proposed in the communication plan.
Refer to authentic* information from both the target unit and HKU SPACE Community College and
consider the feasibility and limitations of the details in the persuasion with a good application of the
concepts learnt in your lectures.
Who are you as a sender?
You are an intern at the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) of HKU SPACE Community College.
Your identity is made up, but you are using your real name.
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Option B
Choose ONE real* facility/unit in Hong Kong from the following: 1) a museum, 2) a community centre,
3) a public library, 4) a public square, or 5) The Hong Kong International Airport, and then plan for a
communication plan to persuade relevant personnel/department/unit to make a change in terms of 1-2*
of the following aspects:
1. Hygiene issues
2. Security and safety issues
3. Online support, e.g., website design, online (booking) system, mobile applications, etc.
4. Quality/price of the services provided
5. Environmental friendliness
The problem(s) identified should be real* and supported by evidence in the report. You may collect first-
hand evidence e.g. photos of the problems observed and/or second-hand evidence e.g. information found
on newspapers and forums. Remember this is not a complaint but persuasion for change.
Who are you as a sender?
You can be a frequent user of the facility or a local citizen who has been concerned with the identified
issue(s).
Follow the seven steps suggested for Planning and Getting Ready for Communication (Unit 2) in the
report. Start with an initial search on the target audience’s webpage. This background research can help
you pinpoint most of the details in the report before you apply the 7-step concepts. It is wise to check if
there are any official communication channels provided by your target audience first if you choose to
communicate with an organisation. Explain your communication process with clear explanations and
present the 7-step planning in a written report.
Group task – 4 or 5 people in a group
If your group has less than 5 members, your lecturer may assign students to join your group.
While you need to collaborate as a group to finish the report, individual marks will be given according
to your performance in A1. However, to ensure that every member knows his/her duties clearly at the
beginning of the project with fair distribution of workload, the whole group should initiate discussions
face-to-face, and/or via Zoom meetings, NOT via text messages or email only. ALL group members
must be present in ALL the group meetings and/or self-arranged consultation sessions with their
lecturer. The report’s content should reflect good communication between members. Any
inconsistent ideas could lead to a mark penalty for all the group members. Only one member (the
group leader or a group representative) will submit the finalized report ONCE on SOUL for the
group. Late submission will lead to a mark penalty for all the members of the group. If more than
one report is submitted, only the earliest version will be marked.
A self and peer evaluation form for A1 is available on SOUL. If you see an unfair distribution of
work, limited contributions of a group member, and/or repeated absence of group members in
meetings and consultation sessions, please report the situation to your lecturer. Each group member
will then be arranged to fill out the form which will serve as a reference for mark adjustments.
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Items to be submitted
1. A project planning report (to be submitted by the start time of L9 for approval: hard copy
or on SOUL)
2. A group report (to be submitted via SOUL Turnitin ONLY)
o Part A The 7-step communication plan [8-10 pages (including the cover page),
each member: at least 500 words]: Use the provided standard answer sheet to write up the
report as a group without changing the format of the file including the margin, the font size
(12 points) & style (Times New Roman), 1.5 line spacing, etc. Not following the instructions
on the assessment format could lead to a mark penalty. Any materials written beyond the
first 10 pages will NOT be marked. Ensure fair distribution of work within the group by
referring to the A1 samples. Clearly indicate each member’s contribution and include an
accurate word count for each part.
o Part B Individual Reflection [180-200 words]: Write a short reflection (1-2
paragraphs) on 1-2 relevant skills in Unit 1-4. Avoid objectively stating the details of the
chosen topics/concepts i.e. you will fail in this part if you only repeat information in your
notes. The reflection report may explain (a) what inspiration you have got from the concepts,
(b) what difficulties you encountered when learning/applying the concepts and how you
overcame the difficulties, and/or (c) how you can use the concepts in the future, etc. An
accurate word count is needed and materials beyond the first 200 words will not be marked
and considered.
o *Evidence to be included as an appendix:
*Option A: 1) the hyperlink AND the screenshot image of the charity/NGOs in Hong Kong
*Option B: 1) the hyperlink of the official website of the chosen facility/unit in Hong Kong
AND the screenshot image of the webpage & 2) the screenshot images of the newspaper
article, forum discussion related to the identified problem, or any
documents/reports/materials online that reflect the problem. First-hand evidence e.g., photos
of the problems observed may be accepted. (Please consult your lecturer if you cannot find
the official website of the public facility. With approval, first-hand evidence to prove the
authenticity of the public facility may be accepted.)
You may provide as much evidence as you prefer if you want to justify your ideas in
different steps of the report. All the materials should be in English. All the information
must be REAL.
The report should be self-explanatory i.e. ideas should be explained clearly with a sufficient amount
of details for readers. No bullet points in part B. Assessment samples will be provided. Note that
they may not be A-grade samples and not each of them follows the regulations on the assessment
format. You may compare the way ideas are presented across the samples and critically decide how
to present your thoughts according to A1 instructions and how many details you need to justify each
point.
• Assessment 2: Job Application (Individual, Written, 20%)
First, you need to identify a job advertisement that interests you so much that you are planning to submit
your application. The full-time job should be related to your current field of study, background, and
academic qualifications. You should tailor-make a résumé that best suits you for your chosen job
advertisement. Then submit them together with your cover letter/email and job advertisement to your
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lecturer before entering the interview. Use the actual recipient’s details found on the advertisement or on
the company’s official website.
