Objectives On successful completion of this assignment, students should be able to: follow steps for prewriting, writing, revising, and editing an academic essay;develop strong, clear thesis statement

Objectives

On successful completion of this assignment, students should be able to:

• follow steps for prewriting, writing, revising, and editing an academic essay;
• develop strong, clear thesis statements;
• format an academic essay; and
• explain why referencing and citation is important in all writing.

Description

This individual assignment will help students develop critical-thinking and writing skills to express themselves through a writing exercise. Students will write a short academic essay from beginning to end and a short business-related communication. The writing of a short academic essay and business communication will provide you with an opportunity to practice the difference between academic writing and writing for business. You will use the same topic to write a short academic essay and then a business letter. The topic is related to the importance of diversity in the workplace. 

Requirements and Submission Instructions

Step 1: Complete the Unit 2 Readings. (Mostafa will share more)

Step 2: Apply what you learned from the readings about planning, researching, and writing an essay. Research the Yorkville University library for information about the importance of diversity in the workplace.

Step 3 (Part 1): Consider the following as you explore the importance of diversity in the workplace:

1. What is diversity?
2. What are the benefits to employees of a diverse workplace?
3. What are the benefits to an organization of a diverse workplace?
4. Give an example of a diverse workplace and describe how it demonstrates the benefits described in #s 2 and 3 above.
5. How does an organization become diverse?

Your essay will address these questions within its body paragraphs. Your essay will be in APA format, and will include a references list that includes any sources used. Use the YU Library for your research. The Purdue Owl website will help for format, citing and referencing.

Your essay should include 3-5 credible academic references.

Step 4 (Part 2) : Now write a business letter to your employer. The purpose of the letter is to explain how diversity is important in the workplace and to recommend actions the organization can take to become more diverse. Remember the differences between academic writing (part 1) and business writing (part 2) that you have read about in this unit.

Step 5: Proof-read your document and use MS Word to check the spelling and grammar.

Step 6: Submit your MS Word document to the link below. Make note of the submission requirements below.

Submission Requirements

A template is provided for this assignment ( A). Your overall submission will include:

1. Title page: (include assignment title, assignment topic (paper title), student name, date, course code/title, instructor name)
2. Essay Main Body: maximum of 3 pages for the following three sections (750 words, double spaced, 12-point font)

o   Introduction (introduce your topic and state the purpose of your essay) 1 P (100 Ws)

o   Body (A few paragraphs that address the content described in step 3 above) 3/4 P (150 W)

o   Conclusion (confirms and summarizes what was said in body to fulfil the purpose of the paper) 1 P (100 Ws)

1. References Page: (full APA formatted references for all work cited in body) 3-5 References
2. Appendix: (Attach your business letter as an Appendix to the essay. The letter should be no more than one page.)
3. Letter: 150-180 Words

Submit to the link below. Submit all assignments in this course as MS Word documents.

Evaluation

The Individual Assignment 1: Business and Academic Writing Comparison will be graded out of 100. The following rubric indicates the criteria students are to adhere to, and their relative weights to the assignment overall.

ACTIVITY/COMPETENCIES DEMONSTRATED

% OF FINAL GRADE

1a. Content (30%)

a. Completed all elements of the essay (Title page, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, References List, Appendix (Business Letter).

/10

b. Effectively addressed the content of the essay according to the 5 questions included in the assignment instructions.

/15

c. Critically examined the topic.

/5

1b. Content: Business Letter (Appendix) (15%)

a. Effectively addresses audience.

/5

b. Effectively articulates benefits of a diverse workforce to the organization and makes realistic and well articulated recommendations and action plan.

/10

2. Creativity (20%)

a. Demonstrated creativity in essay writing style.

/10

b. Used plain and direct business language in letter.

/10

3. Format and Writing (35%)

a. Followed academic essay format.

/10

b. Followed business letter format.

/5

c. Applied APA format to referencing/citing. (Included 4-5 appropriate and credible references.)

/10

d. Effective use of English language with minimal errors in spelling and grammar.

/10

Total