Items to be submitted
o Your chosen job advertisement (In English, No part-time jobs, temporary jobs, or applications for
internship)
o Résumé (one page)
o Cover letter and/or email
*Resume + Application letter/email: Any materials beyond the first page will NOT be marked
** Submit everything via SOUL in ONE PDF file
Although you are encouraged to borrow ideas and use useful expressions found in some good samples for
your writing,
1) you are required to demonstrate the specific skills you have learnt in Unit 6 in this assessment rather
than only applying the general “good” skills in writing CV and application materials you found online in
order to get an A-range grade, and
2) do this wisely so that you will not be accused of plagiarizing from the sources and no AI writing tools
or 0 marks may be given to the student concerned. Authentic* information should be used in the
application materials which could then be used in your future job applications. *Exception: you don’t
need to use your real home address, phone number, and email address in this assessment, but all the other
information must be real.
The use of a font size smaller than 12 points is allowed in A2 job application materials. However,
please consider if the readability of the submitted materials is reasonable.
• Assessment 3: Job Interview Performance (Oral, 20%)
Individuals in a group of 2 to 6 the maximum (around 3 minutes per person in Lessons 21-24)
Based on your chosen job, your lecturer will put you in a group with other applicants whose chosen jobs
or industries are similar in some way. The group interview is interactive, and you may be required (1) to
solve a problem, (2) to play a role, or (3) to answer questions directly asked by your interviewer. Only
your performance during the interview will be assessed.
The interview is divided into 2 parts:
o You will be asked at least 1 of the standard interview questions discussed in Unit 7 (1 minute per
person, candidates take turns to answer the same question)
o A 1-minute preparation will be given before you respond to an unseen question/task. You can make
notes during your 1-minute brainstorming time on a piece of scrap paper provided. The paper cannot
be taken away after the interview. Bring your pen/pencil. You may be asked follow-up questions
based on your response. (2 minutes per person, group discussion)
You may need to attend an individual interview if your target job area is different from other students.
Professional attire is needed. Your interview may be recorded.
• Participation in Class (10%)
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Students are expected to be punctual and should actively participate in all in-class activities, group
tasks, and quizzes. Their ability and willingness to facilitate class discussions, communicate in
English, respond to lecturers’ questions in class as well as their performance in quizzes will all be
taken into consideration.
In the case of advanced/sick leave, students should
1) make an official application and submit the supporting documentation to the lecturer and the
office
2) download the materials and the videos of the lecture they missed from the SOUL platform
and ask any questions about the lecture before the assessment due dates
Students are responsible for contacting their teachers and providing valid explanations if they fail to be
punctual and attend all lectures and arranged face-to-face meetings. Performance in online quizzes will
be taken into consideration. More details will be given later.
10. Coverage of End-of-Term Test
Time allowed: 3 days (Individual, Written, 20%)
Writing an effective business email
Background (information given)
Your task (information given)
You have decided to write an email (around 250 - 300 words) to...
(Revise Unit 1-5) *Students will complete at least 1 practice paper in L19-20. Details about
the end-of-term test will be provided by L20.
11. Assessment Preparation & Consultation
Before doing each assessment and the end-of-term test, you are advised to
1) revise the concepts and skills in the relevant units,
2) read the details in the marking rubrics, and/or
3) if necessary, ask for further clarifications from your lecturer via email/ or other agreed
online means.
Pre-submission consultation: You may ask questions related to the assessment regulations,
marking rubric, or concepts covered in the lectures. Lecturers will not comment on any full drafts
or proofread materials for students. There will be a consultation deadline for each assessment.
Assessment feedback: All questions related to grades and feedback and comments should be
asked within 14 days after you receive the marked assessments on SOUL.
12. Avoiding Plagiarism and the Abuse of AI Writing Tools in Assessments
***Students are NOT allowed to use AI-writing tools such as ChatGPT, Google Translate, etc. to
write up complete sentences or even the whole assessment in this course. Using such tools could
lead to a mark penalty in an assessment. All the assessment materials have to be submitted via the
Turnitin submission link on SOUL whose AI detector will generate a percentage showing the
amount of detail generated by AI for your marker’s reference. The percentage will be taken into
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consideration when your assessment is graded. If it is identified that more than 50% of a student’s
assessment is AI-written, the student will need to redo and resubmit the assessment, which will
then pass through the AI detection system again. If the percentage is still above 50%, the student
concerned will receive a mark penalty according to the percentage shown on the system. In some
cases, students may be requested to redo an assessment in an assigned venue on a specific date.
You will be asked to sign a disclaimer, declaring that you will not abuse the use of AI in this
course. More details will be explained in L3-4.
13. Schedule of lessons
Lesson Unit Language Review
1-2
*L1: Course information
1. Overcoming Common Challenges in the Workplace
Phrases & Clauses,
Subject + Verb Agreement
3-6
2. Planning and Getting Ready for Communication
Finish A1 grouping by the end of L4 &
Introduce A1 details & “Avoiding the Abuse of AI
Writing Tools & Plagiarism”
Business Vocabulary,
Parts of Speech
7-8
3. Writing Professional Business Sentences
Compound and Complex
Sentences
9-10
4. Writing Persuasive Messages
Main and Subordinate
Clauses
11-12
Preparation for Assessment 1 & In-Class Consultation
13-14
5. Writing Routine and Goodwill Messages
Introduce A2 details
Cause and Effect
Relationship
15-16
6. Producing Powerful Resumes and Cover Letters
Introduce A3 details
Achieving Parallelism
17-18
7. Attending Job Interviews
Useful Expressions for
Group Interviews
19-20
In-Class Practice: Preparation for End-of-Term Test
*Introduce End-of-Term Test details
21-24 *A3: Assessing Interview Performance
*Submit End-of-Term Test by 14 Dec 2024 6pm
IMPORTANT: Sections marked with a green tick in your notes = Highly relevant to the
Assessments or Syllabus of End of Term Test
*1) Unofficial recordings of a lecture, 2) audio recordings during a consultation session as well
as 3) photographing during a lecture without the teacher’s consent are prohibited
